The Sapience Society The advice of a self-proclaimed technological ninjician

Jailbreaking Your iPhone May Be Bad News – For You

I would like to set the facts straight on this issue once and for all, even if the only way I can do that is by publishing my own blog post (which no one will read). You can read my response later on in the post.

Yeah, you. In a recent U.S. copyright filing, Apple apparently claims that the jailbreaking of iPhone operating systems leads to problems in the AT&T network, probably helping to explain the general unreliability network users have experienced. If “general unreliability” sounds a little harmless, keep in mind that Apple is also making the case that jailbreaking could make it possible for users to crash cell phone towers.

Of course, you can see why AT&T wouldn’t like this. But there may be more to the story. Apple’s comments apparently also noted that the altering of the baseband processor BBP of the Apple is what would allow people to crash the towers. Maybe not so coincidentally, “unlocking” the iPhone in this manner would also allow consumers to use networks other than AT&T.

Maybe “unlocking,” and not jailbreaking, is simply bad for business.

Potential Problems with Jailbreaking

Though “jailbreaking” sounds like something you’d do with a prison and not with a phone, it’s a relatively common practice. According to Apple, this is the problem, saying jailbreaking can lead to crashes, freezes, disruption of applications like YouTube, problems with security, and even a shorter battery life.

Apple’s claims about the disruption of the AT&T network mean that the problems with jailbreaking wouldn’t be restricted to your iPhone alone. This has lead many frequent “jailbreakers” to wonder about the real impact of their modifications to Apple’s software.

The Great Jailbreaking Debate

As Dong Ngo of CNet notes, hearing that jailbreaking can give other people problems – not just the jailbreakers – isn’t exactly fun news.

But there is a debate within the iPhone community about the validity of jailbreaking. Some people believe that, like tricking out a car, modifying software that you purchased is something that comes with your rights as a consumer. Others believe that the problems aren’t worth the benefits.It will be interesting to watch the progress of the iPhone and how Apple interacts with the users who like to modify its contents. There’s no doubt that consumers will always be looking for as much freedom as possible.

via Why Jailbreaking Your Own iPhone Can Be Bad News – For You | iPhone Auctions

My Response

See this is why I love and hate Apple. They file copyrights trying to make jailbreaking illegal, which is something that a lot of us (iPhone Owners) don't agree with... But it's for our own good! Apple seems to use this kind of emotionally spun logic to their favor all the time. They aren't "bug fixes", they are "compatibility updates".

The real truth is, jailbreaking your iPhone will not affect AT&T in any way whatsoever 99.99999% of the time. What it will do is the following:

1. Make your device unstable if you install the wrong or incompatible apps. You see this all the time where an app or tweak is only compatible with a specific firmware version or simply doesn't work because of a recent update. See: Supreme Preferences 3.0
2. Make your battery life shorter if you install apps that tweak how your iPhone is used such as: Backgrounder, Music Controls, and the AutoLock/KeepAwake SBSettings Toggles.
3. Stop your device from being included in baseband updates if you unlock your phone. This doesn't mean that you're attacking AT&T in any way, it just means you're using an old version of their baseband.

Of course there can be problems if you jailbreak your device, especially if you use untested patches, tweaks, and mods, but you're trading this risk for the ability to do a lot more with your phone than most would think is possible.

The real question is this: if jailbreaking iPhones is causing such widespread problems on the AT&T networks, why is it Apple who is reporting this issue to the FCC? Sure it's their device, but the negative effects are all on AT&T, not Apple. I submit to you that the reason why Apple doesn't want you to jailbreak your iPhone is purely so they can maintain their closed-source proprietorially induced mind control on you. So keep on jailbreaking until you're dead my friends.