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Upgrade unlocked jail-broken first-generation iPhone to v2 iPhone firmware

20 August 2008 - 11:11am — Bevan

UPDATE: Would you like me to upgrade your iPhone for you? Click here.

If you want to have a go at upgrading your iPhone yourself, try PwnageTool for Mac OS X which is available from the iphone-dev blog

Original blog post follows...

My attempt to upgrade my unlocked and jail-broken first-generation iPhone were badly timed with Apple's release of version 2.0.2 firmware about 24 hours beforehand. This meant I initially couldn't use quickpwn because I couldn't restore the 2.0.1 firmware.

Nevertheless quickpwn (windows only) worked once out of 3 attempts on 2.0.2, but wouldn't unlock the phone for my vodafone-NZ prepay SIM card. It stopped everytime after operation 0, and once restarted at operation 5 or so after I disconnected and reconnected the phone.

Then I discovered how to select alternative IPSWs (like iPhone install/restore disk images) in iTunes with alt+'Restore'-button (Thanks CNET) and managed to install my custom IPSW created by PwnageTool. bl46.bin is required by PwnageTool, but not included; I think for legal reasons. After accidentally downloading bl39.bin instead, I found bl46.bin here and here.

I now have everything working. Remote app and WPA2-entreprise (radius server) are 2 apps / features I really appreciate! Things.app is also syncing and working fine!

iTunes restored my settings and some of my data (Notes/stickies, alarms etc) when I connected the newly-pwned phone to iTunes for the first time. Although, as expected I lost all the jail-broken 1.1.4 apps which do not run on version 2 firmware. Some of the main ones (namely twinkle) have new versions in the iTunes store or through Cydia (Alternative to Installer.app; Installer doesn't really work yet). Twinkle and some other iTunes-store apps are free.

I have 2 4 relatively minor problems;

  • WPA2 Enterprise at my university requires ienabler, or a similar tool, to get past the firewall. I can't find such a tool for the iPhone.
  • I can't open Bash (via Cydia) to show on Home after installing it. Am I missing something?
  • The phone doesn't lock itself after one minute, even though I have it set to do so.
  • MobileMe doesn't seem to work with CalDav-synced google calenders and has made a big freakin' mess! (I got it on the free trial for the experience, and to see if it might be useful; but I don't expect so).

UPDATE: A number of people have asked me to upgrade their iPhones for them. See more detail about this service.

Comments

18 November 2008 - 9:46pm — A Stranger (not verified)

please help i have a hacked

please help
i have a hacked iphone, 4gb, and i upgraded it using itunes, now it wont work and i dont know what to do. i tried using ziphone with no luck. all i have on my iphone is a itunes logo pleaseeee help

23 January 2009 - 8:39am — Mike (not verified)

Apple Logo

Hi - Did you have any luck in restoring your iphone. I now have the same problem and have tried the quickpwn tool but cannt get it to work. What was your solution? All I see is the apple logo. This occured when I tried to upgrade my first gen jailbroken phone. Any thoughts???

25 January 2009 - 2:07pm — Bevan

You need PwnageTool.app (Mac

You need PwnageTool.app (Mac only). See also http://drupal.geek.nz/blog/iphone-unlocking-service-christchurch-nz

30 November 2008 - 11:09am — A Stranger (not verified)

hey i did the same thing..

hey i did the same thing.. just put it in recovery mode then update it in itunes. if you have a pc then download pwnage tool and follow those instuctions. thats what fixed mine when i attempted ziphone.

7 October 2008 - 12:41pm — charlie (not verified)

unlocking

Need help flick me an email vahina@vodafone.co.nz

6 October 2008 - 10:18pm — web design (not verified)

Unlock

Hi! I have flash my iPhone and it's steel locked.:( What can I do? Thank you!

14 September 2008 - 11:27am — Tasneem (not verified)

Iphone upgrade to 2.0.2

Hello,

I recently, upgraded my iphone to 2.0.2 and after the installation, it got locked again and now I can only make emergency phone calls. How can I unlock again ?

Thanks a lot.
Tasneem.

27 August 2008 - 6:33pm — Laurle Fleming (not verified)

Has PwnageTool changed since 2.0?

Dear Bevan,

I understood that I would be able to upgrade from 1.1.4 to 2.0 with PwnageTool, but when I successfully installed it with using PwnageTool at the time, it booted up OK but would only allow me to make emergency calls - there was no recognition of the Voda sim at all. So I downgraded to 1.1.4 again and *eventually* twigged that I needed to change the baseband code - and I was back in business.

Now if it is simple as you say above, I should have no issues with 2.0.2 - is that right?

Laurie

27 August 2008 - 10:15pm — Bevan

PwnageTool doesn't pwn 2.0.2

PwnageTool doesn't pwn 2.0.2 firmware yet (and won't let you try). Wait till a new version os PwnageTool is released that knows ho to pwn 2.0.2 firmware. QuickPwn reportedly works on 2.0.2 firmware; however doesn't unlock the phone for other SIM cards. Check the frontpage of Cydia on your iPhone for updates to this information.

22 August 2008 - 9:09am — Andy (not verified)

re iphone upgrade

After getting an original iphone returned from repair, I discovered I no longer have the Apps I downloaded and I could not access the internet any longer. One other difference is I noticed a "G" in a box as one of the indicators. Anyway I thought I would try vodafone NZ site to see if I could now upgrade the firmware without hassles. A link to version 2 software led me to believe that I could now download version 2 for 3G as well as original. As itunes was suggesting vers 2.02 was available and there was a restore button I took that route. After the install I was surprised to find the restore button no longer there and the sim card not recognized. I have been trying to follow instr. from dev team and you (Bevan) and I am not finding it easy to follow. I have both PC and MAC and not a great connection speed. There seems to be gaps in the procedures. I'll take it back to the shop I purchased it from to see if they can assist, however some clear instructions would be highly useful. It would be great if you could help me.... and potentially others.

Cheers
Andy.

22 August 2008 - 10:59am — Bevan

It sounds to me like you have

It sounds to me like you have a hacked phone, but not the hacking skills to support it. With some determination and patience you can get there, it's "light hacking". If you bought your phone from vodafone, take it back and demand they fix it, give you a new one, or return your money.

Assuming you didn't get it from vodafone and it's hacked, and that it's a first generation iPhone (not 3G), maybe this step by step guide will help:

  1. download PwnageTool and follow their instructions to build your own IPSW file which will end up on your desktop. You'll need a mac for this.
  2. when you have the phone in recovery mode (PwnageTool shows you how to do this) open iTunes and connect the phone
  3. iTunes will ask you if you want to restore, click 'no'
  4. go to the iPhone page in iTunes, hold down the 'alt' key (aka the 'option' key), select the IPSW file you created which will on the desktop and have the keyword 'Custom Restore' in it along with version numbers etc.
  5. Let the iPhone do it's thing. This takes time so go do something else while it works.
  6. When iTunes has finished, unplug the iPhone and restart it.
  7. Now the iPhone has a lot of work to do on it's own. Go have another coffee.
  8. Once complete, your phone should now be working with your vodafone simcard, and you should have 'Cydia' installed on 'home'. Check that you can make a phone call.
  9. This step is optional. Connect your phone to the computer and iTunes again and restore the settings that iTunes has backed up (This is NOT the IPSW, but data like your Notes, and preferences). iTunes will offer this automatically, so you probably just need to click 'yes'.

Note that 3G iPhones can not yet be consistently and effectively unlocked for alternative SIM cards. So if you really want a 3G iPhone now, go buy it from an authorized retailer like vodafone. I think you can buy them unlocked if you pay the premium.

Good luck!