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Cannot iMessage or receive Push notifications over 3G

billchase2

billchase2

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Feb 28, 2006
1,833
131
Ann Arbor
I've mentioned this in other threads, but wanted to start my own instead of hijacking the others.

I am on an AT&T iPhone 4, latest baseband, iOS 5.0.1, and am not currently jailbroken. iMessages will not send or receive while on 3G. They only work when connected to WiFi. My push notifications also do not work when on 3G. Only WiFi.

What I've tried:
  • Resetting my network settings: did not fix the issues.
  • Jailbroke and installed 3G Unrestrictor: did not help.
  • Did a full restore and set up as new - WORKED. However, upon restoring my old backup, the issues came back. There's obviously something wrong with my backup, however, I really do not want to start from scratch. I have far too many personalized things on my phone that I don't want to lose.
Any other ideas for me? I've temporarily set my email to Fetch and turned off iMessages so I don't miss any important emails/texts, but this is far from ideal. Is there, perhaps, another way to back up my data so I can restore as new but only load my apps/app settings/texts/etc. and not restore the problematic settings?
 
The only things that come to mind here are that you may have Cellular Data turned off, or there is a problem with one of your email accounts that you are bringing back when you restore from the backup. When you did the restore and set up as new, did you try and setup email and see if it worked? I couldn't really tell from your post.

You might want, after restoring from back up, delete the email accounts and recreate them. See if that works. I know this would not explain the issue with iMessage, but it could explain mail. If iMessage is not working then no telling what is causing the issue with receiving data.

I am not aware of a way to just restore individual portions of a backup. Sorry I couldn't help with that. Sometimes the backups get something corrupt in them, and the only way to fix it is to start from scratch.
 
Well if you have to start over fresh then that's the only way to resolve your problems. If the backup is corrupt and that is what is messing up your push notifications then there really isn't anything else to do.
 
Thanks for the responses so far. I don't believe the email accounts are the issue, but I will give it a shot just in case.

Are there any jailbroken apps that will back up my apps and settings? I know Aptbackup & PKGBackup do jailbroken apps... but do any back up regular App Store apps? If so, here's my idea:
  • Back up my text messages by using one of the methods here
  • Back up my app settings/springboard layout via PKGbackup (though I don't believe it supports iOS 5 folders)
  • Restore my iPhone and setup as new
  • Put my text message back on my iPhone using a method from above
  • Somehow get my App Store apps back on the device (any ideas?)
  • Jailbreak
  • Put my app settings/springboard layout back via PKGBackup
  • Sync my iPhone
  • Restore my iPhone from that latest backup
I believe this would get my iPhones settings back to stock (fixing the issue) and in the end, have it not-jailbroken.

Does this make any sense? Any suggestions?
 
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Due to the holidays, I haven't had time to try the above ideas. Does anyone have any thoughts on my method? I haven't quite figured it all out, but that seems to be the only "solution" I can come up with... but it's kind of risky (losing texts, app settings, saved data, etc.) and would probably take most of a day to do.

Thanks!
 
billchase2 said:
Due to the holidays, I haven't had time to try the above ideas. Does anyone have any thoughts on my method? I haven't quite figured it all out, but that seems to be the only "solution" I can come up with... but it's kind of risky (losing texts, app settings, saved data, etc.) and would probably take most of a day to do.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

You could use iCloud to back up your texts and all that
apple.com/icloud ;)
 
yeah said:
You could use iCloud to back up your texts and all that
apple.com/icloud ;)
Click to expand...
That won't back up everything though, will it? Only apps that support iCloud. I also don't think it backs up text messages, but could be wrong. It's not listed in my iCloud settings.
blueroom said:
What baseband are you on?
Click to expand...
While trying to fix this, I upgraded to 04.11.08. Unfortunately, it didn't fix the problem.
 
billchase2 said:
That won't back up everything though, will it? Only apps that support iCloud. I also don't think it backs up text messages, but could be wrong. It's not listed in my iCloud settings.

While trying to fix this, I upgraded to 04.11.08. Unfortunately, it didn't fix the problem.
Click to expand...

It says on the website that when you do the iCloud Backup, it saves all your text/imessages ;)
 
Okay, so what I'm reading is that iCloud backs up text messages. I assume this takes place within the "Documents & Data" section, correct? I have that feature enabled, so hopefully that will cover it. The only iCloud feature I have disabled is Photo Stream, but I backup my photos to my computer regularly.

PKGbackup is the only utility I can find that mentions backing up App Store app data. Is that correct? Are there any others? Since I plan to NOT restore from backup (via iTunes), I need a way to restore my saved game data and app settings. The PKGbackup website states that it backs up folders, but I'm unsure if it means iOS folders or jailbroken categories.

I apologize for dwelling on this so much before getting to work, but I really want to make sure I don't lose data while restoring my iPhone and starting "fresh." I've been an iPhone owner since 2007 and have always restored my data from previous iPhones when upgrading the hardware. If anyone has any other thoughts, tips, or tricks for me, please let me know!
 
iCloud saves App Data as long as the dev for that App has enabled that API. If it's an App no longer supported is where you would run into a problem however.
 
Kyotoma said:
iCloud saves App Data as long as the dev for that App has enabled that API. If it's an App no longer supported is where you would run into a problem however.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure how this relates to my issue. The only real iCloud backup I'm looking for is the text messages because I can't find another way to back up/restore them. I'm happy to back everything up to my computer and then manually restore them myself, I just need to find the best way to do so without using the actual iTunes backup (since it has issues).
 
One more question: does this seem like something I could go see an Apple Genius about? I'm not really sure what they could do for me, but it could be worth a shot.

Update: I took it to the Apple Store today and a Genius said the only thing I can do is restore and basically start from scratch. Fortunately, I think some of the mentioned jailbroken tools can help make this a little less painful.
 
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Hi, I have exactly the same problem and have searched high and low for an answer. I too believe that starting from scratch may be the only answer for now, which I am unwilling to do. There must be one little thing that needs changing deep in the code somewhere, as push works fine over wifi.

Please update your progress for the rest of us. I will do the same if I discover anything.
 
Frysk said:
Hi, I have exactly the same problem and have searched high and low for an answer. I too believe that starting from scratch may be the only answer for now, which I am unwilling to do. There must be one little thing that needs changing deep in the code somewhere, as push works fine over wifi.

Please update your progress for the rest of us. I will do the same if I discover anything.
Click to expand...
Welcome to the thread! Perhaps between the two of us (and possible help from others) we can figure this out. I've read other threads on the Apple discussion boards relating to this issue, but haven't found a true fix. All of my ideas are presented above, but I have not gone through with any of the plans yet. My main concerns are losing saved game/app data, having to manually reinstall all of my apps, and recreating all of my iOS folders.

Do you have any other ideas to add?
 
My next attempt:
http://www.iphonejailbreak.me/how-t...atedjailbroken-iphone-3gs-iphone-4-using-sam/

It's meant for Hacktivated iPhones (which mine is not), but it's worth a try.

EDIT: So far, that doesn't seem to be working.

I just checked my push notifications key/certificate (http://www.iphoneroots.com/2011/01/push-checker-released-push-test.html), and it appears to be unique. So that's not the problem...

Another Update: After messing around with these apps, it did no good. I still have the same issue I've been having...

Any other suggestions for me? This is getting ridiculous.
 
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Is there a way to restore from backup in a way that only restores your apps, folders, and app settings? Would an app like iBackupBot do this for me? I have a feeling that the error is somewhere in my system settings backup.

A guide I just found on "How to restore your SMS, Call History, Contacts, Notes, Calendar, Bookmarks, Camera Roll and Selected App Data after a fresh restore NOT from backup":
http://www.ifans.com/forums/showthread.php?t=341974
Following some of the additional information found here:
http://www.ifans.com/forums/showthread.php?t=366628

This may be my next attempt...

Edit: Though, I just realized that it only backs up the app data and not the apps/icon locations/folders. Looks like I'm going to have to do quite a bit of manual work, regardless of the method I choose.
 
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I'm having the same issue on my 3GS. Additionally, I don't have a tethering option in Settings > General > Network. I'm fairly certain I had this option before I updated to iOS 5. Are you guys missing this option too?
 
namannik said:
I'm having the same issue on my 3GS. Additionally, I don't have a tethering option in Settings > General > Network. I'm fairly certain I had this option before I updated to iOS 5. Are you guys missing this option too?
Click to expand...
I don't have the option because I don't pay for tethering and have not hacked my iPhone to allow it. Does your plan come with tethering?
 
I don't pay for tethering either, but the option to turn it on should be there anyway. In fact, I reset my iPhone last night, and the option (called "Personal Hotspot") returned. As soon as I restored from a backup, the option was missing again.

It looks like I'm going to have reset my iPhone again, and then sync with iTunes instead of restoring from backup. I realize I'll lose app data by doing that, but that's not too big of a deal to me, and I would rather not jailbreak my phone.
 
Here's another thought: Is this your first iPhone?

Before my current 3GS, I had a 3G, which originally ran iOS 2. The 3G was eventually upgraded to version 4, and then, when I switched to the 3GS, I started that phone with a backup from the previous phone. Perhaps there's something lingering in there from a previous phone or OS that's messing things up.
 
namannik said:
I don't pay for tethering either, but the option to turn it on should be there anyway. In fact, I reset my iPhone last night, and the option (called "Personal Hotspot") returned. As soon as I restored from a backup, the option was missing again.

It looks like I'm going to have reset my iPhone again, and then sync with iTunes instead of restoring from backup. I realize I'll lose app data by doing that, but that's not too big of a deal to me, and I would rather not jailbreak my phone.
Click to expand...
I believe you need to enable the feature through AT&T before it appears on your device:
http://www.macworld.com/article/158556/2011/03/personal_hotspot_att.html
namannik said:
Here's another thought: Is this your first iPhone?

Before my current 3GS, I had a 3G, which originally ran iOS 2. The 3G was eventually upgraded to version 4, and then, when I switched to the 3GS, I started that phone with a backup from the previous phone. Perhaps there's something lingering in there from a previous phone or OS that's messing things up.
Click to expand...
This is my 3rd iPhone. I had the original iPhone, the 3GS, and now the iPhone 4. I have always restored from backup and have jailbroken (and heavily tweaked) every iPhone I've owned, so I'm sure there are issues with my backup file. That's why I need to restore and setup as new. I am looking for the best way to reinstall my current apps, folders, and saved app data.
 
billchase2 said:
I believe you need to enable the feature through AT&T before it appears on your device data.
Click to expand...

I have now reset my phone, and this option is available now, even though I don't pay for the plan. Clicking on the button in the control panel opens a dialog box prompting me to visit AT&T's web site to enable tethering.
 
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