iPhone 3GS 5.1.1 Jailbreak Unlock

Anyone who follows this blog probably knows why I have a 3GS (still).

So I will get to the hacking.

Once again it was time to upgrade, this time from 5.0.1 to 5.1.1, mainly because an App I use needed the upgrade.

It seems like everytime I do the Jailbreak I have to re-research it, and it changes a little bit.  I even look at this blog to see what I did last time.

Well to be honest I don't know if much changed, it seems the JB tools out there (sn0wbreeze, redsn0w) have improved quite a bit and most of the task is automated.

Quickly here is my setup.  I have a 3GS with the old bootrom (digits 3-5 of its serial number are 926).  I have the 5.13.4 baseband.  Keeping my current baseband allows easy unlocks.

So now the fun...btw this took 2 different computers and 3 cables.

First on my laptop with 2gig ram I downloaded the 5.1.1 ipsw file from here and redsn0w 9.14b2 from here.

I ran redsn0w and  clicked the Extras button, then Custom IPSW...loaded up the 5.1.1 ipsw that I downloaded and selected preserve Baseband.

On my laptop at around this point, redsn0w would fail with a out of memory error. (I did some more fooling around at this point, but won't bore you with the details)

Now I tried the same thing with my Desktop (4gig) this time it generated the no baseband ipsw for me.

Again using redsn0w and selecting the Extras button I then selected Pwned DFU to put the 3GS into a recovery mode.

Now open iTunes, it says you have a phone in recovery mode blah blah blah.  Ok that message, and hold the Shift key while clicking the Restore button.

If you are like me, you will get errors such as 2500 (I think) and or a 1600 or 1601.  The 2500 means you have a cable problem...so use a different cable.


The 1600 or 1601 is because iTunes looks something up on the internet, and doesn't like what it sees.  The fix is to edit your HOSTS file.

This file is located at (Win7, but probably all versions)...

C:/Windows/System32/drivers/etc/

You will see some commented out items (a line with a # in the front is considered commented out).

Find the line with gs.apple.com at the end, and either erase the line, or put a # at the beginning of the line...like this...

#74.208.10.249 gs.apple.com

then save the new hosts file.   If you are like me, you will have to save it on your desktop, delete the one in the folder, and paste the one from the desktop to the folder (due to administrator privileges and other protections)


So the restore finally finishes (after you start it again).  Don't bother setting up your phone, just start redsn0w again and this time hit the Jailbreak button.

The next screen opens up with Install Cydia selected and nothing else.  I didn't change a thing and started the process.

Just follow the directions...BTW I did this with the sim card removed...I don't know if it was required, but it worked.

After the phone reboots, you will have to do the initial setup, I then let iTunes reload my backed up apps and settings, and after a bit I started Cydia.

In Cydia, I let it do its updates, then searched for Ultrasn0w.  Clicked on the item and installed it.  That was the unlock.

After that I just let the rest of the apps be restored, and my previous Cydia items...I think after I ran Ultrasn0w I installed the SIM card, and all was well.

Jailbreaking the iPhone 3GS revisited

When we last visited this subject I updated my used 3GS to iOS4.2, jailbroke and unlocked the phone.

Well now about a year later, I am doing it again...why? To take advantage of a couple of new features...and allow some apps to work/better.

Since it had been so long, and there had been numerous iOS updates since then (5.0.1 is the latest) I had to research the subject all over again, and re-learn the terminology.

Key words: iOS version, untethered, unlocked, radio or baseband or 'modem firmware', Hacktivate.

Once you have definitions for those, then you can decide how to proceed.

(in no particular order) I knew I wanted to unlock the phone, the 3GS was an AT&T phone, but I use my own sim, and only use the phone part outside the US...so I need the phone unlocked to use a phone service other than the one who sold the phone.

I had previously unlocked it, so the 'Modem Firmware' (Settings-General-About) is 05.13.04, a known unlockable version.

I don't want to have to hook it up to a computer every time it restarts...since I rarely travel with a computer anymore...so the Jailbreak needs to be Untethered.

With that info I can start deciding what iOS I can use.

Well the answer is 4.3.3 (for now)...nice link here. (list at top of page)

The newer iOS Jailbreak are all tethered. (for now)...so I can't go any higher.

So know I know that I will be doing a iOS 4.3.3 untethered Jailbreak with an Unlock, (and a computer running windows) that forces me to use Sn0wbreeze (that is a zero in place of the 'O').

Sn0wbreeze edits the iOS restore file for the OS you will be using to not allow iTunes to mess up your device. In my case it will stop iTunes from upgrading my 'modem firmware', so I can later unlock it.

Here is the guide I followed, the link for Sn0wbreeze changes with updates, but go to ih8sn0w.com for links to recent version. (2.7.3 right now.)

If the descriptions are confusing, here is a different guide, (same iOS but different phone) with pictures that should help...I don't know if the text is the same, but the pictures are what I saw.

Now before I did anything, I did a 'transfer purchases' and 'backup'. (and made sure the phone had a decent charge)

I won't go through all the steps of Sn0wbreeze, but I will explain two of them.

First, I want to maintain the "Baseband' (modem firmware) so in the Expert mode of Sn0wbreeze I make sure the upgrade to 6.15 option is UNCHECKED.

Second, I don't have an active AT&T sim card (I have the card that came with the phone, but not with me right now), so I will need to Hacktivate the phone. That means iTunes will assume the phone has been properly registered with AT&T, and therefore will continue installing apps and things.

The whole process took almost half an hour from Sn0wbreeze editing the file, to iTunes installing it on the phone. Then probably another half hour to restore all my data and apps from backup.

The last step, after everything is restored and iTunes is done syncing, is to launch the Cydia app (Sn0wbreeze installs that too) and install Ultrasn0w.

Guide here...Ultrasn0w is what unlocks the phone to allow you to use whatever carrier's SIM card you want. I didn't have to do any editing (like the instructions show) I just searched for Ultrasn0w, installed it, and launched the app. After a few minutes the phone rebooted, and I was successfully on the T-Mobile network.

There are so many options, that it is hard to figure out what applies...but the most important thing is to not upgrade the Baseband (Modem Firmware) until you figure out if the one on the phone is an unlockable version. (hint, nothing above 5.13.04 is unlockable until 6.15.00, and that version has questionable results with the 3GS GPS) If your version is not unlockable, and you are above 5.13.04, then you have to upgrade to 6.15 to be unlockable...

Good luck!