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sending phone to apple - will they be able to tell?

H

hobo

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 13, 2005
124
0
Well, Apple will be sending me a box sometime this week to get my broken iPhone. I've had it since September, and it's been jailbroken since then. I used iNdependence to unlock it (used ONLY on AT&T), but I downgraded over the weekend to 1.0.2, what was originally on it.

I didn't get any SIM errors when I downgraded (like I did once before), and I activated on 1.0.2 and took it into the Apple store. They weren't too helpful, but almost replaced it. It wasn't activated, so they didn't replace it, but they also didn't say anything about jailbreak/unlock. Are my tracks covered?

I'm sending it in later this week, and I want to make sure I don't get blacklisted. Is there a way I can 100% check for any leftovers from the processes? For example, if I go to a certain firmware version, will it give me an error if it's unlocked? I'm fairly confident the jailbreaking is taken care of, but I just want to make sure it's not still in that unlocked state. I simply used DFU to downgrade from 1.1.4 to 1.0.2 and I didn't get any errors. Currently it's unactivated on 1.1.4 and just has the iTunes and cable icons, as it was after being restored at the Apple Store.

Thanks for any help!
 
Unfortunately it will be very obvious you hacked it.

You will have the 1.1.2 baseband on 1.0.2 as that is how Independence unlocks the phone AND DFU restore does not touch the baseband in your case.

You would have to update to at least 1.1.2 to get the baseband matching but then the phone will still be unlocked although Apple are unlikely to notice however if you want to relock the phone properly then you have to upgrade to 1.1.3 or 1.1.4.

Also you must NOT restore from backup or it will put the jailbreaked files back on the phone from the 3rd party applications you used.

I don't get why you would not officially activate it if your on an official contract as then apple would have swapped it instore? Either way if your on an official contract I would activate it using iTunes officially.

If you update the phone it will not give you any errors and it is perfectly safe.
 
I never said I was on an official contract... but I do have AT&T. Right now it's not activated on 1.1.4 and I have no SIM error when I plug it in.

The "genius" restored it there to try to remedy my issues, and it's on 1.1.4 un-activated. What does that mean for me?
 
If he restored it and you did NOT jailbreak it again then the settings are all ok on the phone.

But the phone is STILL unlocked and in fact I am surprised that the "genius" didn't notice it was unlocked immediately because any SIM including a normal AT&T wouldn't work unless it was unlocked and the fact you didn't activate it is evidence that it was hacked. Your lucky he didn't black list you there and then so you got no warranty.

He must have been exceptionally stupid - or didn't care but your phone is still unlocked and if I was you I would use iLiberty and erase your baseband then DFU restore back to 1.1.4 relocking your phone.

I can't say how much attention Apple will pay to your phone when you return it but if you don't relock it they may relise and send it back without fixing it.
 
no blacklist

There is no blacklist at Apple Stores, the worst that will happen is the "so-called genius" will hand your phone back and say it's hacked or it's not under warranty since it's unlocked.

I brought my "dead" T-Mobile iPhone in and thought I was safe since it would not turn on, five minutes later he had it running, looked at the screen and saw the "T-Mobile" logo, handed it back and told me that I was on my own to get it fixed.

Restored it and brought it back the next day, unfortunately my bad poker face gave me away and had to wait another day when that genius wasn't in for someone else to look at my phone then replace it.

-r
 
Yes, they can tell.

The stores around here in the Chicago suburbs first look it up online:

https://selfsolve.apple.com/GetWarranty.do

Unlocked/unactivated phones have "no warranty information available". Showing them a receipt from months ago without any activation is sort of a dead-giveaway also.

So even if you bring it in re-locked, it has no warranty info. They give it back to you to tell you that you need an AT&T account for warranty.
 
I wonder if there's a way to rewrite the AT&T SIM with your T-mobile SIM data and then use the jailbreak carrier hack to make it say AT&T when you go in.

That way it looks totally legit until they go trying to restore it or something. If there is a usb problem or other hardware issue then you might be able to skeet by.
 
gkarris said:
Yes, they can tell.

The stores around here in the Chicago suburbs first look it up online:

https://selfsolve.apple.com/GetWarranty.do

Unlocked/unactivated phones have "no warranty information available". Showing them a receipt from months ago without any activation is sort of a dead-giveaway also.

So even if you bring it in re-locked, it has no warranty info. They give it back to you to tell you that you need an AT&T account for warranty.
Click to expand...


Except that this contradicts my original post. Completely. The rep said "it is an Apple product, and the warranty begins on the day you purchase it, not the day you activate it. It is an Apple product, and unless you modify it or open it, we'll service it. It doesn't matter if you activated it or not."

Paraphrased, but still just about what she said. Right now it's on its way to Texas for service. (Assuming the ass at the FedEx Kinkos actually moved it from the counter after he walked away and left it there...)
 
Except hacking the phone IS modifying it.

Unlocking it IS modifying it.

I really hope they don't check the lock on the phone - I assume you took out the SIM card so they can't use that to see if its legitimate.

To be honest I doubt they will check the lock but its a big risk you took sending it back unlocked (because as we established a restore will not relock the phone).
 
I understand. But what happens if you upgrade an unlocked phone to 1.1.x with a non-original SIM in it? You get an error, yes? I don't have that error, as I have once before.
 
So how does one go about relocking the phone so it can be taken into the Apple store to be checked out? My screen has begun to not respond to touch in certain areas, and I've been using it on T-Mobile since I got it last October. I'm trying to figure out my plan of action, as I don't have an AT&T sim card to take in with the phone, and obviously they may question as to why I'm bringing them an unactivated phone. Any advice on how to go about this?
 
Other than the one guy at the genius bar, they seemed ok with mine not being activated six months after purchase. Who knows why though...
 
hobo said:
Other than the one guy at the genius bar, they seemed ok with mine not being activated six months after purchase. Who knows why though...
Click to expand...

Ok, but how do I make sure everything is back to factory settings before I take it in? Even after a restore back to 1.1.4 after pwning my phone, it still recognizes my T-Mobile sim card
 
Well, after some creativity on Apple's part (they assigned my repair a new reference number after it arrived since their rep typed in the wrong serial number on my return so I was totally in the dark), it looks like I'll be receiving a replacement. At least according to this:

2ij17qd.png


Ah, hopefully it'll get here soon! (probably monday, then I can figure out activation again!)
 
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