How To Unlock Your iPhone

Step 1: Get Ready

To unlock your iPhone, you have to perform the following steps in exactly the order detailed. Even then, it may not work. You may brick your phone, turning it into an unusable, albeit beautiful, object. Remember, by even trying to unlock your phone, you are voiding all your warranties and guarantees. Still with us? OK! To begin, dock your phone, quit out of iTunes when it appears, open your hard drive, select "applications," then select "utilities.." Next, open your activity monitor, select "iTunes Helper," and quit the process. Now, quit out.

Step 2: Firmware

Make sure you're running firmware version 1.0.2 on your phone. If you've upgraded, you're going to have to restore before you move to the next step. If you don't know how, you can easily find out online. There's nothing illegal or warranty-busting about restoring, so you can even ask Apple for help with this one.

Step 3: Declare Your Independence

Open a browser on your computer and download a version of the 1.0.2 restore file. Then, download and run the latest version of iNdependence. Just don't run iNdependence from the disk image - make sure you drag it to your hard drive or it may not work properly.

Step 4: Break Out!

When the iNdependence dialog box appears, go to the "Jailbreak" tab and choose "Perform Jailbreak." iNdependence will ask you where to find the proper files. You should choose "desktop," then the folder that CONTAINS the firmware - NOT the firmware itself. Now, click "open", and the Jailbreak image should appear. Not working? Try it again. And again. And again. Until it does or you give up. Whichever comes first. If it does work, then sit back and let it do its thing. When you see the "Success!" dialog box, you'll know you've broken out! Click OK and bask in the glow for a moment before you move on to the next step.

Step 5: Install, Install, Install

Make sure you have Installer.app installed on your iPhone. If you don't have it yet, download it and install it before moving on. For the rest of you, launch Installer and then click and install the following, IN THIS ORDER: Community Sources, DNS Tools, BSD Subsystem, OpenSSH. This'll take a few minutes, so stay with it. Remember, if you don't do this step in the order specified, your unlock will likely not work.

Step 6: Download, Download, Download

Open a browser on your computer and download Unlock.app, lockdown, and CyberDuck; Make sure to extract or unzip files as needed after downloading.

Step 7: Rounding The Bend

On your iPhone, go to "settings," choose "general," touch "auto-lock," and set it to "never." Then, staying in "settings," choose "wi-fi," and find your phone's IP address by touching the blue arrow next to the network you're using to connect. Write this number down. You'll need it, and it's not as easy to remember as you think.

Step 8: The Homestretch

Open CyberDuck, and click "Open Connection" in the top left corner of the screen. Choose "SFTP (SSH Secure File Transfer) from the pulldown. Then, type your IP address from the last step into the "server" field. Your "Port" number should be 22, for "username", use "root" and for "password" use "dottie". Now, click "connect." When the next window comes up, then open "usr/libexec" and drag your "lockdownd" file into it. You'll be asked to overwrite the file. Click "continue" and you'll see your file transfer. Next, go back to the "slash" pulldown in Cyberduck and drag your "Unlock" file into the "Applications" folder. Wait for the transfer to complete before moving to the next step.

Step 9: Unlocking

Turn your phone off, and then remove the SIM card by pushing a paper clip into the little hole near the power button. Turn the phone back on, and you'll see a new "Unlock" icon on your phone's screen. Click it, and you'll get an "Al files found. Ready to go. Press Start" message. Press it. Your screen will tell you to wait 20 minutes, so now, you need to wait. When you see the "Completed" message, you'll know you're done. That's it! You've unlocked your phone! Put your favorite SIM card in and start dialing! Doesn't work? Try, and try again. Still doesn't work? Keep trying! Or, try using the restore file to restore it. At this point, it may work, or you may have a brick, but if you've followed the instructions exactly, there's a good chance you're unlocked and good to go!