Month: June 2009

Is This A Potential iPhone 3G S Jailbreak?

George Hotz aka GeoHot, the iPhone hacker who was responsible for the first hardware unlock on the first gen iPhone, just posted an interesting image on his blog.

iClarified was the first site to break the news and give us some insight about what all these crazy codes mean:

Details of the exploit are still being gathered; however, it looks like GeoHot was able to insert a custom command to iBoot meaning sigchecks have been bypassed (thanks mav). This should be a start for the iPhone 3GS (N88AP) jailbreak which has been dubbed purplera1n.

That is some very good news for iPhone 3G S owners (me included) who are eagerly waiting for a jailbreak. I guess time will tell. Keep your fingers crossed!

AT&T Releases Turn By Turn GPS In the App Store

There's a bunch of new GPS application being released in the App Store these days. Even AT&T took a shot at it by releasing AT& T Navigator. The app is free to download but $9.99 will be added to your bill every month to use it. Pretty pricey if you want my opinion...

AT&T Navigator was developed in partnership will TeleNav and includes some of the following features:

voice-guided navigation automatic rerouting real-time traffic updates and more...

At $9.99/month, you might as well buy a cheap TomTom. Thanks but no thanks, AT&T. I'll wait for the TomTom app that was presented at the WWDC a few weeks ago.

iPhone 3.0 Jailbreak & Unlock Roundup

The new iPhone 3.0 came out about a week ago and the Dev Team already managed to jailbreak and unlock it. All the info available about jailbreaking and unlocking might be a little confusing so I wanted to write some sort of summary in order for you to figure out what's the best solution for you.

iPod Touch & iPod Touch 2G

If you're an iPod Touch user and want to jailbreak it, then you will have to use RedSn0w. I wrote a tutorial on how to use RedSn0w for the iPhone but the steps are pretty much the same for the iPod Touch. Refer to this tutorial to learn how to jailbreak your iPod Touch or iPod Touch 2G.

iPhone 2G

You have 2 options to jailbreak your iPhone 2G. If you're on a Mac, the best way to do this is to use PwnageTool. You can read my PwnageTool jailbreak tutorial here. If you're on a PC, you may want to use RedSn0w, for which I also wrote a guide here.

The tools to unlock the iPhone 2G are the same as the tools to jailbreak it. If you're using a Mac, read my PwnageTool unlock tutorial here. If you're on a PC, read my RedSn0w unlock guide here.

Note that RedSn0w works on both PC and Mac, so if you're on a Mac, you can still use RedSn0w, which I recommend as it is a little more straightforward than PwnageTool.

iPhone 3G

Once again, you have 2 options to jailbreak your iPhone 3G. First option is to use PwnageTool for Mac (see tutorial here). The second option is to use RedSn0w, which works on both PC and Mac (see tutorial here).

Now if you want to unlock your iPhone 3G, you will first have to jailbreak it using one of the methods mentioned above, and then you will have to run UltraSn0w (see tutorial here).

iPhone 3G S

Unfortunately, there is no jailbreak or unlock method for the iPhone 3G S yet. The Dev Team just released the iPhone 3G unlock UltraSn0w and I believe they will now focus on finding a jailbreak and unlock for the 3G S.

Stay tuned for more information coming as these new tools are released.

Unlock Your iPhone 3G With UltraSn0w

UltraSn0w, the soft unlock for the iphone 3G 3.0 firmware is now available thanks to the good work of the Dev Team. Don't wait any minute to install UltraSn0w and unlock your iPhone 3G.

Note that this tutorial was originally written for the 3.0 unlock but the steps are exactly the same to unlock iPhone OS 3.0.1. I simply updated this guide with the latest info.

Before installing UltraSn0w, your iPhone 3G has to be jailbroken and running the latest 3.0 3.0.1 firmware. You can either jailbreak your iPhone 3G using RedSn0w (see tutorial here) or by using PwnageTool (see tutorial here).

After jailbreaking your iPhone 3G, follow these simple steps:

Launch Cydia. Add the following source to Cydia repo666.ultrasn0w.com (note there is a "0" in sn0w, not an "o"). After installing this source in Cydia, search for "ultraSn0w". Install UltraSn0w and reboot your iPhone. Voila!

Note that T-Mobile users should disable 3G before using UltraSn0w.

Unfortunately, the new iPhone 3G S still can't be unlocked because there is no jailbreak for it yet.

How to Import Videos Recorded With An iPhone 3G S to Your Computer

One of the great new features of the iPhone 3G S is its improved camera lens, and most importantly the fact that it can record videos. After shooting and trimming a video, you can easily upload this video to YouTube, or even email it to a friend. But what if you simply want to import this video to your computer?

There is an easy way to copy a video recorded with your iPhone 3G S to your computer.

If you're on a PC, go to My Computer and look for "Scanners and Camera". You should see your iPhone there. Double-click on it and and save your photos and videos to the desired location.

If you're on a Mac, open the Image Capture app. It will recognize both pictures and videos recorded with your iPhone. Drag and drop the video where you want to save it and that's it.

How to Resell Your Old iPhone At the Best Price

With the new iPhone 3G S now available, some of you will most likely decide to upgrade their old iPhone 2G or 3G to get the "fastest iPhone yet". Depending on your upgrade eligibility with AT&T, you might be able to get the best price on the new iPhone ($299 for the 32GB), or if you're not eligible, the 32GB will cost you up to $699.

A good way to offset the price of the new iPhone 3G S is to sell your old iPhone. There are a few sites out there that "specialize" is buying out old iPhones but I recommend staying away from them. While they may be completely legit sites, they won't give you as much as you could get if you sold your iPhone directly to a third party. The following is what I did to sell my last 2 iPhones and believe me, it worked very well...

Tutorial: iPhone 2G Unlock Using RedSn0w

This RedSn0w guide & tutorial will show you how to unlock your iPhone 2G using RedSn0w. This guide is to unlock the iPhone 2G only. If you want to unlock the iPhone 3G, you will have to jailbreak your iPhone first using this guide, then run UltraSn0w, the unlocking tool for iPhone 3G.

This tutorial was originally written for jailbreaking firmware 3.0 but it also works with firmware 3.0.1. I just updated this guide with the latest information.

Note that this RedSn0w tutorial is for Windows users but I assume the steps are similar on a Mac.

1. Before doing anything, make sure you have the latest version of iTunes and the latest firmware 3.0 3.0.1 installed on your iPhone 2G.

2. Create a new folder on your desktop. In this folder, download RedSn0w as well as the 3.0 firmware (not 3.0.1) for your iPhone 2G from our iPhone downloads page (make sure you pick the right firmware). Also download the following bootloader files: BL 3.9 and BL 4.6

3. Unzip and launch RedSn0w.

4. Click “browse” and select the 3.0 (not 3.0.1) firmware you downloaded in a folder in step 2.

5. Once the firmware has been successfully identified, click “next”.

6. Select “install Cydia” and "unlock", then click “next”.

7. Browse for the bootloader files you downloaded in step 2, and click "next".

8. Make sure your iPhone is plugged into the computer and that it is off. Click “next”.

9. RedSn0w will then guide you to put your iPhone into DFU mode. Hold down the power button for 2 seconds. Without releasing the power button, also hold down the home button for 10 seconds. Without releasing the home button, release the power button but keep holding the home button for 30 seconds.

10. If done correctly, your iPhone should reboot and the jailbreak process should start. This step may take up to 15-20 minutes so be patient.

11. Once this process is over, you will get a message saying that it is “done!”

12. Click the “finish” button and reboot your iPhone. The reboot may take up to 10 minutes so again, be patient.

13. Congratulations, you just jailbroke and unlocked your iPhone 3.0 3.0.1 with RedSn0w.

Tutorial: iPhone 3.0 Jailbreak Using RedSn0w

This RedSn0w guide & tutorial will show you how to use RedSn0w to jailbreak your iPhone 2G, iPhone 3G, or iPod Touch 2G. Note that this step is required to unlock your iPhone 3G using UltraSn0w later on. For more information about the latest jailbreak methods for each iPhone, I recommend you read this before doing anything.

This guide is for PC users but I assume the steps are very similar on Mac. If you want to build custom firmware files with more flexibility it is suggested that you use PwnageTool on Mac OS X (PwnageTool jailbreak tutorial - PwnageTool unlock guide).

1. Before doing anything, make sure you have the latest version of iTunes and the latest firmware 3.0 installed on your iPhone.

2. Create a new folder on your desktop. In this folder, download RedSn0w as well as the latest 3.0 firmware for your iPhone from our iPhone downloads page (make sure you pick the right firmware).

3. Unzip and launch RedSn0w.

4. Click "browse" and select the 3.0 firmware you downloaded in a folder in step 2.

5. Once the firmware has been successfully identified, click "next".

6. Select "install Cydia" and click "next".

7. Make sure your iPhone is plugged into the computer and that it is off. Click "next".

8. RedSn0w will then guide you to put your iPhone into DFU mode. Hold down the power button for 2 seconds. Without releasing the power button, also hold down the home button for 10 seconds. Without releasing the home button, release the power button but keep holding the home button for 30 seconds.

9. If done correctly, your iPhone should reboot and the jailbreak process should start. This step may take up to 15-20 minutes so be patient.

10. Once this process is over, you will get a message saying that it is "done!"

11. Click the "finish" button and reboot your iPhone. The reboot may take up to 10 minutes so again, be patient.

12. Congratulations, you just jailbroke your iPhone 3.0 with RedSn0w. Cydia should now be on your springboard :)

Dev Team Releases RedSn0w Jailbreak

After the release of PwnageTool for Mac yesterday, the Dev Team just announced the release of of RedSn0w, a jailbreak method that will work for iPod Touch, iPod Touch 2G, iPhone, and iPhone 3G. RedSn0w can also unlock the iPhone 2G.

RedSn0w, which works on both Mac and PC, provides similar functionality to QuickPwn, which makes me wonder whether or not the Dev Team will update QuickPwn, or simply replace it with RedSn0w.

According to the Dev Team:

GOLDEN RULE: If you are using a 3G iPhone with yellowsn0w and rely on yellowsn0w to obtain cellular service, then you should NOT use redsn0w right now. Ultrasn0w (the 3G carrier unlock) is not included with this release and therefore your baseband will be locked and unable to use an operator other than the official one it was bought for. UltraSn0w will be released via APT (cydia and icy) soon. If you have an original iPhone (1st generation) then 3.0 carrier unlock works with this redsn0w release. Yellowsn0w in its current form will NOT work with the baseband version that is present in the 3.0 update, you will need Ultrasn0w, which will be released sometime soon, Ultrasn0w will work with all iPhone 3G models (but not 3GS), even ones that were previously unlockable, Ultrasn0w (when available) will be released via APT (this means you will be able to get it via Cydia or Icy). Please read all parts of this post before downloading and using these tools. Read items 1, 2 and 3 again and again. At the bottom of this post are the bittorrent files for the latest version of redsn0w. This app is suitable for the recent 3.0 release redsn0w will NOT work for the iPhone 3GS. redsn0w WILL work for Original iPhone (1st Generation), Original iPod touch, iPod touch 2G and the iPhone 3G (not the iPhone 3GS).

The Dev Team also suggests to use PwnageTool on Mac (see tutorial and guide) to build custom firmware files with more flexibility.

SHA1 SUMS

SHA1(redsn0w-mac_0.7.zip)= 284639d37fd6675056814b6c8a5b0583ad91c370 SHA1(redsn0w-win_0.7.1.zip)= e264e44954aa417a3eb12ed29770790a30f85a66

Official Bittorrent Releases -

Mac OS X torrent Windows torrent

Note that UltraSn0w, the iPhone 3G jailbreak, hasn't been released yet. Also note that there is currently no way to jailbreak or unlock the new iPhone 3G S.

Tutorial: Unlock iPhone 2G 3.0 Using PwnageTool For Mac

This tutorial will show you how to unlock your iPhone 2G using PwnageTool for Mac. This guide will allow you to use your iPhone 2G with any carrier.

1. Make sure you have downloaded the latest version of iTunes 8.2 and that you have updated your iPhone to the latest 3.0 firmware.

2. Create a folder on your desktop. In this folder, download PwnageTool 3.0 and your iPhone 2G 3.0 firmware from our iPhone downloads page. Also download bootloader files 3.9BL, 4.6BL.

3. Launch PwnageTool, agree to the warning, and select the “expert mode”.

4. Select your iPhone model (iPhone 2G) and click the blue arrow to continue.

5. Now if your computer doesn’t automatically detect the iPhone 2G 3.0 firmware you downloaded in step 1, browse for it.

6. You will then have a menu with 7 choices. Choose “general”, which will allow you to set your own root partition size. Click the blue arrow to continue.

7. You will now have 3 checkboxes. Make sure that "activate the phone" and “enable baseband update” are checked. You will also need to increase the root partition size. Usually setting the root partition around 700MB is enough. Click next to continue.

8. When you get to the “bootneuter settings”, only check the boxes for "unlock baseband" and "auto delete bootneuter.app". Click the blue arrow to continue.

9. The  “Cydia settings” allow you to choose packages to download now so you don’t have to download them from Cydia later. Choose any of the packages you want and click next.

10. You will now have the possibility to choose your own boot logo. I will skip this step as it is useless.

11. After setting your own boot logos (if you chose to), you will now be able to build your own IPSW file. Click the blue “build” button to start.

12. If it's the first time you do this, you will get a message asking you to upload the bootloader file v3.9. When asked to search the web for it, click "no". When asked to browse for it, click "yes" and select it from the folder we created in step 2. Repeat the process for bootloader v4.6.

13.You will then be asked if you're a legit iPhone user. If you click "yes" this will not unlock the phone, thus defeating the whole purpose of this guide. Make sure you click "no".

14. You will then have to choose a folder to save your custom firmware (ie. desktop). You custom firmware will now be built, which may take up to 15-20 minutes. Be patient.

15. Enter your administrator password.

16. When asked if your iPhone has been pwned before, say “no”, even if it has. Make sure your iPhone is connected to your computer and turn it off, as prompted.

17. This is the tricky part. You will now have to follow directions to enter DFU mode. It will ask you to hold the home and power buttons for 10 seconds. Then, you will have to release the power button and hold the home button for 10 seconds.

18. If done correctly, you will get a message saying that you successfully entered DFU mode. Close PwnageTool and launch iTunes.

19. iTunes will then give you a message saying it has detected an iPhone in recovery mode. Click OK.

20. In iTunes, hold the Alt/Option key and click “restore” at the same time. It will open a window where you will have to select the custom firmware that you built a few minutes before.

21. iTunes will then restore your iPhone 2G using the custom firmware. This step may take 15-20 minutes so again, be patient.

22. Once done, you will have to “set up your iPhone”, either as a new phone (which I recommend), or from backup.

23. Reboot your iPhone and you should have a Cydia icon on the springboard.

24. Congrats! You just unlocked your iPhone 2G using PwnageTool 3.0

Tutorial: Jailbreak Your iPhone 3G 3.0 With PwnageTool For Mac

This tutorial will show you how to jailbreak your iPhone 3G using PwnageTool for Mac. Following this guide is the first step to take in order to unlock your iPhone 3G later on using UltraSn0w.

1. Make sure you have downloaded the latest version of iTunes 8.2 and that you have updated your iPhone to the latest 3.0 firmware.

2. Create a folder on your desktop. In this folder, download PwnageTool 3.0 and your iPhone 3G 3.0 firmware from our iPhone downloads page.

3. Launch PwnageTool, agree to the warning, and select the "expert mode".

4. Select your iPhone model (iPhone 3G) and click the blue arrow to continue.

5. Now if your computer doesn't automatically detect the iPhone 3G 3.0 firmware you downloaded in step 1, browse for it.

6. You will then have a menu with 6 choices. Choose "general", which will allow you to set your own root partition size. Click the blue arrow to continue.

7. You will now have 3 checkboxes. Make sure only "enable baseband update" is checked. You will also need to increase the root partition size. Usually setting the root partition around 700MB is enough. Click next to continue.

8. When you get to the "bootneuter settings", simply click the blue arrrow to continue.

9. The  "Cydia settings" allow you to choose packages to download now so you don't have to download them from Cydia later. Choose any of the packages you want and click next.

10. You will now have the possibility to choose your own boot logo. I will skip this step as it is useless.

11. After setting your own boot logos (if you chose to), you will now be able to build your own IPSW file. Click the blue "build" button to start.

12. Choose a folder to save your custom firmware (ie. desktop).

13. Your custom firmware will now be built, which may take up to 15-20 minutes. Be patient.

14. Enter your administrator password.

15. When asked if your iPhone has been pwned before, say "no", even if it has.

16. Make sure your iPhone is connected to your computer and turn it off, as prompted.

17. This is the tricky part. You will now have to follow directions to enter DFU mode. It will ask you to hold the home and power buttons for 10 seconds. Then, you will have to release the power button and hold the home button for 10 seconds.

18. If done correctly, you will get a message saying that you successfully entered DFU mode. Close PwnageTool and launch iTunes.

19. iTunes will give you a message saying it has detected an iPhone in recovery mode. Click OK.

20. In iTunes, hold the Alt/Option key and click "restore" at the same time. It will open a window where you will have to select the custom firmware that you built a few minutes before.

21. iTunes will then restore your iPhone 3G using the custom firmware. This step may take 15-20 minutes so again, be patient.

22. Once done, you will have to "set up your iPhone", either as a new phone (which I recommend), or from backup.

23. Reboot your iPhone and you should have a Cydia icon on the springboard.

24. Congrats! You just jailbroke your iPhone 3G using PwnageTool 3.0 :)

Unboxing the iPhone 3G S

This is a short video of my iPhone 3G S unboxing. With all the news falling this morning (especially the release of PwnageTool), I haven't really had time to play with it yet but I shall do this shortly.

For those of you wondering about my accent... I'm French!