Travel Technology - Unlock your SIM card not your phone

From: MobileTechNews (http://www.mobiletechnews.com/info/2008/04/29/112718.html)
"SIMable is an ultra thin chip, that when attached to a SIM card, immediately fools most mobile phones into thinking that they have been unlocked. It is compatible with the majority of mobile handsets, including all the latest 3G devices, which are becoming more and more difficult to be freed from their original Network. "
"Whilst mobile phone unlocking is not illegal, it will in most cases invalidate the handset's warranty.
SIMable (http://www.simable.com/) requires no handset interference and thus the full manufacturer's guarantee remains intact."

www.rebelsimcard.com as well

which of these is better for the iPhone 3G unlock? They both claim they are the best, but what is the truth beyond the marketing fluff?

I would prefer not to have to cut my sim cards...

From the SIMable website:

Apple iPhone 3G V2.0 and V2.1

Rebel SimCard says it works with 2.2


Before you spend your money, make sure you know what your iPhone is running.

From the SIMable website:

Apple iPhone 3G V2.0 and V2.1

Rebel SimCard says it works with 2.2


Before you spend your money, make sure you know what your iPhone is running.

I didn't buy my iphone yet, so I'm guessing it will have the latest software upgrade when I receive it - the problem with the rebelsimcard site is their almost incoherent English....is this company trustworthy?

I've refused to buy the iphone on the principal that I reserve the right to unlock it and install whatever software I want - so if there is a real product out there that will enable me to do that, I might be interested in getting the phone.

I've refused to buy the iphone on the principal that I reserve the right to unlock it and install whatever software I want - so if there is a real product out there that will enable me to do that, I might be interested in getting the phone.[/QUOTE]

If you want an unlocked Iphone go to www.importgsm.com they have unlocked Iphones. I have used them before and the service is quite good. I have no interest in the company except as a customer.

I've refused to buy the iphone on the principal that I reserve the right to unlock it and install whatever software I want...

If that is your criteria, you may be better off buying the G1.

These cards have a difficult job to do. They have to convince the phone hardware that they're the 'right' type of SIM, while at the same time tell the network that they're the SIM that's actually installed.

This was an easy job with the iPhone 2G, because the iPhone would query the SIM once at start-up to make sure it was the right SIM, and then never again.

Newer phones (iPhone 3G included) are smarter than this, and so these chips have a more difficult job to do to distinguish between phone-originated queries and network-originated queries. Mixing them up causes the phone to re-lock or the network to get very upset (and worst case crash, best case block that phone from the network for a while).

Personally, I wouldn't trust 'em. Other people say they work well.

Do these types of solutions work with SIM-based broadband modems as well, or is this just for phones?

Cheers.

I've refused to buy the iphone on the principal that I reserve the right to unlock it and install whatever software I want - so if there is a real product out there that will enable me to do that, I might be interested in getting the phone.

Unlocking (being able to use the iPhone on non-AT&T networks) is not the same thing as jailbreaking (using "non-standard" apps on the iPhone) - my phone is locked to Rogers but I've jailbroken it and have installed apps that Apple wouldn't normally allow.

I used QuickPwn for Mac to jailbreak my iPhone.

Unlocking (being able to use the iPhone on non-AT&T networks) is not the same thing as jailbreaking (using "non-standard" apps on the iPhone) - my phone is locked to Rogers but I've jailbroken it and have installed apps that Apple wouldn't normally allow.

I used QuickPwn for Mac to jailbreak my iPhone.

I know - but I would need to do both before I would consider buying the phone and signing a contract. If I pay $200 for the phone, then it's mine and I should be able to do anything I want with it.....not just what Apple and ATT tell me I can do.

I understand, bocastephen - I just wanted to make sure people don't get the terms confused, especially if they buy one of these cards thinking it will allow them to do something that it won't.

I bought one from rebelsimcard. Shipped fast (expensive fedex charges). Worked as advertised on iPhone 3g running 2.1. No cut required. Recommend ordering a programmer as well as updates in software must be downloaded and added as the iPhone updates and re-locks as it did now for 2.2. Reprogrammed, and is now working again. Also obviously, don't update the iPhone software before you check the site to see if they say it still works.

I don't see why it wouldn't work with any SIM based technology. It's nothing more than a thin film of a sim card you put together with your existing sim into its slot. It does make the fit tighter, but a little soft wiggling and it goes in fine.

For me, this sure beats jailbreaking, and messing with the software (not yet available for 3g but will be sooner or later).

From: MobileTechNews (http://www.mobiletechnews.com/info/2008/04/29/112718.html)
"SIMable is an ultra thin chip, that when attached to a SIM card, immediately fools most mobile phones into thinking that they have been unlocked. It is compatible with the majority of mobile handsets, including all the latest 3G devices, which are becoming more and more difficult to be freed from their original Network. "
"Whilst mobile phone unlocking is not illegal, it will in most cases invalidate the handset's warranty.
SIMable (http://www.simable.com/) requires no handset interference and thus the full manufacturer's guarantee remains intact."

Tread lightly grass hopper... this cat and mouse game is not over and will continue. The older version is unsecured and hackable easily

The 3G remains locked (although the unlocked version do apparently exists $700+ is a steep price to pay only to find you were duped)
If you want to follow the current hacking attempts this is a good location
http://blog.iphone-dev.org/page/2

There is much discussion and info - last I heard the latest update from Apple (2.2) disabled the hardware work arounds that these SIM inserts use.....

Dumb question. If there are legal unlocked iPhones, why haven't people simply been able to reflash the grey market iPhones with this firmware?

Interesting point from iphone-dev about these chips:

The use of SIM-Proxies (small circuit boards/chips that sit underneath the SIM card) to provide GSM/UMTS service on your locked iPhone 3G is a method that we have always advised against. Early reports suggest that the 2.2 update disables the functionality of these devices. The techniques used were always unreliable and we are surprised that they have lasted this long.


Dumb question. If there are legal unlocked iPhones, why haven't people simply been able to reflash the grey market iPhones with this firmware?

The firmware is identical, it wouldn't do anything. Unlocking could in theory be done by cloning an unlocked iPhone, but a) it can't be done at the moment and b) you'd end up with two iPhones sharing an IMEI, which is A Bad Thing (and illegal in many countries).

If I pay $200 for the phone, then it's mine and I should be able to do anything I want with it.....not just what Apple and ATT tell me I can do.Even at $200 the price is heavily subsidised by ATT (thats why the price dropped from 2G to 3G), therefore they rightly lock it down to ensure they protect their revenue stream and don't lose money on the handset.

Unlocked iPhone's are available in a number of countries (definitely in Italy, circa Euro600).

Even at $200 the price is heavily subsidised by ATT (thats why the price dropped from 2G to 3G), therefore they rightly lock it down to ensure they protect their revenue stream and don't lose money on the handset.

Unlocked iPhone's are available in a number of countries (definitely in Italy, circa Euro600).

It's their choice to subsidize it - it's still MY phone, and I can do whatever I want to it, or with it. By buying the iPhone, I've committed to a 2yr agreement, which covers their 'revenue stream'.

BTW, ATT offers a no-contract price on the iPhone - it's still locked, and I believe it costs more than buying the 199 phone, breaking the contract and paying the ETF.

Surely there must be a way to unlock the phone, either by entering a secret unlock code, or by copying the firmware resident used on one of the unlocked European phones - I'm surprised that hasn't been tried yet.

Wirelessly posted (Blackberry8700c: BlackBerry9000/4.6.0.190 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/120)

Its a hardware lock basically bocastephen - its not something you can easily flash over and believe me, there are many great minds now working on cracking it. Its definitely not something you can just copy over from a different phone.