Relocking your iPhone

Although Apple today said it would void the warranty on iPhones damaged by the unlock process (or subsequent iPhone updates), users may be in luck with a new re-locking process outlined by one reader (but not yet tested by MacNN). The unlock hacks are not undone by a full software store; the re-lock process is still in flux and comes with the appropriate warnings to users until finalized, allows users to restore their phone, so Apple's forthcoming update -- due later this week -- does not render it inoperable: "It is believed the above proceedure will relock your iPhone and prevent it from being made permanently unusable by the upcoming firmware update. There is no gaurantee [sic], however, and I take no responsibility for your iPhone if the above procedures do not work for you and your iPhone gets hosed."

These instructions are in flux - do not use them until I say they are finalized.

• on your Mac, go to your home directory and create a directory called relock
  
• set your iPhone to never autolock the screen
  
• put a copy of the 1.0.2 firmware in a directory on your Mac. If you need to download it, get it from here.
  
• rename the extension on the firmware from ipsw to zip
  
• unzip it
  
• run: dd if=009-7698-4.dmg of=ramdisk.dmg bs=512 skip=4 conv=sync
  
• use finder to navigate to the directory where ramdisk.dmg is and double-click it to mount it.
  
• copy the following files to the relock directory you created in the first step:
  
  
  
  • /Volumes/ramdisk/usr/local/bin/bbupdater
    
  • /Volumes/ramdisk/usr/local/standalone/firmware/ICE03.14.08_G.eep
    
  • /Volumes/ramdisk/usr/local/standalone/firmware/ICE03.14.08_G.fls
    
  
  
• on your iPhone, run: mkdir /relock
  
• copy those three files to your iPhone: scp -p bbupdater ICE* root@youriphoneip:/relock
  
• on your iPhone, run: cd /relock
  
• on your iPhone, run: cp /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.CommCenter.plist /var/root/media/com.apple.CommCenter.plist
  
• on your iPhone, run: launchctl unload /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.CommCenter.plist
  
• on your iPhone, run: ./bbupdater -f *.fls -e *.eep
  
• on your iPhone, run: launchctl load /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.CommCenter.plist
  
• on your Mac: exit iTunes
  
• on your Mac: kill iTunes helper
  
• manually place your iPhone into recovery/restore mode
  
• connect your Ihone to the computer and start iTunes
  
• restore your iPhone
  

The update appears not to break or affect third-party apps installed, although users may have to restore the iPhone before the next update

Meanwhile, another site has documented how to mod your iPhone keyboard, including the iPhone Shop tools and pre-made keyboard styles.

by MacNN Staff