Reports: latest iPhone update turns some unhacked iPhones into “iBricks”

By Michael Santo
Executive Editor, RealTechNews

Apple warned that some hacked iPhones would become bricked (specificially, a bricked device is only useful as a brick or doorstop — it does not mean recoverable data loss) with the latest update (1.1.1) which was released yesterday. Indeed, some hacked phones have been bricked. But now some reports have emerged of locked, pristine iPhones being bricked.

A search of the posts on the iPhone support forum shows that some of these reports are false, meaning that what actually happened was that all the data on the device was wiped. Recommended practice would be to backup your iPhone (or any device) before a software update. On the other hand, this is a definite annoyance, and something I would not expect from Apple, with their normally good quality control.

Additionally, there are some posts related to actual bricking (examples here and here). In some cases the phone won’t boot; in other cases the phone won’t accept a perfectly good SIM, and an exchange of SIM doesn’t seem to fix it. It’s also amusing that in many of the posts, the immediate response from other forum users is “don’t hack the phone.” Obviously people are jumping to conclusions (perhaps like the iPhone updater? )

We Say: Just a glance at the support forums shows a lot of anger. There’s also the question of whether or not Apple is overstepping its bounds by bricking phones. IMHO, I believe all phone should be unlocked, particularly when you spend as much money as you do on an iPhone. However, I’m sure Steve Jobs and AT&T would disagree. What about you readers?