"They're unlockable. There is a way to get them working with a device called a turboSIM that you have to (merge) with your Telstra SIM. But that's about $200 and they're very hard to come by.
TECH-savvy Australians are importing iPhones and using special unlocking software to have full use of them on local mobile networks. But a veteran hacker believes consumers are better off waiting for the official launch here next year.
'Not something I'd recommend you buy for grandma as a Christmas present' - Scott Heim
There has been an unofficial trickle of iPhones to Australia from various channels since the launch in the US earlier this year.
Melbourne-based Scott Heim is a retired mobile networks engineer and unlocked an iPhone onto the Telstra GSM mobile network just days after it had been launched in the US, after he got a friend to send over the 8GB model, which retails for around US$399+tax (US$433 = AUS$503).
Telstra is eyeing iPhone distribution rights here and the company's PR chief, Phil Burgess said last week that he bought one recently in New York. It is not known whether Mr Burgess has cracked his iPhone to work on the Telstra network.
Mr Heim has written several guides on how to unlock the iPhone, but warned the iPhone is a tricky hack.
"It's something you have to be knowledgeable to do. You can't just download a file that you click once and it just fixes it, you have to use multiple tools," he said.
"On a difficulty rating of one to five, I'd rate it a five, the hardest. It's not something I'd recommend you buy for grandma as a Christmas present."
The iPhone has been designed so that it only works on the AT&T network in America, and once a unit has been unlocked the warranty is void and Apple will not officially support it.
Mr Heim described the process as having three stages, where users first must activate the phone, then "jailbreak" the phone's operating system to allow it to run software on the phone, and finally activate the SIM so it can be used on the local GSM mobile networks.
The current iPhone won't work on 3G networks. Initially the hack was done by modifying the hardware but it can now all be done by software, and what used to take a day or two can now be done in minutes.
Mr Heim helps people from all around the world to revive and repair problems with their unlocked iPhones, both over the internet and in his home, and he estimates that there are up to 50,000 pirated devices in the country at the moment.
He said the most common problem he solves is when people incorrectly use the iPhone with iTunes, which can ``brick'' or completely shut down the unit.
"A lot of people who have bought the phone and had no clue about this just left it plugged in and when the new firmware downloads their phone doesn't work any more," he said.
There is a special technique to update the firmware on the phone, but Mr Heim said this required users to go through the unlock phone process again.
Another unofficial Australian iPhone owner said: "Until there's something I want, then I wouldn't update my firmware."
He bought his iPhone from eBay for $750 a couple of months after it had been released. While his purchasing procedure was without incident, Mr Heim warned of cases where people received secondhand units, faulty units, or didn't receive any at all.
And with the release of the latest firmware version, Mr Heim believes that Apple has effectively closed down the iPhone black market. He recommends that keen local punters should wait until its official release, which has been scheduled for next year.
"They're unlockable. There is a way to get them working with a device called a turboSIM that you have to (merge) with your Telstra SIM. But that's about $200 and they're very hard to come by.
"The process you have to deal with software to make turboSIM work is very complex and only for very advanced people."
Apple refused to comment on how many unlocked iPhones it believed were in Australia or how many complaints it had received about broken devices.
Additional reporting Andrew Main