How to Preserve Your Baseband For Unlock When Upgrading to iOS 5

By , Oct 13, 2011

Want to update your iPhone 4 or iPhone 3GS to iOS 5, but need to preserve your unlockable baseband for a future UltraSn0w unlock?

Early this morning, the Dev Team released an update to RedSn0w, which as we told you, incorporates some of the baseband preservation features normally found in PwnageTool.

Inside, you’ll find an easy to follow video walkthrough that shows you how to preserve your baseband for a soon to be released UltraSn0w unlock…

You will need the latest version of RedSn0w to follow this tutorial, which you can download from our Downloads page. The latest version is 0.9.9b5 and it’s Mac only at this point, though a Windows version should be available shortly according to the Dev Team.

How to Preserve Your Baseband With iOS 5:

Step 1: Open RedSn0w 0.9.9b5 and select ‘Extras’ and ‘Custom IPSW’

Step 2: Select the iOS 5 Firmware. (It will be in ~/Library/iTunes/iPhone Software Updates/ on the Mac.)

Step 3: Once it builds the new firmware, select ‘Pwned DFU’ from RedSn0w.

Step 4: Put your iPhone into DFU Mode, and RedSn0w will take over and put your device into Pwned DFU mode.

Step 5: Close RedSn0w, Open iTunes, and it should recognize your iPhone in recovery mode.

Step 6: While holding Option on your Mac’s keyboard, click ‘Restore’ and select your NO_BB firmware that was created in Step 3. BE SURE THAT YOU SELECT THE NO_BB firmware, and not the stock firmware, or else you will update your baseband.

Step 7: Once your iPhone is restored and back to the home screen, you can either jailbreak now, or wait until UltraSn0w is updated for iOS 5.

Note: This is not a jailbreak, this only allows you to preserve your baseband for future unlocks with UltraSn0w.

Will you continue to preserve your unlockable baseband? Let us know in the comments below.

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  • Burge

    One thing you forgot..
    No you can not downgrade your baseband…
    There is always one…

    • http://www.idownloadblog.com Jeff Benjamin

      lol… i figured we wouldn’t have to go there :) but maybe not. Good call.

    • Irfan

      How to downlode cedia in iPhone 4…

    • Jimmy

      Yes you can !! You can downgrade your baseband as long as the firmware which has the lower baseband is still being signed by Apple.

      • http://www.idownloadblog.com Jeff Benjamin

        You’re confusing baseband with firmware.

      • Burge

        Told you..lol..

      • Mayank

        Ya Jimmy is right.. i had upgraded my version to ios 5 GM earlier and it also upgraded my baseband.. But later i downgraded my OS to 4.3.5 when apple was signing it and i noticed that my baseband also downgraded to its previous version :)

      • Jimmy

        No i’m not, if you downgrade to a firmware Apple are still signing you will downgrade your baseband aswell, try it and you’ll see .. I’m not some noob just making random comments, I have actually done it myself several times .. When I updated to iOS 5 beta my baseband went up, when I went back to 4.3.5 it went down and when I went back to my signed custom ipsw for 4.3.3 it went back to how it was originally, it is a fact that you can downgrade your baseband when Apple are still signing the firmware associated with that baseband.

      • http://www.idownloadblog.com Jeff Benjamin

        Okay. Fair enough, though I haven’t been able to confirm this myself. We trust you.

      • DebTym

        yes. me also can confirm it’s true. apple is still signing 4.3.5 and you can downgrade your firmware as well as the baseband of that firmware

      • http://www.howtoarena.com Faheem

        Jimmy is right!

    • Alex

      That’s why you should preserve your baseband.

    • Alex

      That’s why you preserve the baseband.

      So you don’t run into problems in the future

    • hein

      yes, yes you can downgrade your baseband. 4.3.5 is still signed by apple, which means you can downgrade baseband back to what was offered in 4.3.5

  • DebTym

    Is it just the same with Snowbreeze? I just want to preserve my baseband and don’t need yet the jailbreak. Is it possible? preserving the baseband without jailbreaking? Pls make a tutorial also. It would really help.. even just a single soul here in this universe. =D

    • http://www.idownloadblog.com Jeff Benjamin

      Yes, you can do the same with Sn0wBreeze

      • DebTym

        Jeff how do i do it? Do all I have to do is just click the “baseband preservation mode” instead of “simple mode or expert mode” then i’m good to go? =D

      • http://www.idownloadblog.com Jeff Benjamin

        Yes, and it will be similar to the video above. It’ll create a separate firmware, and put your phone into pwned DFU mode to restore with iTunes.

      • DebTym

        THANK YOU JEFF! Will watch your video.^^ Thank You again! God Bless!

  • Francesco

    Ohhh man my iphone4GS, see wat I did there??? ….. is already gonna come with ios 5.. its bittersweet because I will have ios 5 installed already but I won’t be able to prevent my baseband :(

  • Francesco

    Ohhh man my iphone4GS, see wat I did there??? is already gonna come with ios 5.. its bittersweet because I will have ios 5 installed already but I won’t be able to prevent my baseband :(

  • http://www.idownloadblog.com/2011/10/13/how-to-preserve-baseband-upgrading-ios-5/ iphone3gs

    Hey Jeff great video, just a quick one i got i phone 3gs on the old school 3.1.3 firm ware bb 05.12.03
    so using this method i can persevere my bb and still upgrade, does that mean i can still use the ultrasnow unlock or wait for the new
    as with out that can not use the iphone
    regards

    • Burge

      That will work up to a point
      ultrasnow needs updating for iOS5…but you will keep your old baseband…

      • 3gs

        Thanks I think muslenerd will be putting it out tomorrow

  • Dovizu

    I plan to use Gevey Supreme to unlock my iOS 5 while not jailbreaking. But what if an iOS 5 OTA update comes, how am I supposed to preserve my baseband then?

    • http://www.idownloadblog.com Jeff Benjamin

      There’s no solution for OTA baseband preservation, not currently anyway. Your best bet is the traditional upgrade method.

      • Dovizu

        but since OTA update is used in iOS 5, Apple won’t be delivering complete-package iOS IPW files through iTunes anymore, right?

  • skatta

    Future ultrasn0w unlock? We’ve been waiting for that for quite some time now

    • http://www.idownloadblog.com Jeff Benjamin

      By future, we mean an iOS 5 compatible UltraSn0w unlock for unlockable basebands.

      • Burge

        Think he means newer basebands…the ones that ultrasnow does not cover…

  • elRocc

    Just wondering, and I’m totally new to the whole base band thing how will you know if your bb is one covered do they send out a list.

    • MrDealHD

      baseband 1.59.00 is the only baseband for iphone 4 that is unlockable at this time… not sure which versions for the 3gs..

  • MrDealHD

    Dont forget about tinyumbrella. That can also be used to preserve your baseband while upgrading to iOS 5. It makes itunes believe its connected to apple servers while you update so your baseband can stay the same.

    • http://www.idownloadblog.com Jeff Benjamin

      This too, though I do find RedSn0w to be simpler… But it’s probably just personal preference.

  • Giuliana Vizcarra

    I currently have an iPhone 4 on firmware 4.3.2 and Baseband 4.10.01 and I have to use Gevey Ultra for the unlock. If I upgrade to iOS 5 and preserve my baseband, will I be able to still use my Gevey Ultra to unlock it?

    • chris24

      Jeff make a video on this please… I too have a gevey sim and wondering how this will affect it when I update to iOS 5 with preserve bb…..

  • Damien Meade

    i have a gevey sim in my phone 4 will this work if i do this

  • idonthaveaname

    What is the difference between this and snowbreeze then? Does this work with the gevey ultra sim?

  • http://hype4.com g1sh

    Exactly – will it work with gevey sim ultra? I currently have 2.10.4 baseband in my iPhone 4 (4.3.3) and gevey works fine. If I update to iOS5 without updating the baseband do you think it’ll work the same way?

  • DebTym

    ALL OF YOU ASKING IF GEVEY WILL STILL WORK ON IOS 5, THE ANSWER IS YES! AS LONG AS YOU PRESERVE YOUR BASEBAND. USE SNOWBREEZE FOR WINDOWS AND REDSNOW FOR MAC TO PRESERVE BASEBAND. SPREAD THE WORD.

    • Goldenstar81

      Are u sure man ? Is it working ? My bb on 2.10

    • DebTym

      YUP. I’M 100% SURE ITS WORKING FLAWLESSLY. JUST PRESERVE THE BASEBAND.

    • Giuliana Vizcarra

      But does it work with the Gevey Ultra? Because I’ve read it only works with the first Gevey and Gevey Pro.

  • Idonthaveaname

    I thought io 5 beta 2 made gevey not work. Aldo What baseband should it be on

    • DebTym

      Any baseband. Mine is 4.10.01

  • Saqib

    Hi there,

    I updated to IOS 5 without preserving the baseband i am not able to jailbreak it with snow breeze nor redsnow… is there any way to downgrade to ios 4.3.3 as my phone is not in workable condition… :(

    • DebTym

      Use iFaith to downgrade your ipsw to 4.3.5 and it will bring back the baseband. Cause Apple is still signing 4.3.5 so better hurry

  • mallouk

    Hey Jeff need a small help here, if i update to ios 5 will i be asked for the original sim to activate my iPhone? bcz few months ago i was trying to restore my iPhone and it was stuck on recovery mode, when i kicked it out of recovery i was asked to insert my sim card for activation, well i obviously didn’t have that sim card so i gave it to a shop to fix it for me, but i don’t want to fall again in the same mistake… so will it ask me for the sim to activate it or no ?
    sorry for not being short but i wanted to explain every thing…

    • DebTym

      I’m not jeff but i could answer your question. And the answer is YES. But…if you don’t have the carrier sim..you could also use snoowbreeze to cook a firmware that is HACKTIVATED. Which means it bypasses the activation on itunes which like you encountered. But take note if your phone is hacktivated your push notification will not work same as your facetime.^^

      • mallouk

        ok, thank you :D

  • angelofken

    I updated to ios 5 on iphone 4, now the baseband is 4.11.08

    • DebTym

      you didn’t preserve the baseband then

  • cindy

    anyone can help me….I need to know how to downgrade baseband 04.10.01 ..(i have 4.3.1)..
    thank you

  • Vietnight

    how do i do this in windows? RedSn0w 0.9.9b5 is for Mac
    does RedSn0w 0.9.9b4 for windows work?

  • DebTym

    It’s for Mac only/ Windows users should wait for an update or just use Snowbreeze

  • cindy

    or is there any way to unlock my iphone4 with baseband 04.10.01 (not using sim)…

    • Giuliana Vizcarra

      I’m sorry to tell you the answer is No. There’s no unlock for 4.10.01, and there hasn’t been any so far. I have the same problem, that’s why I use the Gevey Ultra.

  • mr92

    What is the function of a baseband? Seems like I am able to use iOS 5 and my phone-tools with any basebands, isn’t there a development or differences between them?!

  • elRocc

    Will ultrasn0w unlock 4.11.08 or should I use Gevey sim as an option.

  • Ankur Thakkar

    guys if i dun jailbreak and juz upgrade to ios 5 would be unlocking be gone?

  • juan

    Any possible way to preserve my 1.59.00 and upgrade to IOS 5 through redsnow Windows??

  • Ehab

    I’ve an iPhone 4 4.3.3 BB 4.10.01
    Is there anyway I can change my BB? I wanna update to iOS5 and gevey hardly works on these settings -.-
    Help. PLEASE!!!

  • http://hype4.com g1sh

    Just risked it – updated to iOS 5 without updating the baseband (2.10.4) and unfortunately gevey seems not to work at the moment. It always ends up at “No Service” no matter how many times I restart / dial and what settings in network prefferences I turn on / off.

    But I DID have a problem with it before on 4.3.3 too, and eventually it just started working so I think it still might. Gevey Ultra accept screen came up only twice and not once there was a “single bar” up top, but I was able to dial 112 normally (once it took too long and I actually got signal) so that part works.

    The rest is up to blind luck I guess…

    • Giuliana Vizcarra

      Uhm.. I’m kind of confused, so did it work with Gevey Ultra?

    • chris24

      There’s a new way of using the gevey sim, when on iOS 5, once you get that no service sign, goto settings then goto accessibility and goto sim application and language put English. After that the gevey sim message will appear. Then dial 112. Then go back to setting and airplane mode off and on until it gets a carrier. Do this as many times until u got it. Hope this helps..

      • chris24

        Sorry for the beginning make sure your at no service, then goto settings then phone, then youll see sim applications..then follow the rest… Gudluck

      • Giuliana Vizcarra

        Great!! Thank you :) But tell me, does it work with Gevey Ultra as well? I’ve read that it only works with Gevey Sim and Gevey Pro.

      • Giuliana Vizcarra

        Great!! Thank you :) But tell me, does it work with Gevey Ultra as well? I’ve read that it only works with Gevey Sim and Gevey Pro, and all I have is a Gevey Ultra.

      • chris24

        Honestly no sure with ultra but the best way is to try, since apple is still sigining 4.3.5 y nt try it and if it doesn’t work you can always downgrade… Bt do it soon…

      • Giuliana Vizcarra

        Yeah, I know. I’m buying the Gevey Sim or Pro today just in case so I can try it with both. Thank you so much for the info! I really appreciate it :)

      • http://hype4.com g1sh

        On mine it only shows sim applications from my own simcard there, but sometimes that accept thing pops up. Still no service though. Gotta try it until it finally catches signal.

      • chris24

        No problem @Giuliana Vizcarra. Just keep tying I know for sure this works for bb 04.10.01
        g1sh yea just keep doing it should work let me know how it goes…

      • Jeremy

        I accidentally upgrade to iOs5 as well. I am hopeful that based on your note that I can still use Gevey but when I follow your steps and go to Phone I do not see “SIM applications” (just SIM PIN). Does anybody know of anyway to keep using Gevey if you have upgraded to iOS5? I have seen people talk about iFaith but am not familiar. Please help!

  • may

    I accidentally upgraded to stocked iOS 5, downgraded to 4.3.3 but the baseband didn’t

    Now DL 4.3.5 I hope they still sign this firmware.

    • Giuliana Vizcarra

      Apple still supports 4.3.5 firmware.

    • Pankaj

      I also accidentally upgraded to stocked iOS 5, Gevey Sim does not work as it upgrades Base Band to 4.11.8.

      Can some one please tell me how to downgrade to 4.3.3 or 5

      thanks
      Pankaj

  • may

    I accidentally upgraded to stocked iOS 5, downgraded to 4.3.3 but the baseband didn’t
    Now DL 4.3.5 I hope they still sign this firmware.

  • marco

    Hey jeff,..I upgraded my iphone 4 to ios5,. and tethered jailbreak it with redsn0w. looks like many tweaks are not working anymore, aren’t they? So far, i tried winterboard and remove background toggle on sbsetting..they’re not working,.it keeps going into safe mood. can you blog all the tweaks that not compatible with ios5, not all,.just maybe the useful ones..

  • juan

    anybody doing it on windows?

  • Zuhok

    And after this, how can i JB my iPhone?Please send me a link! THANKS A LOT!
    (And when come to PC, the redsnow 0.9.9b5?)
    Sry for my english.

  • Zuhok

    Can i do it with b4 ?

  • ricardo

    does this have any thing to do with a turbo sim ? can i update to ios5 with a turbo gevey unlock to tmobile ? please let me know someone !

  • raphael

    anyone know the solution to the “no sim/invalid sim card”? I have a 3GS and with BB 6.15.00, and I upgraded to ios 5.0, which I now know was a mistake. Currently using windows 7. Phone turned into a brick and any help would be greatly appreciated.

    • marvelprince

      I would like to know what to do here too. I have a 3gs with the BB 6.15.00 and would like to upgrade to ios5, but if I follow this guide won’t it just brick my phone? What should I do to upgrade?

  • http://none The iOS guy

    Hey Jeff so is it possible to downgrade from iOS 5 to iOS 4.3.3?

  • http://none The iOS guy

    Hey Jeff, is it possible to downgrade from iOS 5 to iOS 4.3.3?

  • mina

    i have a question i updated my iphone 4 to ios 5 this morning not knowing that my gevey wounldnt be able to support the ios 5 when i updated to 4.3.5 i had no problems with my iphone and i updated it over itunes i was heart broken when i saw that i couldnt use my iphone after the update :( so now im just wondering how can i downgrade to 4.3.5 i saw a comment where it says to use iFaith but i cant find it online anywhere and im using a windows comp. so if anyone has a direct link to iFaith please send it to me while apple is still signing it :D

  • ZinnyZinZin

    Jeff or whoever replies, i have an iPhone 4 and am currently on iOS 4.3.5 using gevey sim to unlock, if i preserve my baseband following your directions, will the gevey sim still work? Also if i update, will i need an AT&T sim to activate my iPhone 4 or will it just be the easy setup you did in the video?

  • serhan

    anyone know the solution to the “no sim/invalid sim card”? I have a 3GS and I upgraded to ios 5.0, which I now know was a BAD mistake. Now i cant activate my phone couse i lost my carrier sim and cant do anything.
    is there a unlock for ios 5 or something to activate my phone without the damn carrier sim card?
    thanks a lot

  • jns1122

    Just take your phone to At&t they should be nice and put an At&t sim in your phone to take it off the plug into iTunes screen; or you can find a friend with At&t sim. Even an unactivated sim, old one should work. You do not have to setup in iTunes, just plug it in and you are done.

    • Raphael

      already have AT&T sim card.

    • Raphael

      still says that it can’t detect a sim card

  • Andrew

    IMPORTANT! You forgot to mention to HOLD (SHIFT) for Windows or HOLD (OPTION) for Mac and then click Restore after iPhone has entered Pwn DFU Mode in iTunes to be able to select the new Firmware.

  • Katie

    Hi there, I got my iphone in the UK and I live in New Zealand, got my phone unlocked, but stupidly updated it today for the 5.0 software or whatever. The normal way to unlock my iphone doesn’t work and I have no service now.. I would do the dial 112 and turn airplane mode on, then off. This no longer works. Could you help me??

  • iRicheh

    My iPhone is currently 4.2.1 running on BB 03.10.01 and using a Gevey sim to work. If I upgrade while preserving my Baseband, will the turbo sim still work? That is, would a turbo sim work on iOS 5 with a preserved baseband of 03.10.01?

  • Hashan

    I need some help,

    Please forgive me for my ignorence, i am a noob in the subject.

    I have an iphone4 which is on 4.3.3 jail broken and unlokced using ultrasn0w on untethered mode ( i can restart and turn off and turn on the device without connecting it to the PC). My question is, if i follow the above steps, will it leave my mobile in the existing state ? will it be in untethered mode ? is the untethered mode provided by ultrasn0w ? if this process changes my current state of the mobile, will i have to jailbreak the mobile again and install ultrasn0w ? please advice.

    thanks in advance

    Hashan

  • JYash

    Hello helpers…i have a big problem in my i4…:(
    yesterday 1 update it to ios 5 after that no network it say no service…
    its 04.11.08 bb…..If i will use the steps in this video what will be my bb??

  • F.time

    I am trying to follow the instructions, thou i cant seem to find Itunes Software Update…? HELP! its not under library, infact there isnt any library on my mac pro

  • felix

    i have iphone 4 with baseband 04.10.01. i want to upgrade with custom firmware with redsnow. will i be able to use my sim card after restore. i do not want to jailbreak it.
    thanks

  • digvijay

    I had a iphone 3gs on software version 3.1.3. It was a locked phone purchased from apple store and I unlocked it successfully with the procedures available on internet. Used it for about an year with no problem. Recently I used the itunes to upgrade it to the latest software version 5.0. Now when i connect it to the itunes it shows that no SIM detected ( i am not using any SIM as I don;t have the compatible SIM) and it stucks on ‘Activation Failed’ screen. Please help me how do I jailbreak and unlock the phone. I have a windows PC.

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