When Apple launched the first iPhone in the summer of 2007, the world wasn’t fully aware of the revolution this device would represent. And this secret project for Apple finally saw the light of day and changed our lives. The story we are going to tell you today also changed the life of the iPhone. And it all started in New Jersey with a seventeen year old boy named George Hotz.
The first iPhone was sold exclusively at AT&T and George didn’t like it at all
Let’s get to the heart of the matter: George was impressed by what the iPhone could do and wanted to buy one. At this moment, iPhone only worked if you were an AT&T carrier userand it turned out George wasn’t.
He could have changed companies like thousands of people have done. Actually, It was the perfect plan between Apple and AT&T
A screwdriver, a pick, that’s why
He didn’t hesitate for a second. And George I’ve been hacking devices since I was five. He had a gift and it was time to take advantage of it. He pulled an old screwdriver out of his glasses and removed the screws from the bottom of the iPhone. Then, with He passed a pick around the phone and clack! the iPhone case was already out.
Inside the iPhone I found the baseband processor. The chip responsible for telling the iPhone which company it can be used with and which it cannot be used with. To do this, he soldered a wire to the chip and connected it to his computer. Over there, wrote a program so that the iPhone could work with any mobile operator.
Young George Hotz with his recently hacked iPhone
It was done, now we had to share it with the world
After seeing that it worked, George began recording a video for YouTube in his kitchen. A few days later, andThe video has been viewed two million times. An incredible number today, which mid 2007 There seemed to be a lot more of them. The video is still on the platform today and you can see for yourself how he shares with so much enthusiasm for this important moment in your life.
And suddenly an email arrived from Apple
The media echoed this story. And in fact, even CNBC interviewed him. They asked him if he wanted to speak with Steve Jobs about this. George said yes, that I wanted to have a “man to man” conversation.. There has been no official statement from Apple and AT&T. After all, unlocking a phone was legal. Actually, Time passed and he decided to auction said iPhone. In exchange, he received three additional iPhones and a Nissan 350Z car.
George’s life continued until the day he received an email from Apple, more specifically from Steve Wozniak. Before opening this email, George feared the worst
It was like a movie story where someone solved an incredible mystery. I understand the mentality of a person who wants to do that, I don’t think people like that are criminals.
These were the words of admiration of Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. And George never considered himself a hacker like the ones that exist today. At this time, hackers helped launch products and unleash your full potential.
iPhone was able to make phone calls even though it wasn’t from AT&T
Nowadays, hackers are more associated with scams or data theft. so he He considers himself a “white-collar hacker”. George continued to unlock later versions of the iPhone until, two years later, he had a new target: one of the world’s largest entertainment companies, Sony. Although we will tell that in another separate article.
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