Apple Quietly Drops iOS Jailbreak Detection API 164
bednarz writes "Without explanation, Apple has disabled a jailbreak detection API in iOS, less than six months after introducing it. Device management vendors say the reasons for the decision are a mystery, but insist they can use alternatives to discover if an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad has been modified so it can load and alter applications outside of Apple's iTunes-based App Store."
Re:Reasons (Score:4, Informative)
But with the Android phones there's little reason to unlock it, unless one wants to run a custom UI, as you can already convenient install apps from elsewhere.
Re:Apple Relenting? (Score:5, Informative)
I believe you could already legally unlock your phone.
You probably don't understand the intent of the DMCA. The purpose of it was to stop copyright infringement. It was never intended as a lock to protect a company's business practices. In fact, the write up from the Library of Congress specifically targetted that fact--that Apple had submitted their oral and written opposition asserting their attempts to protect their business model. The Library of Congress concluded that to mean that Apple wasn't really trying to protect the right's holder's copyright, instead they were trying to protect their business model.
This is what the Register (Library of Congress) stated (taken from the Ars Technica write-up):
"Apple is not concerned that the practice of jailbreaking will displace sales of its firmware or of iPhones," wrote the Register, explaining her thinking by running through the "four factors" of the fair use test. "Indeed, since one cannot engage in that practice unless one has acquired an iPhone, it would be difficult to make that argument. Rather, the harm that Apple fears is harm to its reputation. Apple is concerned that jailbreaking will breach the integrity of the iPhone's ecosystem. The Register concludes that such alleged adverse effects are not in the nature of the harm that the fourth fair use factor is intended to address."
Copyright protection is granted to protect the rights holder from illegal distribution of their content and not to prohibit owners of the hardware from doing other things with it once they own it.
You're incorrect about iPhone warranty length (Score:4, Informative)
Where did you get 9 months? It's 1 year, and has been as long as I can remember. See link [apple.com].
Apple's Limited Warranty for iPhone covers your iPhone for one year from the date of original purchase. Apple's Limited Warranty begins on the date that the iPhone was originally purchased. To determine your warranty coverage, enter the serial number of your iPhone in the Online Service Assistant section on the Apple Support site. Apple may need to examine your proof of purchase document to verify your iPhone's warranty status.
Re:Apple Relenting? (Score:4, Informative)
And you can.
PwnageTool has a very easy unlock option for the 1st gen iPhone, just check the box as you're configuring the jailbroken firmware. I think the version you want is 3.1.5, easily available on Pirate Bay (which is the official release location).
For later iPhones, it's simple enough to run UltraSn0w and unlock once you've jailbroken.
(I'm assuming from the tone of your post that you may well already know all of this, but GP appears to have no understanding of the ease of the process.)
Re:Class action? (Score:5, Informative)
"The original iPhone warranty was 9 months"
The leaflet that came in the box with my original iPhone (Summer 2007) says one year.
A.
Re:Because they realized it was fruitless (Score:4, Informative)
Still, why bother to disable it?
Because the alternative is to maintain it.