Sounds like a cover for anti-jailbreaking tech. Just another reason why I happily ditched the iPhone for the open Android platform.
Useful for Android/Mac owners.
An excellent, well-written summary of how, exactly, Apple is in the process of shooting it’s public image in the foot/face.
Bellyaching. You has it.
Apple is really kowtowing waaaaay to low to AT&T. Anything that might (gasp) use the iPhone’s functionality to interface with network services such as Google Voice (and provide cheaper/free texting and calling) has been cockblocked. This is foul; Apple is really approaching Micro$oft circa 2002 when it comes to proprietary bullshiting and closed business models these days.
Children… children…
*approximate quote
Between the iPhone hackers and now Palm, Apple sure has its hands full trying to keep a closed platform closed. Good luck, fellas. Life would be much nicer all around if you’d just let us all play in your yard.
Right from the first press conference to introduce the iPhone 3.0 software with all its bells and whistles, Apple quietly declared way down in the fine print/questions that followed that certain features would not be available to iPhone 2G owners. A2DP was one such feature (due to different hardware), but another was MMS, more commonly known as picture messaging. Their explanation for not making pictures messages available to those with an original iPhone handset was that is was due to “hardware limitations,” insinuating that it simply lacked component needed for MMS functionality. See this footnote on their product page.
While MMS is not available on AT&T currently for any iPhone, unsurprisingly the iPhone jailbreaking community has taken it upon itself to make those picture messages available NOW, dammit.
Now here’s where it gets interesting. With a jailbroken iPhone 2G, which supposedly, according to Apple is “unable” to use the MMS function, you can enable the device to send and receive MMS whenever you feel like it. This might make AT&T look at your account funny, since none of their iPhones should be sending MMS as of yet, but over on T-Mobile its up and running in all of it’s glorious picture-sending glory. It couldn’t be easier either: see this guide for a simple how-to.
So the question is really WHY would Apple say the iPhone 2G can’t handle MMS due to “hardware issues” when it clearly does just dandy? It seems like a clever ploy to potentially upsell existing 2G iPhone owners to newer, less-unlockable, more expensive plan requiring iPhone 3G or 3GS by selectively withholding what is a major inclusion of the 3.0 firmware. In short, is Apple giving 2G iPhone users crippleware to try and prod them into upgrading?
1) BACK UP YOUR PHONE in iTunes, sync it, take a deep breath.
2) To upgrade your phone to iPhone OS 3.0, follow this guide to the letter; pick your platform (Mac / Windows / Linux). Links on these pages will allow you to download the four files you’ll need: redsn0w, the IPSW, and the two bootloaders if you need to unlock. Note: DO NOT INSTALL ICY at this time. Also, be sure you download the most current version of redsn0w (0.8 at the time of writing).
2a) If you get a curious delay/hang/pause longer than a few seconds at step 11 of the iClarified guide, simply unplug and replug the iPhone USB cable quickly. This will kick it’s butt into the required reboot, and allow the process to finish.
3) Your now activated (hacktivated, really), unlocked and jailbroken iPhone is ready for it’s makeover. Plug it into your computer, introduce it to iTunes, and do a “restore from backup” to port all your old files and settings over to the upgraded device.
4) But wait! YouTube, Notifications, and MMS are all not enabled :( No worries. First, open up any application that has push notifications (AIM, IM+, Beejive, etc), dismiss the notification pop up, and close the app. Now go to the iPhone settings and DISABLE notifications for now.
5) Back to iClarified: follow this guide, but MAKE SURE you’ve completed step 4 first, otherwise it won’t work. Once YouTube is working, you’re home free (notifications will work also, but…)
5a) (…beware the effect the notifications, as they seem to mercilessly slaughter battery life. You might want to keep them off for now, but do the patch to regain YouTube function.
6) To get MMS working, start with this guide, and then go get these T-Mobile carrier bundles. NOTE: pick the one that’s right for your phone/data plan. Look at your wireless APN to match it up - you’ll usually be Postpaid/Flexpaid regular or Legacy. Be sure to reboot your phone at the end.
That’s about it - the guides are really comprehensive, but there are some tiny little bits (like the USB unplug trick) and certain key order-of-operations actions that go unmentioned in some of the guides.
…Including their 15-year-old wünderkid. Shine on, soldiers, shine on.
