The iPhone is an expensive device and you should make sure you have all your questions answered, hopefully this basic FAQ we put together can answer some of your basic questions.
What is Jailbreak?
The term Jailbreak, means to break from from the “Jailed” state that Apple places the iPhone and iPod touches in when they are initially sold. In the jailed state your phone is essentially imprisoned to only be able to download apps and software from the official iTunes app store. Furthermore in the jailed state, you can only do basic mods to your device because you are in “Jail”. Jailbreaking gets your iPhone device out of this locked state and allows you to download any apps you want and gives you full control over your device. Jailbreaking sets your iPhone or iPod Touch FREE!
Is Jailbreaking Legal?
Surprisingly, YES! In real life it’s illegal to break out of prison but in the technology world it’s legal. Why should a company force you to only use products they want you to? Afterall you bought the device, you own it, you should have the freedom to do what you please with it. In the United States of America jailbreaking and unlocking cellphones is now officially legal since a court order from 26 July 2010. Here’s a link to the press release: http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2010/07/26. Apple obviously doesn’t like their devices to be jailbroken and they say it voids the warranty to prevent people from doing it, after all they want to make more money even after you purchase the device from the app store sales.
What is a (SIM) unlock?
Wireless carriers like AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, etc. Place your phone in a Carrier locked state when you purchase a phone from them. They do this so that you are STUCK with them and don’t decide to wander off to a new carrier. This makes it difficult if you plan to travel and want to place a SIM from the country you are visiting, it will not work. You can try to SIM unlock the device by contacting the phone manufacturer, ie: HTC, Motorola, Samsung and paying a fee for an unlock code. However this doesn’t always work, your alternative it to jailbreak your iPhone and then do some research on the latest software available to unlock your device for free.
For further frequently asked questions we recommend you checkout the extensive database of questions and answers over at jbfaq.com