Apple: Bypassing AT&T Can Break Your iPhone

If you're tempted to try one of those hacks that will open your iPhone to other carriers, beware: Your phone may not work anymore with the next round of software updates, which is scheduled for release later this week.

Apple executives told the Associated Press that some widely-published unlocking methods can actually damage the iPhone's software. Oh, and if you've used one of these hacks, the next update to the iPhone could kill your phone altogether.

"This has nothing to do with proactively disabling a phone that is unlocked or hacked," Phil Schiller, senior vice president of worldwide product marketing for Apple, told the AP. "It's unfortunate that some of these programs have caused damage to the iPhone software, but Apple cannot be responsible for ... those consequences."

But all is not lost. At least one unlocking-software maker says it's possible to restore a hacked iPhone back to its "locked" and legit status.

— Kelly Jackson Higgins, Senior Editor, Dark Reading