Update (08072009): Newest redsn0w now jailbreaks all iPhones and iPod Touches, this includes iPhone 3GS as well!
Just as we expected everyone, jailbreak and unlocking tools for iPhone OS 3.0 have been released. Only first generation iPhone 2G and the first generation both generations of iPod Touch running the new iPhone 3.0 can be jailbroken and unlocked at this point. It is now probably the only time in iPhone hacking history which we have tools available to jailbreak and unlock all devices, these include jailbreak and unlock for iPhone 2G, 3G and 3GS. Jailbreak is also now fully successful for both generations of iPod Touch.
The day has finally come everyone, Apple has just released iPhone OS 3.0 (also iPod Touch 3.0). The biggest problem a number of you who have jailbroken or unlocked iPhones will soon be pondering about will be whether or not to click that update button. If that’s you, so far, we do not recommend you do that. However, having said that, first generation iPhone users are relatively safe given that you don’t mind having a locked iPhone for just a few days. For iPhone 3G users, from what we’ve read so far we would recommend you hold on abit.
More news to come later today folks but the iPhone Dev Team yesterday already confirmed the inevitable. iPhone OS 3.0 which is expected to be released and available for all to download later today will be unlockable using yellowsn0w, the Dev Team’s iPhone 3G unlock solution. The team has also confirmed that jailbreak using Pwnage Tool and QuickPwn through iTunes 8.2 on iPhone 3.0 should be and will be as snappy as versions before. More news on when these tools will be available soon.
Update (15/04/2009): For those looking for a baseband downgrade solution for the iPhone 3G, ModMyi have now released a tool which could help you…
Like we’ve always done with newly released iPhone firmwares, we want to do our best at providing free help and explaining to iPhone users who are not familiar with iPhone jailbreaking and unlocking what it is all about with our roundup of jailbreak and unlock for the iPhone, but please note we’re also just iPhone users ourselves!
The iPhone Dev Team have now released their latest unlock tool for the iPhone 3G, though a tiny bit later than what they promised! The tool as you will know called yellowsn0w, will work with the iPhone’s latest OS update, firmware version 2.2 and in fact it requires that your iPhone be updated to 2.2 to run at all. Yellowsn0w is at the moment still in beta, version 0.9.4 (version has been updating constantly today!), which means it seems yellowsn0w isn’t absolutely perfect and everyone should use with 100% caution.
The iPhone Dev Team spoke at the Chaos Communication Congress in Berlin recently of their success, their progress and amazing achievements of their role (and tools) so far in the ‘enhancement’ of the iPhone. Surprisingly, many members of the team had actually never met before, despite this, they gave a wonderful presentation and quite alot of valuable insight (some quite technical too) into their findings and experience of hacking the iPhone, watch the video below…
The video is approximately an hour long, so make sure you’ve got some free time!
Update (22/12/08): Those who have come into this article looking for info on iPhone unlock, please visit for the latest video released by the iPhone Dev Team demonstrating their latest tool for unlocking the iPhone 3G.
Just a day or so after its release the latest iPhone OS firmware / software version 2.2 has been jailbroken by the iPhone Dev Team’s PwnageTool 2.2 and QuickPWN 2.2. Like we mentioned earlier, the iPhone Dev Team was bound to release their iPhone 2.2 jailbreak / unlock solution soon, but this time, it was unexpectedly quick!
Please be aware that firmware 2.2 jailbreaking / unlocking DOES require abit more attention than previous releases, any false moves could result in permanent, irreversible consequences (such as not being able to unlock your iPhone 3G in the near future!).
Please, please read carefully, we have illustrated a few scenarios and we hope you read through all this before going ahead, if in doubt, ask questions!
Note:
- The new Pwnage Tool 2.2 is not available to Windows users but only QuickPwn 2.2
- Here is the bittorrent link:
- If the above link isn’t working, try any of the mirrors below:
- Latest Pwnage Tool 2.2 and QuickPwn 2.2 are both available to Mac OS users
- Pwnage Tool 2.2:
- QuickPwn 2.2:
Before you read further, please quickly be aware of the following main points:
- iPhone 3G users, you have to update your iPhone 3G using Pwnage Tool if you plan to someday unlock your iPhone 3G
- Using the iPhone Dev Team’s latest Pwnage Tool will give you an end result of a Pwnage Tool-based iPhone 2.2 OS jailbreak which the team believes is the only way to preserve your iPhone’s older baseband firmware
What the heck is baseband and why should I care about it on my iPhone 3G?
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.
As we mentioned in the bullet point above, it is absolutely crucial at this point that if you have the iPhone 3G, you don’t plug it into iTunes and automatically agree to iTunes when it prompts you to update to firmware 2.2. We can’t stress this hard enough, you must update your iPhone’s firmware to version 2.2 using PwnageTool if you ever want to even dream about unlocking your iPhone 3G in the near future.
I have iPhone 3G, I’m not bothered about unlocking and just want to jailbreak…
If you are a loyal and happy O2 or AT&T customer and don’t think you will ever need to unlock your iPhone but just want to jailbreak so that you can download lots of neat applications off Cydia. All that you need to do is click agree to update to firmware 2.2 via iTunes then use the latest version of QuickPwn, version 2.2 to jailbreak your iPhone’s firmware 2.2.
I bought an iPhone 3G (from Asia for example) that was already manufacturer unlocked…
We got asked this by a reader for the last firmware. If this is you, we now know that you don’t need to worry about anything. Your iPhone was destined to be unlocked and won’t lock itself up after restoring or updating or upgrading using iTunes. So all you need to do is jailbreak if that is what you want, use QuickPwn 2.2.
I have the iPhone 2G (first generation), which tool should I use?
The iPhone 2G is the simpler of the two, it is no longer a difficulty for the iPhone Dev Team, it can be unlocked and jailbroken with no problems at all, the instructions below also applies to the iPhone 2G.
Will this work for the iPod Touch?
For first generation iPod Touch, yes just like the iPhone 2G, your iPod can be jailbroken to install Cydia apps. For second generation iPod Touch, your device is currently unsupported.
Instructions
Now for the all important, crucial part. The following steps will take you through the process so that your iPhone 3G’s baseband is preserved for any possible future iPhone 3G unlock solutions. The below instructions also apply to unlocking and jailbreaking the iPhone 2G.
- Download the iPhone 2.2 OS firmware to your desktop:
- Download Pwnage Tool 2.2, (Pwnage Tool is not available for PC Windows):
- Now that you’ve downloaded Pwnage Tool, click it to start it up
- Select Expert Mode
- Select your iPhone version, iPhone 3G or iPhone
- Click Next
- Allow Pwnage Tool 2.2 to find the iPhone 2.2 OS firmware that you downloaded to your desktop
- Select the iPhone 2.2 OS firmware
- The iPhone 2G’s firmware 2.2 filename is iPhone1,1_2.2_5G77_Restore.ipsw
- The iPhone 3G’s firmware 2.2 filename is iPhone1,2_2.2_5G77_Restore.ipsw
- Now click Next
- Select the General category
- Click Next
- General Settings:
- If you are using your iPhone on a contract with your carrier or network you must uncheck the box next to Activate
- If you don’t have a legitimate iPhone contract with your carrier, you will need to ensure that the box next to Activate is checked, this will make your iPhone or iPhone 3G for use on an official iPhone carrier’s network
- Change root partition size to 1000MB
- Now keep clicking Next until you get back to the Build screen
- Now select Build
- Click Next
- Save the custom restore file to your desktop and this file should be named iPhone1,1_2.2_5G77_Custom_Restore.ipsw
- Wait for PwnageTool 2.2 to build your custom iPhone firmware 2.2 file
- When asked if the iPhone has been Pwned before, be honest and choose the appropriate option
- Now connect your iPhone
- Follow directions to enter into the Restore Mode, remember the trick is to press the power button slightly before pressing the home button!
- If you followed the directions correctly, you will then be given a blue window, now click on OK
- You will see I Can Haz Success, now quit Pwnage Tool 2.2
- Now start and go into your iTunes
- You will be told your iPhone needs to be restored
- Click OK
- Now here is a crucial part, make sure you hold down on options key on your keyboard while you click restore
- Now choose the iPhone1,2_2.1_5F136_Custom_Restore.ipsw from your desktop and click open
- The next part is to wait and can take up to a few minutes, be patient!
- After some more waiting, you will be told that your iPhone has been restored, click on OK
- Now disconnect your iPhone after iTunes recognises it, you can now restore the backup of your iPhone’s data
- Congratulations, all done!
Any comments will be appreciated, comments usually replied within 48 hours, we hope everything works out ok for you! We’ll be keep this guide updated, so come back soon!
With help from iPhone Hacks, iPhone Dev, IntoMobile, QuickPwn…
