This is part 4 in a series. To summarize: I bought a first generation iPhone on July 7th, 2007 for $599. At the time, I agreed to a 2 year contract with AT&T. It's now two years later, and I believe that AT&T should unlock my phone. They disagree. Other editions in my journey to officially unlock my first generation iPhone:
Today, I received a letter in the mail from AT&T, that pretty much sums up everything that I've written so far. I'm posting the entire letter (minus some redacted bits) on my blog:
Response letter from AT&T (click for larger version)
As you can see, this letter basically sums up the story that I have blogged to date. What's interesting is that this letter stands in direct contrast to a blog post that I read on TheAppleBlog today: Apple's Official iPhone 3G Unlock. The author, Olly Farshi, who purchased an iPhone 3G in Finland, was able to get his phone unlocked, with the support of his carrier and Apple! What's amazing is that the process seems to be quite painless and Apple-like — as in, the unlocking is built into the iTunes infrastructure, and seems to be quite well-designed:
"The helpful assistant at the Sonera store made a note of my IMEI number and then passed it onto his boss — after that there's a special piece of software that only his boss is authorized to use. This mystical application submits the IMEI to Apple, which in turn authorizes the device for unlocking.
I was advised that when the iPhone 3G was next synced with iTunes, it would be unlocked. Minutes later, back at home, I connected the iPhone 3G to iTunes and received a new carrier settings update. After downloading and installing the update, Apple's official iPhone unlock screen appeared."
Aside from this revelation about how the official iPhone unlocking process actually works, the experience of Mr. Farshi directly contradicts what AT&T wrote in their letter. Specifically, the letter from AT&T stated:
"...Apple, the equipment manufacturer, has chosen not to provide the subsidy unlock codes for iPhone devices at this time. The iPhone cannot be unlocked, even if the subscriber is out of contract."
I think that what AT&T meant to say is that Apple doesn't provide the iPhone unlocking functionality in the United States. But it's still a mystery as wether or not Apple is the sole reason why U.S. iPhones cannot be unlocked, and if so, why Apple is against unlocking. My guess is that the reason why has to do with the revenue sharing agreement that is supposedly in place between Apple and AT&T. While I have never seen a definitive document regarding this payout from AT&T to Apple, it's possible that the payouts didn't end with my contract. If AT&T were still paying Apple every month, these payments would probably only occur if AT&T knew that my phone was locked to their network. Hence, it would then it would be in Apple's interest to not allow my phone to be unlocked.
But this is all speculation — what I really want to know, at this point, is why Apple and AT&T don't support unlocking of iPhones sold in the U.S. It's extremely disappointing to me to feel like this phone that I have paid so much money for, and have so thoroughly enjoyed, isn't really mine. When I signed on to the iPhone, I thought I was going to own my phone, not rent it from Apple and AT&T.
-Andy.