Apple: Jailbreaking iPhones Still Voids Warranty

Dan Hope, TechNewsDaily Staff Writer

27 July 2010 01:52 PM ET

In response to the news that the Library of Congress had effectively declared jailbreaking the iPhone to be legal, Apple took the opportunity to remind iPhone owners that it doesn't care what the Library of Congress thinks.

The Library of Congress updated parts of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) to make it perfectly legal for phone users to jailbreak or root their phones. Jailbreaking and rooting simply allows users to circumvent parts of the operating system that prevent users from installing unapproved software and features. The Library of Congress says that users can't be sued by the manufacturer as long as it is done to install legally-obtained software.

Apple responded with an official statement to Apple news website Cult of Mac:

"Apple’s goal has always been to insure that our customers have a great experience with their iPhone and we know that jailbreaking can severely degrade the experience. As we’ve said before, the vast majority of customers do not jailbreak their iPhones as this can violate the warranty and can cause the iPhone to become unstable and not work reliably."

In other words, Apple doesn't want you to jailbreak your phone, and it will still void the warranty regardless of what the Library of Congress said.

It's not a surprise given the company's "walled garden" strategy to iPhone content. Jailbreaking the iPhone allows users to install unapproved apps, which Apple takes great pains to prevent.

Ultimately, everything will be just the same as before. Some users will jailbreak their phone, and Apple will still disapprove. It's just that now users can rest assured that the Library of Congress is indifferent to the whole matter.