How to Preserve Your Baseband For iOS 5 Unlock on Windows Using Sn0wBreeze

By , Oct 13, 2011

If you’re looking to preserve your iPhone’s baseband when upgrading to iOS 5 on a Windows machine, then Sn0wBreeze is your ticket to baseband freedom.

Preserving your unlockable baseband is integral to being able to unlock your phone when an updated version of UltraSn0w is released tomorrow.

Windows users, this one’s for you. Check inside for the full video tutorial that shows how to preserve your baseband, while upgrading to iOS 5 using Windows…

If you’re on a Windows machine, your options are limited to Sn0wBreeze at this time, because RedSn0w has not been updated with baseband preservation capabilities on Windows as of this writing. Mac users can use RedSn0w 0.9.9b5 to preserve their baseband.

How to Preserve Your Baseband on Windows When Upgrading to iOS 5:

Step 1: Download Sn0wBreeze 2.8 beta 8 from our Downloads Page.

Step 2: Run Sn0wBreeze, click ‘OK’ and click ‘Close Credits’ and click the blue next button in the bottom right-hand corner.

Step 3: Drag your iOS 5 firmware file to the gray box on Sn0wBreeze. Make sure you have the correct firmware file for your device.

Step 4: Sn0wBreeze will identify the device and firmware, verify that they are correct.

Step 5: Click the blue next button in the bottom right-hand corner, and select Baseband Preservation Mode. You will receive a reminder about jailbreaking. Click next.

Step 6: Now Sn0wBreeze will start building your firmware. It will give you the option to play PacMan, or stick to the spinner. I recommend sticking to the spinner. PacMan requires flash, ’nuff said ;)

Step 7: Once completed, Sn0wBreeze will place the custom created firmware on your desktop. It should be prefixed with “Sn0wBreeze”. Verify, and click ‘OK’.

Step 8: Put your iPhone into DFU mode by holding ‘home + power’ for 10 seconds, then releasing ‘power’ while continuing to hold ‘home’ for 10 seconds.

Step 9: Click ‘Start’ on the DFU Pwner screen in Sn0wBreeze.

Step 10: Sn0wBreeze will run ‘iReb’ and place your iPhone into Pwned DFU Mode. You will get a confirmation screen that the phone is indeed in Pwned DUF state. Click ok, and close out of Sn0wBreeze completely.

Step 11: Open iTunes, it should recognize that your device is in recovery mode, click ‘OK’.

Step 12: Hold ‘Shift’ on your keyboard, and click ‘Restore’ on iTunes. Select the newly created Sn0wBreeze custom firmware.

Step 13: Your iPhone should restore completely, with your unlockable baseband in tact!

Note: This does not jailbreak your device, or unlock your device. When the new version of UltraSn0w for iOS 5 is released, you can jailbreak, and install UltraSn0w from Cydia to unlock your device if you wish. For more info on Sn0wBreeze, refer to our dedicated Sn0wBreeze page.

Have you tried to persevere you baseband on Windows using Sn0wBreeze? Let us know in the comments below.

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  • Ceemon

    Got the same problem as Lauren
    pls HELP

  • Elchevive

    Thank you very much : I followed your instructions and guess who’s got an iPhone 4 with iOS5 unlocked with Gevey Ultra ??? Moi !!!!!
    Thanks again …

  • scottie

    yeah i’ve don’t this numerous times, and keep getting the “3194 error” i used tiny umbrella and checked the box, still no dice , apple just won’t give in and let me install the custom firmware

    anyone help?

    • scottie

      ohh i’m useing a 3gs with 6.15 bb

    • Acolz

      you are supposed to uncheck the box not check it

    • http://mbukhman.com Michael

      If you have error 3194. You must be open C:/windows/system32/drivers/etc/host. HOst file you must open a notepad and remove all sentens with “apple”. After that you must be restar your PC and all will be ok . SOrry foe my bad English

  • MIkeGolf

    Used this with a 3gs with 6.15 Baseband and works a treat. Just make sure before you go into itunes the iphone is in Pawage DFU mode otherwise Itunes kicks you out.

    Thanks again for this like and one of the simplest tools i have used to date. many thanks

  • idonthaveaname

    Hello,

    I have been reading forums, but unsure if there is a solution, (considering getting a new phone because I can’t be with a rock until there is a solution).

    I am on an iphone 4, and accidently am on the most recent baseband of io 5 using the gevey sim ultra. Is 4.3.5 still being signed by apple or am I screwed?

    If you have an answer please let me know

    Thanks

  • Wale

    Thumbs up..as easy as ABC..ive not being able to complete the setup because i cant remember my wifi password and its asking for it while doing the initial config…d 1st screen looks nice..great work guys

  • ambi

    I tried it on my iphone4 having iOS 4.3.3 (Baseband 4.10.01) and it worked like a charm without any issues……Only issue i had was putting phone in DFU mode (which is different from recovery mode). For putting iphone in recovery mode follow this link: http://www.hackint0sh.org/f136/27348.htm

    Thanks alot man…you rock.

  • Han

    i keep getting an error occurred (1600) please help me

    • Kalito

      Was in your situ 5hrs ago-lol. I am not quite sure what did it but try a combination of the following:
      a) disable your antivirus b) make sure you run iTunes by right-clicking on the icon and selecting to run as administrator c) also try re-customising your ispw. This sorted this error for me and I am happily on iOS5 as you should be-lol

      • Han

        oh thank you Kalito :D

      • RB

        you need to download IREB R4. Google it. When you launch that app, select your iphone (mine is an iphone 4) and it will direct you to put the device in DFU mode again. After you do that, your device is in DFU you can launch iTunes and Shift+Restore.

        Without IREB, iTunes can tell when you restore with a stock firmware or a pwned one. All IREB does is trick iTunes into thinking it is the stock firmware, when it really is not.

  • Andy

    getting error (10) any help?

  • javi

    keep getting error 10 also here.. any help?

  • philipp

    error 10 ==> update iTunes to 10.5

  • Javi

    Solved! Thanks..

  • reddy0567

    unknown error occured 14

  • ben

    do i have to do anything from here for a tmobile carrier lock?

  • Dre

    somebody help me I am getting error 3194.I unplugged the cable and reconnected still same error

    • Kalito

      It is your host file. If you have Tiny Umbrella open it and go to advanced and uncheck the cydia server reference. You might also get error 1600 after that but make sure after iPhone is in DFU mode you manually open iTunes by right-clicking and running as administrator. It has taken me 24hrs to figure all this out and reading through these posts. I use the Rebel Sim Pro and am on 04.10.01 baseband and running iOS5 with an unlock-lol

  • Pseudonym

    i have an iOS5 with preserved baseband 4.10.01 unlocked by GEVEY…. thanks!

    - Pseudonym (Philippines)

    • Alvin tran

      Hi, can you tell me how to activate it (without a legit sim card) I’m just still confused at that.

    • Gab

      Hi, I’m also from the Philippines. I always get error 1604. What should I do? :(

      • Jay

        Got the same prob. It was a hassle! Sobra! Ang ending, pinaayos ko sa Robinsons Manila at nirestore nila sa 4.2.1 tas sbi di pa daw pwd mg-update to iOS YET. Still hoping na mgkaroon soon!

      • Jay

        Got the same prob. It was a hassle! Sobra! Ang ending, pinaayos ko sa Robinsons Manila at nirestore nila sa 4.2.1 tas sbi di pa daw pwd mg-update to iOS YET.

    • faye

      Help me pls!!! From the Phils too… email me

    • Jay

      Pseudonym, help nmn sa pg-update o. Nag-DIY ka lng ba? San ka dito sa Pilipinas? Sa Makati ako. Kating-kati na ako mg-update! Sana di ko uli mkha ung error 1604!

  • votla

    i was updated to ios5. but now i’m dead :( i’m not able to activate my phone now… because i’m in india and using gevey sim before upgrade. Can anyone help me please… how to activate without AT&T sim? please help me…

    thanks for ur help

    • Pseudonym

      you need an AT&T sim (or original sim that comes with it) to activate the os..

    • Josh

      Jailbreak with 9.9b6 for windows

  • Han

    for some reason my baseband was 4.11.08 and i preserved it using sn0wbreeze and it is still 4.11.08 someone PLEASE HELP!

  • votla

    Hurray…. finally i made it :)
    thanks to snowbreeze dev, philip (for info on error 10 ) and idownloadblog :)

    Before:
    iphone 4 (GSM) AT&T Locked (unlocked with gevey sim)
    OS : 4.3.3
    Baseband: 04.10.01

    After:
    iphone 4 (GSM) AT&T Locked (unlocked with gevey sim)
    OS : 5.0
    Baseband: 04.10.01
    (Hactivated using snowbreeze)
    Working perfect :)

    i have a doubt: after my carrier is activated when i’m going through the settings, one msg to some international number sent automatically from my phone. whats that msg? anybody know about it?

    • dhananjayan

      hi ,im having the same problem faced by you :( help me please…

      • votla

        i used expert mode in snowbreeze n selected hactivate iphone. But the thing it will jailbreak ur iphone, which is thethered :( we need pc to boot iphone. but there is no option left… for the time being until i get AT&T sim from somebody i will use this.

  • munny

    i was using ios4.3.5 on iphone 4 with gevey sim, to upate to ios 5 i used snowbreeze but instead of clicking on “preserve baseband” i clicked on “Simple” but did everything else according to the instructions. now my phone is stuck on the set-up, activation screen and when i try to activate it, it says the sim card is not subscribed and i need the carrier sim. do i have to downgrade the baseband? i dont know if the baseband got updated or not? please help!

    • wale

      Hi Munny,
      you need to use the sim that came with your phone to activate it..it happened2me 2..once i put in the AT&T Sim, i could activate the phone..try and let me know how it goes

      • Rishi

        Theres another option. Re-start Snowbreeze but instead of simple mode go to advanced, and checkmark ‘hactivate this device’.

        FYI – Snowbreeze should have already preserve your baseband!

      • Alvin tran

        Does hacktivating mean jailbreakibg the device? Cuz I don’t want to have tethered only jb. Should I do it? Cuz I don’t have the legit sim card

      • Alvin tran

        Does hacktivating mean jailbreakibg? Cuz I don’t want to be stuck with tethered only. Should I do it? Cuz I don’t have the official sim card.

  • Omar

    Question: So I have a jailbroken iPhone 4 running iOS 4.3.3, baseband 4.10.01. I plan to upgrade to iOS5 preserving my baseband so I can use Gevey SIM to use on T-Mobile. Will the Snowbreeze IPSW activate my iPhone automatically, or will I be stuck on the Connect to iTunes screen to activate? Help would really be appreciated.

  • simy

    Hello,

    I want to know if you can jaibreak ios 5 on baseband 04.10.01 but not thethered! I’m on ios 4.3.3 bb 04.10.01 and i want to upgrade and hacktivate my iphone and jailbrake it! What i want to know if it can be jailbroken and not need to reboot every time with the PC. Can you please tell me?

  • http://scottpiro.com Scotty P

    Help, I’m screwed! I did everything right – and it all worked. But I think I need an original AT&T mini SIM to activate – and I don’t have one. Am I fucked ? Help !!!

    • Rishi

      Try to re-jailbreak again and instead of using snowbreeze-simple, go into advanced and select hactivate this device.

      • http://scottpiro.com Scotty P

        Thanks, Rishi. I’m heading to a shop today to borrow an ATT sim to activate. So, I should be activated and unlocked….but not jailbroken. What does the mean? Not sure if I’ll be able to make calls or use the net. Thanks, Rishi.

      • Alvin

        Hey. Does hacktivating mean jailbreakibg. And is it only tethered only right now?

  • Alvin Tran

    People, does this work with Gevey SIM? And how do I activate it?

    • http://scottpiro.com Scotty P

      Yes, it’s supposed to work w/ Gevey. (but I’m still mid-process myself). Activate w/ original sim that came w/ your phone – or see Rishi’s comments above about using sn0wbreeze – advanced/hacktivate this device.

  • andy

    Hi,

    I’m on ios 5 with bb 04.11.08, can this be unlocked? There are no previous saved shsh blogs, please help!!

  • Mansi

    HI,

    i have factory unlocked iphone 4. i have upgraded to IOS 5 with snowbreeze v2.8b8 version and my details are as follows:

    version – IOS 5.0 (9A334)
    carrier – carrier lab 11.0
    model MC608LL
    ICCID – No sim
    modem firmware / baseband – 04.10.01

    earlier i was using gevey sim in this handset and airtel india sim was working with network on this handphone. now i am not getting ICCID on my new details as above. please tell me if with these settings gevey and network on this phone will work or not or shall i again downgrade my phone to IOS 4.3.3 or 4.3.5.

    i have original AT&T sim and i have already validated my phone with that… trying to get network and not able to get…not sure if ICCID will come only after getting network. though when i insert AT&T sim, i get the ICCID on phone.

    please advise for me immediately start with downgrading process if it will not work this way.

    • votla

      Hi where did u get AT&T sim in india? May i know where are u from? Can i borrow ur sim to activate mine? :P

      • Mansi

        i had the original one which i got along with the phone. i had used the same. i am not sure if my sim will help you.

    • Dude

      Dude,

      How come you have a factory unlocked iphone but you’re still using gevey sim?

      Is your carrier in India on CDMA network?

  • lemonhead

    Hey got a problem I have a iPhone 3GS old bootroom with bb 6.15, but when I try to make a custom ipsw with snowbreeze 2.8b8 I get this error – “snowbreeze has failed to create your custom ipsw and Data error (CRC-test)” plz help, cuz ih8snow doesn’t answer my messages :(

    Oh and i got windows xp and itunes 10.5 plz help me!

  • murderinmidget

    Hi, i was using iOS 4.3.3 jailbroken and have gone to iOS5 jailbroken using snow breeze but now once its booted i cant use cydia it just opens and then closes straight away. rebooted my phone using ibooty but again i am still having the same problem. Any suggestions would be great. Thanks

    • Lemonhead

      Just Boot teathered again with redsnow or iboty- iH8snow

  • http://www.lakker.be Kevin Van Haesendonck

    I did this without hactivating, and this worked, but my phone couldn’t activate. If I make another custom ispw with the hactivate option checked, the iphone is stuck and it wont boot.

    I have an iphone 4 with bb 04.10.01

  • Juuso

    Thanks! This really works. Now I have iOS 5 and i can still use Gevey :)

  • Manolo

    Hi, thank you for your information, it really helped. I was wondering one thing about the activation method. Some comments have said that, after creating a custom IPSW to preserve baseband, if you do the same but instead go to Advance and select “Hacktivate” it does the trick because ultrasnow knows you want to preserve your baseband.

    Still, I’m a little wary about this because you’ll be creating a new IPSW, has anyone tried this and has it worked? I don’t want to end up activating my iPhone but upgrading my baseband.

  • monty

    hey i have iphone 4 ios 5 with baseband 4.11.08 and earlier i was using gevey sim for my airtel connection but now it is notr working and i am stuck with an iphone from which i cannot call………….please help………………

    • Manolo

      You updated your baseband, you’re gonna need to wait until 4.11.08 is supported.

    • mansi

      monty… downgrade ur phone to ios 4.3.3 or 5. this way you will get your old baseband 04.10.01.
      on 4.11.08 gevey sim doesnt works… after doing the above… (look for all manuals on google)

      go to snowbreeze vesion (sn0wbreeze-v2.8b8) and run this to generate a customer IOS 5 IPSW… first you should have the original IOS 5 from apple which latter you can customised..if you will google you will get the customised snowbreeze ios which you can download and use later…

      once a customer ios is created or downloaded…load that on your phone and then follow gevey process..sooner later you will get network… i am also using iphone 4 with custom ios 5 baseband being 04.10.01 and my gevey and airtel network is working fine on it…:)

    • Sachin

      same here, please let me also know if you come across any solution – Sachin
      virmani_sachin@yahoo.com

  • Kalito

    I have successfully used Sn0wbreeze to create custom baseband preserving ispw for my iPhone 4 04.10.01bb and 3GS with 05.13.04bb old bootrom. I use Rebel Sim Pro (like it for its upgrade functionality) in the iP4 and all is well everything is working from facetime to imessage no signal problems, etc.

    The charm for me was having iOS5 on the 3GS and using RedSn0w jailbroke and installed Cydia, installed Ultrasn0w and phone has untethered unlocked – wonderful. I guess because of the bb preservation and the old bootrom.

    I have encountered a common error – 1600 which is nicely resolved by temporariy disabling my antivirus and making sure iReb runs to put the device in pwnDFU mode. I am thoroughly content! Well done guys!!

  • Rahul

    Hi I got Iphone 3GS on bb 05:13.04 on old bootrom.

    I want to use snowbreze to pgrade to ios 5 preserving baseband. However i don’t want the cust boot logs that snowbreze would create in the custom ISPW.. i just want the apple logo.

    Can some one help me with the procedure to upgrade by preserving baseband and avoiding custom logos for IOS5.

    Thanks in advance.

  • Ahmet

    before
    ———–
    Iphone 4
    4.10.01
    ios 4.3.3

    after
    4.10.01
    ios5

    worked very well for me with standart gevey. But I have 2 questions. Can I jailbreak my device now? and if I jailbreak, and after that can I turn back to original snowbreeze ios5 which I still keeping?
    Thanks

  • Pedro

    i have tried everything everyone has said a million times and i keep coming up with 4.11.08 this is driving me crazy

  • aman

    i tried updating with cooked custom firmware all the times it gives error 14
    plz help

  • http://iSteveJailbreak.blogspot.com MarkJb

    I found working untethered jailbreak for ios 5 .. I recommend!

    Go to: www . iSteveJailbreak.blogspot.com and download software!

  • Gab

    error 1604 please help me :(

    • Kalito

      That error is typically related to iTunes and your phone not communicating and/or your device not being seen as in recovery mode. Several factors may be causing that and the best is really to troubleshoot your environment i.e disable antivirus (it might be interfering with your device communication), ensure your device is in the pwnDFU mode by running iREB on it after, ensure you have run iTunes as admin.

      With your device connected close iTunes and open it again and see if it will see the device in recovery mode. Also try restarting your computer.

      Try other USB ports, try replacing the cable, use another computer, etc

      • Gab

        Thanks! I’ve done that. The problem now is I can’t activate my iphone. I’m in the Philippines. I use gevey sim and the sim from may service provider. It always says insert a sim card. What do I do now?

    • Imran

      Use Ireb . U can download it from Ih8sn0w.com

  • Gab

    Anyone, please help me. I can’t bypass the activation process. Do I need an at&t sim card to activate? I have gevey sim card. How can I unlock it if i can’t get to the home screen and turn on the airplane mode?

    • Manolo

      If you Jailbreak you’ll end up hacktivating too. Downside I’ve found is that doing it this way will probably mess up with your push notifications; you can work around this with tools like SAM (although it didn’t work for me D:).

      • Gab

        What software would I use to jailbreak my device? It’s already using iOS5

  • Edo

    Hi, i have my 3Gs followed the instructions above and already finish all the instructions above. But when it get finished and reboot, it stucks on the apple logo and not advancing anymore.. Itunes not recognize my iphone also.. Did i miss something and what should I do now?

    Thank you

  • pyr0mag1c

    used sn0wbreeze to preserve my carrier..everything went ok including upgrade to ios5 on my iphone4…….except i have no facetime. any suggestions?

  • hnpj

    Hi all,
    I bought a iphone 4 ios 5, 04.10.01bb and I had a grevy sim to unlock 4.3.3, so can I use “snowBreeze” to unlock BB and reuse my grevy sim. Thanks

  • Gab

    I’m stuck with the activation process. What do I do now? I don’t have the original at&t sim. I’m from the philippines. I only have gevey. I successfully restored with iOS5 but I can’t use my phone for days now.

  • Bob Vu

    Followed the steps and it worked flawlessly! Able to preserved 01.59.00bb and updated to iOS5 with sn0wbreeze, jailbreak with redsn0w and unlocked with ultrasn0w just fine. All I have to do is stick the trimmed down T-Mobile sim in without gevey card (since the bb is low), wala! Thank you everyone, have a good day ;-)

  • Vince

    I’m facing problem of error 14 when i almost done the restore process. I manage to upgrade with the same custom ipsw that made by snowbreeze on another iphone4 but i fail this time, so confuse now. I had change pc’s, different cable, usb ports and ireb, but still having the same error. Can anyone give me a hand? thanks

  • Alejandro

    sim not valid problem im using a gevey sim what can i do??

  • Alejandro Rodriguez

    sim not valid problem im using a gevey sim what can i do??

    • Garry Hayer

      u gotta insert the original sim or else u hav to HACKTIVATE using snowbreeze

  • fadi debs

    sim inserted in this phone does not appear to be supported? what should i do

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000814176853 Mohamed Ahmed

      Hey I have the same problem! After upgrading to iO5 with baseband preserved (it is 4.10…) I cant activate my phone with AT&T sim. The phone is AT&T and it says sim not supported or not recognized or no sim or sim not valid. What should I do my friends? Help. Now I am stuck. I cant downgrade nor able to activate. HELP! Please!

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_FG7T2TRKVJ67RKVBDVJXMSYYDA Gabrielle

    Hey I’m having the same problem. Sim not valid. I’m also using a gevey sim. Please help. I can’t use my iphone for weeks.

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