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Unlocking Unactivated 3g (model A1241)

E

eloy

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 12, 2009
4
0
Hii guys,i am writing from Brussels/BELGIUM
i'm stuck........
i've got a problem with my Iphone 3G ! I got it from US (AT&T) then unblocked in mobile phone repair shop in brussels and start using it with a belgian sim card,everything was cool..
then..few days ago i was trying to install cydia to my phone but i made a mistake and restore it on itunes back to original factory settings and i cannot use it anymore....I am on the screen that says "No SIM card installed. Insert a valid SIM with no PIN lock to activate iPhone...i don't know which firmware to use or how to update the firmware! i've got also macbook and when i connect the iphone to itunes it says; there is no sim card installed in the phone you are attempting to activate....
I just wanna know;what i need to do to unblock it myself.....on the screen just shows usb cable and itunes logo and there is slide for emergency call.....please help me out with this....thank you all for your help in advance....have an easy day.....
eloy is online now Report Post Edit/Delete Message
 
nightfly13

nightfly13

macrumors 6502a
Jul 17, 2008
679
0
Ranchi, India
Need help with same issue

That link doesn't have anything about activation, but assumes you're already activated, from what I saw at a glance.

I have a similar issue. I just came from the US where my previously JB/UL'd 3GS was working with an AT&T Prepaid SIM just fine. My wife is using the phone and wanted the folders of 4.0 and I wanted to get 4.0 on there while it is still easy to JB/UL (with unlockedme.com and ultrasn0w). But after installing the new firmware it's unactivated again, which is pretty irritating as we've been using the phone for ages. I put the AT&T SIM back in but now iTunes reports "The SIM card inserted in this iPhone does not appear to be supported. Only compatible SIM cards from a supported Carrier may be used to activate iPhone. Please insert the SIM card that came with your iPhone or visit a supported Carrier's store to receive a replacement SIM card."

So... how should I proceed? I had no idea that new original software would de-activate her iPhone.
 
E

eloy

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 12, 2009
4
0
thanks....for the tips......

i did jailbreak my iphone 3G (A1241 model) on iclearified with pwnage tool with 3.1.2/7D11 custom firmware.....the phone is unblocked and jailbroken,everything works but I GOT PROBLEM WITH THE SIM CARD NETWORK NOW.....PHONE DOESN'T RECOGNIZE MY CARRIER'S SIM CARD (BASE in BELGIUM)....WHAT CAN I DO? DID I DO SMTH WRONG DURING JAILBREAK PROCESS?
 
eastercat

eastercat

macrumors 68040
Mar 3, 2008
3,323
7
PDX
nightfly13 said:
I had no idea that new original software would de-activate her iPhone.
Click to expand...
If you lack the common sense to know that overwriting your software would kill your jailbreak, then maybe you shouldn't have it in the first place.

eloy said:
iPHONE DOESN'T RECOGNIZE MY CARRIER'S SIM CARD
Click to expand...
Did you unlock it with ultrasnow? Stop shouting. People are less likely to help you when you're acting like an idiot.
 
nightfly13

nightfly13

macrumors 6502a
Jul 17, 2008
679
0
Ranchi, India
eastercat said:
If you lack the common sense to know that overwriting your software would kill your jailbreak, then maybe you shouldn't have it in the first place.

Did you unlock it with ultrasnow? Stop shouting. People are less likely to help you when you're acting like an idiot.
Click to expand...

While I'm no fan of caps typing, best to look in the mirror before looking out the window. Attacking my 'common sense' for two seemingly unrelated issues is far from constructive, and approaching idiocy. Of course I knew that overwriting software would kill the jailbreak, what I didn't know was it would also de-activate the phone that had been activated for well over a year. It's not 'common sense' nor common knowledge.

Should you have any constructive feedback, I'll be all ears.
 
eastercat

eastercat

macrumors 68040
Mar 3, 2008
3,323
7
PDX
Unless your iPhone is factory unlocked, your unlock is software dependent.
Common sense tells me that if I get rid of the jailbreak then I also lose any programs that were installed in the jailbreak.
When you uninstall Mac OS X from your computer, do you generally expect that you'll still be able to access Word for Mac on your computer? No, you don't.
However, that is what you were expecting when you thought your phone would still be unlocked.

Please explain to me what is reasonable common sense when it comes to the relationship between jailbreak and unlocking.
nightfly13 said:
While I'm no fan of caps typing, best to look in the mirror before looking out the window. Attacking my 'common sense' for two seemingly unrelated issues is far from constructive, and approaching idiocy. Of course I knew that overwriting software would kill the jailbreak, what I didn't know was it would also de-activate the phone that had been activated for well over a year. It's not 'common sense' nor common knowledge.

Should you have any constructive feedback, I'll be all ears.
Click to expand...
 
U

UCF-ENG

macrumors regular
Jun 7, 2010
126
0
I had a similar issue after updating to 3.1.3 on my 2G. I justed used Redsn0w and pointed it to the 3.1.2 ipsw. You may need to do something similar. Spirit, jailbreakme.com, etc. will not work in your case.

What firmware are you now running, 4.0.2?
 
nightfly13

nightfly13

macrumors 6502a
Jul 17, 2008
679
0
Ranchi, India
eastercat said:
Unless your iPhone is factory unlocked, your unlock is software dependent.
Common sense tells me that if I get rid of the jailbreak then I also lose any programs that were installed in the jailbreak.
When you uninstall Mac OS X from your computer, do you generally expect that you'll still be able to access Word for Mac on your computer? No, you don't.
However, that is what you were expecting when you thought your phone would still be unlocked.

Please explain to me what is reasonable common sense when it comes to the relationship between jailbreak and unlocking.
Click to expand...

Happy to explain, for a third time. My problem is not that my phone got re-locked. I knew this would happen when I lost my jailbreak through software update.

My problem is that my phone is de-activated - quite distinct from re-locked - and I can't use the phone for anything but 'emergency calls'. So you're right that common sense would dictate that a software-based unlock would be lost when you install new software, the surprise to me (and frustration I'm still dealing with, trying not to vent on you) is that it deactivated the phone, like a brand new phone from Apple (despite being over a year old and already activated once). It's totally non-functional now (no matter which SIM I put in) until I'm able to have iTunes re-activate the phone. Even when I put an AT&T SIM in, it's still not working. I'm suspecting it might be a non-American phone and I have to figure out who the original carrier was and re-activate it, then I can continue the cat and mouse battle of JB/UL.
 
N

nebo1ss

macrumors 68030
Jun 2, 2010
2,903
1,695
nightfly13 said:
Happy to explain, for a third time. My problem is not that my phone got re-locked. I knew this would happen when I lost my jailbreak through software update.

My problem is that my phone is de-activated - quite distinct from re-locked - and I can't use the phone for anything but 'emergency calls'. So you're right that common sense would dictate that a software-based unlock would be lost when you install new software, the surprise to me (and frustration I'm still dealing with, trying not to vent on you) is that it deactivated the phone, like a brand new phone from Apple (despite being over a year old and already activated once). It's totally non-functional now (no matter which SIM I put in) until I'm able to have iTunes re-activate the phone. Even when I put an AT&T SIM in, it's still not working. I'm suspecting it might be a non-American phone and I have to figure out who the original carrier was and re-activate it, then I can continue the cat and mouse battle of JB/UL.
Click to expand...

The link I originally posted a month ago tells you how to use Pwn tool to Jailbreak, Hactivate and unlock an Iphone 3G. Hactivation is what the opp needed. You should go back to the Tutorial and read it properly. The original poster had a 3G. It does not apply to your 3GS you need to get an original SIM card to activate your phone. However, the SIM card does not have to be active it just needs to be from the original carrier.

If you have the original ATT pay and go SIM it will activate the phone.
 
nightfly13

nightfly13

macrumors 6502a
Jul 17, 2008
679
0
Ranchi, India
nebo1ss said:
*snip*... It does not apply to your 3GS you need to get an original SIM card to activate your phone. However, the SIM card does not have to be active it just needs to be from the original carrier.

If you have the original ATT pay and go SIM it will activate the phone.
Click to expand...

Yeah I thought I had a US phone, but the 2 AT&T sims I've tried don't work. Trying the phonebook sim method next, I guess. Bought the phone second hand on CL so who knows where it's from.
 
nightfly13

nightfly13

macrumors 6502a
Jul 17, 2008
679
0
Ranchi, India
eastercat said:
No, your phone is locked. When your phone is locked and doesn't have the correct SIM inside, it will display the emergency calls screen.
Click to expand...

Let me try to demonstrate why you're wrong, at least according to the commonly used phrasing with regard to the iPhone ('JB/UL' etc.).

Say you take a vanilla contracted AT&T iPhone and insert another sim card. The iPhone functions in every way, except with regard to making calls (and sending SMSs). It is still active, but locked to the single carrier. You won't get the emergency call only screen, you won't be told you to connect the iPhone to iTunes before you can do anything else, it remains activated. Then you jailbreak and unlock the phone (ie. with Ultrasn0w) the phone is still activated, and now unlocked to use with any GSM carrier.

That's how everyone uses the phrases lock/unlock (to do with accepted sim cards) and activated and deactivated, to do with whether the phone can be turned on and used (all non-calling apps).

Hope that's clear, I won't belabor this point any further in any future post.
 
eastercat

eastercat

macrumors 68040
Mar 3, 2008
3,323
7
PDX
When you get a brand new iphone, it is locked and inactivated (i.e., it's on the connect to itunes screen). The only way to get past that screen is to use the original carrier's SIM. The SIM functions to start the phone, much like you would insert the key into the ignition of your car.
Perhaps I didn't use accurate terminology earlier, but I still know that you need the original SIM or a hacktivation after an update is applied.
On the other hand, you brought your phone back to that original state of locked and inactivated and you expected your non-standard SIM card to work. That's why I wonder at your lack of common sense.

nightfly13 said:
Let me try to demonstrate why you're wrong, at least according to the commonly used phrasing with regard to the iPhone ('JB/UL' etc.).

Say you take a vanilla contracted AT&T iPhone and insert another sim card. The iPhone functions in every way, except with regard to making calls (and sending SMSs). It is still active, but locked to the single carrier. You won't get the emergency call only screen, you won't be told you to connect the iPhone to iTunes before you can do anything else, it remains activated. Then you jailbreak and unlock the phone (ie. with Ultrasn0w) the phone is still activated, and now unlocked to use with any GSM carrier.

That's how everyone uses the phrases lock/unlock (to do with accepted sim cards) and activated and deactivated, to do with whether the phone can be turned on and used (all non-calling apps).

Hope that's clear, I won't belabor this point any further in any future post.
Click to expand...
 
nightfly13

nightfly13

macrumors 6502a
Jul 17, 2008
679
0
Ranchi, India
eastercat said:
...Perhaps I didn't use accurate terminology earlier, but I still know that you need the original SIM or a hacktivation after an update is applied.
On the other hand, you brought your phone back to that original state of locked and inactivated and you expected your non-standard SIM card to work. That's why I wonder at your lack of common sense.
Click to expand...

I've done tons of software updates over the years whilst using 'non-standard' sim cards. This is the first time I've had to re-activate. I've had to re-jailbreak and unlock again pretty much every time, but this is the first time it's de-activated, which is curious and unexpected.
 
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