iPhone Software Update Coming, Hacked Phones At Risk

I guess Apple really is serious about their desire to not have people hacking their iPhones to unlock their phones and take them to other carriers. This was made clear by Apple's announcement that the next iPhone software update is coming this week (it's expected to be a big one, one that adds a lot of new features) and that unlocked iPhones may experienced "irreparable damage" when installing the new software update and that those phones will not be covered by warranty.

Macrumors has a quote from Apple marketing VP, Phil Schiller, saying that this isn't an intentional move, but rather a consequence of the new features combined with the software used to unlock the iPhone. Macrumors speculates that people who have added third-party programs to their iPhone, but not unlocked it to move the phone to other carriers, may be unaffected by the software update.

Meanwhile, Gizmodo says that it has confirmation that running any third-party app on the iPhone will void the warranty.

Clearly a few more things need to develop before we can be sure how people with hacked phones should proceed. Still, people who have hacked their iPhones may be getting nervous. If you're one of those people, and want to re-lock your phone, TUAW has some instructions.