I bought a used 3GS but it says I can't unlock it!??!!

[Dee Ann]

OMFG.....

I bought a used 3GS on ebay.

The dude told me it was unlocked and jail broken and that I could use it on my non AT&T service.

I get the thing in and put my SIM in it from my old 1st gen iPhone that is running jail broken and unlocked (3.1.3) on my non AT&T service but it doesn't do anything, it's like the SIM isn't in it.

So I found a program called forecast and it tells me I can't unlock or jail break it!!!!!!!!!!

It says something about SHSH but I have no clue what that is or what it does. Never even heard of it before.


I saw a lot of talk about a program called Spirit so I tried that too but it just fails.

What can I do???

Oh, I don't have a mac, all I have is Windows 7..
Wish I had a Mac.

Please someone tell me I didn't get messed over on this purchase??????!!!!!

I'm stuck!!!

 

[rgarjr]

so is it jailbroken? U have cydia?

 

[thelatinist]

Well, the first thing to do is figure out if your phone is actually jailbroken. Do you have a Cydia icon?

Edit: incidentally, f0recast is outdated. 05.12.01 can now be unlocked, as long as your phone is or can be jailbroken.

 

[Dee Ann]

I have no idea if it's jail broken or not, I can not get into the phone at all, all it gives me is the emergency call thing and a bunch of different Welcome things is foreign languages.

It simply will not let me do anything at all.

Without a SIM in it it just gives the screen saying it needs and SIM and that I have to connect it to iTunes.

When I put my NON ATT SIM in it it just does all the foreign welcomes and gives me the emergency call screen...

I have no idea how to get past that..

And I most certainly do NOT want to upgrade to iOS4.

For now I want to stick with 3.1.3.....

Thanks...

 

[thelatinist]

It sounds like the phone was restored and is not activated. What you need to do is find someone with an AT&T phone who will let you borrow their SIM briefly to activate your phone. Put their SIM in the phone and connect to iTunes. When the phone has activated, you will get to the main screen.

If Cydia is present, then your phone is jailbroken. If not, follow this tutorial to jailbreak your phone with Spirit. Then this tutorial to unlock with ultrasn0w.

 

[benflick]

Spirit failed because your phone was not activated.
If you have an old AT&T SIM laying around, put it in the phone and plug it into iTunes. The "Slide to Unlock" screen will appear. Jailbreak, then Unlock like thelatinist said.

 

[gngan]

If there are so many things that you do not know about then you shouldn't buy it second hand. You could of read more what can be unlock, JB, what each software does for different firmware.

You can either borrow someone's ATT sim card to activate it and see if the information inside. Then decide whether or not it can be JB and unlock.

OR

You can wait the dev-team to release something that will hacktivate it.

OR

Sell you iphone on ebay.

 

[Dee Ann]

Wow..

Make me out to be dumb next time..

I bought the phone on ebay and the seller said it was unlocked and jailbroken and would work on any network.

He sent a DVD with it that has the following on it.

redsn0w.exe
PwnageTool_2.0(2).zip
Spirit.exe


The redsnow fails with some error message, it won't run,
the pawnage tool is for macs
and the Spirit program fails too with an error message.

Thing is, I bought it after being told it was unlocked and jail broken and that all I had to do was pop my SIM into it and it would work.

I had an extremely difficult time making my old iPhone work that my son gave me.

I'm not a hacker or a programmer or a gear head. This is NOT something I do on a regular basis. Or for that matter, at all. I made my old one work and just used it as a phone and it did that. I didn't mess with it after I got it working.




edited - Could it be because I'm using Windows 7 64bit ?

 

[benflick]

No, I told you earlier that the reason Spirit fails to jailbreak your phone is because it's not activated. Spirit requires an activated phone.
You will need to find an AT&T sim card, it can be activated or with no service. Put the sim card in your iPhone and plug it into iTunes. When the iPhone displays the "Slide to Unlock" screen. Run spirit.

 

[thelatinist]

edited - Could it be because I'm using Windows 7 64bit ?

Both benflick and I have already told you why it doesn't work. The phone has to be activated with an AT&T SIM before you can run Spirit. Once activated, you can use Spirit to jailbreak and unlock with ultrasn0w so that you can use any SIM. But you have to borrow an AT&T SIM to do the initial activation.

 

[melterx12]

easy fix: if you dont know anyone with an AT&T sim, buy an unregistered one on ebay: about $2.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130400342374

very good seller, bought my new 3GS from him.

 

[atlantatan1]

Wow..

Make me out to be dumb next time..

I bought the phone on ebay and the seller said it was unlocked and jailbroken and would work on any network.

He sent a DVD with it that has the following on it.

redsn0w.exe
PwnageTool_2.0(2).zip
Spirit.exe


The redsnow fails with some error message, it won't run,
the pawnage tool is for macs
and the Spirit program fails too with an error message.

Thing is, I bought it after being told it was unlocked and jail broken and that all I had to do was pop my SIM into it and it would work.

I had an extremely difficult time making my old iPhone work that my son gave me.

I'm not a hacker or a programmer or a gear head. This is NOT something I do on a regular basis. Or for that matter, at all. I made my old one work and just used it as a phone and it did that. I didn't mess with it after I got it working.




edited - Could it be because I'm using Windows 7 64bit ?

I have some AT&T sim card from unlock peoples iphone,if you like to get 1 PM me your address I'll send you 1 for free.

 

[Gigamaster89]

You can activate an iPhone with an AT&T sim card? Even if it's not in use?

I have a Cingular/AT&T sim card from a previous iPhone user, say I also buy a used 3GS that's in the e-lock screen, can I use that sim to activate?

 

[benflick]

You can activate an iPhone with an AT&T sim card? Even if it's not in use?

I have a Cingular/AT&T sim card from a previous iPhone user, say I also buy a used 3GS that's in the e-lock screen, can I use that sim to activate?

I have like 12 AT&T sim cards laying around that are inactivated-- they display "No Service" when installed into a phone.
All of them have worked in activating any of my iPhones. Just put the sim card in the phone and plug it into iTunes, and the "Slide to Unlock" screen will come up. Then you can take the sim card out if you wish.

 

[vivithemage]

I haven't read the thread, but if you have 3.1.3 you can follow my tutorial on unlocking/jailbreaking it :

http://vivithemage.com/?p=104

 

[Neolithium]

I haven't read the thread, but if you have 3.1.3 you can follow my tutorial on unlocking/jailbreaking it :

http://vivithemage.com/?p=104

You should have read the thread. The OP's situation is not a jailbreak issue, it needs to be activated with an AT&T SIM before spirit can be run.

 

[vivithemage]

You should have read the thread. The OP's situation is not a jailbreak issue, it needs to be activated with an AT&T SIM before spirit can be run.

Yeah, I didn't read it, I read the beginning and figured he wanted to unlock his 3gs, haha.

 

[Dee Ann]

Yeah, I didn't read it, I read the beginning and figured he wanted to unlock his 3gs, haha.

She. Her.

 

[Dee Ann]

Ok, so I found a new att sim on ebay about ordered one.

I'll put it in the new phone and that will let me into it so I can then put my non att sim in it?

I don't understand how a new, unactivated sim will do me any good. Doesn't ATT have to enable it or something?

Yes, I'm ignorant but I'm not dumb. This isn't my cup of tea.
I'm a user, not a hacker.


Oh, and here's a big question..

IF I cave in and can't make it work, can I take the new phone to ATT and have them turn it on for me? And if I do, can I refuse to take the 4.0 OS?

I don't trust it yet, I want to jail break my phone so I can get MY wallpaper on it and a few other things I use at home on my wifi.

I am NOT giving up my wallpaper for the STUPID and ugly wallpapers that Apple gives you..

I don't want to go to ATT because I don't want to pay for a data plan as I have no need for one. Their service is too crummy for it to even work in this area. I'm too rural I guess. We don't rate high enough to get cell towers around here, the nearest ATT tower is miles away in the next town over. I know this because I checked the FCC website.

That was how I decided to go with another provider that had better coverage. I heard too many people complain about ATT so I checked into it myself. Boooooo on AT&T..

 

[thelatinist]

IF I cave in and can't make it work, can I take the new phone to ATT and have them turn it on for me? And if I do, can I refuse to take the 4.0 OS?

AT&T won't activate your phone unless you buy service from them. If you do that, you should not need to give them your phone at all, just get the SIM from them.

 

[Dee Ann]

Woo hoo!!!

I bought an a&TT sim on ebay and popped it in. I ran Spirit and it instantly told me it was jailbroken. I said NO WAY!! Not that fast.

I opened the phone and Cydia was there.

I went in and told it to install ultrasnow and followed the prompts.
I put my old sim in it and rebooted and now my new 3GS is up and working on my carrier and I have my Tink theme!!!

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

OMG this thing is FAST!!!

 

[dhlizard]

Yeah, I didn't read it, I read the beginning and figured he wanted to unlock his 3gs, haha.

Great, give someone instructions which are incorrect.
Just what all people who are seeking help need.
And none of us see's it as a "ha-ha".

 

[Neolithium]

Woo hoo!!!

I bought an a&TT sim on ebay and popped it in. I ran Spirit and it instantly told me it was jailbroken. I said NO WAY!! Not that fast.

I opened the phone and Cydia was there.

I went in and told it to install ultrasnow and followed the prompts.
I put my old sim in it and rebooted and now my new 3GS is up and working on my carrier and I have my Tink theme!!!

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

OMG this thing is FAST!!!

Good to hear! Side ntoe I have to hide this thread from my wife, if she's the tinkerbelle theme, my iPhone will myteriously disappear.

 

[benflick]

Woo hoo!!!

I bought an a&TT sim on ebay and popped it in. I ran Spirit and it instantly told me it was jailbroken. I said NO WAY!! Not that fast.

I opened the phone and Cydia was there.

I went in and told it to install ultrasnow and followed the prompts.
I put my old sim in it and rebooted and now my new 3GS is up and working on my carrier and I have my Tink theme!!!

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

OMG this thing is FAST!!!

Good for you! Glad we could help

 

[Dee Ann]

Good for you! Glad we could help

Yes, thank you guys for your help! I had no idea what to do...

Now my 3GS is totally jail broken and unlocked and I have all my things loaded back on it. I couldn't be happier!

And this thing is screaming fast compared to my old 1st gen iPhone.

I'm keeping the old iPhone to use as a fancy remote control for my home theater.

Thanks again guys!!