1.1.3 OOTB iphone hardware unlocked by hackers

Credit goes to TA_Mobile, IMTH & others. Hails to them. Here is the link.

They are able to unlock the 1.1.3 OOTB iphones which comes with 04.03.13 baseband firmware. After unlocking the phone will work with the default (04.03.13) firmware. When the unlock was attempted, the main firmware used to tbe 1.1.2 to activate and jailbreak. But with the recent hack to activate and jailbreak the 1.1.3 firmware, the phone can be fully unlocked and working at 1.1.3.

It is not clear if they downgraded the bootloader from 4.6 to 3.9 which can be hacked. There is not mention of it in the article. Mostly they would have downgraded it. One interesting thing here is to know how they downgraded it without the secpack of 1.1.4. Probably they found a flaw in the bootloader, by which they can downgrade the bootloader. If that is the case, its a great news because all the future phones with 4.6 bootloader can be hacked. I guess apple would not upgrade the bootloader so soon.

The detailed procedure to do this hardware unlock is not yet available. I am not sure what they are waiting for. May be they are waiting for the release of 1.1.4 so that apple does not fix the flaw in the bootloader by then.

Hardware unlocking tutorial for 1.1.2 OOTB is available

It is available at unlock.no

The tutorial is not for the weak hearted. The procedure involves opening the iphone case and connecting the testpoints on the PCB board using needles . It also involves carefully scratching the trace lines to expose the underlying metal. The baseband downgrade should be performed while the testpoints are connected. There is no other way the baseband can be downgraded as of now.

Because the new 1.1.3 firmware is released and the hackers are working hard on extracting the secpack from it, we can expect some software based solutions soon. But the enhanced security on the new phones is giving them the hardships.

iphone internal technical specifications (unofficial)

I try to bring some internal tech specs of the iphone that are not officially documented by apple. These are unofficial. Please note that the information here might not be 100% accurate as the data is collected from different places over the internet. So, please take this info with a pinch of salt. I will keep updating as I find more info. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong.
NOTE: All numbers are approximate round figures

Total physical memory : 128MB
Available Physical memory : 117MB
User memory : 80MB

Number of processors : 1
CPU : ARM
CPU Architechture : 16/32bit RISC
CPU Model : ARM1176JZF (Samsung S3C6400. Not confirmed)
CPU speed : 600Mhz (400Mhz by different reports)
Bus speed : 100Mhz
Cache memory : 16K
Security extension : TrustZone

Baseband processor : Infineon ARM 926
Wi-fi processor : Marvell ARM 946
Bluetooth processor : Cambridge silicon radio - XAP


Sources: source1, sourec2, source3, source4, and a native application "SysInfo"

Limited capabilities of Iphone's bluetooth

Iphone has a very limited bluetooth functionality. It can only connect with bluetooth headsets and supposedly with bluetooth speakers. It cannot connect to other bluetooth devices like other mobiles. You will not be able to transfer files between your iphone and other bluetooth capable devices. You cannot share even business cards. I see this as a very bit limitation. I share a lot of ringtones and business cards over bluetooth with my friends. Sharing files/ringtones/business cards over bluetooth is very common practice. The irony is that iphone cannot connect with other iphones also. It will not even show other bluetooth devices except headsets in its vicinity. I read in other places that it cannot connect with macbooks also. Read a related review.

Atleast the process of pairing with bluetooth headset is very smooth. Just put your headset in discovery mode and turn ON the bluetooth in your iphone (at Settings->General->Bluetooth). Your phone will automatically detect the headset. Once iphone finds the headset, tap on the device. It will try to pair up with it. Give the PIN if asked for (generally the default PIN is 0000). You are ready to use you bluetooth headset.

It seems like apple wants everyone to come to them for any ringtones and music. Ofcourse, why will apple want to loose a cent in itunes business. On second thoughts, keeping the business aspect aside, this is in line with model in iphone. Iphone never exposes its files and the directory structure directly to the users. So, if I have to transfer a file to the iphone where should iphone keep it ? If all the files are kept in a single location, how will the users tell the applications to use then when they are not aware of the directory structure. Having said all this, I personally did not like this limitation.

Hackers got thier hands on the iphone 1.1.3 firmware

There are confimed reports from sites like hackintosh, gearlive, and iphonehacks that the hackers got their hands on the latest 1.1.3 firmware. This information is first published by folks at gearlive.com. This firmware is supposed to be released around the time of macworld conference on 14 to 18 of jan-2008. But somehow hackers got a handle on it. Cool dudes! gearlive.com has articles on the features of the new firmware with an image gallery. They also have a video also to banish all the claims that the photos are hand-crafted and fake.

The good news for the people waiting for their OOTB 1.1.2 phones to be unlocked is that the new 1.1.3 firmware has a new baseband also. What this means is that the hackers can now develop a software unlock using the new baseband firmware. Please read my earlier post for more technical details on this. An early word of caution for the people who are going to unlock their OOTB 1.1.2 is to not upgrade their phones to 1.1.3 firmware. This might lock their phones again and might not be able to revert back. I am sure we will get more information on this when the hackers release a software unlock. All the best for the hackers in their efforts.

Iphone hackers are waiting for 1.1.3 firmware to unlock OOTB 1.1.2 phones

Initially, when I was going through forums I read in some places that hackers are waiting for the release of 1.1.3 firmware to release unlock software for 1.1.2 firmware. Most of the articles said that the hackers are waiting because apple would close the loophole in 1.1.3 if they released the hack early. By not releasing the hack early, they can have a single solution which can fix both 1.1.2 and 1.1.3 firmwares. This argument was convincing and I believed in it.

But recently I read an article which is more convincing. The wait is because of technical reason. They cannot unlock 1.1.2 unless there is a newer baseband firmware which they are expecting in 1.1.3. Let me go into little technical details. The old bootloader (3.9), with OOTB 1.1.1 phones or earlier, needs a secpack of current baseband firmware or a future one to overwrite the default baseband firmware. But the latest bootloader (4.6) needs a secpack of future version only to overwrite the default baseband firmware. So one cannot simply modify/hack the existing baseband firmware and overwrite the default baseband firmware.

This is the main reason why the hackers are waiting for the release of 1.1.3 to provide software unlock solution for the OOTB 1.1.2 phones. If there is no new baseband firmware in 1.1.3, we will be back to square one. Let us hope that there will be new baseband firmware in the new update.