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How to unlock an iPhone 3GS?

5

55test55

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 16, 2009
459
3
Hi all, i want to unlock my 3GS so i can sell it. I was wondering what the appropriate steps are to do this. I have a launch 3GS so it has the older bootrom (or whatever, haha).

1)unlock/jailbreak firmware 3.1.3 with sn0wbreeze
2)restore to unlocked firmware
3)do NOT restore any personal info
4)take out SIM card and sell?

is it as easy as that? i have never unlocked or jailbreaked my stuff, but i want to do it because it increases the market value of the phone apparently. thanks a ton.
 
If you updated to the stock 3.1.3 then you are out of luck unlocking it until iOS4 comes out. You can still jailbreak it though.
 
dude, if u have an older bootloader, u can jailbreak as well as unlock it. Just youtube it, u'll find a lot of videos which should help you.

just check your version and modem firmware in (Settings>General>About), if it's not 3.1.3 and 05.12.01 you should be able to jailbreak, unlock and sell it for a $$$$$$$$$.... best of luck
 
jaysambhu said:
dude, if u have an older bootloader, u can jailbreak as well as unlock it. Just youtube it, u'll find a lot of videos which should help you.

just check your version and modem firmware in (Settings>General>About), if it's not 3.1.3 and 05.12.01 you should be able to jailbreak, unlock and sell it for a $$$$$$$$$.... best of luck
Click to expand...

when 3.1.3 is applied on a 3GS bootloader 5.12.01 is added. On a 3GS baseband can not be downgraded. 3G on down it can be. unlock for 3GS 3.1.3 will be out very soon. no choice for him but to wait! even if he downgrades to 3.1.2 via shsh 5.12.01 will remain!
 
What if I am using 3.1.2 and never did the upgrade to 3.1.3? I have a 3G running 3.1.2 on ATT and I want to remove personal data before I sell it but also unlock it for the person I am selling it to. Can you recommend the best order to follow when removing data, jailbreaking, then unlocking? Does the other person habe to be present with their SIM to do this?
 
You will be able to unlock by the end of the month or shortly thereafter.
 
people Google works way better then asking the same questions over and over. all these questions have been asked 1000's of times. you will get your answers much quicker too! ;)
 
jaysambhu said:
dude, if u have an older bootloader, u can jailbreak as well as unlock it. Just youtube it, u'll find a lot of videos which should help you.

just check your version and modem firmware in (Settings>General>About), if it's not 3.1.3 and 05.12.01 you should be able to jailbreak, unlock and sell it for a $$$$$$$$$.... best of luck
Click to expand...

Nope. The 5.08 bootloader exploit is only on 3G, not 3GS.

No unlock right now for 3.1.3, baseband 5.12.xx
 
labman said:
people Google works way better then asking the same questions over and over. all these questions have been asked 1000's of times. you will get your answers much quicker too! ;)
Click to expand...

I know how to jailbreak and unlock if it was my phone, but I have never tried to unlock it for a third party without a sim card present. I was looking for advice from the community, not Google. ;)
 
labman said:
people Google works way better then asking the same questions over and over. all these questions have been asked 1000's of times. you will get your answers much quicker too! ;)
Click to expand...

The problem is that Google gives you lots of different answers. Good luck figuring out which ones are the right ones!
 
I have a 3gs 3.1.3 with spirit jailbreak and base band 5.12.1

But I need it unlocked!!
Am I totally screwed?
I cant use my phone anymore cause I didn't back up my shsh Blobs
I should not have updated!
 
BornToMac said:
I know how to jailbreak and unlock if it was my phone, but I have never tried to unlock it for a third party without a sim card present. I was looking for advice from the community, not Google. ;)
Click to expand...

my point is it's been answered many many many times Iclarified and Hackintosh have great tutorials. if there isn't a tutorial in those places then figure it can't be done. also you can get bad advice from the community as well. ;)
 
taki143 said:
But I need it unlocked!!
Am I totally screwed?
I cant use my phone anymore cause I didn't back up my shsh Blobs
I should not have updated!
Click to expand...

You're right, you should have not updated it unless you're 100% on what you're doing.
Even if you backed up your SHSH's you could not reverse the updated baseband that cannot be unlocked for the moment.
Give it some time, there will be a new unlock soon.
Be more carefull next time cause unlock hacks are very hard to come by and usually once you update you cannot downgrade.
 
labman, an iPhone 3G running 3.1.2 that has never been updated to 3.1.3 can be both jailbroken and unlocked. Thanks for being so difficult...
 
BornToMac said:
labman, an iPhone 3G running 3.1.2 that has never been updated to 3.1.3 can be both jailbroken and unlocked. Thanks for being so difficult...
Click to expand...

you are correct most of this thread is talking about 3GS totally different. you found the correct answer not that difficult. sorry you guys have no idea how much the same questions are asked!
 
Actually, I still don't have any more information than when I joined this thread. I have been a member of the forums since early 2008 and know how frustrating it can be when people ask the same questions over and over, especially when the topics have been covered 100 times (i.e. Geektools). I have actually successfully jb'n / unlocked an early 2G for my girlfriend before the 3g even came out so it is not a question of how or if it is possible. What I am asking, and what I still haven't been able to find the answer to, is how do I jb ->unlock without a SIM card? For example... I restore my iPhone to default (remove all personal data). Then I follow the instructions for jailbreaking and unlocking. MY problem is, I cannot jb -> unlock without a SIM present. If I follow the instructions, my personal data gets loaded back on the phone from the sim I have in the phone during the process. I am not talking about restoring from a backup of your phone. Even if you start clean, your phone number can still be found in the settings and I am paranoid about what other information can be extracted after turnng over the phone to someone else. This is the problem. I am looking for a factory fresh (no record of my phone number or history) iphone that is unlocked and ready for any carriers SIM card so that when I sell it, the purchaser cannot see my data in the iphone settings. Make sense?
 
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