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Trouble restoring unlocked 3GS - At wit's end

W

wmmf

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 16, 2010
41
1
Hello, all,

I'm only posting because I can't decipher all the info I'm finding online, so please help if you can. I've got a 3GS running 4.3.3 (blobs saved all the way up), baseband 5.12.02, jb'd/unlocked with Pwnage/Cydia. In preparation for selling it I thought I'd do a restore, both to remove personal data, music, etc. and also to maybe fix a reception problem I was having.

So I connected the phone, hit alt-restore pointing to my custom ISPW, and after a few minutes iTunes gave me an error message and quit the process. Now my phone will only show the picture that means "connect the phone to iTunes." I'm on a Mac, and my questions are:

1. Was I wrong in assuming that restoring to the custom ipsw was all I needed to do for restoring to a jailbroken state? If so, what else?

2. Was there something I needed to do to point to Saurik's servers for my blob? If so, what?

3. Is it a problem that I'm on iTunes 10.5? If so, should I downgrade iTunes to make the process easier?

4. Is pwnage involved in all this, or was it only necessary back when I made the custom ipsw and did the initial jailbreak?

I've tried to include as much detail as possible, and I really appreciate everyone's help, especially if there's something I've left out or am not getting.

Peace
 
try snowbreeze or redsnow, either will do. snowbreeze v2.7.3 is for ipsw 4.2.8 to 4.3.3. Try also a older version of redsnow.
 
Download tinyumbrella, download SSH blobs from cydia to tinyumbrella, turn on SSH server, then restore in itunes. After that, if your iphone is stuck in itune icon, tinyumbrella also has a function to kick it out of restore mode.
 
Okay, thanks for the reminder about TinuUmbrella. I had run that previously and backed up my shsh's, so I loaded it just now to kick it out of recovery mode. But where it says "All saved SHSHs," there's nothing there. Does that mean the blobs weren't actually saved?
Also, after turning on the TSS Server and pressing alt-restore to direct to the custom ipsw (right?), iTunes hangs on "prepping for restore," and the phone shows the "connect to iTunes" image.
Thanks again for the continued help. I feel like I'm close and have the right pieces; I just need help using them correctly.
Thanks.
 
Okay, maybe this is it...

Well, curious about the lack of saved SHSHs appearing in TU, I clicked on "Save SHSH" just to see. So what TU now shows me is that the 4.1 blob is saved. But the custom firmware I'd previously made with pwnage is for 4.3.3. So could it be a problem to open the TSS server to a 4.1 blob while pointing iTunes to a 4.3.3 custom ipsw? If so, I guess I could download the original 4.1 ipsw and point to that, right? If any of the above is correct or incorrect, please let me know.
Thanks, all.
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)

If you have the blobs for 4.1 then download it an perform restore via iTunes and you are good to go. Tell us how it went Please.
 
Okay, I'll download the 4.1 ipsw tonight and try again in the morning. Thanks.
 
Apple still signs 4.1 on 3GS, so you don't even need SHSH blob save for that firmware to downgrade to it. Also, I believe that the reason when you run TU, it said you have 4.1 save.
 
Update

So I downloaded the 4.1 ipsw. Opened TU, turned on server, did restore in iTunes pointing to the 4.1. Everything opened fine, checked fine, but then it got to “must have official sim,” which I don’t. So then I thought, maybe the problem was in pointing to a stock ipsw. So I ran pwnage again and created a new 4.3.3 ipsw (had one earlier but it wasn’t showing up). Followed the rest of pwnage directions, everything good, then got to final “confirming with Apple,” and it hung there for a while until iTunes just quit on its own! So I relaunched, pointed it again to the custom 4.3.3, and at the end it gave me “error 21.”
So, two questions at this point. First, what role should TU and its server play in this process now? Should I turn server on before attempting restore? Or can I use locally stored ipsw (if so, how?).
Second, if TU is only showing 4.1 blob cached, is it even correct to try a restore with the custom 4.3.3?
Thanks in advance for your patience and help.
 
If you don't have 4.3.3 save, you can't restore to that firmware.

As for 4.1, when you see activation screen, run redsn0w to hactivate it if you do not have official sim card to activate.
 
Well, that's what's weird. Cydia says I have 4.3.3 saved, but I can't see that on TU, which is confusing. Is there a way to confirm what Saurik has for me?
Or, let's say I abandon the 4.3.3 idea and stick w/ 4.1. Do I run TU's server before starting the restore, and can I point iTunes just to the stock 4.1 ipsw?
Also, is RedSnow Mac-compatible?
Thanks, Crystal-RX...
 
You don't need to run TU when downgrade it to 4.1. Point it to stock fw, at the end you will get 1015 error, open TU and hit "exit recover". Your phone will boot up normally to activation screen.
 
Thanks, and by "activation screen" do you mean requesting an official sim? Because I don't have one (I'm in Costa Rica).
 
Yes, when you restore to any official fw, the phone will boot up to activation screen. So, you can hactivate it by using redsn0w to by pass this activation screen.
 
Okay, understood. But isn't redsn0w a no-go for those who want to preserve their unlock?
Also, just read this on the DevTeam blog: " Unlockers should never go near stock IPSWs." Does the fact that I pointed iTunes to a stock 4.1 mean I've irreversibly updated my baseband (I can't check for myself since it won't let me past the activation screen)? Or am I still on my old one since the update/restore process never technically finished?
Trying not to get dizzy....
 
wmmf said:
Okay, understood. But isn't redsn0w a no-go for those who want to preserve their unlock?
Also, just read this on the DevTeam blog: " Unlockers should never go near stock IPSWs." Does the fact that I pointed iTunes to a stock 4.1 mean I've irreversibly updated my baseband (I can't check for myself since it won't let me past the activation screen)? Or am I still on my old one since the update/restore process never technically finished?
Trying not to get dizzy....
Click to expand...

Since you have 05.12 baseband, you must create customs firmware 4.1 to keep that baseband. If you use stock 4.1 fw, then your baseband will upgrade to 05.14 which ultrasn0w can't unlock it.

I over look your opening thread which you indicated this.
 
Crystal-RX said:
Since you have 05.12 baseband, you must create customs firmware 4.1 to keep that baseband. If you use stock 4.1 fw, then your baseband will upgrade to 05.14 which ultrasn0w can't unlock it.

I over look your opening thread which you indicated this.
Click to expand...

Alright, Crystal, you're the man (or woman). Is there a way to tell if my baseband's been upgraded, given the fact that I can't get past the "connect to iTunes" screen? Because if it has been, I'll skip all this, go up to 6.15.00 (its limitations aren't a problem for me) and unlock from there, I guess.
But I'd like to give Ultrasnow one last chance, if only I could discover my baseband at this point in time.
 
Oh, well

Well, TU tells me the baseband's been upgraded to 5.14.02. Crap. I guess the mistake was pointing to the stock 4.1 ipsw, although I thought I was gonna bypass it with Pwnage. Oh well, thanks for the help on this part.

So I suppose my last question for you two (and anyone else) is this: is there any way now to get this phone unlocked for re-sale purposes? Would that be a software unlock, and if so, how? Or is my only option the Gevey SIM?
Thanks again...
 
wmmf said:
Well, TU tells me the baseband's been upgraded to 5.14.02. Crap. I guess the mistake was pointing to the stock 4.1 ipsw, although I thought I was gonna bypass it with Pwnage. Oh well, thanks for the help on this part.

So I suppose my last question for you two (and anyone else) is this: is there any way now to get this phone unlocked for re-sale purposes? Would that be a software unlock, and if so, how? Or is my only option the Gevey SIM?
Thanks again...
Click to expand...

Yes you are correct when you pointed to stock 4.1 that updated your baseband.

The only way you can unlock now is to update to the IPAD baseband with redsn0w. The Gevey SIM does not work on the 3GS. You have to be careful with the advice you are given here and make sure you double and triple check before using it. Your first approach was the right one to use custom firmware.
 
Good job, you ruined a perfectly unlockable bb and now you're stuck installing the POS ipad bb and all its sideffects.
That's why you ask questions first, learn and research so you're 100% positive then proceed with the JB and the rest of the steps.
 
Yes, Apple, I understand the depth of my errors. Trust me, I try to be the "good" kind of inquirer, one who reads a lot before even asking. Somewhere I just skipped a step...
The good thing is, this is no longer my primary phone, just one I was trying to update for resale purposes. Plus, the features that the iPad baseband removes aren't key ones where I live; what's important is the unlock.
So I'm confused by Crystal and nebo's advice, which seem contradictory as to what program will allow me to have an unlock. After the iPad baseband upgrade, is it Redsnow or Ultrasnow that I use?
Thanks for your continued help...
 
wmmf said:
Yes, Apple, I understand the depth of my errors. Trust me, I try to be the "good" kind of inquirer, one who reads a lot before even asking. Somewhere I just skipped a step...
The good thing is, this is no longer my primary phone, just one I was trying to update for resale purposes. Plus, the features that the iPad baseband removes aren't key ones where I live; what's important is the unlock.
So I'm confused by Crystal and nebo's advice, which seem contradictory as to what program will allow me to have an unlock. After the iPad baseband upgrade, is it Redsnow or Ultrasnow that I use?
Thanks for your continued help...
Click to expand...

Not important to you but the potential owner might like to have the GPS function on his new iphone.
Either way not sure if you could get more money unlocked or sold stock as is and then the owner can pick what they want to do with it.
After the ipad bb is installed using redsnow then you open cydia and install ultrasnow to unlock.
 
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