Category Archives: News

iPhone 4S Baseband 1.0.11, 1.0.13 and 1.0.14 TPSIM Unlock to be Released Mid February

Published on February 10, 2012 by Richard Ker

UPDATE: If you have an AT&T iPhone, you can officially unlock it. Click here to learn more.

Locked iPhone 4S users can soon rejoice as the unlock is expected to be released around February 20 of 2012. Pre-order now!

UPDATE #7: Thank you to those who have pre-ordered. Shipment cut-off date is set to February 25. If for any reason we are not able to ship on or before February 25, you will get your full refund as promised.

UPDATE #6: Another competitor came in to scene with a different product name. It should operate the same way.

UPDATE #5: TPSIM is the official product name for this new unlock. See alternative information from MayPalo with video proof. We wanted to upload the video to YouTube but the connection is horrible from here.

UPDATE #4: Pre-orders now available!

UPDATE #3: It also works on iPhone 4 baseband 1.59.00, 2.10.04, 3.10.01 and 4.10.01. Unfortunately 4.11.08 is NOT supported.

UPDATE #2: Screenshot of the video proof below with some explanation on MEID.

UPDATE #1: I’ve personally seen the video, an iPhone 4S locked to Japan’s Softbank is unlocked with this SIM interposer! Will try to share.

Apparently the new iPhone 4S basebands 1.0.11 (iOS 5.0), 1.0.13 and 1.0.14 (iOS 5.0.1) are exploitable, which is similar to earlier iPhone 4 basebands that can be unlocked using Gevey Turbo SIM. It will also use a SIM interposer.

This time, the new unlock won’t be from Gevey or applenberry, but rather from an unknown Chinese company.

Based on the screenshot from the video above, this is confirmed to be an iPhone 4S as it shows the MEID. An MEID is a unique identifier found on CDMA handsets within the United States (and countries like Japan). The MEID system is compatible with the existing IMEI number system used in GSM and UMTS handsets. It is being phased in to replace the ESN numbers currently used on CDMA devices, since the pool of ESN numbers has been virtually exhausted due to the number of devices in use.

MuscleNerd and Sherif_Hashim, the two prominent iPhone baseband hackers who have successfully unlocked iPhones in the past, admitted that newer iPhones are becoming harder to unlock. Thus SIM interposer is the only possible solution for now. Even sherif_hashim used Gevey Turbo SIM on his iPhone 4 before (he’s now using a factory unlocked 4S). Software unlock like ultrasn0w could be a thing of a past, unless a real genius like Geohot can develop it.

According to my trustful source, the factory plans to produce about 20,000 pieces in the first batch, subject to demand.

Some of the features and specs:

  • F981 chip for high performance and low power consumption
  • Custom SIM tray made of steel
  • One time dialing of 112 (required for first time use)
  • Facetime, EDGE, 3G etc are all supported
  • No jailbreaking required
  • Supports iPhone 4 baseband 1.59.00, 2.10.04. 3.10.01 and 4.10.01 (4.11.08 is NOT supported for now)

Unfortunately for those who are still waiting for the unlock for iPhone 4 baseband 4.11.08, there are still no news as at February 10, 2012.

We will update our online store in the next few days to start accepting Pre-order is now available. We won’t be doing this unless we’re pretty convinced that the unlock for iPhone 4S is really coming.

Watch this space as we’ll reveal the details as the date draws nearer.

Unlock your iPhone 4S baseband 1.0.11, 1.0.13 and 1.0.14 now!

Siri Voice Recognition will be Available in Chinese, Japanese and Russian on iOS 5.1

Published on February 9, 2012 by Richard Ker

A Chinese tech website claims to have heard from an Apple engineer who’s working on the Chinese-language version of Siri, the clever voice assistant on the iPhone 4S, that it will be available in Chinese (Mandarin) soon.

According to the news, Siri will have the ability to speak in Chinese next month, and is currently being tested internally. It is also rumored that Siri will also be available in Japanese and Russian. There will be hive of activities at Apple next month, as iOS 5.1 is rumored to be launched on March 9 and along with the third generation iPad.

Chinese support for Siri must be given a high priority by Apple, due to the strong growth the company is experiencing in China. The iPhone 4S launched on partner carrier China Unicom last month and China Telecom is touted to be next one.

On iPhone jailbreaking and unlocking side of this news, once iOS 5.1 is released, the current iOS 5.0.1 untethered jailbreak would be patched by Apple. You should expect iPhone basebands to be updated again to seal off any potential exploits for unlocking. Currently, there’s still no method of unlock baseband 4.11.08 on iPhone 4.

iPhone 4S A5 Chip Contains Audience EarSmart Noise Reduction Technology for Siri

Published on February 6, 2012 by Richard Ker

Wonder why Apple keeps saying Siri will not be available on iPhone 4? Read below for the real explanation.

Apple’s A5 chip incorporates dedicated noise reduction circuitry by Audience, Inc., which optimizes the performance of Siri voice recognition on iPhone 4S.

Although earlier generation of this circuitry was already available on iPhone 4, it was not optimized for voice recognition technology.

Audience explains:

“by imitating the complex processing that occurs from the inner ear to the brain, Audience’s intelligent earSmart technology distinguishes and interprets sounds as people do naturally. In a mobile device, the earSmart processor effectively isolates and enhances the primary voice signal and suppresses surrounding noise–for both transmit and receive–to enable clear conversations nearly anywhere.”

They also note that “far-field uses are more vulnerable to background noise interference and poor voice quality given the speaker’s distance from the device,” which means speaking to a TV e.g. Apple TV across the room would be far more difficult to correctly recognize speeches compared to Siri on iPhone 4S due to the distance between the source and the destination.

It’s quite common for Apple to “white label” components on their logic boards. That means you won’t be able to see the brand or manufacturer on the components. In this case, Chipworks, a company that does reverse engineering and patent infringement analysis to the world’s largest semiconductor and microelectronics companies, decamped the part and found Audience’s name printed on the chips die marking.

Chipworks thought that “the iPhone’s audio cancellation capabilities are very impressive, outperforming every non-Audience powered cell phone we’ve tried.”

Finally, a report on CNET mentioned “this situation helps explain why Apple does not offer Siri as a software upgrade on the iPhone 4. Although the older phone includes an Audience chip, the company has since improved its technology to handle ‘far-field speech,’ which means holding the device at arm’s length rather than directly in front of the mouth”

Although it’s possible to hack older iPhones to enable Siri, there’s still an underlying hardware limitation to allow Siri to achieve its potential performance.

(via AppleInsider)

Gmate is a Handy Gadget to Allow Text and Calls on Locked iPhone 4 (4.11.08) or 3GS (5.16.05)

Published on January 31, 2012 by Richard Ker

The world is waiting for the unlock for iPhone 4 baseband 4.11.08. We’ve heard far too many rumors and fakes out there claiming they were able to unlock it. Tired of waiting? Try Gmate, a great gadget that allows you to use your iPhone 4 again; while waiting for an unlock.

UPDATE: Unlock AT&T iPhone 3GS/4/4S permanently here.

 

Gmate has been around for a while now surprisingly not that many people are aware of this great gadget. It is a Bluetooth accessory that is essentially a phone minus keyboard, screen, memory and audio functions. It then links to your Bluetooth-enabled iPhone to use its resources. Think of it as a dumb mobile phone.

It’s baseband independent, that means it doesn’t matter what your baseband version is, you can still use it. So to those who are stuck on 4.11.08, this is a great solution for now. If the unlock is out, you can still use it on your iPad or any of your Android phones. If you have a 3GS with baseband 5.16.05 on Toshiba chip, this is a good stop-gap measure until a proper unlock tool becomes available.

On your iPhone, you need to install the Gmate app (supported on both iOS and Android) to allow it to connect to the Gmate. The app will import your address book so that you can call your contacts and all that.

It also serves as a 3G modem. If you have a Wi-Fi only iPad, for instance, then this becomes a useful way of surfing anywhere via 3G.

You HAVE to use the Gmate app to make calls via the Gmate, rather than using the original phone app. Gmate app imports your contacts with a push of a button.

Gmate app can only be installed via Cydia so your iPhone must be jailbroken in order to use it. That’s no longer a problem since the jailbreak for iOS 5.0.1 is now untethered.

It’s a fuss to bring an additional gadget around but hey… you wanted a working phone, remember?

Pre-order here!

Photos of Cancelled iPhone 4S Launch and Riot at Apple Store Beijing and Shanghai, China

Published on January 13, 2012 by Richard Ker

The launch of the Apple iPhone 4S, originally planned for today, has been cancelled due to overnight fights and riots among scalpers and genuine buyers.


Queues began forming yesterday at both the Sanlitun and Xidan stores in Beijing. Courtesy thebeijinger.


The Xidan store launch went ahead but their stock sold out within two hours.


At Beijing’s Apple Store in Sanlitun, customers (or scalpers?) threw eggs at the glass walls. Crowds were then asked to leave; they were told the launch was cancelled. Police were there to disperse crowds.


It’s rumored that the crowd was mainly made up of teams of scalpers.


Scalpers started hiring people to queue up at Apple Stores in Beijing since about a week ago. Translation: “Hiring: 200 sales positions available. 100 yuan per day, report at Sanlitun between 6-9pm on January 12, 2012. Salary will be paid the next day at 8am. Meal included. (Any gender or age).”


Meanwhile in Shanghai, hundreds of people wearing red caps were seen queuing. It is believed that they were people hired by scalpers.


Finally, this sign says “The queue ends here. iPhone 4S is now out of stock.”

Sadly, it will be difficult for genuine buyers to get their hands on the iPhone 4S. Absolute madness.

Images: TheBeijinger, MIC Gadget.