Unlock

iPhone 3G Unlock Is Now Available

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated February 5, 2016

Yellow Sn0w, the soft unlock created by the Dev Team is now available from Cydia or Installer. Instead of rewording what the Dev Team has to say about it, I will simply copy/paste their entire post from their blog.

I don't like copy/pasting large amounts of texts from other sites, but in this case, I find it really necessary. I really recommend you go over to the Dev Team's blog, read the post from there, and write a nice thank you comment.

For those of you that don't care about the fine prints, here are the repos for Yellow Sn0w. Cydia source: http://apt9.yellowsn0w.com/ Installer repo: http://i.yellowsn0w.com/

I will be writing a guide wrote an iPhone 3G unlock tutorial on how to unlock the iPhone 3G using YellowSn0w.

Again, please make sure to visit the Dev Team's blog and thanks these guys for spending New Year's Eve behind a computer screen so everyone can have an unlocked iPhone.

From the Dev Team Blog:

BASICS

The unlock works exclusively with baseband 02.28.00. This baseband is provided by the latest firmware update (2.2) from Apple.  You’ll need to upgrade to this release using iTunes and then use QuickPwn to activate etc. There are plenty of tutorials about this on iclarified, bigboss, and other established tutorial sites.  Because it works on 02.28.00, it is available to everyone on the planet.  This means we don’t need to unnecessarily expose holes in earlier basebands, which is an important concern. The application is a small daemon that is launched on boot.  It injects the payload at boot and also whenever there is a baseband reset.  You won’t notice anything about it other than that your third-party sim now works.  It’s a small program and unobtrusive.  There is no GUI (this is by design). You can add the application using the sources outlined below (coming soon). There are Cydia and Installer sources available, so use whichever you are comfortable using. yellowsn0w is completely removable through Cydia, the command line, and iTunes.

DETAILS

There is a known issue with SIM cards that have STK (SIM Toolkit) application menus.  These menus are usually items such as “top up” “get credit” “lotto numbers” etc. These menu items confuse the application sometimes.  Removing and reinserting the SIM once after reboot (give it about 10 secs 60 seconds (with v0.9.1) after you see the slide to unlock widget) fixes this issue.  We’re working on a better fix. For those of you using SIM cards without STK menus, the application has some optional arguments that will make the unlock much faster for you.  So either experiment on your own (use “yellowsn0w -h” for usage) or wait for a customization writeup. After you install yellowsn0w via Cydia, you should return to the Cydia main menu then reboot your iPhone with the 3rd party SIM installed.  Wait for the slide to unlock screen, then wait 10 or 15 secs more.   If you don’t see your carrier name pop up, then remove your SIM, reinsert it, and wait 10 secs more.  This is the step we’ll be working on eliminating next.

RANDOM

The application is version 0.9 0.9.1.  This is considered beta software, you use it at your own risk. You know the score. The application is released on a non-commerical basis.  Please do not accept pirates and scummy ripoffs of this software. We license this software for single use and in a non-commerical environment (meaning you can’t charge for it). The techniques and methods used are not to be used by third party companies. We are watching you Jody…we won’t be so forgiving this time. Direct linking to the repository URLs is prohibited, please only link to this post. We will be checking referers. Happy 2009 and enjoy!

The iPhone 3G is used all over the world with all sorts of SIM cards, and we almost certainly will see untested and unexpected situations.  If the soft unlock doesn’t work for you on day 1 (literally day 1, of 2009!) then please don’t panic or be impatient.  This is new territory for everyone, so enjoy the ride as much as you can :)

RELEASE INFO

Cydia source: http://apt9.yellowsn0w.com/ Installer repo: http://i.yellowsn0w.com/

UPDATES

Soon you’ll see yellowsn0w 0.9.1 in the repos.  It uses a much longer delay to let your SIM card initialize.  If you have problems with 0.9.0, try this one and wait a full minute after you see homescreen, then reinsert sim card.  We need both success and failure reports to tune this across the world, so please be patient (but please also report result!) If you are in the U.S. and are trying this with T-Mobile, you must turn off the 3G switch in Settings.  Also if you are good with the command line, you can make it much easier by adding the line <string>-q</string> right after the /usr/bin/yellowsn0w line in /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/org.iphone-dev.yellowsn0w.plist  (that’s and advanced tip, hopefully someone will make a boosprefs type of tool for it) No PIN support yet. Remember how we said this was beta?  Well we’re still working out the flow for SIMs with PINs enabled.  Please disable any PIN you may have on that SIM before trying yellowsn0w, for now. The unlock will silently quit on anything other than baseband 02.28.00. It detects the wrong version and just quits to avoid any damage.  Please double check your Modem Firmware setting in Settings->General->About.
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Mobile Crunch Interview With Dev Team Member Pytey

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated February 5, 2016

Mobile Crunch published a nice interview with Pytey, one of the preeminent Dev Team members. Interviews with Dev Team members are very rare and I suggest that you have a look at it if you're remotely interested in jailbreaking and unlocking your iPhone. The interview obviously evolves a lot around the awaited Yellow Sn0w, supposed to be available today.

Here is my favorite part of the interview:

However, Apple places restrictions on what you can run on the device. They impose draconian restrictions on the type of application that you can run, they don’t allow applications to run in the background and they even restrict the applications by subject matter or if they compete with their own applications. If I buy a device I want to be able to do what I want with it, if that involves gambling or looking at an application that involves porn then so be it. The real estate agent who sold me my house doesn’t knock on my door every month to check what pictures I have hanging on the walls, so why should Apple have this right?

Earlier this month, I published a translation of another interview with Pytey.

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Breaking News: iPhone 3G Unlock Will Work For All Basebands

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated January 23, 2016

Earlier today, the Dev Team published a post on the blog with some strange binary codes that won't mean anything to anyone that doesn't speak geek fluently (I don't!). I completely disregarded this post as I thought it was a pre-message for tonight's release of yellow sn0w, the new unlocking tool that will be available sometimes today through Cydia.

However, a tweet from twitter user Yellow Sn0w got me all excited when it said that it will be safe to use yellow sn0w on any firmware. Tweeting back and forth with him, I was directed to a blog post of his that actually explains the full meaning of the binary codes posted by the Dev Team.

Here is his explanation:

In binary that message translates to vtaber 61060174. vtaber translates to "ignore" and the 61060174 means post# 61060174 on the iPhone DevTeam blog. http://blog.iphone-dev.org/post/61060174/the-man-from-delmonte-he-say-yes

Hoping that this is true...

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Successful iPhone 3G Unlock

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated January 23, 2016

iPhone 2G jailbreak - checked iPhone 3G jailbreak - checked iPhone 2G Unlock - checked iPhone 3G Unlock - NOW CHECKED!

Earlier this week, I told you that the Dev Team was going to release its iPhone 3G soft unlock on New Year's Eve and today, MuscleNerd, leading member of our favorite hackers team broadcast live on Qik, showing the first "public" iPhone 3G soft unlock.

The live broadcast was about 4 minutes long and was not about fluff and BS. MuscleNerd went straight to the point switching SIM cards, running the unlock tool and showing the newly unlocked iPhone successfully operate under T-Mobile.

If you look at the video below, you will see that MuscleNerd is actually performing the unlock running some code directly from his computer but you won't have to do that once the 3G unlock becomes available to the public on December 31st. Indeed, you will be able to download and easily install the unlock method directly from Cydia.

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iPhone 3G Unlock Coming Before New Year

Sébastien Page ∙ December 15, 2008

A new rumor is circulating about a possible software unlock for the iPhone 3G sometimes soon after Christmas. This is just a rumor so don't get too excited but it is however true that the Dev Team has been progressing a lot towards this soft unlock.

This software unlock would be only available for 3G users that are still on 01.45.00 baseband, which is the baseband of firmware 2.0. Remember when I published my firmware 2.2 jailbreak tutorial? I warned you that this method would be good only if you didn't care about a future soft unlock. Well, this future soft unlock is now coming and if you haven't followed my warning, then you won't be able to unlock.

This is pure speculation at this time as there is no real evidence of a post-Christmas unlock release. I asked MuscleNerd (key Dev Team member) about it but it didn't comment whether it was true or not.

So, what do you think? Rumor or real info?

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Unlocking The iPhone… The Vietnamese Way

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated March 18, 2019

So you think unlocking your iPhone using PwnageTool was a pain in the ass? Think again! Hardware unlock is not for the faint of heart as Crave blogger Dong Ngo was able to verify during his trip to Vietnam.

First, a technician opened up the phone and stripped it to the motherboard. In his skillful hands, the device seemed much easier to dismantle than I expected.

The technician then extracted the baseband chip, the component that controls the connection between the phone and the mobile network, from the motherboard. (This is a painstaking task as the chip is strongly glued to the phone's motherboard. A mistake during this process could brick the phone completely.)

Once the chip was extracted, it was Tuan Anh's turn. He used a chip reader to read information into a file. He then used a Hex editor to remove the locking data from the file, and after that, the chip got reprogrammed with the newly altered file. Now it was no longer programmed to work with only a specific provider.

The chip then got reassembled into the motherboard, another painstaking process.

As a last step, the technician put the phone back together, and it looked like nothing had been done to it.

It will cost you $80 to get your iPhone unlocked by them, which is a little fortune over there in Vietnam.

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Unlock Your iPhone 2G 2.2 Using QuickPwn

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

This guide will show you how to use QuickPwn 2.2 to jailbreak and/or unlock your iPhone 2G. This tutorial is for PC users but I assume the steps are the same on a Mac. This tutorial is NOT for iPhone 3G. If you're only interested in jailbreaking your iPhone (not unlockink), please may read my QuickPwn 2.2 guide.

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 ;)

IMPORTANT: READ EVERY SINGLE WORD OF THIS POST BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO UNLOCK YOUR IPHONE

Note that the comments are closed. If you have any question about the unlocking process, please ask in the forum.

Before doing anything, I suggest you read this important message from the Dev Team.

Click here to download the MobileInstallation patch for 2.2

Note that you are pwning your iPhone at your own risk… Success is not guaranteed!

Make sure you have downloaded the latest version of iTunes. Update or restore your iPhone to firmware 2.2 using iTunes. Restoring is the preferred way to do it as it won't waste space on your iPhone. Plug your iPhone and make sure iTunes has detected it. If you’re iPhone is already jailbroken, you may want to remove all the apps that you have downloaded from Cydia. Certain applications such as Winterboard, Categories and more cause trouble. You will be able to reinstall them later. Create a folder called “QuickPwn” on your desktop. Download your appropriate iPhone 2.2 firmware from here. Also download the QuickPwn 2.2 from here, the bootloader files BL 3.9 and BL 4.6 from here too. Place these files in the newly created QuickPwn folder on your desktop. Extract QuickPwn zipped file. Launch QuickPwn and select your iPhone version. You will be asked to select your iPhone firmware. Select the firmware you downloaded in Step 1. If the firmware you selected is valid, QuickPwn will show a green checkmark. Click Continue. You will then have the opportunity to select Cydia, Installer, custom boot logos and "unlock iPhone". You have to select Cydia and "unlock iPhone". You may also choose to install Installer. Click Next. You will now be asked to select your bootloader files. Click the Browse button and select the 3.9 bootloader from the Pwnage folder on your desktop. Likewise do the same thing for the 4.6 bootloader file. Then click the blue arrow button to continue. QuickPwn will now ask you to confirm that your iPhone is connected. Click the blue arrow to continue. QuickPwn will now automatically put your iPhone into recovery mode. Once its in recovery mode you will be prompted to: Hold the Home button for 5 seconds, Hold the Home and Power buttons for 10 seconds, then release the Power button and continuing holding the Home button until your iPhone is in DFU mode. Watch the prompts carefully and follow along. Once QuickPwn detects your iPhone in DFU mode, it will start the jailbreak process. Finally, QuickPwn will let you know that pwnage process was completed successfully. Done!

[digg-me]Let us know how it goes!

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iPhone 2.2 Jailbreak Officially Out!

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated January 23, 2016

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.

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. Read item 1 again and again. At the bottom of this post are the bittorrent files for the latest versions of PwnageTool and QuickPwn. These are suitable for the recent 2.2 release. Please read all parts of this post before downloading and using these tools. 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. 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:

jailbreak iPhone 2.2 unlock iPhone 2.2
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iPhone 2.2 Jailbreak

Sébastien Page ∙ November 21, 2008

Update: The Dev Team cracked the code again and you can now jailbreak your iPhone 2.2 firmware. I highly recommend you read this before doing anything!

Update 2: I wrote new tutorials on how to jailbreak or unlock your iPhone 2.2 firmware using QuickPwn:

jailbreak iPhone 2.2 unlock iPhone 2.2

Like I mentioned in my previous post, there is no jailbreak available so far for iPhone firmware 2.2. The Dev Team is working on it and from what I understand, it shouldn't take too long...

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.

It's also worth noting that if you're on a jailbroken iPhone, you really don't want to update using iTunes yet as it may modify your baseband and make future jailbreak and/or unlock impossible.

I suspect that it will take a few days to the Dev Team to update PwnageTool to allow it to jailbreak your iPhone firmware 2.2, so please hang on... Once PwnageTool is released, other methods including WinPwn, and QuickPwn will be following.

We will let you know as soon as PwnageTool, WinPwn, and QuickPwn are available, and we will also release our tutorials on how to use them. You may want to subscribe to our RSS feeds (if not done yet) to keep in touch and be notified as soon as the news fall.

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Cydia Store Applications vs. The App Store – The Download Showdown

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 29, 2016

[digg-me]UPDATE: The Cydia Store is now open! I invite you to read this post for more details.

If you didn't read the title to this article in the deep voice of the movie previews guy, please go back and do so at this time, just to give you an idea of how huge this is. Now, if you've navigated to our blog and are reading this article, hopefully you have some idea of what Cydia and the App Store are. For those of you who don't, I will provide a brief breakdown of each program before I list their stand out features.

Both programs offer a sizeable library of applications and games that can be downloaded directly onto the phone from virtually anywhere you can get a cell phone or wifi signal. Please no hate mail from Installer fans, as it's obvious it has not garnered near as much support as Cydia since the iPhone was updated in firmware over the summer. But now to the main event, the Download Showdown. Who will take home the title as the Champion of iPhone applications? Let's get it on.

You've seen the commercials, you've seen it in the world-reknowned iTunes software, heck you see the icon everytime you look at your iPhone, it's the App Store. Riding the coat tails of success of Apple's enormous online music store, is the online application store that has redefined software distribution for the mobile market. Never before has an online library of mobile software been so accessible, as it can be reached from any mac or pc, or from any iPhone or ipod touch with web connection.

Another reason it is so groundbreaking is the 70/30 deal it has made with iPhone platform developers. That means that Apple keeps 30% of the profit from the software sales, and gives the remaining 70% to the people that make them. On top of attracting big name software companies like EA and THQ, this 70/30 deal has made several independent companies like Tappulous and The Blimp Pilots (koi pond creators) extremely wealthy.

The App Store's main advantages have got to be it's stability and ease of use, two of the most important things you can find in any software.  I can't tell you the last time my App Store crashed or froze, and its interface is about as simple as you can get. You'll also find that most applications fall in the $0.99 - $9.99 price range, keeping purchases from breaking your bank. For the froogle audience, there is also a large FREE section of applications and games that has yet to disappoint me.

Finally, the fact that Apple, is the company behind the App store has its ups and downs. For example, Apple pre screens all apps submitted to the App Store, minimizing malicious code and low quality software epedimics. This also prevents very good software from reaching the App Store due to opinions held by Apple (see R.I.P article). Downloading is also kept very quick and simple by Apple, as typing in your iTunes password, ok's any download, free or not. You also don't have to jailbreak or "hack" your iPhone to access the App Store, how charming. So bottom line here is that the App Store is easy to use, extremely reliable, has a huge library of free and non-free applications, and it's not against AT&T's TOS (terms of service) to access.

Now for the challenger. A product of James Freeman, or Saurik, Cydia has been around since the original jailbreaking days of Ziphone and iBrickr. Originally, Cydia stood in the shadow of the Installer application by the Dev Team, which did the exact same thing (offered 3rd party downloads). Now, thanks to its I-got-to-firmware-2.1-before-you-did attitude, Cydia is flourishing.

But these guys [devteam, Saurik, Spazio, etc.] really opened the eyes of the world to the possibilities of the iPhone, and let users unlock their iPhone's potential with 3rd party applications, a touchy subject in the beginning of the life of the iPhone due to Apple's lack of 3rd party support.

Enough history, how does it stack up today against the colussal App Store. Size? Nope. The size of Cydia's library of software doesn't hold a candle to Apple's App Store. Price? Nope. While a majority of Cydia downloads are free, some are only trial versions that demand paypal payments to continue using them. So then why in the world would you even want Cydia? Exclusivity. Boom. Cydia is the only place to download applications like Winterboard and Cycorder, software that goes against Apple's guidelines for App Store approval. I couldn't have a see-through dock with a customized icon set without Cydia. I couldn't have recorded a video of my dog doing cart wheels without Cycorder, and it's only available through Cydia. Is VIP access to cool customizeables enough to make this underdog a Champ? Let's review.

It seems on paper Apple's App Store should win by a landslide. Thousands of more software titles, the technical and customer support of a Fortune 500 company, and its overall ease of use should give Apple the belt hands down. But you can't forget about the little guy. If a firmware update prevented the downloading of Cydia or a similar program, how many users would be devastated? How many would avoid updating? If you're like me, chances are you have App Store, Cydia, and Installer (at least the first 2) icons sitting on your springboard right now, and aren't likely to delete any of them any time soon. I like having all 3 for the simple fact that if I read about an application and want to download, I know I am covered, and can find it in one of the 3 libraries.

It looks like a split decision here, but I am going to give the nod to Apple's App Store for a number of reasons I already listed. Once again in an ideal world we could have a united application that would offer the best of both worlds. For now, it seems the App Store will hold the download Showdown title. Thanks for reading, this article is a treasure, so digg it!

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DevTeam getting closer to 3G unlock

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated January 29, 2016

It had been a while since we had heard from our favorite team of hackers, namely the DevTeam, but today they posted on their blog, giving us an update about the status of the iPhone 3G unlock.

We made some significant 3G progress this week.

Here’s a screenshot of a 3G iPhone whose baseband has been modified.  And even though it’s modified — and fails the integrity check — it’s still running.  Can you guess where the patch was made?

So, can you guess where the patch were made??

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