Apple hackers jailbreak iPhone

Nearly two weeks to the day after Apple's iPhone software update wiped third-party applications from the device and disabled unlocked phones, the hackers have struck back.

The Unofficial Apple Weblog posted details of the iPhone Dev Team's latest effort, which once again opens the iPhone up to third-party applications and the ability to use it on any other GSM network than AT&T's. This appears to be a more substantial effort than the one posted earlier in the evening that exploits vulnerability in a TIFF image file; you can bet that one will be patched fairly quickly.

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The latest hack allows iPhone users who have already installed the OS X 1.1.1 update to revert their iPhones to the previous 1.0.2 update, "jailbreak" it for third-party applications, and then somehow update back to the 1.1.1 version without the cell door slamming shut. TUAW and iPhone Atlas has tested the latest hack and has declared that it works, assuming you have a certain amount of knowledge of the iPhone's command line interface. We're not posting links to the actual files you'll need to make this happen, but if you're an enterprising fellow with access to the Internet.

The team also included a readme file accompanying the patches and guide to jailbreak your iPhone, the iPhone Dev Team (or NerveGas, Pumpkin, Edgan, drudge, dinopio and asap18) actually posted a disclaimer: "The iPhone Dev Team disclaims any liability of damage to your iPhone as a result of following these instructions. While the instructions listed here are believed to be safe and accurate, there is always a possibility that your iPhone could be permanently damaged."

If you unlocked your iPhone and then installed the 1.1.1 update only to be left with a pretty paperweight, the iPhone Dev Team says their update won't fix your problem. However, the iPhoneSIMFree folks announced Thursday morning that as a result of the iPhone Dev Team's work, they're now able to not only unlock 1.1.1 iPhones but they are also able to unbrick those unlocked iPhones that fell silent after installing the update.

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