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Selling 3Gs - need to wipe - confirm this method will work?

m3coolpix

m3coolpix

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Dec 24, 2007
721
3
Like the title says....I've got a 3Gs 32gig I want to sell. Need to wipe it clean, activate, jailbreak and unlock.

It's got SHSHs for 3.1.2, 3.1.3, 4.0, 4.0.1, 4.0.2 saved.

More info....it's got 4.0.1 on it currently, jb via jailbreakme.com. Was done the standard way in iTunes 9.x.x.

Found this via searching this morning:

Applejuiced said:
It doesnt matter if your got the old or new bootrom.
Download the official 4.0.1 ipsw.
Edit your hosts to redirect to cydias server.
Restore to that 4.0.1 firmware thru itunes.
Then use jailbreakme.com to JB and install ultrasnow to unlock it.
Thats it.
Its great that you have those SHSH's saved.
Click to expand...

Is the above method still valid?

Sorry if it's a redundant question, have had the iP4 jailbroken on 4.0.1 for almost a month now, and haven't watched the specifics on if anything has changed with the jb process or status, other than browsing into the hacks section every now and then to see if 4.1 jb was released.
 
Yes "Applejuiced" method is valid. There is another way using Tiny Umbrella, both systems work well if followed correctly. Make sure you download the firmware to your PC first and make sure you select the right firmware when prompted by Itunes. Set phone up as new to avoid restoring your personal data.
 
The only thing I would add is to make sure it is a DFU restore, since you are selling the phone.


Applejuiced said:
It doesnt matter if your got the old or new bootrom.
Download the official 4.0.1 ipsw.
Edit your hosts to redirect to cydias server. (TinyUmbrella can do this for you, starting a TSS server, as an alternative)
DFU Restore to that 4.0.1 firmware thru itunes.
Then use jailbreakme.com to JB and install ultrasnow to unlock it.
Thats it.
Its great that you have those SHSH's saved.
Click to expand...
 
Sincere THANKS! to all for the additional notes and confirmation.

Running into an issue I think....some more notes on what's happening.

Doing this DFU restore on a Mac running 10.5.8. iTunes 9.x.x (can't check now, iTunes restoring).

Changed the hosts file via Terminal app to reflect:

74.208.10.249 gs.apple.com

Also 'option' clicked in iTunes to choose IPSW (which I downloaded back when it was released):

iPhone2,1_4.0.1_8A306_Restore.ipsw <--3Gs file right?

It appears to be 'stuck'. Tried twice. It gets to where iTunes has the progress bar at ~98% done, and then stops. The 3Gs shows the progress bar at ~66% (or 2/3rds) done, and stops. First time I waited 20 minutes before retrying (starting from DFU mode again). 3Gs immediately went to the 'Connect to iTunes' screen when I disconnected.

2nd time is now at 30+ minutes at the above stage....iTunes also doesn't show the 'application not responding' thing.....just looks like it's trying to do something and not timing out.....not showing any error messages either.

Reboot the Mac (it's a MacBook Pro) and start over? How long should it take? Any ideas?
 
You seen to be doing anything right, I would try the following just for the hell of it.

* try TinyUmbrella route
* Try re downloading the firmware (maybe your file is corrupted)
* try Downgrading to 4.0 instead of 4.0.1 and them upgrade to 4.0.1 if that works.

I usually take some time at the end, but 30+ mins seen like an issue for sure.
 
maturola said:
You seen to be doing anything right, I would try the following just for the hell of it.

* try TinyUmbrella route
* Try re downloading the firmware (maybe your file is corrupted)
* try Downgrading to 4.0 instead of 4.0.1 and them upgrade to 4.0.1 if that works.

I usually take some time at the end, but 30+ mins seen like an issue for sure.
Click to expand...

As long as the restore is getting past the "Verifying install with Apple" stage, which is at the very beginning, tinyumbrella will not change his situation. All tinyumbrella, or editing your hosts file, does is make sure itunes can verify the restore. After that, its all up to itunes.

Id say redownload the file, restart the computer.
 
maturola said:
You seen to be doing anything right, I would try the following just for the hell of it.

* try TinyUmbrella route
* Try re downloading the firmware (maybe your file is corrupted)
* try Downgrading to 4.0 instead of 4.0.1 and them upgrade to 4.0.1 if that works.

I usually take some time at the end, but 30+ mins seen like an issue for sure.
Click to expand...

I was about to post back.....looks like the problem is with the wifi sync app that I was using. Removing that, restarting the process over.......it finished. But, iTunes did a 'restore' and not a 'setup as new'. I swear I pressed the 'setup as new' and it took off and did a restore, and it wasn't even the right file (used my wife's restore file).

Starting over at DFU restore....argh...maybe the 4th times the charm. :mad:
 
Re the setup as new vs. restore: iTunes defaults to selecting the restore from backup radio button, and if you click "restore as new" the second that page loads up in iTunes, it'll actually change it back over to restore from backup on its own!

Just wanted to let you know you're not crazy, and the exact same thing has happened to me once, and almost twice :D
 
Again....Thanks for all the replies and help. One more question, at least I hope.....

I've now gotten it to finish installing 4.0.1 with the 'setup as new' option chosen (correctly!). Then got it connected to my home wifi, and ran the jailbreakme.com process, as well as letting Cydia complete it's essential upgrades after that. Lastly, installed ultrasnow via Cydia and rebooted.

One other tidbit....this iPhone does not have a 'working' SIM in it (but it is a valid AT&T SIM, just not attached to a plan or number anymore). It was 'deactivated' when I bought the iPhone 4.

When I power off/on the 3Gs after all this....it always says 'Waiting for activation, This may take some time'....hitting the DISMISS option then takes it to 'No Service'.

I'm going to probably sell this via CL (not eBay). Do I leave the SIM in it? Should I hand it to them 'after' hitting the DISMISS button on this error message, and keep the SIM? Just trying to cover the bases on some of the other issues I've seen in this section with selling and 'activation' issues.

Thanks Again!
 
Ever get a response to this? I'm about to go through the same process and am looking for an answer to the same questions. -Thanks.
 
bern43 said:
Ever get a response to this? I'm about to go through the same process and am looking for an answer to the same questions. -Thanks.
Click to expand...

If you remove the SIM after it's activated, the iOS 4.0.1 on the 3Gs will reboot past the activation part with no problems. It just displays 'No Sim'.
 
m3coolpix said:
When I power off/on the 3Gs after all this....it always says 'Waiting for activation, This may take some time'....hitting the DISMISS option then takes it to 'No Service'.

I'm going to probably sell this via CL (not eBay). Do I leave the SIM in it? Should I hand it to them 'after' hitting the DISMISS button on this error message, and keep the SIM? Just trying to cover the bases on some of the other issues I've seen in this section with selling and 'activation' issues.

Thanks Again!
Click to expand...

Thats fine, just leave it the way it is.
All the buyer would have to do is put their sim in and they're good.
You can leave the deactivated sim inside if you want so they can restore and activate it again but up to you.
 
m3coolpix said:
If you remove the SIM after it's activated, the iOS 4.0.1 on the 3Gs will reboot past the activation part with no problems. It just displays 'No Sim'.
Click to expand...

I've already activated my iphone 4 so I don't think I'll be able to reactivate the 3gs due to the different sized sim cards. The plan right now is to restore the 3gs as new in iTunes with my saved SHSH blobs (4.0.1), then skip the activation on the phone and jailbreak through jailbreakme.com via wifi, and finally sell the phone without the sim card. Hopefully this goes smoothly. The other option, I guess, would be to find a sim card to borrow and just activate it.
 
bern43 said:
I've already activated my iphone 4 so I don't think I'll be able to reactivate the 3gs due to the different sized sim cards. The plan right now is to restore the 3gs as new in iTunes with my saved SHSH blobs (4.0.1), then skip the activation on the phone and jailbreak through jailbreakme.com via wifi, and finally sell the phone without the sim card. Hopefully this goes smoothly. The other option, I guess, would be to find a sim card to borrow and just activate it.
Click to expand...

You cant get to the homescreen to open up safari in order to jb it without activating the 3GS first on 4.0.1
You need to find a sim, even an deactivated sim will do or a borrow a friends for a minute.
 
/\ The old sim is still in the 3gs, it's just not activated. If I'm reading your post right it sounds like I can still access the home screen with this sim? I'll try that first, and if it doesn't work I'll try and borrow a friend's sim.
 
thelatinist said:
What difference do you think a DFU restore would make as opposed to a "normal" restore?
Click to expand...

DFU restore bypass the OS and completely re write the Flash, Regular restore just overwrite some parts of the Filesystem, you can actually still recover Data from it if you get access to the databases. I've done it and confirmed this myself (I am also the paranoid kind of guy).
 
maturola said:
DFU restore bypass the OS and completely re write the Flash, Regular restore just overwrite some parts of the Filesystem, you can actually still recover Data from it if you get access to the databases. I've done it and confirmed this myself (I am also the paranoid kind of guy).
Click to expand...

This is just not true. The only difference is whether it uses iBoot to communicate with iTunes or not.
 
thelatinist said:
This is just not true. The only difference is whether it uses iBoot to communicate with iTunes or not.
Click to expand...

you are required to believe me, as i said it was just my advice to the OP, I had recover data from databases after a regular restore, while after the DFU restore all Data is overwritten. DFU bypass the present OS
 
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