Hardware unlocking effort results in exploded Apple iPhone - hardware hack makes iPhone go BOOM!

You know what they say. “If you’re not willing to brick your iPhone, don’t try the iPhone hardware unlocking hack.” Well, that’s more like something that we just said, but you get the picture.

Apparently, an enterprising hacker on the Hackint0sh forums wanted to give geohot’s hardware unlock hack a go on a locked iPhone. Just when he thought things were going smoothly (he got the antenna cover off and proceeded to pry off the battery cover), the iPhone just fried itself right into oblivion. A puff of smoke black smoke and a crapload of heat resulted in a partially dissected iPhone that is now good for little more than a prime example of what can go wrong when you don’t know what you’re doing around sensitive equipment.


From the forum:

“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. It was so hot that when I tried to pick it up I burned
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.”

The moral of this story? While the iPhone hardware unlocking method may be a provocative way to free yourself and your iPhone from AT&T hell, don’t try it unless you really know what you’re doing - and you’re willing to not only brick your iPhone, but fry it to a crisp as well. Wait for the software unlock! Seriously, be patient.

Still, we feel bad for the poor guy that “smoked” his iPhone.

[Via: Hackint0sh]