Apple attacks modified iPhones via software update

Apple Inc.’s latest software update for the iPhone apparently is turning unlocked devices into bricks, according to media reports and Internet blogs today.
iPhone owners with unmodified devices also are reporting that the software update is eliminating contact information, photos and music.
Unlocking a device for personal use is legal, while unlocking for profit apparently is not. Some iPhone owners have unlocked their phone to obtain service on T-Mobile USA Inc., rather than pay for service plans from AT&T Mobility, which has an exclusive contract with Apple. Unlockers also have been shipping unlocked devices to Europe in anticipation of iPhone launches in the United Kingdom, Germany and France on Nov. 9.
Apple had issued a public statement-no word on how or whether it contacted iPhone owners directly-earlier this week warning that the use of unlocking procedures on the device might render it “permanently inoperable,” or that its own software update would disable modified devices. Device warranties would not be honored if the device is modified, according to Apple’s Monday warning.
What had appeared to be a friendly reminder about warranties and the potential perils of unlocking the device apparently masked a warning that Apple would destroy modified devices.
Unlocking procedures for the iPhone have proliferated on the Internet since last month and have even been spotted on offer by at least one T-Mobile USA reseller in Newport Beach, Calif. T-Mobile was unable to respond to a request for comment.
According to brand expert Alan Siegel, of New York-based Siegel+Gale, Apple was justified in letting iPhone owners know that their warranties would not be honored if they modified the phone. But, Siegel said, any attempt to legally pursue or otherwise punish individuals for unlocking their devices likely would tarnish Apple’s image and damage its hold on its core customer base.