Rantings of Stu

Okay, so a couple months ago my iPhone, which I had unlocked to use on the T-Mobile network, stopped receiving picture MMS messages, instead sending me the following message in place of the image:

• The media content was not included due to a picture resolution or message size restriction.

Well, initially I just ignored and hoped it was just a temporary issue. After a couple months, I was still unable to receive picture messages — although I was able to send them without any problem. Tired of not getting my friends’ nasty, perverted sexually explicit animated image forwards, I decided to see if there was a solution. Well, I found one.

Someone at T-Mobile posted this solution on the T-Mobile user forums. Give it a shot and see if it works for you.

It didn’t work for me. As I investigated further, it seemed that others were experiencing success. The difference between them and me? I was running iPhone 3.0 firmware, they were running 3.1.2 which, as of this writing, is the latest update.

So I updated to 3.1.2 and went through the jailbreak/unlock process, installed the Legacy software mentioned on the T-Mobile user forum, rebooted, and BOOYAH! Picture messages started coming through.

Now, if you are running older firmware and need to update, but aren’t sure how to jailbreak and unlock your phone, then you have a few options:

1. Learn how to do it by searching for tutorials online
2. Find somebody who is willing to do it for you
3. Check out the Automatic iPhone Unlocker

Option is kind of tough. I found that out for myself when I first got an iPhone about a year ago. This is largely due to the fact that most tutorials are made by hackers and hackers… well, they don’t explain things in laymen terms very well, nor are they interested in doing so. These guys are hardcore geeks, and they like talking with other geeks in geek speak. But feel free to give it a shot.

Option two isn’t a bad choice. Some T-Mobile distributors will unlock your iPhone for a fee. Call around and ask. You’ll also find a lot of people willing to do it for you for a fee if you search your local Craig’s List.

Option three isn’t what it sounds like. It’s not an automatic unlocker. What it really is is a step-by-step walkthrough for how to unlock your iPhone in easy-to-follow layman’s terms. This is the option that I decided to take. I figured I might have to be unlocking my phone on a regular basis, so I wanted to learn how.

Please note that the link to the Automatic iPhone Unlocker website is an affiliate link. If you don’t want me to get credit for referring you to it, you can search for it on Google or elsewhere. But if you appreciate the information that I’ve provided, I’d really appreciate the credit.

Anyway, hope this helped. Good luck!