Over the past month or so, we’ve seen hacked carrier updates released for iOS devices on T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon. The modded files were posted with the promise of improving data speeds in iPhones, and iPads with built-in cellular capabilities.
Sprint fans will be happy to hear that the developer of the hacks, Joseph Brown, has delivered on his promise of releasing a hacked update for the fourth largest US carrier. Like the others, it has the potential to improve your device’s network performance…
Per usual, Brown offers up a technical explanation of what the hack actually does:
“This hack enables 1x Advanced and EVDO Rev. B on the iPhone 5 enhancing EVDO 3G data speeds. Though Sprint is limited to EVDO Rev. A, the device itself becomes more open to an increased amount of bandwidth thus allowing for better throughput of data and data connection. Already intact coding within the carrier files also showed signs that Sprint has 1x Advanced support on their network. So, who knows? This may actually enable something new. Throttling code was put in place to limit users to a certain amount of bandwidth on 3G only as well and has now been removed. As for LTE, no throttling codes were put in place to limit users’ bandwidth nor was any band preference coding put into place to limit users on coverage. This won’t increase signal so don’t expect it to like the AT&T version of this hack nor does it increase LTE as it was not limited in the first place.”
Also per usual, the modded update comes with a huge asterisk. There’s no guarantees that it will work for everyone. Your success with it will depend on a number of factors, including your location, population density, and the state of nearby cell towers.
Those wanting to try out the hack can find step-by-step directions. The current tutorial is for the iPhone 5 only, but Brown says that he’s working on one for iPad users. So those with Sprint-flavored tablets will have to standby for the moment.
We haven’t tried the hack out ourselves yet, but readers seem to be seeing a lot of success with the AT&T and Verizon versions. So if you have a late-model iPhone on Sprint, and you have a need for speed (which I’m sure many do), it may be worth checking out.
Have you tried it yet? Let us know how it goes in the comments below!