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Software Unlock your Apple iPhone 3G – Dummies Guide [Step by Step Videos]

4 January 2009 57 Comments

For a change, I published 3 videos which definitely enables a total noob to unlock his/her iPhone without much difficulty. Latest Firmware via iTunes (2.2), QuickPwn (Jailbreak) and yellowsn0w via Cydia/installer (Unlock) hold the three key steps for a successful unlock.

Before proceeding further, make sure you are equipped with the following :

1) Strictly iPhone 3G Updated to 2.2 firmware via iTunes (2G iPhones have a different process – BootNeuter from Cydia).

2) Intel Mac (10.5.6 s/w update) or Windows machine. [Mac users, make sure DFU mode is enabled (10.5.6 s.w update and Unibod Macs have issues with iPhone not being recognized while Jailbreaking (QuickPwn).]

3) WiFi Network recommended. (If you don’t have a Wireless Router, try creating an Ad-Hoc WiFi network on your PC/Mac.

4) Make sure SIM Pin is disabled. Put your SIM in your old phone and disable the Pin.

If you are on the iPhone, click on the video title to watch it.

Video 1 : Intro to iPhone 3G Software Unlock and Jailbreak : Recommended for newbies, recent iPhone converts. Experienced users may proceed to the second video.

Video 2 : Jailbreaking your iPhone using QuickPwn [Mac and Windows versions are pretty similar : Download the latest version.] Feel free to skip to the third video if you have Cydia installed on your iPhone already.

Video 3 : Software Unlock iPhone 3G using yellowsn0w available via Cydia or installer.app

Please list your GSM network and Country where you unlocked your iPhone such that the iPhone community can greatly benefit. iPhone 3G software unlock is achieved by iPhone Dev Team. Please don’t spend time on x-Sim hacks and never pay for iPhone unlocking software.

Submit feedback at Dev Team’s site here. Check for the current unlock status in your country here.

57 Comments »

  • safe to unlock? - Page 3 - EmiratesMac said:

    […] how to unlock, i.e. Pwnage and yellowsnow. Who is willing to write those? Fang Found this link Software Unlock your Apple iPhone 3G – Dummies Guide [Step by Step Videos] | iLikeMyiPhone. very detailed on how to go about unlocking your iphone 3g 2.2 on 2.2.8 baseband. Its specific and […]

  • amart55886 said:

    Hey Kiran, its me again. Long time no chat huh? I’m glad for iPhone users to be able to unlock 3G. questions though. I’m on 1.1.3 can I update to 2.2 directly then unlock. If so how? you can post it here if you like or you can e-mail me. Or, if you ‘d like you can redirect me to another of your post with instructions. Thanks Kiran for everything you do.

  • kiran said:

    Hey! Long time!!
    Do you have a 2g or a 3g iPhone?

    You can definitely update directly to 2.2 from 1.1.3..

  • amart55886 said:

    Hey bro, I have a 2G iPhone just recently updated to 1.1.4 successfully unlocked via ZiPhone. I also remember that if you wanted to update to 2.2 you had to pay $9.95 USD to get the App support is what the Apple rep said. I saw on youtube a “FREE” way to do it but everyone did it on an iPod Touch. Is it free to UPDATE or in the following post it tells me to SHIFT+RESTORE SELECT FILE I assume that it is free right. Here is the post tell me if its legit and/or correct for me so I may follow it:

    http://www.iclarified.com/entry/comments.php?enid=1880&laid=33#commentsanchor

    One thing the instruction guide states on STEP THIRTEEN:

    Once jailbreaking is complete QuickPwn will inform you that it was successfull. Your iPhone will then proceed to run BootNeuter. This process will take about 5 minutes. Please be patient. Your iPhone will reboot when it has completed the process successfully!

    When “BootNeuter” runs (which will run automatically I hope unless I have to google and install it myslef) will that program unlock. According to what I read, on that page, QuickPwn just jailbroke the phone and I assume that BootNeuter will take care of the rest.

    Thanks bro take care,

    धन्यवाद Shoo kria!

    Don’t know if I spelt the top part in english correctly hehe.

  • kiran said:

    amart : 2G iPhone can be unlocked very easiy. No need to follow complicated guides and no, there is no fee of any sort!

    First, connect iPhone to iTunes and restore to 2.2 version of iPhone 2G firmware (let itunes do the downloading and restoring of the firmware).

    Once you see the Connect to itunes screen, launch QuickPwn (latest version can be downloaded from this site’s downloads section).

    After you jailbreak, connect to WiFi, launch Cydia and search for BootNeuter. Go to settings, set lock screen to never.
    Install it and launch it, click on Neuter and Unlock and wait for it to do its thing!

    Boom, there you go!

  • amart55886 said:

    Hey Kiran,

    I did the method you stated and it worked. It took about 3 hours though considering that I iTunes had to download firmware 2.2, iTunes 8.0.2., and QuickPwn.

    One thing though, when you download QuickPwn, make sure you download the binary files for QuickPwn to use, 3.9 and 4.6 if you go to the link i placed in a previous comment, you will see the files up for download on the top of the page.

    Everything works like a charm! ^_^ thanks for everything!

    One question though, I read on the Apple website that the new 2.2 firmware had walking directions and street view. I saw “Walking Directions” on maps. But I did not find the street view feature. Where can I find that?

    Thanks for everything previously stated and thanks in advance for answering this question in the future.

    amart…

  • kiran said:

    Hi amart : 3.9,4.6 bin files are needed only for iPhone 2G and this is a 3G unlock guide! Glad that you are on 2.2, I am sure you will enjoy!

    Street view in Maps app works only in certain areas like NYC, and other high profile places! They are updating them though…

  • Venkateswar Jayanthy said:

    Hi Kiran,
    I have an iPhone 3G. This phone was bought in India without any contract or a SIM. Now I am in Kenya trying to jailbreak it and unlock it.

    (a) When I first switched on the phone, for the firsttime, I saw the following message displayed:
    "iTunes logo at the top.
    Below that, there is a box that contains the message: No SIM card installed. Insert an unlocked and valid SIM to activate iPhone.
    below is the graphic of USB cable head."
    (b) I connected the phone to the computer (Windows Vista Business, 6.0.6001Service Pack 1, Build 6001) and opened iTunes (Version 8.0.2.20). I get the following message:
    "ITunes cannot activate your iPhone because the SIM card is not inserted or a SIM PIN is requied.
    Disconnect your iPhone, make sure the SIM card is inserted corretly and, if you use a SIM tap Unlock to enter it, and then reconnect your iPhone."

    Continued in the next comment………..

  • kkiran said:

    Just go ahead and quickpwn to jailbreak it. You can put any sim into it. Bed time, 3:45am! Ciao

    Sent from my iPhone

  • Venkateswar Jayanthy said:

    Hi Kiran,
    ………………This is continued from my previous comment: (2nd and last part)

    (c) I downloaded the file QuickPwn2.2.zip using BitTorrent from the website http://torrents.thepiratebay.org/4527189/QuickPwn…as indicated by the Dev team on their website: http://blog.iphone-dev.org/post/61060174/the-man-
    I downloaded the file "iPhone1,2_2.2_5G77_Restore.ipsw" from the apple website.
    When I ran the QuickPwn, and showed the above ipsw file in the 2nd screen where 'Browse' appears, it throws up the following message:
    "The IPSW file you selected (iPhone1,2_2.0) does not match the firmware version of your device (iPhone1,2_2.2). Please not that QuickPwn does not upgrade your firmware, it only jailbreaks whatever firmware you currently have on your device."

  • Venkateswar Jayanthy said:

    Hi Kiran,
    ——— This is the last part of my message. I wrongly mentioned in the 2nd part as the last part. It was not loading for a long time. Hence I split it up again. Sorry.

    Now how do I proceed without being able to see the iPhone in iTunes and without the QuickPwn not accepting the ipsw file. Is there any other version of the ipsw file that I shoudl use?
    How do I jailbreak the iphone and unlock it? The challenge seems to be in jailbreaking it rather than unlocking it.
    Please advice me. Thank you in advance.
    Regards
    Jayanthy

  • Venkateswar Jayanthy said:

    Can I use custom restore as given in the website: http://www.techiesouls.com/2008/11/29/how-to-unlo
    for my phone indicated in my three earlier messages?

  • Venkateswar Jayanthy said:

    Question: for 3G iPhones with firmware: iPhone1,2_2.2, is there a windows based solution? Will the QuickPwn 2.2 work? If so, what ipsw file should be used and where should one download it from?

  • Kiol said:

    With thoses videos and the following tutorial, it works great for me.

  • kkiran said:

    Hi Jayanthi,

    Firstly, you have to upgrade to the latest firmware via iTunes . You have to put the iPhone in DFU mode (google it for DFU mode steps or check my quickpwn video where in the DFU mode is shown on video). Once you restore to 2.2 f/w in iTunes, you will have an easy route towards an unlock…

  • Venkateswar Jayanthy said:

    But I am using Windows vista. And as I stated in my earlier post, iTunes is not allowing me to go forward giving the message:
    "ITunes cannot activate your iPhone because the SIM card is not inserted or a SIM PIN is requied.
    Disconnect your iPhone, make sure the SIM card is inserted corretly and, if you use a SIM tap Unlock to enter it, and then reconnect your iPhone."
    I cannot do anything on the phone either as it asks for proper SIM, which I do not have. Does it mean I cannot upgrade without proper SIM and an Apple machine? I request you to read all the three pieces of my message once again (I had to split it up because of size) and advise me.
    Thank you in advance. — Jayanthy

  • iPhone 3G 2.2 Firmware Baseband 2.28 Unlocked by Proxy Sim(s) | iLikeMyiPhone said:

    […] UPDATE : Software solution now released! […]

  • chester said:

    hey kiran,
    I tried it and it works fine on mine.. Great work on the guide.
    btw i have a problem with another of my iphone
    i cant detect any wifi network eventhough i know that we are certainly in the coverage zone as my other iphone is connected to it.
    when i switch on wifi, the loading sign just appeared for half a second and says that there isnt any network.
    Could you see if there is any other thing that can be done..
    thanks alot

  • kkiran said:

    Hi! Glad it worked. With WiFi, you might want to check the ip address
    to the network connected (if it does not have your router's gateway,
    something must be wrong, had a similar issue today!). Best bet –
    restart the iPhone and try. If not, I suspect a firmware issue, a
    restore should work fine but before that try resetting the networks
    from general-> about-> reset.

  • kkiran said:

    I went through all 3 of your messages.
    “ITunes cannot activate your iPhone because the SIM card is not
    inserted or a SIM PIN is required.” It is a common message. Don't
    worry about any sim.

    PLEASE follow these 3 steps and if you have a problem , I would
    personally unlock it for you! ( I am sure you will be able to do it
    yourself).

    1) When you connect your iPhone to iTunes you see that your iPhone is
    connected (your iPhone will be shown in iTunes).
    2) If you don't see restore and update options in iTunes, please
    follow my quickpwn video (step 2 in this post) and put the iPhone in
    DFU mode.
    3)Once in DFU mode, you will see restore option in iTunes, restore the
    iPhone to 2.2 and then Quickpwn it followed by yellowsn0w unlock.

    It might sound complicated but please try these steps and if it didn't
    work, give me a call and we will unlock it while on the phone (Click
    this link http://ilikemyiphone.com/wordpress/?page_id3and then input
    your number and hit call. This is for security purposes). I am in EST
    time zone, late nights are fine for troubleshooting.

    Good luck!
    Kiran

  • Osama said:

    how do I know if my iphone is 2g or 3g?

  • kkiran said:

    If your iPhone has a silver (metal back ), then it is 2G and 3G has a plastic back. 3G also has GPS and tapered edges.

  • Unlock iPhone 3g said:

    Has anyone tried the yellowsn0w software? I run it last night on my iPhone 3G, firmware 2.2 and it unlocked it, but it wont pick up any signal, i'm trying to use it on TMobile.. any ideas anyone?

  • ezat said:

    I tried to unlock my iphone using the latest quickpawn(Windows)
    but the same error keeps appearing. it says "Your device has connected in the wrong mode. This can be caused by incorrect following of the instructions, or a faulty USB connection. Please try again". i've tried thousand times but the same error happens. plz help me. 🙁

  • kkiran said:

    May I know how you attempted to jailbreak it (which guide did you follow)? Since I never saw this error message.
    What firmware are you on and what version itunes are you using?

  • XxGirxX509 said:

    hey it's me from youtube, ok my
    Iphone 3G
    IMac
    iTunes 8.0,2
    QuickPwn 2.2 for Macs

  • XxGirxX509 said:

    OH SORRY, K liek my problem is that it's stuck in the windo saying "QuickPwn is about to run on your iPhone 3G" and i did everythingu said to do so help

  • kkiran said:

    Hmm, simple solution! Look for dfu hack post on this site and follow it..

    Sent from my iPhone

  • kkiran said:

    Yeah, proceed with the installation, it works…

    Sent from my iPhone

  • Prevent iPhone Appstore Application / Safarai Crashes - Combat Low Memory Issues | iLikeMyiPhone said:

    […] that iPhone can be unlocked to perfection till firmware v2.2, the other problem most iPhone users face is the memory issue. How […]

  • Kiran said:

    Thank you! Which network are you using ( are you in the US)?Sent from my iPhone

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