Recently I bought off eBay a (locked) iPhone. It was nice and shiny, and I was urging to use it. So, dispite the various warnings I saw on the net regarding the free iphone unlocking method, I rushed and used a free unlock available on the net, specifically anySIM because I didn’t want to buy a license to use iPhoneSimFree, which they charge you for a license. Bad move. I will share with you my story with free unlocks, and a how-to de-brick your phone.
My phone was running firmware 1.0.2 (I never updated to 1.1.1). During the unlock, something went wrong. The phone’s IMEI turned to 004999010640000. I googled it, and i turned out that this was the “lockdown” IMEI, meaning that my phone was bricked. I thought it was wise to restore back to my original firmware in order to restore the state of my phone and make it report the original IMEI. No luck.
I tried removing the SIM from the phone, and restarting. When the phone booted without the SIM, the IMEI was reported the same as the one on the phone. At this point, I tried unlocking with anySIM once more, but without any success. When the phone booted with a SIM card (non-AT&T) it showed the “lockdown” IMEI.
So, the last resort was to try the SimFree unlock. I visited Free Our iPhones, which is a iPSF reseller, and bought a license using my REAL IMEI (the one on the back of the phone). It was Sunday, so I had to wait until Monday to see if that was going to fix and unlock my iPhone. Surprisingly (and thankfully) within 30 minutes I got an email from them saying that my license has been activated and I could use SimFree to unlock my iPhone.
I added their Sources into my Installer, and I downloaded SimFree to my iPhone directly. After removing the SIM, I double-checked the IMEI and runned the SimFree program. The unlocker went through various stages, and voila! “Unlock successful”! I closed the phone and inserted my SIM and the phone registered successfully to my carrier. I was able to make and receive calls and SMS. My iPhone was liberated!
The following How-To is for people who want to avoid bad IMEI or fix it from 3rd-party firmware:
Windows Users download these files:
- AppTapp Installer
- BBupdater + Original Baseband Firmware of 1.0.2
- Putty SSH client
- WinSCP Secure FTP Client
For Mac Users download these files:
Note: Instead of using putty, on Mac we open Terminal ( Finder – Applications – Utilities – Terminal ) and we type this to login to the iPhone (for this example the iPhone IP was 192.168.1.101, so use your IP in your case):
- ssh -l root 192.168.1.101
- Password: dottie
All commands listed below are the same for Windows Putty and Mac Terminal.
After you have all files you may proceed.
- Connect your iPhone and run AppTapp Installer from Windows or Mac
- On the iPhone now you have Installer. Run it and install all these in this order:
- Community Sources (in Sources Category)
- BSD Sub System (in System Category)
- OpenSSH (in System Category)
- Close Installer by pressing the Home key
- Open safari and type in http://tinyurl.com/2uj9mc and accept the
message thats pops up. - Installer will now load again and you should go to the top right
section where it says Sources and click Refresh on the bottom. - Go to the Install tab and select SimFree v1.5 from the *iPhoneSimFree * category
Now you need to flash the original firmware back to your baseband in order to get this to work. The following steps explain how to transfer the files needed to your phone and how to execute them, read carefully.
- Go to Settings – General – AutoLock and set it to never on the iPhone
- Open Putty.exe (or Terminal) and type in the IP of your iPhone (found in the WiFi list when you click the arrow on the right of your WiFi name), select SSH and connect. (you might get a message saying to accept the key of the iPhone just say yes)
- Username: root
- Password: dottie
If you managed to connect to the iPhone then your doing well. Leave Putty open as we will need it later.
- Run WinSCP (or Cyberduck) (after you have installed it of course) and connect to the IP of the iPhone like before, but select SCP as the type of connection. Username and password are the same as above.
- Browse to /usr/bin/ on the iPhone
- Upload bbupdater and ICE03.14.08_G.fls which are the 2 files from
the rapidshare link. - close WinSCP
- Go back to Putty now. type the following commands one after the other
once each command has completed:- cd /usr/bin
- chmod +x *
- launchctl unload /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.CommCenter.plist
- ./bbupdater -f ICE03.14.08_G.fls
- launchctl load /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.CommCenter.plist
- reboot
- Now the iPhone will reboot and you will still have the BAD IMEI when it reboots, take out the SIM card and reboot it again by holding down the power button for 3 seconds and slide to power off. Turn it back on and you will have a good IMEI but the phone is locked.
- Turn on WiFi and run SimFree to unlock.
- Turn off the phone and installed your SIM card. Enjoy your unlocked phone with a good IMEI and update resistant.
Disclaimer: Use this guide at your own risk. The author carries no responsibility on any damage on your iPhone.
October 1st, 2007 at 12:07 am
[...] Gordon’s Notes wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptI added their Sources into my Installer, and I downloaded SimFree to my iPhone directly….I was able to make and receive calls and SMS. My iPhone was liberated!…It was Sunday, so I had to wait until Monday to see if that was going to fix and unlock my iPhone….Recently I bought off eBay a (locked) iPhone…. [...]
October 10th, 2007 at 5:43 pm
I am a bit unsure if I have a damaged phone or not. Is there a way to tell for sure before updating to 1.1.1 and having a dead phone?
October 10th, 2007 at 10:49 pm
have you tried updating to 1.1.1?
October 10th, 2007 at 10:57 pm
How did you unlock your iphone? Using which method?
I wouldn’t recommend to upgrade to 1.1.1 yet, since there is no activation method, other than the legit one!
October 11th, 2007 at 9:09 am
I unlocked with anySIM, but it didn’t give me a succesful completion. At this point, I am not sure if my phone will brick or not.
I actually am going to get an iPhone account through AT&T at the end of the month, so I want to be sure my phone is back to being legit.
October 11th, 2007 at 9:59 am
i tried your method first it showed me correct imei later i checked my imei it has been changed can u suggest some thing
October 11th, 2007 at 10:42 am
Hi
Thanks for posting this! Very helpful
now theonlyquestion i have is do i have tohave an activated or paid for version of simfree?
October 11th, 2007 at 12:03 pm
Thanks for the info,
I was just wondering before I try the method.
I updated to 1.1.1 and its bricked…and showing “wrong sim error”
will this restore my IMEI???
thank you somuch!
October 11th, 2007 at 2:01 pm
@Jason: If you follow the guide I’ve posted, and use simFree you should get a successful unlock. If you unlock using simFree you can safely upgrade to 1.1.1. I tried that yesterday, I will post a new article regarding this today
@reddy: Have you followed the guide completely? It seems you haven’t unlocked using simFree
@dana: Yes, you’ll have to unlock using a paid version of simFree, since it is the only unlock known to work with 1.1.1.
@Abe: If you upgraded to 1.1.1 using a free unlock, you’ll have to wait until IPSF team announces an unlock for 1.1.1. I’m pretty sure their unlock will fix your problem
October 11th, 2007 at 3:08 pm
Thanks for this article. Question: I had unlocked my phone using iUnlock and remain at 1.0.2. Would using iphonesimfree on an already unlocked iphone reverse the damage done by iUnlock? Would I need to perform any other steps before or after?
Eventually I’d like to update and use AT&T once my current contract expires, not caring if I become locked again…
Thanks!
En
October 11th, 2007 at 5:39 pm
I have an unlocked iphone running 1.0.2, unlocked with anysim. Do i have to flash my phone before i unlock with iphone sim free? Once unlocked using iphone sim free, how do i activate again?
thanks
October 11th, 2007 at 5:48 pm
Very nice column.
The SIMfree app that was just released by IPSF – v1.6 – should unlock 1.1.1 iphones apparently. My question: should you downgrade your FW from 1.1.1 to 1.0.2 to be able to install SIMfree to unlock your phone?
October 11th, 2007 at 7:33 pm
Hey,
I had a hacked 1.02. I Unlocked it with anysim. i upgrade to the 1.1.1.
My question is, i wana bring my iphone back to life, but i don’t need it unlocked.(i have an iphone contract)
Do I still need to purchase the unlock from IPSF??
Thanks!
October 11th, 2007 at 7:56 pm
@Enlil242: You just need to follow the same steps as anySIM. I tried it on an iphone that was unlocked using iUnlock and it works fine as well.
@Steven: Once you unlock, you re-activate using the same methods as before. Either use iNdependence or iBrickr
@Aymeric: Actually no. There is a way to jailbreak 1.1.1 and install it directly to 1.1.1, but the jailbreak requires 1.0.2 downgrade.
@MoJo: This is kinda tricky, because the anySIM damaged your baseband. I suggest you jailbreak 1.1.1, install the new simFree 1.6 and unlock, since that will fix your baseband.
October 11th, 2007 at 9:08 pm
do I have to do steps above? Or can I just run ipsf and install 1.1.1. Unlocked working on anysim.
October 11th, 2007 at 9:24 pm
Congrats for your Nice and helpful article!
My question is: i have already unlocked my iphone using AnySim & ibrickr. I wish to upgrade to 1.1.1 using SimFree.
For that,
Do i have just to upgrade to 1.1.1 which will brick my iphone?
or just virgin it, activate it, install SimFree under 1.0.2, unlocked and then upgrade to 1.1.1?
Can i follow your guide or this is working only on bricked iphones?
Thanks for your help,
October 11th, 2007 at 9:45 pm
@Steven: Well, since IPSF announced an unlock for 1.1.1, you can upgrade and then unlock with their solution. Updating to 1.1.1 will brick your phone, and when you’ll unlock the baseband is going to be fixed.
@sserye: You’ll have to follow my guide in order to restore your baseband, unlock it using SimFree and then upgrade! Basically when you flash back the original baseband described in the guide it restores the original iPhone firmware, therefore your phone is bricked. But when you unlock using SimFree it gets fixed.
October 11th, 2007 at 11:53 pm
Andreas,
Have u tried to upgrade to 1.1.1 after using SimFree 1.6? Please if you have any light let us know it.
Thanks,
sserye
October 11th, 2007 at 11:54 pm
[...] those of us who have used the iUnlock or anySIM to unlock our 1.0.2 phones, here are some good instructions to upgrade to… Apple iPhoneApple, [...]
October 12th, 2007 at 2:15 am
Andreas Louca,
Aren’t I fixing the baseband by upgrading it to 3.14 baseband?
October 12th, 2007 at 2:20 am
hi i had a bricked 1.0.2 iphone my imei was showing the lockdown imei number with my sim card in the phone but whwhen it was out it showed my phones correct imei number, i followed your guide and re flashed my baseband using putty etc. i purchased upsf and the unlock was sucessful now with my sim card inside the phone it shows the correct one but i am getting no service !!!!! what the heck!
October 12th, 2007 at 3:34 am
I got the same problem as yours Andreas. However, what i did previously prior to seeing your wonderful article was to restore my phone without the SIM card on the phone. This way, i got the TRUE IMEI back, BUT whenever i put in the SIM card (ATT and non-ATT) the IMEI changes to 004999010640000.
Question: Assuming that I already have the TRUE IMEI without the SIM card on, should i still FLASH the Original Firmware again as per your last instructions above? I’ve already flashed it once (using the iphonegoboom virgin restore method) and i believe that there is a limit on flashing the baseband modem.
I don’t mind paying that extra $60 but i just want to be ensured that my phone will be liberated. I do have the original 03.14 and 1.02 on my iphone just like yours and was never upgraded to 1.1.1.
Appreciate for your reply.
Thanks!
October 12th, 2007 at 3:43 am
@MoJo & jtiano: no, because iUnlock/anySIM modified your phone’s EEPROM and patched your baseband firmware in order to unlock it, destroying the original (and unique per phone) RSA signature stored in the EEPROM.
When you reflash with the original firmware, that part that at EPPROM anySIM modified in order to unlock is not being overwritten (since it carries your IMEI number and other per-phone characteristics), and when the baseband starts, stops to boot when it sees the modified part, which does not carry Apple’s signature, hence giving you the wrong IMEI.
The simFree guys found a way to sign the modifications they made to unlock the phone at the EEPROM, therefore when you reflash with original or newer baseband firmware it passes the check for legit EEPROM contents.
@chris w: Activate again! should do the trick
October 12th, 2007 at 5:04 am
Andreas,
you mean the anysim unlock damage is irreversible because the iphone lost its RSA signature?
October 12th, 2007 at 5:56 am
Andreas,
So should i again reflash with the original firmware if i already have the correct IMEI without the SIM on? or just proceed to getting IPSF and do the simfree method?
Chris let me know also what happens if you’ve activated again after the simfree.
Appreciate it Thanks!
October 12th, 2007 at 9:12 am
@jtiano: If you got the correct IMEI without the sim, you should proceed unlocking with simfree. Should work!
@sserye: Its not irreversible since the simfree team found a way to re-generate that EEPROM and sign it again with the legit signature
October 12th, 2007 at 12:28 pm
[...] tijdens het unlockproces was aangepast. Via de instructies op de volgende website is dit gelukt: http://andreas.louca.org/2007/09/30/iphone-unlock-frenzy/ 2. Ik heb vervolgens per ongeluk geupdate naar 1.1.1. Hierdoor moest ik eerst restoren naar 1.0.2 [...]
October 12th, 2007 at 2:54 pm
Andreas,
Following case:
Bought a new iphone 1.0.2. (03.14.08_G)
Unlocked it with anysim and got it working/calling
Bought SimFree.app v1.6 yesterday and installed/ran it succesfully
Upgraded iphone to 1.1.1 via iTunes
Then problems started: incorrect sim etc. (didn’t sleep all night..)
Finally I got is back working again (thanks to your postings).
Situation now is I can call again, correct IMEI, Version says “1.0.2 (1C28)”, Modem firmware says “04.0113_G).
Is there a (safe) way now (SimFree1.6 ?) to upgrade to 1.1.1. and got it totally working? (incl. jailbreaking/activating….).
Very curious about your reaction.
Best regards, Roger
October 12th, 2007 at 5:11 pm
Andreas,
Following is my case. I bought an 8 GB, 1.02 (1C28) FW iPhone (Modem FW 03.14.08_G)with a legit AT&T contract. Unlocked using anySIM for 3 Times. Unlocked it just for fun.
Now, my iPhone works perfectly works with AT&T and T-Mobile SIM card. IMEI shows as written on my phon’s back with and without the SIM in the SIM compartment.
My Question is: Can iPSF revirginize my phone and prepare it for 1.1.1FW update? Reading the thread of Roger Peerboms, I am little scared.
If I use iPSF, which version should I use? v1.5 or v1.6? Where to get v1.5 if I need to use v1.5 (not v1.6)?
October 12th, 2007 at 5:16 pm
@Roger Peerbooms: Actually this was my case as well! I had unlocked with iUnlocked, I restored to 1.0.2, my phone was briked, and then, with the above instructions, I unlocked using simFree. I have upgraded to 1.1.1 a few days ago without any problems! I am now running 1.1.1 (3A109a) and 04.01.13_G.
So it should work just fine!
@SB: If you follow my guide, and unlock using the latest simFree (1.6, versions doesn’t matter really, it detects your version) you will be ready to upgrade to 1.1.1, considering you have followed the jailbreaking instructions correctly.
October 12th, 2007 at 5:31 pm
Also an addition, Sholu all your steps be performed with no SIM in the SIM compartment?
Please help. And thak you for your very nice and relevent article. We feel like cheated by iPhone dev team.
October 12th, 2007 at 6:04 pm
@SB: You should do it without any SIM in the compartment. SIM should be installed later after a successful unlock.
October 12th, 2007 at 7:28 pm
Shouldn’t i flash the baseband back to 03.14.08_G first? (now I have 04.01.13_G)
October 12th, 2007 at 7:57 pm
No, not really! simFree v1.6 supports unlocking the newer firmware!
October 12th, 2007 at 8:56 pm
So just to be sure:
The only thing i have to do is upgrade to 1.1.1 via iTunes? And that’s all. Or do i have to follow one or more from your above mentioned steps?
Sorry, i am not such a pc hero….(but i can cook very well
October 12th, 2007 at 10:42 pm
how do i activate again? have gone through your guide all ok unti i updated to 1.1.1 now asking for activation. what do i use how? CHEERS DUDE
October 12th, 2007 at 11:32 pm
Budjuu
October 12th, 2007 at 11:35 pm
[...] thing to notice is that my iPhone was unlocked using iPhone Sim Free, after having a little adventure with the unlocks. So iPSF claims that their unlock survive the upgrade is true, and you’re [...]
October 13th, 2007 at 12:03 am
Dear Andreas,
Do you know if after following your guide, (in fact i am using it right now and waiting for IPSF activation), if i upgraded to 1.1.1, does my iphone will remain activated? i am using a non AT&T Sim.
I have read in Freeit4Less that after the iphone is unlocked with IPSF in 1.0.2 you just need IPHUC for the update 1.1.1….
Appreciate your help,
October 13th, 2007 at 12:13 am
Please see my new post regarding this: http://andreas.louca.org/2007/10/12/the-path-to-111-iphone-upgrade/
Thanks!
October 13th, 2007 at 12:28 am
Andreas!
I have purchased the liscence and try to follow your method this weekend. I heard from here and there that you tube is not currently working with iPSF unlock of previously anySIM unlocked iPhone. is it right? Is there any way to avoid this problem?
Thank you for your help.
October 13th, 2007 at 12:33 am
Yes, that’s true. I will try to find a solution for youtube and let you know.
October 13th, 2007 at 12:33 am
Andreas,
SimFree before it execute ask for “Please ensure your new SIM is inserted…” but your guide said to do not inserted… What can i do?
I am using a non AT&T Sim.
Thanks
October 13th, 2007 at 12:34 am
i forgot to write that my IMEI is the right one even with the non AT&T Sim inside.
Thanks,
October 13th, 2007 at 12:38 am
Have you unlocked your phone with any unlocking solutions, other than iPSF? If so, please follow my guide. If you do, your IMEI with a SIM installed will report wrong, and you will need to remove your sim in order for the unlock to work.
If your IMEI reports as the original one, and you have already unlocked, simFree will not work
October 13th, 2007 at 12:43 am
Yes, i unlocked before using AnySim, i am just migrating to IPSF with your nice guide.
I started the process, i didn’t install any Sim inside and SimFree is running right now…. let’s see what happens….
Thanks,,
October 13th, 2007 at 12:50 am
Hi Andreas,
I am glad to report to you the it worked well… i follow your guide and from now on my iphone is a IPSF 1.0.2 unlocked phone… i will go to the next step to upgrade to 1.1.1,
Thanks again,
October 13th, 2007 at 12:56 am
Andreas!
I also noticed that first thing the iPSF software pops up is “Please ensure your new SIM is incerted and your phone is activated. Also please ensure that your phone is fully charged and your Auto-Lock setting is set to NEVER”
It is conflicting your recommendation “@SB: You should do it without any SIM in the compartment. SIM should be installed later after a successful unlock.”
What should you recommend?
October 13th, 2007 at 1:21 am
Andreas,
I remember, of patching a lockdown file for activation after anySIM unlock. Will this patched lockdown file create a problem during ny FW 1.1.1 iphone activation (even with a legit AT&T contract)? of this patched lockdown file will be healed during IPSF unlock?
October 13th, 2007 at 3:44 am
The lockdown file has nothing to do with the unlock, you can proceed normally!
October 13th, 2007 at 3:54 pm
a have a problem here…after i updated to 1.1.1 by mistake, now not only do i have an incorrect IMEI, but after downgrading, i can’t seem to detect any wi-fi connection anymore!!! help i can’t access anything without ssh!
October 13th, 2007 at 4:52 pm
Try to restore again to 1.0.2 and see what happens!
October 13th, 2007 at 6:20 pm
i tried restoring to 1.0.2 and all the previous versions, still no hope. i’m trying to find away to get into the iphone without wi-fi.. is there anyway to get in like ssh but without wi-fi?
October 13th, 2007 at 6:26 pm
You could try iPHUC! It gives you a similar to SSH interface to the phone, but it is somewhat limited. You could try it tho!
October 13th, 2007 at 6:35 pm
it’s not working it doesn’t let me write. what now ? i’m i just screwed?no wifi means no access to phone whatsoever?!
plz help
October 13th, 2007 at 6:51 pm
You should jailbreak first in order for iPHUC to let you write. Use iBrickr or iNdependance in order to jailbreak your phone!
October 13th, 2007 at 7:49 pm
hello Andresa, i have updatet the phone to 1.1.1 and downgrade to 1.0.2, i unlocked it with iphonesimfree but now i can’t recieve SMS, I can send but not recieving, can you help me about this?
regards
October 13th, 2007 at 11:43 pm
@Andreas, I am having this problem as well. I purchased simfree but it won’t authenticate because of my IMEI is 00499…. and not the actual branded one…
And my modem firmware is 4.01 and people are recommending me not to bbupdate it cause I might brick it for real then.
Any tips?
thanks
October 13th, 2007 at 11:54 pm
If you remove your SIM, your IMEI should report OK. The new firmware is supported by the new simFree v1.6, so I suggest to purchase a license and unlock (and unbrick your phone) using simFree.
October 14th, 2007 at 9:23 am
hello thank you so much my cell phone has been unlocked i wanna thnak you once agin i am so proud of your information
thanks a lot
October 14th, 2007 at 12:32 pm
Hi Andreas, I bought a license from freeouriphones on friday, but didn’t have so much luck as you. Till now I haven’t received any email from them, even sent them a couple emails asking if my imei was registered but didn’t receive any reply.
How can I know if my imei is registered?? maybe it is, but they just didn’t send me any email telling me.
If I relock the phone and then iphone sim free doesnt work I will have to unlock again with iunlock.
Its been 2 days they should have registered it,
thanks for your advice
javi
October 14th, 2007 at 2:02 pm
Hi again, they have just replied me that it was registered from the first hour. It seems that there has been just a mis-send email or just a too nervous acting by me not trying the iphonesimfree software. Excelent comunication now and service, for the ones looking for buying from them.
Will tell if it works when I try it.
thanks anyway
javi
October 15th, 2007 at 3:42 pm
Hi,
Thanks for a very clear guide! Can you confirm that I understand all this correctly?
1. I have a 1.02 unlocked with iunlock. IMEI is reported correctly. I want to move to IPSF so that I can upgrade to 1.1.1 unlocked.
2. I need to follow your instructions in order to reflash the baseband before I can run IPSF
3. After running IPSF and upgrading to 1.1.1, I will need to activate again using the latest jailbreak/activation? Or do I do this when I’m still running 1.02?
I’m still a little confused, but hopefully I’ve got it right. Thanks for any advice!
October 15th, 2007 at 8:50 pm
Yea you got it right!
After you unlock, and you’re ready to upgrade to 1.1.1, you’ll have to follow the jailbreak guide before upgrade, and it guides you through to the upgrade.
October 15th, 2007 at 11:05 pm
Thanks for replying, Andreas! Very appreciated. Here I go…..
October 16th, 2007 at 2:38 am
Hi,
Why don’t you use the ICE03.14.08_G.eep file in the baseband flashback process like in other guide ?
bbupdater -e ICE03.14.08_G.eep -f ICE03.14.08_G.fls
October 16th, 2007 at 3:17 am
Because -e erases and reflashes EEPROM (which if you have flashed with anySIM or iUnlocked is not changed), so no need to touch it.
-f reflashes the original the baseband firmware that anySIM/iUnlocked patched to ignore the signature of the secure EEPROM.
October 16th, 2007 at 1:30 pm
The whole thing I don’t get is why EEPROM previously flashed by anySim/iUnlock can’t be erased and reflashed with bbupdater ?
Is there an issue with bbupdater ? Or does anySim/iUnlock modify a part of EEPROM that can’t be reach by bbupdater ?
October 16th, 2007 at 1:44 pm
You have EEPROM and SECURE EEPROM, which is signed using an 2048-bit RSA key. The secure EEPROM is unique per phone, because it contains your IMEI and otherother stuff, including the NCK unlock code. What anySIM/iUnlock do is they modify that NCK code to 000000, but they render that RSA signature invalid, because they are modifying the contents of that EEPROM unauthorized.
Baseband firmware before it boots, it checks if that RSA signature is valid, and if not it does not boot, hence that invalid IMEI. anySIM/iUnlock patched the baseband to ignore that check, but when you upgrade, the original firmware gets restored so you have a bricked phone.
I hope this clarifies.
October 16th, 2007 at 3:58 pm
Just wanted to report that my unlock, activation, jailbreak and upgrade of my previously software unlocked phone was completely successful following the above instructions and using IPSF/Indpendence 1.22.
Thanks!
October 16th, 2007 at 11:37 pm
Thanks for all the explanation
October 17th, 2007 at 1:08 am
hei
I unlock my iphone with anysim. i upgrated den and now its locked again
i downgrated this but anysim didnt work.
now i have locked iphone.
help what can i do?
October 17th, 2007 at 1:23 am
@mamad: Please follow the instructions in the document above
@tungchao: no probs
@PeterE: Great!
October 17th, 2007 at 6:07 pm
I had anySIM unlocked working iPhone in 1.0.2 FW version. I followed the above tutorial and it worked like a charm.
Since I have a valid AT&T contract, I upgraded it to 1.1.1 and activated it with iTunes. Everything is working fine. I have not jailbreaked it yet.
I wonder, whether it is possible to jailbreak it later? I am waiting for some simplified jailbreak solution for windows.
October 17th, 2007 at 6:07 pm
Thanks a ton Andreas!
October 17th, 2007 at 7:56 pm
Not a problem!
The only way to jailbreak 1.1.1 at the moment is the way to downgrade and then upgrade again
October 17th, 2007 at 11:04 pm
Hey Andreas,
Sorry if this repeats what others, including myself, have asked… I’m sure you’re tired of answering the same question over and over. I just want to make sure I have this clear before I go ahead and try this.
I have a working 1.0.2 iPhone that I used iUlock to unlock it. Nothing wrong, I just want to use SimFree now so it is unlocked right and will be able to upgrade.
Question one. Since I have an unlocked phone already, what part of your guide would I start at?
Also, After using SimFree and I upgrade to 1.1.1, will I have a locked phone again? (At this point I’ll be switching to AT&T anyway, so I don’t care to unlock 1.1.1 at that point)
October 17th, 2007 at 11:15 pm
@Enlil242: You should start from step one. All steps must be done in order to unlock your phone using simFree.
After upgrading to 1.1.1 your phone will be still unlocked, but you will need to activate. Please follow this guide in order to do this: http://www.freeouriphones.com/MacTutorial.html
October 18th, 2007 at 5:46 am
Thanks for calrifying! If I am just going to go with AT&T, can I just activate through iTunes then?
October 18th, 2007 at 11:28 am
Yes, if you are an AT&T customer you can activate legitimately
October 18th, 2007 at 4:57 pm
Thanks again! I’ll report on my results when I go forward.
October 18th, 2007 at 5:13 pm
Thank you for your information.
I had iphonesimfree purchased but i was impacient and i used anysim. I tried to use iphonesimfree but it said that is already unlocked. I searched and searched for a solution to re-lock-it but i didn’t find anything.
It was this simple:
- stop comm center
- bbupdater -f
- start comm center
- run the iphoneunlock app
- insert sim
Voila!
Thank you very much for your effort and keep up the good work!
October 18th, 2007 at 7:09 pm
macuser, can you please elaborate a bit on your steps?
Thanks!
October 19th, 2007 at 6:37 am
hey andreas i had a BNIB 1.0.2 iphone i used iunlock to unlock it then i got no service after a few days…so i tried to virginie my phone and unlock with anysim and it still wouldnt work so i bought IPSFand upgraded to 1.1.1 then i downgraded and i still cannot get service im reporting a good imei with my sim card inside and ipsf unlocked my phone sucessfully with the new modem firmware from 1.1.1 – modem firmware 04.08.13_G but i still cannot get service last night i was out of town and i put in my sim and i got service for about 5 minutes i received a call and then a few mins klater service cut out…..ki tired activating again too but still…no service! help!
October 19th, 2007 at 2:51 pm
I have a unlocked 1.0.2 Iphone than was a gift. I do I know what method have they used? and what’s anysim ( old one or new one) ? Tks
October 19th, 2007 at 6:05 pm
Enlil242: All i did was follow Andreas’ tutorial. Actually i had an activated+jailbreaked 1.0.2 so all i had to do is copy bbupdater and the 03.14.08_G baseband and run with -f.
After that i ran ipsf and i had a fully functional phone.
Please elaborate your question if you have a specific question.
All the best.
October 20th, 2007 at 2:39 am
macuser: Thanks, I gotcha. So basically you started right at the uploading and flashing of the baseband? I thought that was it. I was wondering if I could skip ahead as well as I also have an activated/jailbreaked phone (with community sources, bsd sub, etc) and didn’t *think* I had to start at step 1 (the first step 1) I just wanted to make sure I read your post right.
Much appreciated,
All I am waiting on is the confirmation from “freeouriphones.”
October 20th, 2007 at 4:19 am
hello andreas when I type the command
launchctl unload /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.CommCenter.plist
it always says no such file when I put the files there what am I doing wrong I cant get past that step
October 20th, 2007 at 7:57 pm
Enlil242: Ah, of course. If you have an activated+jailbreaked 1.0.2 all you have to do is upload the 2 files, stop comm center, bbupdater -f, start comm center, launch ipsf.
Worked on 2 iphones so far
October 21st, 2007 at 9:56 pm
Well, I ran the SIMFree software today using this guide and it seemed to work just fine! I am holding off updating to 1.1.1 until I know for sure whether I’ll be switching to AT&T – or if a *simple* jailbreak is working for 1.1.1.
Thank you Andreas for testing and informing us early iUnlockers about this fix. I feel better now that I know that my phone is update-ready. And Macuser, thanks for the clarification…
October 21st, 2007 at 10:00 pm
You won’t gain anything from upgrading to 1.1.1, nothing exciting! Unless you want iTunes store, I see no reason!
October 23rd, 2007 at 5:33 am
Hi everyone, quick question.
i recently bought an iphone with current firmare 1.1.1, downgraded it from head to toe, activated and jail broke it, the whole shabang and its working grt. i did this thru itunes 7.4.2, independence day and anysim. tho im not to sure what version of anysim i used( any ideas as to how im able to work out what version ive used). my imei # on the back of the fone is the same as in the about section of the iphone. given this, is it safe to assume that i can upgrade back to 1.1.1 with total confidence using independence day 1.2.4 pre 1.1.1 upgrade.
cheers
October 23rd, 2007 at 3:39 pm
i tried this method, but after the “./bbupdater -f ICE03.14.08_G.fls” command, i see it running, twice until 100, but at the end : unable to verify image.
what can I do ?
October 23rd, 2007 at 3:42 pm
What baseband firmware are you running now?
October 23rd, 2007 at 5:16 pm
the exact message is “Error: Failed to download .FLS: Could not verify downloaded image.”
baseband : 04…
October 23rd, 2007 at 5:18 pm
You should downgrade your baseband first. Take a look at http://code.google.com/p/iphone-elite/wiki/DowngradingBaseband
October 23rd, 2007 at 5:28 pm
from what I’ve heard, it’s a dangerous manipulation
October 23rd, 2007 at 5:29 pm
Well, try removing your sim-card and unlocking with iphone sim free directly. Normally it should work
October 23rd, 2007 at 5:31 pm
do I end the manip with :
# launchctl load /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.CommCenter.plist
# reboot
?
November 10th, 2007 at 12:00 pm
Hi Andreas,
Thanks a lot for the info above! But can I enquire something from you?
I have an unlocked iPhone firmware v1.0.2, and I have previously used iPhoneSimFree v1.5 to unlock it. The phone is working fine in which I’m able to make calls & receive sms-es, except that I’m unable to use it with other SIM cards. Whenever I replace the SIM card with another one, it always displayed “Incorrect SIM”.
Another colleague of mine actually upgraded his iPhone firmware to 1.1.1, and run the steps as listed on http://www.iphonesimfree.com & the phone is working perfectly fine. No problem at all. He was able to use with SIM cards from different svc providers, use iTunes & YouTube as well.
He asked me to upgrade mine to 1.1.1, but after reading thru several forums, it seems that it’s not advisable to upgrade before re-virginizing the phone. I don’t have any idea how to re-virginize it, and I’m using Windows (not Mac).
Since I had previously used SimFre.app v1.5 to unlock the phone, is it still possible for me to follow certain steps from the above-mentioned? Or can it deactivate the phone, or worst damage it? Are there any other methods which I can use in order to enable to iPhone to use with different SIM cards?
Greatly appreciate if you can kindly advice me on the above.
Thank you in advance!
Best rgds,
Thomas
November 10th, 2007 at 4:14 pm
That error message you get means that you need activation again. The unlock is working fine!
The difference is that in 1.1.1 they use a different activation method, which activates the phone for all sim cards, that why the error message does not appear then!
November 10th, 2007 at 5:30 pm
Hi Andreas,
Thanks for the prompt reply! Really appreciate it~
Now I see the difference. That was why my friend’s phone was able to support diff SIM cards & detect diff svc providers (cos he’s using 1.1.1). As for my case, are there any ways for me to configure my 1.0.2 so that it can also support other SIMs as well? Bcos I think it’s quite troublesome to activate each SIM over & over again.
Alternatively, will it be good to upgrade my firmware to 1.1.1? If yes, any proper steps to recommend? I understand tht those using IPSF can just upgrade to 1.1.1 via iTunes, but whenever I tried doing so, iTunes will prompt the message “1.0.2 is the current version”. There’s no way for me to upgrade it. Any ideas?
Thanks again!
Best rgds
November 11th, 2007 at 1:10 am
You could try downloading the 1.1.1 firmware upgrade file, and upgrading manually, by putting your phone in recovering mode, and using alt-Restore in iTunes. This will force iTunes to upgrade your phone.
November 11th, 2007 at 10:08 am
Hi Andreas,
Where can I download the 1.1.1 firmware upgrade file from?
How do I set my phone to recovering mode? When doing all these steps, I will need to connect the phone via USB to PC rite? Do I need to insert any SIM card, or leave it empty?
By forcing iTunes to upgrade the phone manually, will it lock/damage the phone?
Pls advice. Thanks!
November 11th, 2007 at 8:37 pm
I also have the problem, that my Wi-Fi capabilities dissapeared after down/upgrading.Now I can not install any software on my phone in order to get rid of the bad IMEI.Need urgend HELP !!!
My iphone is working (jailbreaked) on 1.1.1 and also possible to jailbreak it in 1.0.2 but still no WiFi,no calling capabilities due to bad IMEI.
HELP HELP HELP
Going nowhere without WiFi
November 14th, 2007 at 1:18 am
@ ADG: I haven’t heard of this one before. Any googling around helped?
@Thomas: Try looking at the how-to part of the http://modmyifone.com/ site. They should have this info!
November 14th, 2007 at 2:54 am
I heard about problems with the firmware etc, that could cause this, but how to install programs on the iphone, if wifi is not available.i have apptapp on it, but it cant find anything.how to get programs onto it via usb?and which ones?
Thanx
November 15th, 2007 at 6:36 am
Is there anyone out there who knows how to restore the phone to good IMEI and WiFi?I am really running out of good instructions on how to.I need WiFi first back to operating stage, then I need good IMEI.Anyone HELP please.PS: I was able to install “Terminal”, but cant find some other usefull programs.If you respond, please attach links for the needed programs
Thanx
November 16th, 2007 at 12:02 am
So I had bought a 1.1.1 iPhone. The old unlocking method was to downgrade the version to 1.0.2 and then activating the phone. I had done that. Now the new unlocking software came out in the market and I wanted to check if I can update this 1.0.2 firmware back to its origonal 1.1.1 firmware. Things were going fine until it locked itself. Now I am stuck with this piece. I have tried a lot of things over and over again and no luck. I am back at the activation screen – shows me this message >>>> ” Please insert an unlocked SIM card to activate the iPhone “. DOES ANYBODY KNOW HOW TO GET AROUND THIS AND UNLOCK THE IPHONE ONCE MORE????????? I really need help. Its been a month I am stuck with this locked phone. PLEASEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
November 18th, 2007 at 11:59 pm
Kavin
go to http://www.hacktheiphone.com
follow instructions exactly, and i mean it…
good luck
ps: you just have to use iNdependence or iBrickr to get rid of the activation screen, but double check, that your IMEI is not starting with 0049…, because then it would be BRICKED !
November 21st, 2007 at 1:53 pm
hy! i had a new iphone v 1.1.1 and i downgraded it to 1.0.2, and tried to unlock it with anysim, but i later learned that i had a new modem and anysim didnt work, but its functions sre active! now im stuck…. what to do in order to free it from at%t?
thx
November 26th, 2007 at 1:07 pm
Hi,
just did what you mentioned in the above post but still no luck the imei is still the faulty one.
Thanks in advance
Nads
November 26th, 2007 at 5:05 pm
later i just updatet it to v1.1.1 and used the method from http://iphone.unlock.no/ and it works!
But now there is a new problem, i just got two more iphones and they had new v1.1.2 already installed so im still searching for the method to unlock them…. i already jailbroke them and activated but no luck with unlock….. if someone solves the problem please post…..
November 30th, 2007 at 1:33 pm
Dear all,
I am an iPhone user in Hong Kong. I bought a brand new cracked iPhone (version 1.02) on 1st November. It went quite well initially. However, 7 days after, the phone was locked with the following message:-
“….unauthorized sim card….”
Further, the IMEI no. turned to (00499…) – that is different from what is indicated at the back of the iPhone.
First of all, I want to make it clear that I did not ever attempt to upgrade the iPhone. The problem first appeared when I switch off the “Edge” function from the “Service” Program. Naturally, I took back to the shop for repair but without luck. The repairman told me that he tried to crack the phone all over again but he could not do so because the Wifi (and the BT part) could not be re-activated in the first place.
At first, I thought it is a fairly simple software problem. Apparently, I am wrong!!! Since then, I have sent the defunct iPhone to two other shops for repair and the answers are the same. Since the wifi cannot be activated (even the same old cracking procedures have been followed), the phone cannot be cracked by software! Has anyone come across such situation?
Please help. I really love my iPhone!!!
Thanks in advance.
December 1st, 2007 at 5:41 am
Dear Edward,
no luck here yet, trying to find out how to load/fond the software from CommunityServices onto the iPhone via USB.Then there may be a way to correct the invalid IMEI…if you find out please let me know
January 4th, 2008 at 4:48 am
I was given an iPhone about 3 months ago and I was using it in Australia on Telstra – quite happily I might add until I downloaded the new software. I have managed to unlock the iPhone to a now expensive iPod but I am still unable to unlock the SIM – therefore I am not able to use the phone or SMS.
My iPhone is Firmware 03.14.08_G with Version 1.1.1 (3A109A) IMEI 01 130000 404678 6 and the IMEI on the back of the phone is the same. Can you please tell me what I need to do to fix this problem.
PS Really not good at this hacking stuff so please be gentle when explaining what I need to do. And let me know if you need any other info.
Please please help – I’m at the point of begging
January 23rd, 2008 at 2:27 pm
I tried to Unlock my 1.02 firm to 1.1.1 by reading the instructions frm the Unlock.no site ….But after adding the 2 URL’s i went to Settings as directed but i Was Unable o select the WIFI!!
AT THE WIFI TAB IT WAS WRITTEN “NO WIFI ” I am stucked between the procedure i tried googling around but no sucess. i even tried in the unlock.no for any instructionsbut there is no description about any such problem !!!
PLZ HELP ME OUT IF ANY ONE KNOW ABOUT THE PROBLEM and what exactly has happened to it ???!!