[Chris Breen]

Right, like most people you're unclear on the difference between jailbreaking and unlocking. Jailbreaking affects your ability to access the OS and all storage areas of the iPhone. Up to this point, this process is reversible. Up to this point, no iPhone update has bricked a jailbroken phone. You simply restore the iPhone with iTunes and it's back to its original condition. Using a jailbreak you can activate the phone to the point where you can get past the Waiting For Activation screen so that you can use it for other purposes.

I repeat "up to this point" because I'm not a psychic and can't predict what Apple may do in the future. But, so far, they don't seem interested in interfering with jailbroken phones.

Unlocking goes after the modem baseband and is dicier because it does muck with the hardware. Unlocked iPhones have been bricked by Apple updates and so, for this reason, you want to be very careful about updating an unlocked iPhone. Make sure there's a safe upgrade path before doing it.

[pksteffen]

I have asked at my local ATT store and twice at the local Apple store where I was told very flatly that I absolutely couldn't use my old phone as a surrogate iPod touch. They have insisted it won't sync once it is deactivated. Sorry to be a doubting Thomas, but are you using a first gen iPhone this way Chris?



Thanks,

Paul

[Chris Breen]

pksteffen said:

> I have asked at my local ATT store and twice at the local Apple store where I was told very flatly that I absolutely couldn't use my old phone as a surrogate iPod touch. They have insisted it won't sync once it is deactivated. Sorry to be a doubting Thomas, but are you using a first gen iPhone this way Chris?

The AT&T rep and Apple Store employees are talking through their respective hats. You absolutely CAN use your old phone as an iPod touch. And yes, I'm doing so on an original iPhone -- without jailbreak. The only sign that it isn't operating as a phone is a "Waiting for Activation" message that you can quickly dismiss.

[GreggChandler]

Before upgrading my iPhone to 1.0.4 from 1.0.2, I also had trouble syncing. It totally doesn't work after. I think that the reason it works for you, Chris, is that the phone was previously activated on your system by you. All of the magic encryption hooks have already been established. I would challenge someone to take an iPhone in the unactivated state and use it as an iPod without jail breaking. In your case, Chris, I would upgrade the firmware (although you probably already have,) to get the phone into the state mine is in, and take it to a different computer and try to set it up.

On a separate note, it is totally annoying that AT&T requires a new two year plan, when you bring your own iPhone. Usually, if you bring you own equipment, you are not required to sign up for the full contract. I did this with a data card. I purchased a data card off of eBay and then went month to month. I wanted to do this with an iPhone to evaluate the data service. In Michigan, where I live, the rural areas have very spotty data coverage. As I roam across the state driving to various customers, I wanted to check the usability. To approximate the experiment, I used the data card. That is how/why I ended up with the pretty/shiny paper-weight.

[chuckstjohn]

This is all crap...I did a restore on my original iPhone after Apple gave me a new one when the phone on the original quick working. After I did a restore, nothing on the device works...no iPod, no browser, nada.
AT&T will give you a new sim card but in order for the device to work at all, you have to buy a whole new phone number, even if the phone function doesn't work. You can't get iTunes to recognize the device with out a sim card and the whole proceedure won't work till you initialize it. Can't do that unless you get a new phone number. Result? Works at least as good as a brick.

[Chris Breen]

chuckstjohn said:

This is all crap...

Uh no, it isn't.

AT&T says it works.

We say it works.

And because I've done it, I say it works.

The question is, why doesn't it work for you?

[sheilanolan]

I've had no problem using my old iphone as a touch I just get the "no sim" message but I was able to sync it with iTunes yesterday with no problems. I did rename my 3G phone and they were both activated on the same laptop. Guess it's not a problem with O2 phones in the UK

[Chris Breen]

GreggChandler said:

I would challenge someone to take an iPhone in the unactivated state and use it as an iPod without jail breaking.

So, again, why not jailbreak? I've taken an unactivated iPhone and turned it into an iPod touch via jailbreak. Works like a charm.

[chuckstjohn]

Well...if it's not crap, why indeed won't it work for me. I did a restore so all the data on the original was not available to anyone else, and added a sim card, and it will not work. I actally didn't do a thing to it other than the restore function + the new sim card...As soon as I hooked up the phone to my mac, it asked me to either replace a phone or add a line

I am highly succeptible to suggestion :-)

[Chris Breen]

Let's back up a sec. Why do you have a new SIM card? When I got my 3G it came with the SIM. The SIM that was in my original iPhone stayed right where it was.

[chuckstjohn]

By the numbers as I am sorry I confuse it all here;

My original 2.5G iPhone suffered a phone app breakdown. Apple gave me a new 2.5G iPhone as a full replacement and also let me have the old one back as the phone was inop. They took the sim card from the original, put it in the new 2.5G unit, and transferred all the data from the old one to the new one. At this point, the old one is now without a sim card and the new one works great.

I now have an old 2.5G iPhone with no data on it as I ran a "Restore" in it to get rid of all the data. The first time I fired it up, I get a screen that tells me to hook it up to iTunes, which I do. In iTunes, the program asks me how I want to activate this "new" iPhone. Dead end. Nothing works. I know you say it works, and I know you say AT&T says it works, but the ATT version is for handing it down so someone else can use it as a phone by getting it activated with a new revenue generating phone number. No where does ATT actually say or show you how you can use it simply as an iPod or browser or anything unless I am clicking on the wrong link you included in your post...if you can get me past this , I will forever include you on my Christmas list.

Seems the problem was I did a restore....that killed the whole thing because there was no sim card in it after it was moved to the new phone

[jeffcalloway]

Send one to me - a poor pastor who has a need.
Jeff
www.thebridge4u.net

[Chris Breen]

I would, but I fear you'd twiddle with it during your sermons. Best that I not lead thee into temptation. ;)

[Chris Breen]

Got it. That phone needs a compatible SIM card. I don't suppose they let you have the 3G's original SIM card too?

What might work is unlocking the thing with the Pwnage Tool I mentioned in the article. Take a look, download the software, and follow the instructions to see if it brings you any joy. If you can get it to unlock, you could use another GSM carrier's pay-as-you-go card, which might allow it to do all the other things it's supposed to do.