Hacks Enable MMS, Tethering on 1st-Gen iPhones

iPhone Dev Team leader MuscleNerd has issued a series of tweets notifying iPhone users of the existence of new hacks. First, 9to5mac reports, there is a baseband hack called whiterat that allows 2G iPhones to send and receive photo MMS. Another baseband hack reportedly re-enables tethering on the most recent iPhone OS version – 3.1.2. The iPhone Dev Team is best known for its PwnageTool jailbreak & unlock solution for iPhone and iPod touch.

The "whiterat" baseband hack allegedly unlocks the baseband of first-generation iPhones for sending and receiving multimedia messages (MMS), a feature reserved by Apple for iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS handset owners. Apple's iPhone OS 3.0 update (iPhone1,2_3.1.2_7D11_Restore.ipsw for iPhone 3G; iPhone1,2_3.1.2_7D11_Custom_Restore.ipsw for iPhone 3GS) enabled / unlocked the MMS functionality on the two devices in tandem with a carrier-update from AT&T. The whiterat hack should require none of the above-listed files / downloads.

As for the tethering hack, 9to5mac informs that it works with the latest software update version from Apple (OS 3.1.2), while no jailbreak or unlock is required on the user’s end.

Softpedia note
Since these hacks touch the iPhone’s baseband, users should exercise extreme caution while applying them. Softpedia, for its part, advises iPhone users to just stay put and not mess with their baseband firmware. These hacks do not exploit holes in the iPhone operating system, but rather modify the phone’s original firmware, therefore a simple iTunes-restore may not fix any eventual mishaps.

Softpedia doesn't condone jailbreaking / unlocking / hacking the iPhone / iPod touch or any other device. This article has a purely informational purpose and doesn't, in any way, suggest that you should hack your Apple device. Using hacks may render your device unusable, or may reduce the quality of your experience employing the respective device. If you choose to download and install jailbreak tools, you will do so at your own risk. Unlocking / jailbreaking your iPhone / iPod touch may violate your warranty or the EULA with Apple and / or your cellular-service provider.