iPhone Update Delivers Unnerving Message

Apple released an update to its iPhone today that applies some critical bug fixes and adds some new features, such as the ability to buy iTunes songs over a Wi-Fi connection. It also delivered a message to users of unlocked devices.

iPhone Version 1.1.1 adjusts the speakerphone and receiver volume problem, adds the ability to view e-mail attachments in portrait or landscape mode, and patches 10 vulnerabilities, most of which are related to the built-in Safari browser.

Upon installation of the update, a security message, the first of its kind on the device, pops up and makes declamatory statement: "WARNING: Apple has discovered that some of the unauthorized unlocking programs available on the Internet may cause irreparable damage to the iPhone's software," the message reads. "If you have modified your iPhone's software, applying this software update may result in your iPhone becoming permanently inoperable."

This statement is part fact and part scare tactic. There have been no reports yet of fully bricked iPhones attributable to the 1.1.1 update, and there's no indication that unlocking the phone otherwise damages its functionality...unless it was designed to do so. That's a possibility Apple has not commented on, including in response to BetaNews inquries.

It may also be too early to really tell. Users reported various errors after updating, from SIM errors to rejection of all unauthorized third-party apps. The results seem to be subjective.

iUnlock may soon have a utility that will "relock" iPhones, so that upgrades can be performed safely and then the phone be unlocked again.