Recently a friend of mine asked me how to fix the losing signal after he mistakenly updated the firmware to 3.1.3 on his locked iPhone 3G. I thought there should be an easy fix giving the fact that there are a lot tutorials on how to jailbreak and unlock iPhone. Turned out it’s not that simple.
Before you run into any problem that can make your head spinning, there are few things you should know about in order to avoid them from hitting you hard. There are few terminologies that might be confusing for someone new to this device. Knowing what these jargons are all about is a good move to better prepare yourself as a new iPhone owner. So let’s get going.
Officially Unlocked iPhone VS Locked iPhone
Locked iPhone limits the device exclusively to a particular cellphone network. Any attempts to insert simcard of other network will effectively be rejected and you will not be able to use your iPhone to its full capacity. This can be fixed by using hardware or software unlocking but it comes with risks. You may not be able to update the OS software to the latest version or worst of all device malfunction.
Officially unlocked iPhone, on the other hand, allows user to freely use any network carriers and enjoy every single update from the iPhone’s OS without losing the ability to use any carrier SIM in the device.
If you haven’t bought one for yourself, the ONLY type of iPhone that you should consider buying is an officially unlocked iPhone unless you don’t mind having a lot of headaches with the unlocking process.
Fully unlocked iPhone available in the following countries
- Belgium(Mobistar)
- Czech Republic (O2, T-Mobile, Vodafone)
- Greece(Vodafone, Cosmote)
- Italy(TIM, Vodafone)
- Luxembourg (Vox, LUXGSM)
- Russia(Megafon, MTS, Beeline)
- Turkey(Turkcell), Hong Kong(3)
- Macau(3), Malaysia(Maxis)
- New Zealand(Vodafone)
- Singapore(SingTel)
- Taiwan(Chunghwa Telecom)
- Thailand(Truecom)
- Saudi Arabia(Mobily)
- UAE(Etisalat)
- South Africa(Vodacom)
I hardly give attention to anything related to how-to-jailbreak-or-unlock-iPhone because I bought unlocked iPhone set from Maxis Malaysia (iPhone 3GS) and Singapore set (my previous iPhone 3G).
Jailbreak – Technically, it means to break into and gain access to the entire Unix file system (to change the root of the directory tree to /). Simply put, it’s a restricted area where normal users are not supposed to mess around. By jailbreaking, you can add applications restricted by Apple into your phone. You can even change (mod) icons, dock, wallpaper, chat bubbles, status bar, keyboard etc. The addition of these applications are done via an application called Cydia.
Granted, jailbreaking can unlock your iPhone to another level of excitement (with new applications and modding stuffs) but apparently it doesn’t appeal me to indulge into jailbreaking my iPhone (at least for now).
Unlock – Unlike units from the list above (fully unlocked), iPhone from the United States and the UK are locked by AT&T and by O2 respectively. So you can’t simply use the phone with other operators. There are several solutions such as turbosim, stealthsim, Sn0wbreeze etc out there to unlock your phone so that you can freely use your iPhone with any operator you like.
Note: Please read carefully the pros/cons as well as instruction on each solution (by googling) when you attempt to use any method of unlocking. There are several adverse effects that might be experienced by your iPhone such as signal fluctuation when making call, no Airplane Mode etc. Some solutions might not be working anymore that Proceed with caution.
Sounds scary? Sure it does. That’s why it’s important to give extra care when you do the above-mentioned activities. Do more readings on the net so you will know what to expect if an unlocking method is applied. It also helps you from being ripped off by certain parties that might want to take advantage on your lack of knowledge.
Disclaimer: Jailbreaking voids your warranty but it can be easily fixed by restoring the iPhone OS via iTunes.
