iPhones React to Unauthorized Software

Beware, hackers: the new iPhone doesn't take kindly to unauthorized software. An article in the New York Times described how many iPhone users complained about their new phones freezing up, or even becoming completely useless, upon installing the newest iPhone update. Apple's newest update has been reacting poorly with phones whose users have downloaded applications and functions not specifically authorized by Apple or that have been "unlocked" to work on telephone networks other than AT&T. According to an article in the New York Times, "Since Monday, Apple officials have been warning iPhone owners that using unlocking software could cause the phone to become 'permanently inoperable when a future Apple-supplied iPhone software update is installed.'" According to the article, some Apple employees were more willing to help customers whose iPhones had frozen or started functioning irregularly after the update than others. One student at the University of Illinois said that upon calling Apple support upon problems after installing the update, "They said I put third-party software on my phone, and so it was my fault no matter what."

The article also quoted Assistant Dean of the University of Alabama,, J. Noah Funderburg, who had these words to offer to those who are experiencing iPhone problems after installing unauthorized software and/or unlocking their phones to new carriers: "Anyone who hacks must know that they are taking certain risks... If they aren't willing to assume the risks upfront - like a brick iPhone - then maybe they should not hack the device. We have a free marketplace... Buy a product, including using it on the terms accompanying the purchase, or don't buy it. And learn to live with not always getting everything you want."