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Apple unlocked my friends iPhone for Free?

chris001

chris001

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 31, 2008
130
0
Vancouver
Hey,

My friend found an iPhone. It was locked. He tried to put his sim and it didn't work. So he straight up called Apple on their customer care number and he told them that he found an iphone and he couldn't use it. so the Apple CSR told him to plug it into his computer and after some time the CSR said it was unlocked and he could use it now???

I'm not one to doubt my friend because i'm sure he wouldn't make this up. but WTF? can't everyone just do this then?

AND the craziest part is the phone was firmware 3.0
and just yesterday he wanted to jail break and upgrdae to 3.0.1

i told him that i would have to re-unlock it because the software usually bricks the phone... so i upgraded firmware on itunes... and NOTHING happend.
it didn't brick or anything.. the update went smoothly and then i just jail broke it without an unlock..

WTF? because everytime i update my iphone, it get's bricked again. and i have to unlock it again.. it's annoying to say the least.

SO, how come when apple unlocks it, it doesn't brick? i'm sure the devteam could figure this problem out? or is it just way too compliated for the devteam to do?
 
Smells like BS.

If true, then apple helps admitted non-owners use other people's iPhones, without any question as to whether that iPhone is stolen.

BS. Pure and unadulterated i'm afraid.
 
Every time you update your phone, it does NOT get bricked.

It gets restored, back to factory defaults, etc.

Brick=Never being able to use it again.


I'm going with the passcode locked, and he simply restored through iTunes to get rid of the passcode, but that wouldn't work would it? I thought if your iPhone has a passcode on it, and you connect to a computer you didn't sync with, it would ask for you to enter in your passcode before making any changes?
 
Oh boy, another friend thread. I wish we could group all these My Friend, My Brother, My Girlfriend, My Mother threads in a separate Topic called BS
 
sinsin07 said:
Oh boy, another friend thread. I wish we could group all these My Friend, My Brother, My Girlfriend, My Mother threads in a separate Topic called BS
Click to expand...

My girlfriend's sister's boybriends' aunt told them she had a magic wand that unlocks iPhones. How much should i offer? :rolleyes:
 
fireshot91 said:
Every time you update your phone, it does NOT get bricked.

It gets restored, back to factory defaults, etc.

Brick=Never being able to use it again.


I'm going with the passcode locked, and he simply restored through iTunes to get rid of the passcode, but that wouldn't work would it? I thought if your iPhone has a passcode on it, and you connect to a computer you didn't sync with, it would ask for you to enter in your passcode before making any changes?
Click to expand...

If you put the phone in restore mode or DFU and restore it it'll reset the passcode.
 
hey guys.
i know alot of you people call it bs.


but i know my friend. i've known him for 18 years. he wouldn't make something like this up. I know he didn't have an iphone. then one day he did.
and my friend is also a computer retard. so he couldn't have unlocked it himself.

you guys are too quick to jump to BS.
if anyone is bored, wanna call up apple to pretend to have the same problem?

and i don't feel right questioning him about his story. afterall, i believe him... why would he want to make this up? when he can just say i found this iphone and i got someone to unlock it for me for $15 opposed to apple unlocked it for him.
 
Most of us think that your friend didn't get his iPhone unlocked as in able to be used on any GSM carrier, but that Apple unlocked it because he didn't know the passcode.

This:
short_passcode.jpg


Not This:
official_iphone_3g_unlock.png


To answer some of your earlier questions, YES ... Apple can unlock an iPhone. NO, the Dev Team can't do it because of the way Apple does it. Let me explain.

Apple maintains a database of all iPhone Serial Numbers and which country they are made for, yes ... The Serial Number is designated to a certain country from the day it is made, not after. If you live in a country where the provider allows you to unlock the iPhone once your contract is up, all you have to do is call Apple once your contract is up and they will unlock it. But if you live in a country where the provider DOES NOT allow it ( AT&T ) you can never officially unlock that iPhone officially ... Unless the government requires all carriers to allow phones to be unlocked once they are out of contract ( which they are working on ).

I hope this helps.
 
Of course the biggest question is this..... Why is your friend such a big piece of poo aka **** that he didn't try to return the phone to the owner? It prob wouldn't of been that hard to track him/her down by calling the numbers on the phone.

I say your friend is a scumbag and hope he catches some type of VD....... not to mention a liar.
 
army91c said:
Of course the biggest question is this..... Why is your friend such a big piece of poo aka **** that he didn't try to return the phone to the owner? It prob wouldn't of been that hard to track him/her down by calling the numbers on the phone.

I say your friend is a scumbag and hope he catches some type of VD....... not to mention a liar.
Click to expand...

I was thinking that but if it had a passcode there would be no way to see the numbers that are on the iPhone. He could have taken to Apple but they probably would have kept it too:eek:
 
So question is, what's the phone provider's outlook on unlocking in Canada where the OP is?
 
musio said:
So question is, what's the phone provider's outlook on unlocking in Canada where the OP is?
Click to expand...

Rogers does not have any procedure to hand out unlock codes - officially, it's something that they never do with any of their phones. In reality, it's up to their discretion to decide on a case by case basis whether or not they'll provide an unlock code, depending on the circumstances.

Obviously, Apple uses a different mechanism to officially unlock their iPhones than typical handsets (via a sync through iTunes), so the concept of giving out an "unlock code" doesn't really apply in this case anyway.

By the way, there is no law in Canada that ever would require carriers to unlock their phones, even out-of-contract. It wouldn't make much difference in the Canadian marketplace because there are only two nation-wide GSM providers, and both are subsidiaries of the same parent company.

+1 to the theory that what was really going on was clearing the screen lock password. Probably not intentional deception, just a misunderstanding of terminology.
 
I agree that Apple only cleared the screen pass code, but why would they do that, since he found the phone? Although I don't use a pass code, I would hate to think that if I used one and someone "found" my phone that all they'd need to do is call Apple and they'd have access to my phone.
 
chris001 said:
Hey,

My friend found an iPhone. It was locked. He tried to put his sim and it didn't work. So he straight up called Apple on their customer care number and he told them that he found an iphone and he couldn't use it. so the Apple CSR told him to plug it into his computer and after some time the CSR said it was unlocked and he could use it now???

I'm not one to doubt my friend because i'm sure he wouldn't make this up. but WTF? can't everyone just do this then?

AND the craziest part is the phone was firmware 3.0
and just yesterday he wanted to jail break and upgrdae to 3.0.1

i told him that i would have to re-unlock it because the software usually bricks the phone... so i upgraded firmware on itunes... and NOTHING happend.
it didn't brick or anything.. the update went smoothly and then i just jail broke it without an unlock..

WTF? because everytime i update my iphone, it get's bricked again. and i have to unlock it again.. it's annoying to say the least.

SO, how come when apple unlocks it, it doesn't brick? i'm sure the devteam could figure this problem out? or is it just way too compliated for the devteam to do?
Click to expand...

So when is your friend going to return it to the proper owner?
 
Can't Be True!

I find this very hard to believe! If this guy said to Apple I found an iPhone, wouldn't they be able to see who the owner is based on the serial number? So what if this guy couldn't get past the passcode to see who the owner is. Apple certainly could and would know who the owner is based on the registration of the unit! And if the person did not register the unit, Apple could still find out through AT&T or whoever the carrier is! So basically I could go around stealing iPhone's and just tell Apple I found them. Just as someone mentioned earlier, if this were true, I would be a bit uncomfortable with Apple support! Even if the person were to get lucky and connect to a support rep who was dishonest, it still wouldn't go down that way because the support calls are recorded? The rep would have a lot of explaining to do.
 
chris001 said:
hey guys.
i know alot of you people call it bs.


but i know my friend. i've known him for 18 years. he wouldn't make something like this up. I know he didn't have an iphone. then one day he did.
and my friend is also a computer retard. so he couldn't have unlocked it himself.

you guys are too quick to jump to BS.
if anyone is bored, wanna call up apple to pretend to have the same problem?

and i don't feel right questioning him about his story. afterall, i believe him... why would he want to make this up? when he can just say i found this iphone and i got someone to unlock it for me for $15 opposed to apple unlocked it for him.
Click to expand...


I don't think you understand what the terms unlock and bricked mean since you're not even using them wrong. I'm not calling your story bs since you just don't know how to explain the situation correctly.
 
SilentPanda said:
Did the unlock it as in "usable on any carrier" or unlock it as in "remove the 4 digit passcode"?

I'm guessing the latter.
Click to expand...

I agree. If the story isn't complete BS, then the Apple Guy disabled the passcode, unlocking the phone for him.

But wait, he just plugged the iPhone in to his comp, and minutes later it was usable? Because unless it was a legally unlockable phone, Apple wouldn't unlock it for him, and therefore your friend wouldn't be able to use the phone.

Confused..
oh well xbuddycorex answered your question it seems, so im outta here
 
BS....I have a good friend who works for Apple...they would never unlock any iphone if you said you found it...They would tell you to return the phone to them and they would pay for shipping....Wow...because the iphone was found.... meaning people personal information might be on there...and if Apple Unlocked it they are as liable to what happen if that person must use the data on the phone....

Don't believe me...called Apple One stop right now and said that you just found an Iphone...you think they would unlock it for you if it's not your phone....
 
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