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Re-jailbreak 3G on 3.1.2 question

-aggie-

-aggie-

macrumors P6
Original poster
Jun 19, 2009
16,793
51
Where bunnies are welcome.
I've been jailbroken on my 3G on 3.1.2, but I'd like to do a clean install, since I downloaded lots of junk, which I later deleted. I basically want to start totally clean and redo everything, since I know exactly what I need now. BTW, I have Categories. I also have aptbackup, pkgbackup, and springback, so this would be a good test for how well these work.

So, what is the best way to do a clean install and start from scratch. I was just going to redo the iClarified tutorial:

http://www.iclarified.com/entry/index.php?enid=7429

and do Step 2, even though I don't have to. Any thoughts?
 
I would restore to a custom 3.1.2 firmware, myself. If you don't have access to a Mac, just PM me. Glad to help out a friend.

Of course you could always shift-restore to 3.1.2 and then jailbreak with Redsnow, but I prefer PwnageTool.
 
thelatinist said:
I would restore to a custom 3.1.2 firmware, myself. If you don't have access to a Mac, just PM me. Glad to help out a friend.

Of course you could always shift-restore to 3.1.2 and then jailbreak with Redsnow, but I prefer PwnageTool.
Click to expand...

I'm going to sound stupid here, but I've never understood exactly what you guys mean by a custom ipsw. I've assumed that you guys modified the ipsw somehow, but how you did it I'm not sure. However, that may be what PwnageTool does, and I've never used it. Anyway, I have a Mac, so explain what I'd do. BTW, I used Redsn0w to jailbreak, as suggested by your guide.

Speaking of your guide, why do you suggest PwnageTool, when your guide had Redsn0w?

Glad you think of me as a friend. Same here.
 
-aggie- said:
I'm going to sound stupid here, but I've never understood exactly what you guys mean by a custom ipsw. I've assumed that you guys modified the ipsw somehow, but how you did it I'm not sure. However, that may be what PwnageTool does, and I've never used it. Anyway, I have a Mac, so explain what I'd do. BTW, I used Redsn0w to jailbreak, as suggested by your guide.

Speaking of your guide, why do you suggest PwnageTool, when your guide had Redsn0w?

Glad you think of me as a friend. Same here.
Click to expand...

Sorry for the delayed response; I've been offline.

PwnageTool is a program which modifies iPhone firmware files by applying all of the modifications usually done by a jailbreaking app to the ipsw file. The resulting file can be installed on any phone which has already been pwned, resulting in a one-step jailbreak (PwnageTool can also pwn a phone which has never been jailbroken, providing it has the old bootrom).

The primary advantage of PwnageTool is that it is able to remove baseband upgrades from firmware updates so that one can upgrade without losing the ability to unlock. For instance, you could use PwnageTool to create a custom 3.1.3 firmware without the 5.12.01 baseband upgrade which would make your phone incapable of unlock via blacksn0w.

Another benefit is that this method can patch changes made to the firmware by Apple which close exploits. This means that once your phone has been jailbroken, it can always be jailbroken. There is nothing that Apple can do to firmware 4.0, for instance, that would make it impossible to jailbreak using PwnageTool even if phones already updated to 4.0 or that came with 3.1.3 could not be jailbroken.

For owners of 3GS iPhones, custom firmwares also have the advantage of being installable even if Apple is no longer signing that version of the firmware. This is because the initial jailbreak patches the signature check out of iBoot. A 3GS owner can no longer restore to the official 3.1.2 unless he has his SHSH on file, for instance; if he is jailbroken, however, he can always restore to a custom 3.1.2 firmware.

Since your phone is a 3G and you probably have already upgraded your baseband to 5.11.07, and since you do not want to upgrade to 3.1.3, the primary benefit of PwnageTool for you is that it is a one-step solution. Once you have created your custom firmware, you will be able to restore to it any number of times without needing to re-jailbreak your phone.

It all comes down to personal choice, especially for a 3G owner. There is nothing wrong with using Redsn0w, and it is certainly easier for a beginner.

If you decide to use PwnageTool, as an AT&T subscriber you should be sure to use Expert Mode and *uncheck* the box for activation.
 
thelatinist said:
The primary advantage of PwnageTool is that it is able to remove baseband upgrades from firmware updates so that one can upgrade without losing the ability to unlock. For instance, you could use PwnageTool to create a custom 3.1.3 firmware without the 5.12.01 baseband upgrade which would make your phone incapable of unlock via blacksn0w. I guess the process will be clearer when I use this, since I didn't realize you could make a 3.1.3 that didn't have the new baseband.

Another benefit is that this method can patch changes made to the firmware by Apple which close exploits. This means that once your phone has been jailbroken, it can always be jailbroken. There is nothing that Apple can do to firmware 4.0, for instance, that would make it impossible to jailbreak using PwnageTool even if phones already updated to 4.0 or that came with 3.1.3 could not be jailbroken. This was confusing. Are you saying I can make a 4.0 for the 3G that doesn't have the newer baseband? I thought you had to wait for the Dev Team to jailbreak at a new OS?

For owners of 3GS iPhones, custom firmwares also have the advantage of being installable even if Apple is no longer signing that version of the firmware. This is because the initial jailbreak patches the signature check out of iBoot. A 3GS owner can no longer restore to the official 3.1.2 unless he has his SHSH on file, for instance; if he is jailbroken, however, he can always restore to a custom 3.1.2 firmware.

Since your phone is a 3G and you probably have already upgraded your baseband to 5.11.07, and since you do not want to upgrade to 3.1.3, the primary benefit of PwnageTool for you is that it is a one-step solution. Once you have created your custom firmware, you will be able to restore to it any number of times without needing to re-jailbreak your phone. It's not that I didn't want to upgrade to 3.1.3; it's that 3.1.3 would remove my unlock capability. You're saying it won't? Just when I thought I understood all this, I'm confused. :)

It all comes down to personal choice, especially for a 3G owner. There is nothing wrong with using Redsn0w, and it is certainly easier for a beginner.

If you decide to use PwnageTool, as an AT&T subscriber you should be sure to use Expert Mode and *uncheck* the box for activation.
Click to expand...

See the responses in red. It seems like you're saying PwnAgeTool is the thing to use to jailbreak, but your guide has Redsn0w. I'm lost.
 
This guide is for using pwnage on a mac.
You can create a custom 3.1.3 firmware that will leave your baseband untouched and still unlockable. Or whatever you want if you want to go with redsnow.
http://www.iclarified.com/entry/index.php?enid=4254
I understand where you're comming from wanting to restore.
The first few times I JB my iphone I also installed tons of packages on it to test out. Most of them I didnt like and some caused issues that even after removed I felt they didnt fully go away.
So after some time and experience I stayed with solid stuff that worked with no issues in the long run.
 
Applejuiced said:
This guide is for using pwnage on a mac.
You can create a custom 3.1.3 firmware that will leave your baseband untouched and still unlockable. Or whatever you want if you want to go with redsnow.
http://www.iclarified.com/entry/index.php?enid=4254
I understand where you're comming from wanting to restore.
The first few times I JB my iphone I also installed tons of packages on it to test out. Most of them I didnt like and some caused issues that even after removed I felt they didnt fully go away.
So after some time and experience I stayed with solid stuff that worked with no issues in the long run.
Click to expand...

The reason I'm restoring is due to my wifi acting up. It was perfect several weeks ago, but now it constantly drops to 3G. Also GPS stopped working. I'm thinking something got added that screwed things up.

The iClarified tutorial has PwnAgeTool 3.1.5. Dev Team has 3.1.4. Does it matter?

So, I can go to OS 3.1.3 and not worry about losing my unlock capability?
 
-aggie- said:
The reason I'm restoring is due to my wifi acting up. It was perfect several weeks ago, but now it constantly drops to 3G. Also GPS stopped working. I'm thinking something got added that screwed things up.

The iClarified tutorial has PwnAgeTool 3.1.5. Dev Team has 3.1.4. Does it matter?

So, I can go to OS 3.1.3 and not worry about losing my unlock capability?
Click to expand...

I think the Dev Team also has it listed as 3.1.5
http://blog.iphone-dev.org/post/376648600/pre-game-show
But yes, your baseband will remain the same as it is now with pwnage tool.
Make sure in the settings page when you run pwnage you dont select "activate the Phone" or "Enable baseband Update"
Both of those are checked off as a preset unless the user selects them.
Make sure you dont :D
 
Applejuiced said:
I think the Dev Team also has it listed as 3.1.5
http://blog.iphone-dev.org/post/376648600/pre-game-show
But yes, your baseband will remain the same as it is now with pwnage tool.
Make sure in the settings page when you run pwnage you dont select "activate the Phone" or "Enable baseband Update"
Both of those are checked off as a preset unless the user selects them.
Make sure you dont :D
Click to expand...

Actually "activate the phone" was checked off. I unchecked it.

So, does it matter what packages I decide to add beforehand? I'm worried that they they won't show in Cydia as being installed. The tutorial only shows OpenSSH and OpenSSL and doesn't say much about it.
 
-aggie- said:
Actually "activate the phone" was checked off. I unchecked it.

So, does it matter what packages I decide to add beforehand? I'm worried that they they won't show in Cydia as being installed. The tutorial only shows OpenSSH and OpenSSL and doesn't say much about it.
Click to expand...

Yes uncheck that one.
About packages I like to install them after thru cydia but up to you.
 
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