Discrete Vector

[Update 01-Feb-2011: If you are using an iPhone 3G/3Gs with iOS 4.1 and you want to unlock your phone, then the procedure is described here]

Well the waits over if you have an iPhone 2G. The iPhone Dev team has released the redsn0w application that will help you unlock/jailbreak your iPhone after updating the OS to 3.0.

Update: Ultrasn0w has been released by the dev team which allows you to jailbreak/unlock your 3g/3gs. Check out http://blog.iphone-dev.org/

I know how it feels to be in the dark with the itch to badly update to the new OS. Will you brick your phone? What happens if I screw up? Are there any pre-requisites for this? So I have put together this short post to help you guys out. If you are stuck, don’t hesitate to ask.

Warning: I’m just trying to help. I provide no guarantees. Secondly, this post is only for people who have a first generation iPhone (AKA iPhone 2G). I have performed these steps myself, hence the post. I don’t have an iPhone 3g. So I cant help you out there. Refer the iPhone dev teams blog for more info. Theoretically it is very unlikely that you will brick your 2g or lock yourself out permanently. (Not true for 3g though) So if you mess up, just restore to OS 2.2.1 and use QuickPwn to unlock it.

Oh, I nearly forgot. I am a PC. But the MAC instructions will remain almost the same.

Lets get started.

Question: What firmware do I have to be on for this?

Answer: Doesn’t matter. You will restore your phone to 3.0 before using redsn0w.

Question: What version of iTunes do I need?

Answer: You will need iTunes 8.2. This is important.

Question: What else do I need?

Answer: If you want to unlock your phone (which in most cases the answer is yes) then you will need the boot loader files bl-39.bin and bl-46.bin. (Google for the links. Its easy to find). And of course you will need the 3.0 firmware that was downloaded from Apple. Refer this post for the links. You will also need the redsn0w program. Download it from here.

Question: What happens to my data?

Well, if you had Cydia before you will lose all the Cydia apps with this process. I think there is an app available on Cydia that will backup your jailbroken apps. Ensure that your iPhone is completely synced to your machine before doing this. . When you restore the firmware you will lose EVERYTHING. Ensure that iTunes is configured to sync all your apps, contacts and calendar. (PS: This will backup only the apps you bought through iTunes Store NOT Cydia) Every time you sync, iTunes automatically creates a backup of your iPhone which includes contacts, calendar, settings, photos and some other miscellaneous stuff which you can restore later. Don’t forget to do this. There is no way to get your data back once you restore the firmware.

Question: Do I need to stock on the beer?

Answer: Not exactly. The procedure takes about half an hour. One beer wouldn’t hurt I guess.

Ok, Here we go.

First, put everything into one folder. The boot loader files, the 3.0 firmware and the redsn0w app.

Launch iTunes and select your iPhone on the left side. On the Summary page, hold down the shift key and click on the Restore button. This will bring up a file selection window. Go to the folder where you put the firmware and select it.

iTunes will now restore your firmware to 3.0. Wait for the phone to restart.

DO NOT launch redsn0w while the restore is in progress!

Now for the unlock/jailbreak

It doesn’t matter what state your iPhone is in now (home screen or stuck on the emergency call screen), you can proceed.

Ensure that iTunes is closed.

Run redsn0w by double clicking on it.

Browse and select the 3.0 firmware (the same one you used to restore). Redsn0w will process the file and check if it is indeed the right firmware. If the file is ok then you will get the screen shown below which says IPSW successfully identified.

Help! It says “Unable to recognize specified IPSW”

If you get this error (shown on the screen shot to the right) then it means that your firmware download was not as smooth as expected. Maybe its corrupt. Anyways, I lost some hair trying to fix this issue. If you get this error then the best thing to do is to download it manually from Apple’s website. (Find the links here). I guess this usually happens if you use the file that iTunes downloaded when you hit the update button.

Also ensure that the name of the firmware file is iPhone1,1_3.0_7A341_Restore.ipsw. If you downloaded the file from some other location (not recommended) and if it has a zip extension then unzip the file and use it. By default, known extensions are hidden by windows. So if you have a file named iPhone1,1_3.0_7A341_Restore.ipsw.zip then it will appear as iPhone1,1_3.0_7A341_Restore.ipsw in windows explorer (without the zip extension). Because of this most people will use this file directly in redsn0w without unzipping it.

To show file extensions in Windows explorer, go to Tools > Folder options > View and uncheck Hide extensions for known file types.

Click Next and follow the instructions on screen. Trust me its easy!

You will get to a screen which says turn off your phone. DO IT! Just turn it off normally but ensure that it is still connected to your machine.

The screen after that will ask you to press the home and power keys in a certain sequence. Perform the steps as mentioned. If you don’t get it right the first time, try again.

After that set your iPhone down and let redsn0w do its magic. Don’t touch anything!

The app will finally say done and the Finish button will be enabled. I suggest you don’t click it till the phone completes what its doing, restarts and finally leaves you at the home screen. Maybe it wont hurt but rather not take chances.

That’s it. You now have an unlocked iPhone running OS 3.0. Enjoy cut and paste!

Credit must go where its due. Big thanks to the iPhone dev team without whom, many people would never had known what owning an iPhone feels like. Thanks guys. Much appreciated.

Battery Life Update 1 [August 02 2009]: A lot of users are complaining about low battery life after updating to 3.0. I have personally faced this. So after you update to 3.0, DO NOT restore your phone from a saved backup. Set it up as a new phone when prompted after iTunes detects it for the first time after the jailbreak and then proceed to perform a sync to load all your applications and data. You will have to setup your mail accounts and wifi settings again. But then that’s a small price to pay for precious battery life. I found this information too late and so I was forced to jailbreak my phone all over again today! I’ll update this post if I see any improvements in battery life.

Battery Life Update 2 [August 05 2009]: Well, what do you know? It worked. I am getting noticeably improved battery life now. My current standby time after last recharge is 2 days 13 hours and usage is 4 hours 40 minutes. Mostly calls and SMS. Occasional WiFi/Edge and games. And the best part is that I still have 40% battery left!

Alex