Existing users, 
iPhone explodes from unlock attempt (picture)
Posted 30 August 2007 @ 2pm in News
Earlier today we noted that while successful hardware-based iPhone unlocks are taking place all over the world (Brazil, Mexico, Canada, Germany, etc), some users are apparently doing damage to their units that will almost certainly not be covered under Apple’s warranty. One commonly reported issue is the loss of Bluetooth and or Wi-Fi connectivity. Other, more dire cases have resulted in iPhones that refuse to power up.
Now what appears to be the most serious case of iPhone unlock attempt-gone-awry has surfaced.
A picture posted to ImageShack tells the story:
The user whose iPhone exploded posted the following to the “Hackintosh” forums:
“We were so happy, all the software part was done, so we started opening the iphone. The antenna cover was a bit tricky but eventually it came off. Then we started to open the metal cover (after taking out the 3 screws) and PUFF, up it went in smoke, I think my collegue must have touched something. It literally went up in black smoke. I was so hot that when I tried to pick it up I burnt my fingers. So, this is for sure the most difficult part of the whole process. I don’t know what he did, as I had just stepped out of the room to fetch something when I heard a scream…they got such a fright.”
Unlock at your own risk.
Feedback? info@iphoneatlas.com.
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8 Comments
Posted by dennis.theoffice
30 August 2007 @ 4pm
Wow! iPhone supply pyrotechnics, too! What can’t iPhone do? I am reminded of what my Pappy used to say, ““A shortcut is the longest distance between two points.â€
Posted by Moozle
30 August 2007 @ 8pm
Obviously, this is one of the newer iPhones with the anti-tamper mechanism in place. It is possible that one of the three screws, when fully removed, triggered the detonator.
Usually there is a time delay of a few seconds wherein a jumper wire must be used to short out the detonator before the timer causes the self destruct, but this is not always the case as some mechanisms have no time delay at all - you have to check the serial number against the list.
OTOH, placing the iPhone on a block of dry ice, or using liquid nitrogen to cool it down will lower the battery voltage sufficiently to prevent detonation. NB: an ordinary freezer is not cold enough for a lithium battery.
Posted by flintwall
31 August 2007 @ 5am
@moozle
‘Obviously, this is one of the newer iPhones with the anti-tamper mechanism in place. It is possible that one of the three screws, when fully removed, triggered the detonator.’
LOL yeah Apple are really devious, wait…it’s a Sony battery?.
That’s it for the iphone - the FAA will ban modded iPhone bombs
Posted by vaughnsc
31 August 2007 @ 6am
@Moozle:
You DO know someone might (will) take you seriously, don’t you? LOL :)
Posted by kerok
31 August 2007 @ 11am
Seems Apple has contracted with Lotus for security (álà “For Your Eyes Only”…I know, not a great movie but it has it’s moments).
Posted by widter
31 August 2007 @ 12pm
Well guys, I guess we all knew that in the fated year 2007 Apple would blow us all away… though some of us might have taken that notion just a little bit more figuratively.
Posted by Techomical
31 August 2007 @ 5pm
iPhone Unlockers Beware!
Recall those scenes from spy movies where a device is used to deliver a single message and then self-destruct. Usually the person receiving the message got some kind of warning before the device exploded, right? Well, some would be iPhone
Posted by tim197
3 September 2007 @ 9am
Very expensive pyrotechnics.
Enjoy.