Nothing happens after i visit jailbreakme.com

If you visit jailbreakme.com, install AppSnapp, get thrown back to the activtion screen and you have waited more then 3-5 minutes but phone does not restart - try restarting your phone manually. If phone starts normally everything is fine. If you still only get to the activation screen it did not work. Usually this is because there is a problem on the server, or maybe your internet connection. Wait some time (a few minutes if you are impatient, or a few hour if you want to be sure) and try again.

How can i upgrade a new unactivated phone?

Just put it in recovery mode, and it will automatically restore to the latest firmware. It might be safer to manually download and select the 1.1.1 firmware.

How do I set the phone in recovery mode and perform a restore

To enter recovery mode, connect the phone to the computer and press and hold the Power button (on top) and the Home button (on bottom front) simultaneously. After about 15 seconds phone will appear to turn off, release the Power button but keep holding the Home button. After about 15 seconds the computer and iTunes will detect the phone in recovery mode, and you can perform a restore. Note: If you just click the restore button, it will restore it with the latest firmware. I would recommend to manually restore to 1.1.1 instead (not necessary if you are sure 1.1.1 is latest). If you want to manually select a different firmware you can hold down SHIFT key (Windows) or Option/ALT-key (Mac) when clicking the Restore button, and it will let you choose firmware file. Download the wanted firmware here.

My phone is already unlocked - can i update to 1.1.1?

Not straight away! The old unlock software's (before anySIM 1.1, except iphonesimfree.com's software) had serious flaws, making the phone unusable in later firmware. Before you update your phone you will need to repair your phone by "virginizing" the phone (baseband) firmware. Below are the ultrasimple instructions

How to "Virginize" an unlocked phone before update to 1.1.1

Ignore all long and complex tutorials - I have set up a fully automatic script that will repair the phone so that you can upgrade it.

1. Set Settings → General → Auto Lock → Never
2. Make sure Modem firmware is 03.14.08_G. Check this in Settings → General → About.
3. Start Installer and update it if it asks. Tap on Sources, Edit, and Add http://i.unlock.no/ as a repository.
4. Make sure you have BSD Subsystem installed, if not, go to System category and install it.
5. Now, install The Virginizer found in the Unlocking Tools category. This will take about 3-5 minutes to complete.

Only use if you never updated to 1.1.1 before! (that means, only use if your Modem firmware is 03.14.08_G. Check this in Settings → General → About).

How to "Virginize" if you already upgraded and have 04.01.13_G.

You would want to do this if you upgraded to 1.1.1, and now have 0049xxx IMEI, and Modem version 04.01.13_G. Check this in Settings → General → About.

1. Set Settings → General → Auto Lock → Never
2. Install BSD SubSystem found in System Category.
3. Go to Sources and tap edit and add http://i.unlock.no/ (if you haven't already).
4. Now install "Virginize 04.x" found in Unlocking Tools category. This will take almost 10 minutes.
5. When done, restore your phone to get 1.1.1 firmware reinstalled.
6. When phone have been restored, you can Activate and unlock as normal.

If you did this, please let me know if it worked: mail unlock æ unlock.no or IRC: GeeZuZz. Make sure you mention that you had 04 firmware.

Can't find AnySIM - Unlocking Tools category is missing

Please follow the tutorial carefully - it will show up after you add my repository (http://i.unlock.no) and tap refresh.

YouTube is not working

If YouTube does not work ("You must first connect to iTunes..."), try to install YouTube activation which is found in the Unlocking tools-category after you have added my repository (see previous question)

Is the unlock permanent? Can i restore my phone or upgrade it?

This unlock method is based on a firmware patch, so everytime the baseband firmware is flashed, the unlock not work anymore. You should be able to restore without loosing the unlock, and you should also be able to upgrade to future firmwares as long as the baseband firmware is not updated, but never perform a software update before you have specifically read that updating is safe.

Where can i find the iPhone firmware files?

• 1.0.0: iPhone1,1_1.0_1A543a_Restore.ipsw
• 1.0.1: iPhone1,1_1.0.1_1C25_Restore.ipsw
• 1.0.2: iPhone1,1_1.0.2_1C28_Restore.ipsw
• 1.1.1: iPhone1,1_1.1.1_3A109a_Restore.ipsw

Tips and tricks

Some of these tricks require computer skills. Don't ask me for help.

Configuring EDGE settings (internet)?

If you have firmware 1.01 or later you can go to Settings → General → Network → EDGE to configure EDGE. Check your provider's website for settings.

Note for 1.1.1 users: For some reason v1.1.1 firmware will not save the settings after reboot. I have added a little fix, which is available in my repository for Installer.app: http://i.unlock.no/ - descriptions on adding my repository is here (step 1-4)

Changing phone number formating: (123) 456-7890

Formatting is stored in:

/System/Library/Frameworks/AddressBookUI.framework/ABPhoneFormats.plist

Download this file from your phone. The file is stored in binary format, so you'll need to convert it to text. Now save this file and open it in a text editor. Change the formatting under us to look like you want (if you find your region in the file, just copy from your region to the us). There's probably some way to just make it use your language (instead of 'us'), but i don't know where you specify that. When you are done changing formatting, save the file and upload it to the iphone in same directory you found it. You don't need to convert i back to binary.

Update for 1.1.1 users: In previous versions locale settings did not apply to number formatting. I noticed that in 1.1.1 it does, so it's better to change the phone's locale configuration instead of changing the formatting manually. The configuration file is called .GlobalPreferences.plist and is located in /private/var/root/Library/Preferences/. Convert it to pure xml here, and change AppleLocale to the locale of your country. This will also change date and time settings, and in theory use your language in any application where it's available (appearantly very few apps)

Making the carrier name/logo fit without scrolling

Apple left a rather small space for operator name, so if it's above 7(?) characters, it will scroll, and display only first part (click picture at right). I found a way to decrease the font size, making it fit.

Load the following file in a Hex editor:

System/Library/CoreServices/SpringBoard.app/SpringBoard

Font size should be at offset 7C176. In HxD, just click "Search → Goto" and set offset to 7C176 as shown in picture below. If the font size is not at this offset in your file, you can try a text string search for loopOperatorToBeginning, it should be right above that.

As you can see, you can also change the font type, and color of the text. Default is size 14. Changing it to 11 or 12 should do.

Update: Here is a way to set a permanent carrier logo. I have created a few logos for norwegian users (screenshot below): Telenor, Netcom, Tele2, Chess, OneCall. Download here. Remember that you will need to change pictures manually if you switch carrier.

Disabling autocorrection when typing on keyboard

Read here until i write a more detailed way.

Adding international characters on the keyboard?

Read here until i write a more detailed way.

My comments about the iPhone unlocking solutions

I've been unlocking cell phones for more than 5 years, and even though i don't develope the solutions myself, i know pretty much how it works - and iPhone does not appear to be different from others, except for the fact that it needs activation in addition to unlocking.

There are two types of unlocking: "Firmware-patch" and "Direct unlock"

• Firmware patch is simply patching the firmware in order to bypass the unlock. Phone is still "locked", firmware is just tricked into believing it's not. An example would be when phone startsup and runs code "if(phoneIsLocked == false) doStartphone();" - a patch would simply change "false" to "true", causing it to run doStatphone() even when it's locked. If firmware is upgraded/restored, this patch will of course be removed and were back to start again. This type is in the industry considered as a semi-unlock, and only accepted as a last resort if no other way is found (usually, it's just a temporary solution)
• Direct-unlock is the real way of unlocking phones. Usually it involves just rebuilding the entire lockdata in EEPROM with "blank" unlocked data. Or the safest way is to get the phone itself to clear the data by making it unlock itself - which could be achieved by for example finding the unlock codes and feed it with them. This would leave absolutely no trace of "hacking" - it will be 100% correctly done, as intended by the manufacturer.
• (SIM-cloning/Turbosim is not mentioned, because that's not considered unlocking.)

When a phone is unlocked (in a proper way), it will always be unlocked. Firmware upgrades never touches EEPROM, including lock data.

Here are my thought's on how iphone unlocking works - of course, it's just my thoughts based on my experience with other phones, and i may very well be wrong.

IPFS unlock solution is permanent, and will handle all future updates Yes, i'm fairly sure that a phone unlocked with IPFS is a proper unlock (not firmware patch), making it permanent. But of course, unlike other's, iphone needs activation and IPFS therefore completely dependent on activation, which is depending on jailbreak. But when it comes to the operator lock itself, IPFS's permanently unlocks it.

I'm not sure exactly how IPFS does unlock it, but i'm feeling very sure it's one of these:

1. IPFS reads data from the baseband/EEPROM, and rebuilds the lock area in EEPROM with proper data - without any lock. This is exactly the same done on almost all other phones.

2. IPFS patches the baseband, but only as a temporary step in order to achive the above. When it's finished, it doesn't matter if the patch is removed (bb upgraded), because phone is already unlocked.

AnySIM and the other solutions are fimware patch solutions and will never survive baseband flashing/upgrade. Unlike IPFS (if IPFS also patches firmware), AnySIM patches firmware in order to bypass the lock, not in order to unlock it - or at least it's not unlocking it properly. The fact that anysim unlocked phones are bricked after upgrading, must be caused by changes the anySIM solution does to EEPROM, which is not properly done, and makes it "corrupted" as seen from the new firmware.

In my opinion there's no reason to be so negative about IPFS. They did the real unlock and so far noone have been able to recreate their solution. So don't expect a free real solution for 1.1.1 appearing very soon either. A free patch-unlock though is probably already possible now that they have decrypted the ramdisk, i will try that tomorrow. Of course iphone dev team are doing the most important work, and let's hope they soon will be able to work out a direct unlock solution as well.

1. Apple iPhone unlock Video
2. Unlock the SIM-lock
3. Unlock your iPhone for free - no computer necessary!
4. My comments about the iPhone unlocking solutions
5. Bypass activation and prepare phone for software installation
6. A few tweaks