Another major breakthrough, folks! The iNtrepid iPhone iNgineers over at irc.osx86.hu/iphone have announced their successful reverse-engineering of the iPhone’s radio communications software. That means we are all one-step closer to that “Holy Grail” of iPhone hacks – complete and total unlocking of the iPhone for use on any GSM network.
Here’s what the iPhone Dev Team has worked out.
Apparently the iPhone’s communications are controlled by an ARM-chip that also controls the iPhone’s multimedia functions – the Infineon S-Gold2. The software controlling this chip seems to be the key to “access or disable the lock from within the system” – Nucleus Real Time Operating System. The Dev Team is reporting that they’ve managed to reverse engineer and crack the OS, bringing them one step closer to a full unlock of the iPhone’s radio. The next step is to take control of Nucleus’s baseband memory, allowing the Team to change the radio’s parameters.
So, there we have it. The iPhone is just that much closer to freedom from the overlords at AT&T. Which isn’t to say that a total unlock is right around the corner. Here’s the thing, the cracking of Nucleus is just half of the equation. The main Mac OS, running on the main CPU, also needs to be cracked before we get a truly unlocked iPhone.
Hold tight, we’re bound to get there – it’s just a matter of time, at this point. As always, stay tuned. We’ll keep you updated.
[Via: Gizmodo]