How to Jailbreak iOS 5.0.1 Untethered And Preserve Your Unlockable Baseband

By , Dec 27, 2011

Today, as we’re sure you’re aware of, the untethered jailbreak for iOS 5.0.1 was released. Tools like RedSn0w and packages like Corona were released to take advantage of pod2g’s untethered exploit.

If you’ve had an iPhone 4 since launch, then it’s entirely possible that you’ve preserved your baseband up until now for unlocking and resale value.

If your primary concern is preserving your baseband for an UltraSn0w unlock, then you’ll be happy to hear that PwnageTool is back, and it packs full iOS 5.0.1 compatibility in tow…

How to Untether Jailbreak and Preserve Your Baseband for Unlock

Step 1: Download and run PwnageTool 5.0.1

Step 2: Select your device (e.g. iPhone 4) and select next.

Step 3: PwnageTool will search for your iOS 5.0.1 firmware. If it doesn’t find the iOS 5.0.1 firmware you can use Expert mode to browse for the specific location of your firmware.

Step 4: Place your device into DFU mode, and PwnageTool will put your device into PwnedDFU mode for custom iTunes restore.

Step 5: Close PwnageTool, open iTunes, hold option and click restore and find your CUSTOM firmware that was placed on your desktop by PwnageTool. Be sure to select your custom firmware or else you will upgrade your baseband.

Step 6: Let iTunes restore your device, and it should be jailbroken with preserved baseband on iOS 5.0.1. Again, this is an untethered jailbreak.

Step 7: You can now download UltraSn0w from Cydia, and if your iPhone meets the baseband requirements, you can unlock your iPhone to use with other carriers. This will also work with the Gevey SIM if your baseband meets the requirements.

For more information on how to unlock your iPhone with UltraSn0w, see our most recent UltraSn0w tutorial.

Have you preserved your baseband up until this point? Let us know in the comments below.

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  • http://www.facebook.com/benjisassoon Benji Sassoon

    Is it possible to hacktivate my iphone 3gs using this?

    • http://twitter.com/moimart Moises Martinez

      i can’t hacktivate the iOS 5.0.1 after Custom Firmware restore, what should i do?

      • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=771365083 Shahzad Sadiq

        use redsnow to jailbreak

  • Azhar Hussain

    Jeff! Make a video on how get Spire working on the iPhone 4! Please!

  • http://twitter.com/ImTannerC Tanner Covington

    you guys should also tell people, who are already tethered on 5.0.1, about ‘Corona Untether 5.0.1′

  • Anonymous

    uh… if I’ve seen this post 10 minutes ago, I could’ve preserved my baseband :P hehe

    • Anonymous

      You did
      Something wrong then. I did onmy i4 and it work perfect

  • http://fabiofl.me Fabio F.

    My iPhone is factory unblocked, bought without contract with any carrier. It was activated via iTunes normally.
    Do i need to preserve my baseband? Because i think I’ll not need ultrasnow for unblocking…

    • http://www.iDownloadBlog.com Sebastien

      No. You don’t care about that I’d it’s factory unlocked

      • http://fabiofl.me Fabio F.

        As I thought. Thank you man! :)

      • http://www.facebook.com/kevin.chiongsiehieng Xiao Xian

        how to know it is factory unlocked or wad? sry to ask, cuz it is a present from family =((

  • http://www.facebook.com/cubanno2031 Adrian Rodriguez

    confirm!!!! the bigboss repo no work, is overload!!!

  • Ryan Rizo

    im a little confused and would like to be set straight. i have a iphone 4 running 4.3.2 with 4.10.01 as the baseband. now i have already jailbroken the phone and am using a gevey sim unlock. which do i do first update to ios 5.0.1? im unsure about the steps and i dont want to lose the unlock

    • Anonymous

      No, crack the ipsw first with pwnage tool, then when you restore on itunes, use the NO_BB_iphone…. ipsw so you can restore/upgrade to latest firmware without bb upgrade.

      • http://www.facebook.com/sumeet.shrestha Sumeet Shrestha

        HI, I have the same situation as Ryan….can’t we follow the steps shown in the video for preserving video and later unlock it via Gevey?

      • Anonymous

        1) Download the latest version of Redsnow and download the proper (5.0.1) ISPW (both found on this sites download section)
        2) Open up Redsnow and go to “Extras” then “Custom ISPW” and then select the ISPW you downloaded in step 1
        3) Now go to Extras and then Pwned DFU and follow the steps
        4) Now open iTunes if you’re on a mac the hold the option key (for windows its either shift or ctrl) and click restore and MAKE SURE TO SELECT THE NO_BB IPSW (very important)

        And Your Done!

    • Muhammad Tariq Mohiuddin

      If you using windows then use Sn0wbreeze to preserve your Baseband then use the preserve baseband ipsw to restore your phone with itunes then you can jailbreak using redsn0w its pretty easy.. and dont forget to install ultrasn0w after jailbreaking your phone this will help your network bars…

      • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=26719051 Tina Nguyen

        I did this but redn0w keeps saying “unknown error” or “general error” so I can’t get past the “sim not valid” screen to even get to cydia, please help!

  • http://twitter.com/r0ssr0ss83 Brian Ross

    Ever since I untethered jailbroke my phone most of my apps won’t load anymore. For example if I open facebook the booting screen comes up showing facebook but then crashes after about 15-20seconds. this happens with all apps that aren’t stock apple apps. I’ve tried uninstalling them and reinstalling didn’t work, uninstalled almost all apps from cydia. No help? Jeff or anyone else, have you heard of this problem? My phone is virtually useless without apps!
    Thanks.

    • ryan collins

      Did you figure this out. I have the same problem.

    • Anonymous

      hahaha my phone is virtually useless without apps.

      I know what you mean, who needs a phone to place calls or recieve SMS

    • http://twitter.com/grantster5405 Grant Lawrence

      I am having the exact same problem. Facebook, Twitter and a bunch of other apps aren’t working. Let me know if you have found a solution. I was originally tethered on 5.0.1 with Redsnow, then I applied the Cydia patch for the untether. Please let me know, if I figure something out I’ll let you know. I suspect that we may have a tweak installed which is screwing up mobile substrate because when I go into safe mode everything works as it should.

      • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=843555033 Zachery Shandraw

        I had the same thing happening it turned out to be my3g causing the crashes.

  • Anonymous

    I have an unlocked iPhone 4 (BB 01.59.00) on iOS 4.1, running on tmobile… and a windows computer. Do I have to wait on sn0wbreeze to be able to unlock and jailbreak my iPhone 4 or can I do it with the already released redsnow? Thanks

  • http://twitter.com/elenkos Patricio  Arias

    I did everything just like the tutorial, and now I can’t activate the phone.. the original carrier is from another country :S

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=771365083 Shahzad Sadiq

      use redsnow

  • http://twitter.com/elenkos Patricio  Arias

    someone… please?

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000233435146 Rayven Villanueva Bragado

    “HAVE A BIG APPLAUSE TO OUR EXPERT HACKER’S , NICE JOB GUYS”
    >>>>KEEP IT UP

  • http://twitter.com/elenkos Patricio  Arias

    Please, is there a method to “hacktivate” the phone after doing this tutorial??? I can´t get through the welcome section.. after the restoring part via itunes… :( :( :( :( :(
    It’s impossible to get the original sim card.

    • http://twitter.com/krupsarno ahmed

      Same happened to me as idid everything right but now cant activate my iphone as i have no official sim. So strange that these wonderful people forgot to mention what should people do who are not on official carrier or have such sim to activate their iphones???

    • Muhammad Tariq Mohiuddin

      No need for original sim card just go ahead with redsn0w and jailbreak your phone this should activitae your phone…

  • http://twitter.com/HBTonly HBTonly

    #ATTfail user. iP4. Pwnagetool JB to 5.0.1, preserving baseband. No hacktivation.

    I used to have Ultrasn0w installed to handle the signal bar issue in 4.3.x, even though I use #ATTfail. Now Ultrasn0w causes me to completely LOSE my cell signal. Is there an update coming to again fix the signal bar?

  • http://www.facebook.com/markocr89 Marko Crnoglavac

    I just booted iphone with new version of redsnow and instaled ibooks but the app isn’t workig again. Wath shud i do? Can someone help me?

  • Anonymous

    How do I make my phone untethered if I already have a tethered jailbreak on my iPhone 4? Am I going to need to restore my phone? *sigh*

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Wilson-Sibi-Ishikawa/100000444167754 Wilson Sibi Ishikawa

      just download the corona in cydia

  • Anonymous

    im on 4.3.5 and i try to restore with custom ipsw and is not working when i go to itune to restore it say my this device isn’t eligible for the requested build what it mean? Please help

    • http://www.facebook.com/raza.chatha Raza Chatha

      Same happened with me! There is something wrong with the hosts file! But i am not sure how to fix it.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=771365083 Shahzad Sadiq

    guys..
    if ur stuck on the activation process after using pwnagetool..simply use redsnow to jailbreak..worked for me…

    • http://www.facebook.com/raza.chatha Raza Chatha

      can you plz post the last couple of lines from your hosts file?
      also tell what software you were using before!

    • http://www.facebook.com/haseeb786 Haseeb Ashraf

      Hey Shahzad, do you have a carrier locked phone? because i have a carrier locked iphone of at&t and im hesitating to use pwnagetool as if it will stuck on activation screen then how will i activate it without at&t sim card. i dont have one

      • http://www.facebook.com/raza.chatha Raza Chatha

        Oh dont worry about that…. you can just jailbreak it with redsnow and its good to go.
        you can then unlock it with gevey sim or ultrasnow.

      • http://www.facebook.com/haseeb786 Haseeb Ashraf

        sure? and should i be using the Pwnagtool for preserving baseband or redsn0w?

      • http://www.facebook.com/haseeb786 Haseeb Ashraf

        i tried, it said ‘this device isn’t eligible for the requested build’ so what should i do now?

      • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=771365083 Shahzad Sadiq

        i used pwnagetool to preserve the bb and update to ios 5.0.1.. then i used redsnow ( Jailbreak option) to jaibreak and activate the iphone..ull know its done when ur able to move ahead in the activation processs

      • Anonymous

        I followed the steps and I successfully jailbroke my iPhone 3GS and I preserved my baseband BUT I cannot activate/ or “hacktivate” my iphone- because it says “SIM NOT VALID”. I read Shahzad Sadiq’s comment of using redsnow to “re-jailbreak” so I while I was trying that option, I unchecked the Install Cydia box because it is Jailbroken via Pwnagetool, and I was hoping to see a box for Activate or Hacktivate Iphone-But instead I see a box for Deactivate Iphone. I checked Deactivate Iphone, and it runs through its process but ulitimately it fails and gives up. I restarted my iphone and I am able to run through the whole process again but I am still stuck on the SIM NOT Valid screen. Btw I don’t have a gevey sim or an official SIM (“at&t”)

        Is there any solution to hacktivate my iPhone 3GS after the Pwnagetool procedure, If so, can you please break it down for me & the rest of us. Thank you, and any help will be appreciated.

  • Anonymous

    this is important for 4s & iPad 2 we are pondering if we should upgrade to 5.0.1 or stay on 5.0 to be safe before apple release new one and that will postpone the untethering jailbreak that is being worked on. We need to hear from them. have them confirm because we want to hear from them.

  • http://twitter.com/ce_mit_ram Super_Ram

    my GPS/Location Services stopped working after untether jb with redsnow. using iphone 4 5.0.1. Please help.

  • Anonymous

    Hve follow the instruction… BUT now I´m stuck :/ It still stand “No service” And in the phone it says there aro no sim in the phone :( Have tried to reinstall UltraSn0w like 10 times now.. But it doesnt locks up.. Please help out

    • Jake Stanish

      your phone has been hacktivated. Redsnow does this automatically if you haven’t activated your iPhone before you jailbreak … this probably happened because you updated to iOS 5.0.1 then immediately jail broke your phone. The easiest thing to do is throw your phone in DFU have iTunes update, then make sure to setup the iPhone on whatever network you have … then install cydia (jailbreak)

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Charles-Chow/100002189653269 Charles Chow

    I am on 3GS, 5.0.1, 06.15.00.
    I did restore from a custom FW made from redsn0w and use the latest redsn0w to Untethered jailbreak. I am stuck with no service after installing ultrasn0w 1.2.5. Anyone can help?

    • Jake Stanish

      You hacktivated your phone … you forgot to activate after installing your new ipsw and redsnow locked out your network (as it is supposed to) since it wasn’t setup before the jailbreak. You need to throw it in DFU, reinstall the custom ipsw through iTunes, then activate your phone, then jailbreak and install cydia after you confirm your network setting are working properly.

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/Luis-Filipe-Soares/1354960321 Luis Filipe Soares

        i have the same problem is stuck in ‘ searching ‘ or ‘ no service’ , how do i activate my phone without the original sim card ? i bought my iPhone in another country , help me

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/Charles-Chow/100002189653269 Charles Chow

        Exactly. How do I activate my phone when my phone is locked because it was bought in another country?
        I tried installing the custom ipsw, and unless I jailbreak it, my phone will be stuck at the activation screen. Any other solution?

      • Anonymous

        Jake, can you please let me know the best way to activate the phone in case of No service message is displayed. I used the already installed iOS 5.0.1 and did the jailbrake and unlocked. And yet the No service message is displayed. Could you please confirm if this below steps are correct and/or if there are any corrections, can you please shed some light?

        1. Get custom IPSW from redsnow
        2. Update firmware using this custom IPSW downloaded from redsnow by updating the folder in which firmware is downloaded on the PC?
        3. Once the custom IPSW is updated, then run the jailbreak and unlock again

  • http://www.facebook.com/mr.quasimodo ค๊อปเต๋อร์ Rattanapitak

    i’m stuck at “restoring iPhone software…” someone please help me :’(((

  • Scott Stephens

    What a process this one was. First I got an error (1604, I think). Tried again and got another error, something like “Can’t restore to this phone”. Phone was stuck in DFU mode. Downloaded 4.0.1 and 4.3.3 to try and just go back. Neither version of p0wnage would work. Finally tried 5.0.1 on another computer and got it to work. Probably took me 3 hours of work. During activation, I had to use an old AT&T sim (I’m on T-mobile). If I didn’t have the sim, I’d still be stuck on the welcome screen. I couldn’t see a way past it. Almost everything working now but many of the Cydia programs won’t load, probably due to overload of everyone updating right now.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Don-Tran/100002084453366 Don Tran

    dang this new ios suck keep crashing my infinite sms.

  • Michael Jennings

    I’m jailbroken by green poison and i’m on 4.2.6 do I just upgrade through iTunes? Or is it possible to upgrade and keep all the stuff on my phone? What is the correct process to get to 5.0.1?

  • http://www.facebook.com/raza.chatha Raza Chatha

    so do i!
    let me know if you find out buddy!

    • Anonymous

      i did that exact day, i had to put it in dfu mode or something, correclty from Pwnage Tools

  • nate zwit

    i have an iphone 4 running on bb 4.11.08 will this work for me

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_TEEL72APMGOA24ABKZNYDECBVA Odem

    i have problem with identify iDevice. Can anybody help? I’m talking about iPod Touch 4G

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1552119091 Brandy Devisco

    help i can’t restore my iphone. i tunes said “The Iphone could not be restored. An Unknown error occured (10). help please im using iphone 4

    • James Karungaru

      Put your phone in DFU mode while itunes is running and let iTunes detect it. This works for me when I have this error.

  • http://www.phoenixstudios.com.np/corporate Herojig

    I have a 3G, not 3Gs, so will this work. I have BB 6.15 and 4.2.1 working now. I also have pgbackup, so if anything goes wrong, is there also a way to recover? thx!!!

  • http://twitter.com/Theonlybutler Shannon butler

    I have the hybrid iOS5.0/5.0.1 install but when I try to install 5.0.1 build 9a405 it wont be verified by apple do I need to ensure I have build 9a406 or is it something else? Thanks

  • sam jones

    if i have already jailbroken and unlocked my iPhone 3G in the past and changed the baseband to the iPad one (i’m still jailbroken on 4.2.1) do i still need to take the PwnageTools route or can i just update to 5.0.1 and run RedSn0w?

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Piyush-Rathod/100001258203837 Piyush Rathod

    Sorry guys this is off the topic question i want to know is my iPhone factory unlocked or not.My iPhone 4 works on every sim card and I have not installed ultrasnow , when my iPhone was not jailbroken it use to also work on every sim card . And now I am on 4.2.1 and when I will update to iOS 5.0.1 will i be locked or factory unlocked and do u need to preserve my baseband its on Baseband 3.10.01.
    Plz reply,

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Leviboxer-Lmg/519020546 Leviboxer Lmg

    Jailbroke iPhone 4 quite easy, but finding it too buggy! A few apps I’ve purchased wont open so reverting back to no jailbreak until it settles down and only did it for the Spire app but that don’t work either! Thanks guys but I’ll wait a while longer yet until all bugs ironed out

  • Dâmaso Drummond Neto

    I didnt know that, and I updated my baseband (i’m not used PwnageTool). What I have to do ?

  • http://www.facebook.com/chinkokhongjoshua Josh Salgatar Chin

    Hi guys, the video provided in this guide is for Mac users using Pwnage Tool. For us Windows users, is it okay for us to cook a custom iOS 5.0.1 firmware to preserve our baseband with the latest Redsn0w 0.9.10b3 and restoring it through iTunes and lastly using the Redsn0w 0.9.10b3 tool to untethered jailbreak and unlocking with Ultrasn0w? or Should we wait for Sn0wbreeze?

    Has anyone tried this method yet?

  • Isaac Graves

    does the pwnage tool only work on mac or is usable with pc?

  • Isaac Graves

    does the pwnage tool only work on mac or is usable with pc?

    • http://www.facebook.com/chinkokhongjoshua Josh Salgatar Chin

      Pwnage Tool is a Mac exclusice only.

    • http://www.facebook.com/chinkokhongjoshua Josh Salgatar Chin

      Pwnage Tool is a Mac exclusice only.

  • Nazka N

    Where do i download Pwnage Tool 5.0.1?

  • http://twitter.com/mikeysalazar69 mikey salazar

    Why do you need to preserve baseband!?

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Tommy-James/100001794725350 Tommy James

    What’s the difference between using this method and the one I used for “No_BB” to retain my baseband??? Can anyone enlighten me on this or are both methods are just the same?

  • http://twitter.com/mikeysalazar69 mikey salazar

    Why do you need to preserve baseband!?

    • Ahmad Durani Razad Khan

      carrier locked iphone needs t perserve baseband..which can be unlocked..if u update it well..u cant use the phone with other network/or carrier..as such a custom ipsw has to be created..which preserve the baseband

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Christian-Acevedo/781409477 Christian Acevedo

    I jail broke my iPhone 4 with redsn0w.b3 , all the jailbroken stuff works fine but I can’t open safari, or add contacts, and thats just the stuff I have noticed so far. I installed corona, have tried booting using redsn0w, and no luck. Any ideas?

  • Muhammad Tariq Mohiuddin

    The new untethered jailbreak works fine however im facing problem with 3g for internet because i use gevey sim…. my phone shows only 1 bar of network. any solution

  • Muhammad Tariq Mohiuddin

    The new untethered jailbreak works fine however im facing problem with 3g for internet because i use gevey sim…. my phone shows only 1 bar of network. any solution

    • Muhammad Tariq Mohiuddin

      i found the solution, just install ultrasn0w which is for network unlock even if it doesnt support your baseband then restart your phone. thats it now after your usual gevey procedure you will see full network bars…

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_SGB4MDKY3IO3CEND7KB4DMC3RU Omar

    can i use pwnage tool for windows or its only for mac to upgrade 4.3.3 to 5.0.1

    • Muhammad Tariq Mohiuddin

      you cannot use on windows coz its for Mac

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1395121239 Aisha Feliciano

    does this work on iphone4s??

  • http://twitter.com/tweenkstar aurora

    what if i did not preserve my baseband, running ios5 and my phone unlocked so I used gevey sim but ios5 does not work with gevey sim card :( . haay..

  • http://twitter.com/SelectorBrayo Brian Kiyingi

    Hello, I accidentally upgraded my baseband to 4.11.08 while installing iOS 5.0.1 on iPhone 4, so I can’t unlock the network, is it possible to downgrade my baseband?

    • Nuno Dias

      No, it’s not possible to downgrade baseband!

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