26 September 2007
Apple has warned iPhone users they risk causing permanent damage to their device if they attempt to unlock a handset to use with an unauthorised network.
The Californian-based firm has issued a warning saying that the mobiles would become "permanently inoperable" if they are tampered with after being updated with Apple software.
The warning follows reports that a number of customers are attempting to unlock the phone to be used with a network other than O2 in the UK and AT&T in the US.
Speaking to Reuters, Phil Schiller, Apple's Head of Worldwide Product Marking insisted that the company "was not doing anything proactively to disable iPhones that have been hacked or unlocked".
Meanwhile, Ben Wood, Director of research firm CCS Insight told the BBC: "Apple is saying that if you buy the iPhone and unlock it, you could preclude yourself from getting new features. Apple updates might not install properly and you could find that you own a £270 brick".
Apple has sold more than one million iPhones worldwide since the introduction of the gadget in June.
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