DVD Jon claims he has cracked iPhone activation

Jon Lech Johansen, known to many as DVD Jon for his part in breaking the CSS encryption of standard DVDs, has announced today that he has successfully "broken the activation code for AT&T in iTunes," which could possibly unlock the phone for services besides AT&T.

More importantly, DVD Jon discovered that by editing key hexadecimal numbers in Apple's software and by also redirecting an Internet server request, he was able to successfully trick the phone into switching into its activated/normal mode. Although you will not be able to make phone calls, the iPod and Wi-Fi services will function as if the phone was activated.

Jon also said the modifications can either be made manually or using a custom Phone Activation Server that will automatically modify all necessary software. As of today, these modifications can only be made on Windows systems.

Apple and AT&T have yet to respond to Jon's announcement.

Source:
MacNN

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 4 Jul 2007 9:12

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21 comments

Pop_Smith

Thats cool that DVD Jon has done this, or at least it looks like he has. Thats what happens when you get some insanely (and unreasonably) popular product out.

I read an article in my local paper about a guy who spent 48 hours inline at my local mall waiting for the iPhone, which is about the dumbest thing you could do with two days of your life in my opinion.

4.7.2007 09:17 #1

MichaelP1

Quote:
I read an article in my local paper about a guy who spent 48 hours inline at my local mall waiting for the iPhone, which is about the dumbest thing you could do with two days of your life in my opinion.lol i agree , its just an IPhone. the guy probably doesn't have a life

4.7.2007 09:44 #2

spydah

This dude does have more time on his hands then needed. But on the flip side why announce something you know they are gonna counter act later. You know this is a hot product so they will be on his back asap.

4.7.2007 10:18 #3

MichaelP1

i just can't see spending 600.00 dollars on this thing but I'm sure it will sell like hotcakes

4.7.2007 10:26 #4

ripxrush

HAHA! & apple thinks they are better than everyone else!
Windows products are so much more cracked because they are more common now this is going to be a very common product & now apple will have to play keep up with the crackers! LOL i think it is funny! they have probably never really had to deal with something like this before

4.7.2007 10:36 #5

MichaelP1

i love my 30 gig Video IPod but NOT this IPhone

4.7.2007 10:47 #6

Halen5150

I think this is retarded. I think it's synonymous to how the Movies Mortal Kombat; and Mortal Kombat: Annihilation did in theaters/dvd.

Mortal Kombat [iPod] was a good success when it first came out; but when Mortal Kombat Annihilation [iPhone] came out; nobody thought there was anything great about it....and the special fx sucked along with the plothole-filled storyline......so nobody cared.

That's what I think of the iPhone. It's a useless piece of crap. For god's sake; you can get a nice razr phone and a 30gb iPod and still beat the price of the iPhone. I'd rather do that.......

4.7.2007 11:40 #7

MichaelP1

Quote: For god's sake; you can get a nice razr phone and a 30gb iPod and still beat the price of the iPhone. I'd rather do thatthat excatly the combo i have right now lol. and I;m sticking with it

4.7.2007 11:57 #8

thekingo7

no offense halen but that was a terrible analogy that was hard to follow.

4.7.2007 12:40 #9

theridges

the razr is a horrible phone IMO..
i broke 4 already with normal use each ones broke the same way too...
but i will get an iphone after they have been on the market for a while and all the kinks are worked out...
its awesome that dvd jon hacked it so fast.

4.7.2007 12:52 #10

hikaricor

Originally posted by theridges:the razr is a horrible phone IMO..
i broke 4 already with normal use each ones broke the same way too...
but i will get an iphone after they have been on the market for a while and all the kinks are worked out...
its awesome that dvd jon hacked it so fast.I'd hate to see what you call normal use. >.<

But yea the razr is pretty much aweful though Sprint versions are even worse. I can only use 1gb of my supported 2gb microsd for audio media...

4.7.2007 18:55 #11

ripxrush

I am sticking with my smart phone! i can surf the www, txt, place phone calls, ooh here is the big one PLAY MP3's!!! wow & to think apple was the 1st to think of that for a phone! Use GPS (which iphone as my understanding dose not have) There are long developed 3rd party software available & if i ever want to not use it as a phone i can still use the device without a HAcK to get it to work!
Don't get me wrong i do like my ipod but all this fuss over a phone is a bit much! Oh what about TXT on it? isn't that gonna suck on a touch screen?

4.7.2007 22:25 #12

borhan9

That did not take that long. And after this a lot of people may go towards them now that its cracked well done Jon.

5.7.2007 02:23 #13

SProdigy

They made Mortal Kombat movies???

Yeah dude, I definitely have the RAZR and iPod Video combo. I was scratching my head at how the iPhone would connect to my car stereo AND how to answer calls while driving...

You do know that the RAZR is made with a particular magnesium alloy that's supposed to be scratch resistant and also uses glass instead of plastic. How on earth can you consistently break something like that over the alternative of plastic pieces?

5.7.2007 04:26 #14

DoomLight

i think more people wanted this stupid phone than a PS3 LOL and they both cost the same.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ficharker/sets/72157600594051928/

why you want to carry a delicate thing like that in ur pocket baffles me. check out the link above. some idiot managed to break it under a week.

5.7.2007 06:16 #15

Unfocused

Isn't DVD Jon doing "legitimate" coding now? If so, how is it that he can still work his magic without getting his employer or himself into trouble?

5.7.2007 06:35 #16

ripxrush

a friend of a friend .... in short i know of a day old i phone (bought that morning) placed on a table next to a pool that got bumped into the pool! No insurance on it yet they don't offer it is what i was told by my friend... hahahaha!!! i would NEVER do sumin that dumb! & i have 400-500 $ phone! god damn dumb asses!

With my old treo 650 i could do all that shit & i had dropped it 1x a day! lol this thing wouldn't last me a week! i had my treo 1 month short of 2 years! I now have a samsung i830 & have dropped it a few times with no screen cracks that you got from a 2' drop i drop my shit 4-5' on the street when getting out of my work truck!

5.7.2007 22:37 #17

Mr-Movies

You have to be cracked to buy an iPhone it just shows how dumb we get.

6.7.2007 20:04 #18

pmshah

Apparently they have already sold 700,000 pieces in just 3 days!

7.7.2007 06:44 #19

Sliztzan

I agree, its crazy to spend that much money on a phone. For people who would like to have one but can't afford to pay that high price will have to wait for a long time for the price to come down. They look really cool from the ads I've seen.

When the public continues to buy at those high prices only makes it worse for others. It keeps the price high due to supply and demand. If those folks would just realize if they didn't buy it, it would force prices down to a reasonable level pretty quickly. Those were better days when there was no credit cards. It helped keep people honest and prices much much lower.

7.7.2007 12:03 #20

hotdotdog

Originally posted by spydah:This dude does have more time on his hands then needed. But on the flip side why announce something you know they are gonna counter act later. You know this is a hot product so they will be on his back asap.
AT&T are the only ones with a problem. I'm sure Apple would be happy to sell an iPhone to anyone who wants one whether or not the user has an AT&T agreement. I could create a case where Apple was hoping this would happen.

9.7.2007 08:36 #21

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