Bringing my jailbroken/unlocked 3g to Apple Store tomorrow to fix wifi problem.

[PaulDoFish]

So my iphone 3g 8gb is having wifi problems, and I wanna take it to the apple store to get it fixed/replaced.

The problem is, I am NOT on att, but t-mobile. So how would I show the Apple Geniuses my wifi problem without having my iphone jailbroken/unlocked. Since I am not on att, I cannot restore and activate the phone without jailbreaking it.

How would I show them my wifi problem if all I have is the "Connect to iTunes to activate" screen? Or should I just take it in "hacktivated"/jailbroken?

 

[Arisian]

So my iphone 3g 8gb is having wifi problems, and I wanna take it to the apple store to get it fixed/replaced.

The problem is, I am NOT on att, but t-mobile. So how would I show the Apple Geniuses my wifi problem without having my iphone jailbroken/unlocked. Since I am not on att, I cannot restore and activate the phone without jailbreaking it.

How would I show them my wifi problem if all I have is the "Connect to iTunes to activate" screen? Or should I just take it in "hacktivated"/jailbroken?

Unfortunately, here's the bottom line I think. Apple is going to tell you that the wifi issue is BECAUSE of the jailbreak. They also won't service it because it's outside of the user agreement for using the phone - thus you forfeit your right for Apple tech. support.

I could be wrong, but this is what I've seen in the past. Anyone else want to weigh in on that?

 

[PaulDoFish]

Hmm... Maybe I should've explained my wifi problem in my original post...

Well, basically, my iPhone 3g will not connect to ANY network. It will say "unable to join network" on ALL networks I try to join; open or locked. Will not connect to any computers through ad-hoc either.

I've been hearing that this problem is very common with the 3g, and apple is very lenient about it; I've even heard apple replacing their phones, no questions asked. Even some out of warranty.

But for me, again, I'm not on at&t. My question is, should I bring it in "hacktivated" and cydia not installed with no sim card, and just show them that the wifi doesn't work, and HOPEFULLY they'll replace it? Or is there something else I can do?

 

[Applejuiced]

You're still under Applecare on that 3G model?
You can bring it in hactivated but without cydia or any custom stuff on it and hope they wont ask you too many questions

 

[Vinnie Madrox]

turn off as many visual tweaks as you can to make the phone LOOK non-jailbroken, and get "fake carrier" to make it sat AT&T in the top left? just a thought

 

[Arisian]

You're still under Applecare on that 3G model?
You can bring it in hactivated but without cydia or any custom stuff on it and hope they wont ask you too many questions

If you did that, I'd make sure he throws in an ATT gophone sim or whatever - Again, I understand your problem, but Im letting you know that they are more than likely, if discovered, blame it on the jailbreak

To be quiet honest, I would do a search for this on the forums but not from the "Hey Apple, fix my 3G signal!" but from a "I jailbroke my iphone and now the wireless doesn't work"

There have been several cases I've read that the JB actually did break the wifi. I'd suggest maybe trying to cut apple out of the loop. Nonetheless, if they discovered its jail broken, they will simply blame it on that.

Cheers and good luck!
Brian

 

[Arisian]

So my iphone 3g 8gb is having wifi problems, and I wanna take it to the apple store to get it fixed/replaced.

The problem is, I am NOT on att, but t-mobile. So how would I show the Apple Geniuses my wifi problem without having my iphone jailbroken/unlocked. Since I am not on att, I cannot restore and activate the phone without jailbreaking it.

How would I show them my wifi problem if all I have is the "Connect to iTunes to activate" screen? Or should I just take it in "hacktivated"/jailbroken?

Ive read about other people asking this question before - maybe search for those cases for more info... I bet they will provide a lot more info that us nuckleheads trying to solve it for you

 

[PaulDoFish]

The wifi was broken even before the jailbreak, FYI .
Is there a way that the Apple Geniuses can check out the wifi on an unactivated iPhone? That would be nice..

 

[Arisian]

The wifi was broken even before the jailbreak, FYI .
Is there a way that the Apple Geniuses can check out the wifi on an unactivated iPhone? That would be nice..

well then whats the problem - restore it and show them that. Seems like a simple solution to me.

I cannot restore and activate the phone without jailbreaking it.​

they dont care if you are actively using it - just say its a back up and you don't have a service plan for it. However, it seems to me-and I could be wrong-that you have to actually hackivate it to get into the the OS which means that there is no way of knowing if the wifi works from an un-jailbroken state or not.

Im not trying to be a jerk, but I do have to ask - did you buy it second hand and the wifi wasn't working at that point or... maybe explain to us a little bit about how your wifi isn't working and what that actually looks like

 

[PaulDoFish]

Well, basically, my iPhone 3g will not connect to ANY network. It will say "unable to join network" on ALL networks I try to join; open or locked. Will not connect to any computers through ad-hoc either.

There's my wifi problem.
No I did not buy this phone second-hand. I had at&t and this problem existed then, but with 3g, I figured I didn't really need wifi. Switched over to t-mobile for better family plans, and edge is EXTREMELY SLOW.

But anyways, I guess I'm just gonna hacktivate it and see how it goes....
I'll report back here tomorrow so that someone else with a similar problem in the future may find an answer

 

[Cinemagic]

The general Apple Store Genius protocol is to first do a restore to the latest version of the software. If that doesn't fix the problem, they will take it in for repair. If you're on AppleCare, they might give you a loaner. If you're jailbroken, they'll hand you the iPhone back and tell you good luck but you're on your own.

Apple has played the cat and mouse game with hackers since the original iPhone. It is apparent that Apple does not want people to jailbreak their iPhones, let along unlock them. It would not surprise me if the Apple policy prohibited Apple Geniuses from working on jailbroken iPhone.

As for your problem, I would recommend first doing a restore. Be careful to restore with a method and firmware that will allow you to keep your jailbreak/unlock. If you still have problems, double check that in your settings, you have WiFi turned on, Ask to join networks turned on and see if you can see networks to choose from. If you do (like a home network), click it, then at the top, select "forget this network". Turn off your iPhone and then restart it. See if it detects your nework again and if you can connect. By saying to forget the network, you're clearing out any saved information such as passwords, DCHP settings, etc. Then starting all over again. If you don't see any networks, make sure the network itself is broadcasting its SSID. If you still don't see any networks, your WiFi module is probably bad. Time for a brand new shiny iPhone 4 and a return to AT&T.

 

[Carl G35c]

do you know anyone that has att? pop their sim in and take them with you to apple.

 

[50thVert]

I was having sim card issues with My 3GS a few days ago and when I took it in they ran a lengthy diagnostic on it by plugging it into a laptop. I presume they could detect a jailbroken phone that way with or without it being activated.

 

[Timbalan]

Would it be dumb to just restore it and than play dumb when you get to the store. Hand them the phone turned off, tell em what its doing and let them check it out from there. Your story would be that its your sister/mother/GF's phone and after you tried looking at it for them and saw the problem, you told them to restore it and you'd bring it in... So they restored the phone and took their sim out and stuck it in their back-up phone so they wouldn't be without while you brought it in for service.

They have computers and tech's I don't think a 2 sec activation on an otherwise factory phone will hinder them in diagnosis.

Only potential problem I see is if the jailbreak somehow actually did make it unable to connect to wifi than when they got past activation...it (wifi) would work. Then you just gotta play dumb and tell em you saw first hand it not working at home while other wireless devices were functioning perfectly an see if they offer anything or just send you on your way as they werent able to replicate the problem.

 

[PaulDoFish]

Well I went yesterday, and the store was CROWDEDDDDD. Even at like 5pm! Longgggg line.

But anyways, here's what happened. Gave them my "hacktivated" iPhone (Cydia not installed) with no sim, told them about my wifi issue, let them play around with it, and they restored it.
So no, they did NOT detect the jailbreak. After restore, the Genius says since I'm out of warranty, I need to pay 200 for a new 3G.

Bottomline, they did NOT detect the jailbreak. (it might be different for someone else, because I don't think the Genius ran their "behavior scan" thing; She just went straight to restoring it.)

 

[Applejuiced]

Thats why I asked you above if you were still under warranty.
Did you end up paying the $200?

 

[PaulDoFish]

I was planning on it, but since they were so busy yesterday they told me to make an appointment for another day. So I'm going tomorrow.