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iPhone 3.0 Jailbreak & Unlock Roundup

Sébastien Page ∙ June 23, 2009

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

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated August 1, 2009

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.

Tutorial: iPhone 2G Unlock Using RedSn0w

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated January 23, 2016

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.

Dev Team Releases RedSn0w Jailbreak

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated January 23, 2016

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

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated January 29, 2016

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

Dev Team Releases PwnageTool 3.0 For Mac

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

The Dev Team just released a new version of PwnageTool that will jailbreak the iPhone 1st gen., iPhone 3G, and the iPod Touch 1s gen. The new iPhone 3G S is not supported yet.

According to the Dev Team:

Because of some bugs and unexpected changes this will be a multipart release, starting with the release of PwnageTool for Mac OS X. QuickPwn for Mac OS X and Windows will follow sometime soon, please don’t bug us about it, we are working flat out to get everything finished to release them.

GOLDEN RULE: If you are using a 3G iPhone with yellowsn0w and rely on yellowsn0w to obtain cellular service, then you should NOT use PwnageTool right now. UltraSn0w 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 release via APT (cydia and icy) soon. If you have an original iPhone (1st generation) then 3.0 unlock works with this PwnageTool 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 can 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 3.0 capable version of PwnageTool. This app is suitable for the recent 3.0 release. PwnageTool will NOT work for the iPhone 3GS. PwnageTool WILL work for Original iPhone (1st Generation), Original iPod touch (1st Generation) and the iPhone 3G.

This will just unlock the 1st gen iPhone. It will not unlock your iPhone 3G or iPhone 3G S. The Dev Team will release UltraSn0w soon and this is the tool you will need to unlock your iPhone 3G.

Official Bittorrent Releases -

http://torrents.thepiratebay.org/4963802/PwnageTool_3.0.dmg.4963802.TPB.torrent SHA1 = 2e19d39398233f88ae0782fd82462a9223791f7f

iPhone 3G S owners will have to wait for the Dev Team to come up with a jailbreak first. Stay tuned for more info and tutorials on how to do all this...

Unlocked iPhone Owners Should Not Update to 3.0 Yet

Sébastien Page ∙ June 17, 2009

Just a quick post to remind every unlocker and jailbreaker out there that if you can't live without your jailbroken and/or unlocked iPhone, you should not update to 3.0.

Updating to 3.0 will simply prevent you from jailbreaking or unlocking your iPhone, no matter if it is a 1st gen or iPhone 3G.

My advice to you: wait a few days for the Dev Team to release a new jailbreak for 3.0 and for UltraSn0w (the new app that will unlock your iPhone) to be released.

Dev Team Demos UltraSn0w – iPhone 3G Unlock

Sébastien Page ∙ June 16, 2009

As announced yesterday, Dev Team member MuscleNerd did a demo of UltraSn0w, the new software unlock for the iPhone 3G (skip to 2.20 min on the video below). Unlike its predecessor YellowSn0w, UltraSn0w will unlock your iPhone 3G no matter what firmware, bootloader or baseband you have, as long as you have the new 3.0 firmware installed.

The actual program that UltraSn0w injects into the baseband to accomplish the unlock is the exact same one the Dev Team developed for YellowSn0w. What changed is that the Dev Team found a new "hole" to inject the unlocking payload.

During his demo, MuscleNerd successfully jailbroke his iPhone 3G and proved it by inserting a T-Mobile SIM card.

UltraSn0w won't be available until Friday and like YellowSn0w, it will be downloadable through Cydia. Your iPhone will obviously have to be jailbroken and the Dev Team will release the necessary tools for that (QuickPwn and PwnageTool) soon.

Again, just to make this clear, there is no baseband downgrade needed. You can just upgrade to 3.0 tomorrow and wait for the Dev Team to push its unlocking tools and UltraSn0w on Friday.

Note that this unlock is only valid for the iPhone 3G. According to the Dev Team, this hack may be applicable to the new iPhone 3G S if it can be jailbroken, which should happen sometimes soon. Go Dev Team!

iPhone 3.0 Unlock YellowSn0w Demo

Sébastien Page ∙ June 15, 2009

Dev Team member MuscleNerd sent a tweet a few minutes ago about an upcoming live demo of the YellowSn0w unlock for iPhone 3.0. The live demo will happen Tuesday night, most likely on Qik and should answer a lot of questions.

This demo should show how YellowSn0w can unlock firmware 3.0. I assume this unlock will only work for iPhones that currently support YellowSn0w.

FreeYourPhone.org Petition To Make Unlocking, Jailbreaking Exempt From DMCA

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated March 27, 2017

Jailbreakers and unlockers unite! Now is the time to get heard and do something against to make jailbreaking and unlocking legal. Yes, in case you didn't know, jailbreaking your iPhone is technically illegal. If you're like me, you're probably thinking something alon these lines: "fuck that! I paid for this phone so I should be able to do whatever I want with it". Truth is you legally can't!

The Electronic Frontier Foundation created FreeYourPhone.org in order to collect signature from people like us to appeal to the Copyright Office:

Hundreds of thousands of cellphone owners have modified their phones to connect to the network or run the software of their choosing, and many more would like to. But the Digital Millennium Copyright Act poses a legal threat to phone users, even though the law was supposed to protect copyright owners and distributors of digital music and movies. This threat of litigation has driven consumers underground, stifling innovation and competition.

Now, you can support EFF's request that the Copyright Office grant an exemption to the DMCA that will protect phone users.

After submitting your electronic signature,

YellowSn0w Has Been Revised. Try It Again!

Sébastien Page ∙ January 2, 2009

If there is one good thing about the Dev Team, it's that they work fast. Following a few issues with YellowSn0w, they have already updated it to version 0.9.4 and it supposedly fixes a bunch of issues. It is still in beta but it's much more stable than it was. So if you had issues unlocking your iPhone 3G using YellowSn0w, try again with the latest version.

It's still available in Cydia and you can still read this for the full iPhone 3G unclok tutorial.

Unlock Your iPhone 3G With Yellow Sn0w Guide & Tutorial

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated February 5, 2016

[digg-me]Below are instructions on how to unlock your iPhone 3G using Yellow Sn0w. Unlocking your iPhone 3G will make it possible for you to use any cellphone carrier.

Before you go any further, make sure to READ EVERY SINGLE WORD OF THIS TUTORIAL. If you think you're too cool for school, then go directly to the instructions but please, do not complain if you mess up your iPhone during the process, which is very unlikely to happen anyways...

First things first. In order to be able for you to use Yellow Sn0w to unlock your iPhone 3G, you have to be on a jailbroken iPhone that runs the latest firmware 2.2 with the latest baseband 02.28.00. To find out what firmware you're on, go to Settings > General > About and look for "Modem Firmware". It should say 02.28.00.

If you have not jailbroken your iPhone yet, you have to now in order to unlock. To jailbreak your iPhone, follow the QuickPwn 2.2 guide that I wrote a few weeks ago.

If you have already jailbroken your iPhone using PwnageTool to preserve your baseband, sorry but you have to restore and rejailbreak again in order to have the latest 02.28.00 baseband.

If you have updated to the latest firmware 2.2 with its latest 02.28.00 baseband, then you're good to go.

So from now on, I assume that you are on a clean firmware 2.2 with firmware 02.28.00 and that your iPhone is jailbroken.

1. Go to Cydia and install this new source: http://apt9.yellowsn0w.com/ (note that snow is spelled with a zero, not an "o"). To install a new source in Cydia, go to Manage > Sources > Edit > Add, then type in the source http://apt9.yellowsn0w.com/ and tap "Add Source".

2. Once the source has been added, tap "Return To Cydia", then tap "Done".

3. Now tap "apt9.yellowsn0w.com from the list of sources "Entered By Users".

4. Select Yellow Sn0w, then tap install nad confirm.

5. Once the installation had been successfully completed, return to Cydia.

6. Hard reset your iPhone. To do this, hold the home and power buttons simultaneously for a few seconds until the phone shuts off by itself (ignore the "slide to power off" message)

7. Insert whatever SIM card you want! Wait a few seconds and you should be good.

8. Done!

See, that wasn't too hard at all. Users that are already familiar with Cydia and sources shouldn't have any problem at all. But first time jailbreakers might be a little lost, which is why I detailed this tutorial a lot.

Now there are a few known issues with Yellow Sn0w and I highly recommend you either read my previous post about it, or go directly to the Dev Team's blog.

Troubleshooting:

1) If you are on tmobile USA you should disable 3G in Settings or sbsettings. 2) YellowSn0w does not work with a SIM PIN. You must disable your SIM card pin lock.

At any rate, I would really appreciate it if you could digg this post, then write a comment, then go to the Dev Team's blog to thank them for their great work.