Saturday, August 6, 2011

Apple is Cracking Down Unauthorized Devices Running iOS 5 Betas

iOS fans are about to be given a treat this upcoming fall when Apple finally launches their much awaited upgrade to their mobile OS, the iOS 5. Back in last June's WWDC, Apple previewed iOS 5 during their keynote presentation where the company highlighted its many new features. Currently, the iOS 5 is under its 4th beta release and like all firmware betas, it is only available to those who have enrolled an account in Apple's Developer Center. Apparently, many people are too eager to get their hands on the iOS 5 that they somehow find ways to install and activate iOS 5 even without a developer account. Well, according to Apple, your days of unauthorized firmware usage might be numbered.
According to a report by AppleInsider, the Cupertino company is now cracking down on developers who have been discovered selling their iOS 5 beta slots. In case you don't know, before you can activate the iOS 5 you will be brought to set-up wizard where the system will check for your developer's UDID. So even if you somehow got your hands to IPSW of iOS 5 without a developer's account, your device will be rendered useless unless you downgrade. Somehow some developers found a way to make a profit out of this setup by selling their iOS 5 beta slots which allows installation of the said firmware to non-developer iDevices.
So Apple is now reportedly warning those developers and letting them know that the company has discovered their illicit activities and is on to them. Furthermore, the fruit company has also started closing several developer accounts that are found to be guilty of selling their device slots. And those UDIDs that are associated to those accounts in violation have also been flagged by Apple, which means they will be left with an unusable device. According to the report:
Once Apple locks your iOS device, the phone will enter the initial setup mode asking you to connect to a WiFi network. And nothing happens more than that.
There's a reason why iOS betas are only exclusive to developers. Early iOS builds have the potential for many bugs and you can't expect stability from them. That is why they are recommended only to those who knows what they are doing. It is never meant to be used in a non-developer iOS device. In addition to that, if that's not obvious enough, selling your developer iOS 5 device slots to an unauthorized, non-developer device is a direct violation of the iOS Developer Program rules.
If you are someone who's currently running the iOS 5 without a developer's account, then it might be a good idea to downgrade to the latest iOS 4 version, the iOS 4.3.5. Or if you want the latest untethered jailbreak, then you might want to settle with iOS 4.3.3. Or if you want to continue using iOS 5 without all the illegalities, then why don't you sign-up for an account over at Apple's iOS Dev Center? Aside from the $99 annual fee, there are no other requirements for you to fulfill. It is definitely a worthy investment for any Apple enthusiast.
Or you know, you could just wait for iOS 5 to be launched this coming fall. As we have reported yesterday, Apple has already started approving apps for iOS 5, so for it to be released next month is not really that far off.

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