Apple: jailbreaking iPhone is legal but still voids warranty
updated 11:20 pm EDT, Mon July 26, 2010
Apple says stance on jailbreaking not changing
Apple tonight made clear its stance on the Library of Congress' decision to legally sanction jailbreaking under the DMCA. The company didn't contest the legality itself but said it would still break the warranty by going beyond what Apple can support. It also stressed that it saw the experience as hurting the experience for some by taking away the speed and reliability they may have expected.
"Apple's goal has always been to insure that our customers have a great experience with their iPhone," the Cult of Mac was told by a spokeswoman. "And we know that jailbreaking can severely degrade the experience."
The representative wouldn't directly confront the question of whether Apple would try to sue anyone who would sell jailbreaking tools, but she emphasized Apple's history and that it hadn't done so before.
Monday's Library ruling doesn't require that Apple or other companies must allow third-party apps in their code but also prevents these firms from legally challenging any jailbreak developed for the purposes of running an app or for unlocking access to other customers. It's unclear whether the new exemptions would allow commercial development of jailbreaking apps; such software would be designed for a profit, but it it would still be used for individual purposes in most cases.
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Joined: May 2001
Nothing changes...
People have been pontificating on Mac sites that this ruling will force Apple to facilitate jailbreaking, unlocking, and honor the warranty of a hacked device. No such luck. All that changes is the legal status of the act itself. Apple will still take every action it deems necessary to thwart hacking. Apple will still refuse to honor the warranty of the hacked device. Apple won't be forced to sell unlocked iPhones in the U.S. (which wouldn't work on Verizon anyway).
In short, nothing really changes.