14 DAY TRIAL // There are currently more ways to get iPhone OS 4.0 downloaded to your hard drive than there are keys on your aluminum Apple keyboard. Still, only one of these download methods is legit, and that’s by logging in with your Apple Developer ID, over at Apple’s iPhone Dev Center.
Less than two weeks after rolling out the first iPhone OS 4.0 Beta and SDK, Apple pushed the second Beta of iPhone OS 4.0 (build 8a248c) onto registered developers, alongside the iPhone SDK 4 beta 2 (build 10M2240). Registered iPhone devs can immediately grab the goods from Apple’s developer site, by signing in with their Apple ID and password here.
But some people get the update-fever whenever Apple confirms the existence of a new pre-release OS. So, they do everything in their power to get their hands on the software, install it on their device, and test it out. Basically, it’s doable, but one will need their device UDID registered via a dev’s account, in order to activate the beta. If one depend on an unlock, the walls get even thicker for them. It’s just not recommended, to put it in the simplest form possible. Worst of all, it goes against Apple’s rules.
Still, various sources around the web now host the IPSW update / restore files for all supported devices – iPhone 3G; iPhone 3GS; iPod touch 2G; iPod touch 3G. Those interested in grabbing the software bundles have Google on their side. Quick searches for the following file names (as disclosed by iPhoneHeat) have turned up the appropriate IPSW files on around a dozen file-sharing sites so far:
Download iPhone OS 4.0 beta 2 (iPhone 3GS): iPhone2,1_4.0_8a248c_Restore.ipsw or iphone_os_4_beta_2__iphone_3gs__8a248c.dmg
Download iPhone OS 4.0 beta 2 (Phone 3G): iPhone1,2_4.0_8a248c_Restore.ipsw or iphone_os_4_beta_2__iphone_3g__8a248c.dmg
Download iPhone OS 4.0 beta 2 (iPod touch 3G): iPod3,1_4.0_8a248c_Restore.ipsw or iphone_os_4_beta_2__ipod_touch__3rd_generation__8a248c.dmg
Download iPhone OS 4.0 beta 2 (iPod touch 2G): iPod2,1_4.0_8a248c_Restore.ipsw or iphone_os_4_beta_2__ipod_touch__2nd_generation__8a248c.dmg
However, the well-known all-IPSW-download location (felixbruns.de) doesn’t offer up the beta. Some may wonder why, since it doesn’t have a problem linking to pirated, major iPod touch releases (Apple charges a fee for major iPod touch updates like 2.0 and 3.0). As such, we can assume it’s simply not good for business to throw in an unreliable iPhone OS 4.0 Beta that will later attract negative feedback.
To make matters worse, the second beta of iPhone OS 4.0 (which isn’t even jailbreakable yet) actually contains a lot of bugs: iTunes still does not support folder synchronization, and there’s a problem with Camera Roll – screenshots and photos are not saved, or so say voices on the Internet.
iPhone OS 4.0 will be available for the aforementioned supported devices this summer. iPhone owners will be able to download their appropriate IPSW restore / update file for free, while users of an iPod touch are likely to be charged a small fee ($4,99). The iPad will also gain iPhone OS 4.0 support in fall 2010, when Apple plans to release a version of the software specifically designed for the tablet device.
Disclaimer: Softpedia posts these kinds of reports solely for informational purposes. Our site doesn’t, in any way, suggest that readers should proceed with downloading pre-release Apple software.