Japanese iPhone 3G crashed. What is the cheapest option for me now for iPhones?

[anonymousasian]

Hello everyone. My iPhone 3g has crashed yesterday. Now it shows error code 28 when connected to itunes. It cannot be reset. I visited the Softbank branch in Inaricho Stn. and they advised me to pay for an iPhone 3gs in cash (~22,000 Yen) and replace my damaged set. I still have to pay ~28,000Yen for the 3g model. It has been over a year and the standard warranty has expired. I am surprised to find out about the huge balance left!

Can Apple Japan replace the set for me for free or with little charge?

I am also running low on cash. Is there a plan that allows upgrade to iPhone 4? Can you please suggest what could be the cheapest option for me? I have seen some special offer in the Softbank Mobile site but not sure if it applies in my case.

To save money and wait for iPhone 4 I am also considering a rental mobile for the next 1+ month (from www.rentafonejapan.com).

Please help. Thank you very much.

anonymous asian

 

[benflick]

Keep trying to restore. Take the SIM out, and restore with it out. Try to turn it off and on before restoring. If they are trying to get you to buy a new phone, they are just tricking you into giving them money. Don't fall for it.
You can also try a DFU restore.

 

[anonymousasian]

Latest situation

Thank you benflick for your advice. I have tried it as well. I am currently working on the DFU restore using firmwares of different iPhone 3g models. Im not sure which is mine exactly. But none of them worked. I also called two repair shops and both said they cannot repair for Error 28.

Both Softbank and Apple Store in Ginza said sorry about restoring. You may be right about the rip-off. Currently they charge 22,500 for a replacement model of the same kind with only 3 months warranty. The cycle will continue if crashed after 3 months. I cannot accept as I have to pay around 30000 yen on the old model.Also no upgrades to iPhone 4 as of now.

I think this problem started with some automatic firmware upgrade. I cant roll back the firmware now. There has to be a way to flash the bios. Also the iPhone HDD is a soldered memory chip and so cannot be replaced. Things looking bleak.....

 

[benflick]

I looked on many sites for error 28, and on Apple's own dicsussion boards, users are reporting having to restore up to ten times before they are successful.
Are you sure you are in DFU mode? Your screen will remain off when you are in DFU mode, and iTunes will prompt you to restore. Also, make sure your firmware file you are restoring with shows up with the .ipsw extension. Try to download the firmware from another source. Try restoring on another computer, and try different USB ports. If it takes 20 times, it will still be beneficial to you.
Once you have tried every one of these methods, post back.

 

[anonymousasian]

Latest condition 2

Dear benflick, Thanks for the suggestion. I downloaded 7 different ipsw files (firmware) and none of them succeeded in restoring the system. I selected each of them by shift clicking the restore button in iTunes but they get stalled. The screen goes blank, I see the apple icon along with a progress bar. Nothing happens after that, the process just stalls and prompts again for restoring. Seems like DFU is also not working as well. I did it numerous times with and without the sim card. All the same.

If possible, please offer me links to the ipsw that has worked in the past. Ill give it a try. Thank you once again for your support.