How to Downgrade Baseband 2.30.03 to 2.28.00

by Sebastien on Feb 4, 2009

If you like this post, please feel free to digg it, or subscribe to our RSS feed, or follow me on Twitter, or all of the above ;)

[digg-me]Since firmware 2.2.1 came out and updated the baseband from 2.28.00 to 2.30.03, many people accidentally updated, and are now stuck on baseband 2.30.03. I wonder how you can “accidentally update” your firmware as it takes a few steps, but anyways… I’ve had a few emails from people asking me how to downgrade baseband 2.30.03 to 2.28.08.

If you’re looking to unlock your iPhone with YellowSn0w, you can’t do that as long as you will on baseband 2.30.03. Unfortunately, you can not downgrade baseband 2.30.03 to 2.28.00! Sorry folks but you should have read the Dev Team’s warning!

Now the good news is that I’m very confident the Dev Team is working on updating YellowSn0w so it works with firmware 2.2.1, baseband 2.30.03.

You can still downgrade your firmware from 2.2.1 to 2.2 in iTunes by hitting SHIFT + RESTORE and selecting firmware 2.2 but you will most likely have errors and even if you manage to downgrade, you still won’t be able to downgrade the baseband.

UPDATE: It’s now possible to downgrade your baseband thanks to pHaseBanDowngrader

pH (Pedro Henrique Franceschi) created a tool to help you downgrade your baseband from 2.30.03 to 2.28.00. To use this tool, you have to have to have an iPhone with bootloader 5.8. If your iPhone was manufactured before September 2008, you’re good. If you bought your iPhone after September 2008 with firmware 2.2.1 out of the box, then you can’t use pHaseBanDowngrader because your bootloader is 5.9.

Here are the instructions on how to downgrade using pHaseBanDowngrader:

1. Download this file
2. SSH into your iPhone and put the downloaded folder (phasebandowngrader) inside the folder /Applications/
3. In MobileTerminal.app, type “login” and enter “root” as user, the default password is “alpine”
4. Now, type “cd /Applications/phasebandowngrader && ./phasebandowngrader”. Follow the screen instructions
5. Done!

Again, a big Thank You to pH for developing this tool.

 

Dev Team Updates QuickPWN and PwnageTool for 2.2.1

by Sebastien on Jan 30, 2009

I thought the Dev Team would release updated version of QuickPWN and PwnageTool sometimes next week, but as usual, they were faster than I expected. In a blog post, the Dev Team gives us more info about these 2 jailbreaking tools and also tells us about the dos and donts.

I could try to paraphrase what they said but I think it’s better I just copy/paste their post entirely. I do not like doing this but I believe it is very important information that shouldn’t be disregarded.

I highly suggest you go visit the Dev Team blog and leave a nice comment over there. Click here to read this post on the Dev Team blog.

You can expect a QuickPWN guide and tutorial from me within the next couple hours, so stay tuned!

UPDATE:

This is the low down on our tools for use with the 2.2.1 firmware from Apple, read the whole post in full before attempting anything.

  1. GOLDEN RULE: If you have a 3G iPhone running 2.2 firmware and you want to keep your ability to use yellowns0w (or the option to use it in the future) do NOT use QuickPwn, and do not use the official ipsw or the iTunes update process without using PwnageTool.
  2. Yellowsn0w will NOT work with the baseband version (02.30.03) that is present in the recent 2.2.1 update  – you will need to create a custom ipsw that will allow you to update safely without affecting the baseband.
  3. Please read all parts of this post before downloading and using these tools.
  4. Read items 1, 2 and 3 again and again.
  5. At the bottom of this post are the bittorrent files for the latest versions of PwnageTool and QuickPwn.
  6. These apps are suitable for the recent 2.2.1 release.
  7. The Yellowsn0w version has been updated to 0.9.7. Yellowsn0w is available from Cydia or Installer - this version allows compatibility with pwned 2.2.1 system (not baseband) - again – remember 0.9.7 yellowsn0w DOES NOT WORK WITH 2.2.1 (02.30.03) directly - you need to be running a ‘pwned’ version of 2.2.1 which doesn’t upgrade the baseband.
  8. Users of OS X 10.5.6 will be unable to use DFU mode correctly, please see the note towards the end of this post to easily fix this issue.

Baseband 101

The ‘baseband’ is the generic name given to the internal components of the iPhone that handle the phone calls and Internet access. This ‘baseband’ is a tiny and unique independent computer system that runs inside your iPhone, it is separate to the main system that handles the applications (such as email and google maps) and it talks to the main part of the phone over an internal communications network. Think of it like a cable modem or other peripheral that is attached to your home PC that needs occasional updates. When a software update is released and presented to you within iTunes the baseband is sometimes updated (to fix bugs or add new features). The 2.2.1 update for the iPhone 3G contains such an update, so running the vanilla updater straight away with iTunes will reprogram and update the baseband. This could be bad for certain people, depending on your ultimate aim.

SIM Free/SP Unlocked/Factory Unlocked iPhone 3G

This applies if you bought your iPhone 3G for $$$$$$$. This model of iPhone 3G doesn’t have an Service Provider lock (aka factory unlocked) and you are able to put any SIM card into the phone and get service. Your phone is already unlocked so you do not need to worry about baseband updates, simply upgrade to 2.2.1 using iTunes and then use QuickPwn to Pwn and Jailbreak. This will add Cydia and Installer too.

Locked iPhone 3G – Preserve Baseband

This applies if you have a locked iPhone 3G and you wish to update to 2.2.1 but preserve the iPhone’s current baseband software. Preserving the baseband will ensure that you can still use “yellowsn0w” the iPhone 3G unlock application. To upgrade your phone to 2.2.1 and preserve the state of the baseband you need to create a custom .ipsw with PwnageTool. This custom .ipsw will not contain the baseband update but of course will still give you any new stuff from 2.2.1

There are plenty of tutorials about this process on the web, but PwnageTool contains intuitive graphics and easy to follow prompts that should have you up and running in no time at all. Please note: PwnageTool is only available for Mac OS X.

Locked iPhone 3G

If you are using your iPhone with one carrier and have no interest in the possibility of an iPhone 3G unlock in the near future then just restore or upgrade to 2.2.1 using iTunes and use QuickPwn to Jailbreak and add Cydia and Installer.

iPhone 2G (1st Generation)

Update or Restore your iPhone 2G with iTunes then run QuickPwn to do the magic, ‘nuff said, you don’t need to worry about anything.

iPod Touch 1G (Original iPod Touch)

Update to 2.2.1 with iTunes and run QuickPwn.

iPod Touch 2G (New iPod Touch)

Sorry, no support at this time, but Redsn0w is being actively researched and developed.

Fixing DFU mode on 10.5.6

As noted previously OS X 10.5.6 introduced a bug that affected the use of DFU mode. with some Macs. There have been previously published hacks and techniques to fix this, but here is another method that can be used to easily restore functionality.

  1. You will need an account with ADC (Apple Developer Connection) this is free and takes a few minutes to sign up, you should read the terms and conditions carefully and you should only sign up if you are thinking of developing applications in the future – http://developer.apple.com/mac/
  2. Download the disk image “IOUSBFamily Log release for Mac OS X 10.5.5 Build 9F33” (yes, that is a “5” in 10.5.5 – this is a developer debug package of the USB kernel extension).
  3. Install IOUSBFamily-315.4.1.pkg from within the disk image
  4. Reboot your system!

Official Bittorrent Releases -

  • PwnageTool 2.2.5 for Mac OSX is here SHA1 Sum – 8fe2f20c00f48b37d8262d6872a12166c6e165ba
  • QuickPwn 2.2.5 for Mac OSX is here SHA1 Sum – 2f1353242ef10dc408e95786643e497fcd04e4ea
  • QuickPwn 2.2.5-2 for Windows is here SHA1 Sum – 82aae63218316af42e4fa20f8c69d9eb4fe9d4ee

Click here for the official blog post by the Dev Team.

 

Heads Up On Firmware 2.2.1 And Jailbreak/Unlock

by Sebastien on Jan 28, 2009

Since firmware 2.2.1 was released yesterday, a lot of concerns were raised whether or not you should update. The quick answer is NO, do not update if you care about your jailbreak or your unlock. MuscleNerd released a video on Qik giving us more info about the situation. Below are notes from the video.

About the iPhone 3G:

If you use YellowSn0w, you do not want to update to 2.2.1 as it will remove the possibility to install it. The only way you could do it is my installing a custom firmware that doesn’t update the baseband. PwnageTool and QuickPwn do just that but they haven’t been updated for 2.2.1 yet so wait for them to come out.

About the iPod Touch 2G:

The 2.2.1 firmware doesn’t affect your ability to jailbreak your iPod Touch 2G. It didn’t remove the ability for the Dev Team to do a tethered jailbreak. The Dev Team is still looking for an exploit to allow an untethered jailbreak. In other words, hang in there, they are working on it.

About iPhone 2G and iPod Touch 1st Gen:

2.2.1 doesn’t affect your ability to jailbreak or unlock but again, wait for an updated version of QuickPwn and PwnageTool to do that.

As usual, I will report to you as the news come about 2.2.1 and jailbreaking/unlocking so you may want to subscribe to the RSS feed to be notified in time.

 

iPhone Firmware 2.2.1 Available. Jailbreakers, DO NOT Update!

by Sebastien on Jan 27, 2009

Apple just released firmware 2.2.1 and as usual, if you are on a jailbroken iPhone, do NOT update!

According to MacRumors:

iPhone Firmware 2.2.1 Update

This update contains bug fixes and improvements, including the following:

  • Improved general stability of Safari
  • Fixed issue where some images saved from Mail do not display correctly in the Camera Roll

Products compatible with this software update:

  • iPhone
  • iPhone 3G

The baseband has been updated too (Modem Firmware: 02.30.03) so again, do not update your iPhone if you are jailbroken/unlocked.

Apparently, there is no major features added to this update. I will keep you posted as the news come.

As usual, you can download the latest firmwares for all iPhones and iPod Touch in the iPhone downloads section.

Thanks @dannyswrld for the tip and for this update on what’s up with 2.2.1:

  • Faster and snappier!
  • Less crashy.
  • All Safari bugs I know of have been fixed.
  • RAM is definitely better. Apps don’t eat it up as much as before.
  • Bug fixed where saved images were pixelated and blurry.
  • Bug fixed where when you turned on an app on a flat surface the accelerometer would turn off.
  • Emoji’s still work.

Leave a comment about what you think is new in this firmware.

 

iPhone 2.2 Jailbreak Officially Out!

by Sebastien on Nov 22, 2008

I knew it wouldn’t take too long to the Dev Team to come up with a new jailbreak method for firmware 2.2. They just released an important message on their blog that every jailbreaker should read before attempting to pwn their iPhone.

I don’t like copying large part from other people’s blogs but I feel like it’s necessary in this case as I want to make sure you fully understand the methods and the risks you’re taking if you decide to go ahead and jailbreak your iPhone. You can also read this post on the Dev Team’s blog.

  1. GOLDEN RULE: If you have a 3G iPhone and want potential soft unlock in the near future do NOT use QuickPwn, and do not use the official ipsw or the iTunes update process without using PwnageTool.
  2. Read item 1 again and again.
  3. At the bottom of this post are the bittorrent files for the latest versions of PwnageTool and QuickPwn.
  4. These are suitable for the recent 2.2 release.
  5. Please read all parts of this post before downloading and using these tools.
  6. The ‘late 2008’ MacBook/air/pro line of computers have an issue with DFU mode, it is possible to go from Pwned 2.1 -> 2.2 but going from stock to Pwned does not work, if in any doubt use a different machine.
  7. Choosing the correct tool is crucial. Be warned!


Baseband 101

The ‘baseband’ is the generic name given to the internal components of the iPhone that handle the phone calls and Internet access. This ‘baseband’ is a tiny and unique independent computer system that runs inside your iPhone, it is separate to the main system that handles the applications (such as email and google maps) and it talks to the main part of the phone over an internal communications network. Think of it like a cable modem or other peripheral that is attached to your home PC that needs occasional updates. When a software update is released and presented to you within iTunes the baseband is sometimes updated (to fix bugs or add new features). The 2.2 update for the iPhone 3G contains such an update, so running the vanilla updater straight away with iTunes will reprogram and update the baseband. This could be bad for certain people, depending on your ultimate aim.

SIM Free/SP Unlocked/Factory Unlocked iPhone 3G

This applies if you bought your iPhone 3G for $$$$$$$. This model of iPhone 3G doesn’t have an Service Provider lock (aka factory unlocked) and you are able to put any SIM card into the phone and get service. Your phone is already unlocked so you do not need to worry about baseband updates, simply upgrade to 2.2 using iTunes and then use QuickPwn to Pwn and Jailbreak. This will add Cydia and Installer too.

Locked iPhone 3G – Preserve Baseband

This applies if you have a locked iPhone 3G and you wish to update to 2.2 but preserve the iPhone’s current baseband software. Preserving the baseband will give you the maximum chance for any upcoming software unlock. To upgrade your phone to 2.2 and preserve the state of the baseband you need to create a custom .ipsw with PwnageTool. This custom .ipsw will not contain the baseband update but of course will still allow all the cool new stuff from 2.2.

There are plenty of tutorials about this process on the web, but PwnageTool contains intuitive graphics and easy to follow prompts that should have you up and running in no time at all.

Locked iPhone 3G

If you are using your iPhone with one carrier and have no interest in the possibility of an iPhone 3G unlock in the near future then just restore or upgrade to 2.2 using iTunes and use QuickPwn to Jailbreak and add Cydia and Installer.

Locked iPhone 2G (1st Generation)

Restore your iPhone 2G with iTunes then run QuickPwn to do the magic, ‘nuff said.

iPod Touch 1G (Original iPod Touch)

Update to 2.2 with iTunes and run QuickPwn.

iPod Touch 2G (New iPod Touch)

Sorry, no support at this time.

Bittorrent Releases

  • PwnageTool 2.2 for Mac OS X is here SHA1 Sum – 97ee6096aaa1967498431bf01c36c18d0e877545
  • QuickPwn 2.2 for Mac OS X is here SHA1 Sum – 254b8af0e19870a4660b7b11e3b6f6ae1d6bc66f
  • QuickPwn 2.2 for Windows is here SHA1 Sum – ffdbc561224c61ffc2713cb6a6e696b6d429c4ca

I’m gonna be working on a QuickPwn 2.2 Guide and a PwnageTool 2.2 Tutorial and I should post this within hours.

UPDATE: I wrote new tutorials on how to jailbreak or unlock your iPhone 2.2 firmware using QuickPwn:

 

Downgrade iPhone Firmware 2.2 to 2.1

by Sebastien on Nov 22, 2008

Firmware update 2.2 surprised a few people who accidentally updated their iPhone. If that happened to you, you now have 2 choices: either stay and 2.2 and wait for the Dev Team to come up with a jailbreak method for 2.2, or you can try to downgrade from 2.2 to 2.1.

I personally don’t have this issue. I haven’t updated to 2.2 but I figured that some of you guys may have, so I started looking for a solution to post here. The problem is there doesn’t seem to be a solution that works for one main reason: 2.2 updates your baseband and once your baseband is updated, you can’t downgrade it to 2.1 (not as yet anyway).

From what I read, only 2-3 people were actually able to get their iPhone back to 2.1 without issues but it is very unclear what they did exactly… Now let’s have a look at these different methods that supposedly show you how to downgrade from iPhone firmware 2.2 to 2.1. Read More

 

iPhone Firmware 2.2 is Out. Jailbreakers Should Not Update!

by Sebastien on Nov 21, 2008

The rumor was right… Apple did release firmware 2.2 last night and for once, it seems that we have some useful features added:

Enhancements to Maps:

  • Google Street View
  • public transit and walking directions
  • display address of dropped pins
  • share location via email

Enhancements to Mail

  • resolve isolated issues with scheduled fetching of email
  • improved formatting of wide HTML email

Other Enhancements

  • Improved stability and performance of Safari
  • Podcasts are now available for download in the iTunes application (over Wi-Fi and cellular networks)
  • Decrease in call set-up failures and call drops
  • Improved sound quality of visual voicemail messages
  • Pressing the Home button from any Home screen takes you the first Home screen
  • Preference to turn on/off keyboard auto-correction

Apparently, iPod Touch users don’t get the Google Maps upgrade that includes the addition of Street View as well as public transit and walking directions.

Like they did earlier this week, the Dev Team warns us about updating the iPhone using iTunes.

So, as anticipated our friends the misfits have recently released the long awaited 2.2 update. We can confirm that this update SHOULD NOT be applied using iTunes if you want the chance of a soft-unlock in the near future.

If you want to keep that option of a ‘soft-unlock in the near future’ available but you want the new features of 2.2, you will be able to update to 2.2 using a PwnageTool created custom ipsw file that disables the baseband update. You will be able to do this using an updated version of PwnageTool that will be released sometime soon.

Some facts -

  • The 2.2 firmware for 3G contains a baseband update for the 3G iPhone
  • The 2.2 firmware for 2G (1st gen iPhones) doesn’t contain a baseband update and the baseband is still at 04.05.04
  • We believe that our Pwnage technique (and therefore the Jailbreak) isn’t affected, but PwnageTool and QuickPwn do not support this release as yet, so DO NOT install 2.2 using iTunes as you will lose your jailbreak
  • If you apply this update and you previously relied on PwnageTool or QuickPwn to activate your phone, it may become temporarily deactivated and unusable (until we release the new version of PwnageTool or QuickPwn).
  • PwnageTool and QuickPwn updates will be released as soon as possible that will allow a safe update path to 2.2 the release of these updates is inevitable but not imminent, we are creating the modifications right now and we need to put the new software through the usual testing process.
  • If you apply this update and you have third-party (non AppStore) applications  that you rely on they will stop working.
  • 2G (1st gen) iPhone users who cannot wait for the new PwnageTool or QuickPwn can safely “Update” to 2.2 using iTunes, this will preserve the existing activation. However “restoring” to 2.2 using iTunes will return the iPhone to the unactivated state. If you are in any doubt just wait. NB: This works for 2G ONLY.
  • The use of SIM-Proxies (small circuit boards/chips that sit underneath the SIM card) to provide GSM/UMTS service on your locked iPhone 3G is a method that we have always advised against. Early reports suggest that the 2.2 update disables the functionality of these devices. The techniques used were always unreliable and we are surprised that they have lasted this long.
  • We are not working on the 2nd generation iPod touch at the moment, so we cannot comment on what the the 2.2 software update may do to this specific model

So, as always, if you are in any doubt whatsoever please delay the install of this firmware on any of your devices until we have investigated the release in more detail. Watch this space ;-)

Also, iTunes 8.0.2 is out now. I doubt this will make much difference either way, but ask yourself, why bother. Just because a new version is out doesn’t mean you want it. I would hold off on this also.

iPhone Firmware 2.2 and iTunes 8.0.2 are both available from the downloads section of our blog.

 

iPhone Firmware 2.2 on November 21st?

by Guest Author on Nov 11, 2008

According to a rumor by iPhoneHellas, the new iPhone 2.2 firmware will be released on November 21st.

Some of the new features will include:

- New look for the Safari with the Google search bar now occupying its own space on the title bar (iPhone v2.2 beta1)
- Add toggle On / Off to disable the auto-correction (iPhone v2.2 beta1).
- 461 Japanese emoji icons (iPhone v2.2 beta1).
- Support for new languages.
- The Line-in audio is activated and can be used through the headphone jack.
- Google Street View (iPhone v2.2 beta1).
- Google Transit information – Routes public transport (iPhone v2.2 beta2).
- Walking directions (iPhone v2.2 beta2).
- Location sharing.
- The sector ‘Categories’ now shows the icons of the applications instead of the list.
- In each page of the application has been added by a button ‘Tell A Friend’ & ‘Report A Problem’.
- Added the possibility of scoring the application when the user chooses to delete from the device (iPhone v2.2 beta2).
- Added the possibility for direct downloading of podcasts from the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store (iPhone v2.2 beta2).

Now if only they would put a copy and paste feature in!

 

How to jailbreak your iPhone 3G 2.1 firmware

by Sebastien on Sep 12, 2008

Wow, again, it didn’t take long for BigBoss to come up with a not-so-easy way to jailbreak your iPhone 3G.

  1. Download the 2.1 firmware for iPhone 3G from the iPhone Downloads section and save it to your desktop
  2. Install iTunes 8
  3. Update your iPhone to firmware 2.1 with iTunes and make sure it is activated
  4. Uninstall iTunes 8
  5. Uninstall Apple Mobile Device Support (From Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel)
  6. Install itunes v7.7. – you can find it here
  7. Download QuickPwn with the correct 2.1 bundle inside it here
  8. Run QuickPwn. Select the iPhone 3G 2.1 firmware that you downloaded in Step 1
  9. Select at least Cydia. You may also select Installer
  10. Once finished, your iPhone will reboot, which may take a few minutes. Cydia and Installer will not be visible on your springboard. Don’t panik! This is ok.
  11. Download TotalCommander and t-pot addon
  12. Install TotalCommander and in the left pane navigate to T-PoT.1.1.zip and click on it. It will install t-pot automatically
  13. Download the mobileinstallation patch
  14. Use Totalcommander to install the patched mobileinstallation file to /System/Library/PrivateFrameWorks/MobileInstallation.framework. Click on the dropdown box [-\-] top left and select network neighborhood then t-pot. Remember to back up your original mobileinstallation first!
  15. Still in TotalCommander delete /private/var/mobile/Library/Caches/com.apple.mobile.installation.plist
  16. Reboot your iPhone
  17. Done!

This is not the most straightforward method to jailbreak your iPhone 3G but it is the only one so far! As usual, use it at your own risks…

Thank BigBoss

 

Download iPhone Firmware 2.1

by Sebastien on Sep 12, 2008

I just posted links to the iPhone firmware 2.1 for iPhone 3G and 2G in the iphone downloads section of the site. Should you need them later, you know where they are ;-)

 
Page 5...23456