The dev team announced that it has a jailbreak for iPhone 3gs but has delayed release on it until after 3.0.1 firmware release. Many people are upset over this and really don’t understand why. Here are some details in layman’s terms:

1) Jailbreaking is done by exploiting bugs in existing hardware / software in order to gain access to the device (that Apple should have given in the first place).

2) On all devices to date, the jailbreak is permanent, meaning that it is at the hardware level and Apple lost those platforms.

3) On 3GS, Apple added another layer of security, an ECID. This is a key that is retrieved from Apple on restore to sign your IPSW image. If the image isn’t signed, the 3GS and iTunes will reject it and you will not be able to restore your device with that image.

On the 3GS, we can use an existing single exploit to retrieve the ECID and use that to sign “files” allowing to restore custom firmwares. (This is really dumbed down, but you should get the idea). Once the jailbreak is released, Apple will patch this hole.

The hole is such that anyone that has 3.0 firmware, you can obtain the necessary signing key. But once the jailbreak is out, Apple will patch it on the next firmware release. Those with the older firmware that saved off whatever was needed will always be able to jailbreak. Those that update without doing so will probalby never be able to jailbreak. Such is the nature of the exploit.

The logic in waiting is this. There are only a few iPhone 3gs devices sold. A 3.0.1 firmware release is due soon to fix some obvious 3.0 bugs and to patch up Ultrasn0w. If the jailbreak is released now, when 3.0.1 comes out, the only people that can jailbreak, ever, are those that had 3.0 and did not rush to update. If we release after 3.0.1 then 6 months worth of users should be able to jailbreak forever. (This assumes its 6 months from 3gs to 3.0.2 release, probably not that bad of an assumption). This should be a significant amount of people, which is better than nothing. Releasing now gives apple a chance to patch the hole before the 3GS is even released in all markets around the world.

Note: those of you that are interested, you can save your ECID in a usable format using these instructions. Windows users can find USBView here.

Personal speculation: I believe that we may be near the end of the software jailbreaks. In the future, new devices may require some sort of tethered jailbreak. This means when you reboot your device you must be hooked up to a pc or such, do the jailbreak, and then unhook the device and use it – until you reboot again. I predict small tethered jailbreak devices to be sold from hong kong that you will be able to keep in your car or your pocket in case you have to reboot your iPhone. Not a perfect solution, but not that bad either. Personally, I never reboot my iPhone. But if it did crash, it would work as a “normal” iPhone until you attached the device and “hit the button” again or whatever.

Of course, you 2g, 3g, and ipod touch users will never have to worry. Your devices should remain jailbreakable forever.

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If you are decided that you want to try setting up your phone as a new phone after jailbreaking but want to keep all your SMS, notes, bookmarks, calendars, and mail accounts, please read and follow BigBoss’ 3.0 Preparation Guide prior to setting up as a new phone.
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Update 4 (6/25/09 8PM EST): My battery drainage problems seems to originate from bluetooth. I LOSE battery charge even when plugged in when bluetooth is enabled. When I shut it off, I no longer have that problem. This is a pretty big bug to have missed the beta testing, so it is either a) personal phone problem, b) jailbreaking problem, or c) SBSettings toggle bug. I’ll do more tests and update later.

Edit: I think I may have found a cause for the insane battery drainage: bluetooth A2DP. Right before I noticed the battery drainage, I tested out A2DP on my car stereo system with streaming music. I believe that before I noticed drainage the first time (2 days ago), I also tested the A2DP streaming. Another user commented that he also noticed high drainage after using A2DP.
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Update 3 (6/24/09 6PM EST): I was still having a plethora of problems with my jailbroken 3.0 phone on T-mobile. The battery drainage was above the roof, it would lose a percentage every minute or so – basically draining the battery within two hours. I did everything to try to diagnose the problem, and it seemed that a full restore did the trick. So many problems seem to originate from restoring your old phone backup, ESPECIALLY if it was jailbroken before. If you are having any troubles, whether poor battery life, unstable connection, etc; I suggest doing a full restore and setting it up as a new phone.

Another problem some users faced is the unstable T-mobile signal with ultrasn0w, which seemed to originate from MMS settings in conjunction with a backup restore.

So here is what I’ve learned over the past few days about 3.0, jailbreaking, and unlocking:

• Push is broken if you hacktivated your phone (2G or 3G)
• To get push working on your iPhone 3G, you must activate with any AT&T Sim
• No known push fix for the iPhone 2G
• Some users are reporting that you cannot have Push and MMS setup at the same time using ultrasn0w. Either Push stops working or your signal becomes unstable once you enter the MMS settings in.
• In many cases, restoring your old iTunes iPhone backup will cause problems – especially if the backup was made from jailbroken phones
• Old 2.x backups seem to cause some or all of the following: Poor battery life, unstable ultrasn0w connection, and unable to launch apps
• If you have ANY problems after upgrading: restore and setup as a new phone, this will fix 90% of the problems
• Apple is a bitch

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Update 2 (6/24/09): If you have an AT&T sim lying around (activated or not), you can try this method to get push working on iPhone 3G’s (from user “l1ceo1l” on macrumor’s forums):

Tip: if you SSH to /var/root/Library/Lockdown/activation_records and delete wildcard_record.plist, the next time you reboot your phone, it will ask for activation again, thus allowing you to easily put in an AT&T sim and activate with iTunes open – this should allow you to skip the restore and re-jailbreaking steps if you already are in that state.

• You need a Unactivated or Activated ATT Sim
• Take out your T-Mobile SIM and Pop in your Unactivated ATT Sim card (Just found out any ATT Sim is ok).
• Restore and Jailbreak with redsn0w

(If you deleted wildcard_record.plist, you can skip this step)

• Go to settings and turn off your 3G!
• Let iTunes activate the phone – you should get a “Waiting for activation.” message, dismiss it and Open cydia.
• Add the Ultrasn0w source repo666.ultrasn0w.com
• Install Ultrasn0w and turn off your phone
• Remove the unactivated ATT sim and insert your T-Mobile sim
• Turn on the phone, once you receive service you should get the message. “iPhone has been activated”

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Update 1 (6/23/09): It seems that I did something else on top of replacing my lockdownd. Users on howardforums found out that to get push working with jailbroken phones, you MUST activate it with an active AT&T sim (sim that currently has service). I asked my friend with a legit AT&T service to send over his lockdownd and replaced mine – and it worked.

A few results have come back from both 2G and 3G users and apparently the lockdownd method does not work – after rebooting it has them activate again. Currently, the only sure way to enable push and stable ultrasn0w is to activate your phone (before redsn0w or after pwnage) with a legit, working AT&T sim.

It might have been a fluke on my part, but I apologize for suggesting a method that does not work. I will keep looking into this. The Dev Team does recognize this problem and are currently working on the push problem.

I will keep the original post intact, as it has good information to those who don’t know whats going on.

I released SBSettings 3.0-1 that fixes the catastrophic code signing error from 3.0. I also removed 3.0 from my servers so even stale package files cannot accidentally download it. It’s literally gone. Read on for fixes if you need them.

Tonight I released SBSettings 3.0 but code sign failed. Apparently on 3.0, if you don’t code sign, it still works. So when I tested the install, it was fine. This is new. On 2.x if code sign fails, the app won’t work. Since SBSettings is part of springboard, it put springboard into an endless reboot loop.You do not have to restore. Here is how to fix it.

For everyone on 2.x that updated to SBSettings 3.0 I am very sorry about your troubles. Here is how to fix it:

Delete the files /Library/MobileSubstrate/DynamicLibraries/SBSettings.dylib off your device and reboot.

Here are some ways you can do that:

1) SSH or SCP in and delete them. Here is the how to ssh guide. For SCP, navigate in to /Library/MobileSubstrate/DynamicLibraries folder and just delete the file.

2) In SSH prompt, type rm -f /Library/MobileSubstrate/DynamicLibraries. Note, using SSH or SCP, your device will reboot every 10 minutes as springboard crashes and watchdog timer reboots it. You will need to be patient in a reboot as it takes it a while for network system to come alive again. It will come up though.

3) WINDOWS USERS: Use iPhone Browser (download here) or iFunBox (download here). This works on PC by connecting to your device via USB. Dock your iPhone and load up iPhone Browser. Navigate to /Library/MobileSubstrate/DynamicLibraries folder and delete the SBSettings.dylib file. Note, if your iPhone is in middle of reboot you may need to wait for it to become recognized. Like SSH, it will be recognized you just need to give it a couple minutes if it is not yet booted up enough to be pc recognized.

4) MAC USERS: Use iFuntastic (download here) and follow step #3 above.

If you don’t know how to reboot your iPhone after completing the above steps, just hold home and power until the device powers off. Then let go of both and hold power to turn the device on.

Anyways, I feel terrible for anyone that has had problems due to this mistake. In the small amount of time that I released this and watched 1 tv show, it was downloaded 40,000 times. I hope almost all those are users on 3.0. I will make sure and test for this code sign error on 2.x in the future.

I updated SBSettings, Categories, Docs, BossPrefs to fix a launch crash that a small percentage of users were experiencing. Please update if you experienced this issue with any of the above apps not caused by missing dirname as outlined in my previous post.

There was also a temporary bug in my pack of sbsettings toggle pack 2.99-3. It was only out for about 30 minutes but I managed to get about 100 emails on it :(

If you try to update and it won’t install due to error 2, refresh your sources and you should see 2.99-4 to install. The updated toggle pack enables bluetooth on iPod touch 2g on 3.0. If you don’t care about this feature, no rush to update.

I have had a few reports that EDGE does not work on 3.0. I believe it does. Here is the story with it.

The EDGE toggle does not disable the EDGE radio. You cant do that without disabling the phone system. Instead, it just tells the iPhone settings that the network connection that EDGE uses is “unavailable”. This is the same method that has been used for EDGE toggle since 1.1 firmware in early BossPrefs.This blocks all data since it’s no longer a valid data connection. Now you may indeed have an E or even a 3G if you have EDGE off and 3G on. But you will not be able to get onto the internet. You may also have an IP address.

See some screenshots:
Start with the first one. Notice you will see 3G in the statusbar? But safari cannot get onto the web.

On the 2nd one, you also have an IP address even though you are still not on the internet. (This is the same picture, I just swiped sbsettings into view).

Now, someone indicated that with push mail you are still getting data coming through. Indeed this could be the case. While the network is basically unavailable, for packets that originate outside of the iPhone they probably can still come through. This means if you want to be sure EDGE is off, do not have any sort of push service running.

As a side effect, you cannot tell EDGE is really off without checking safar. Also, it is possible some MMS services use the data connection to send the pictures. If these also originate from the carrier there’s no disabling them either.

I am starting a compatilbity list. I will do my best to updated it as I get more information and as updated apps come in. First off, most all regular apps should work on 3.0. The changes were not that severe for most apps to stop working. So if the app is not in the list, it probably works. What probably does not work are apps that rely on mobile substrate or any sort of springboard patching. These all use undocumented APIs.

Next is to understand why some things are not working *for you* that are listed on the “working” list. Many apps require root access and use a trick that involves the dirname command. This command was not present in some older packages in Saurik’s older repository. Saurik set up a newer version of his repository for 3.0 (which will merge back in to the trunk soon). The point is, many of you may have his older repository instead due to one of these reasons:

1) You used an early Icy without its essential updates that do not fix saurik’s repo.
2) You used apt backup to restore your packages and it restored the old repository.
3) You did not accept some essential updates.
4) Some other thing that I am not aware of. But the cause is most likely failing dirname command.

You can check if you have this issue in Cydia: Load Cydia, wait for it to do its thing then go to manage, sources, then look for Telesphoreo in the list. If you see this line of text *exactly*, you have the new repository “Distribution of Unix Software for iPhoneOS 3″ (this is good!) If you see this line: “Distribution of Unix Software for iPhoneOS” (this is bad) you have the *old* repository.

One more thing. If you install something and get an immediate spinning wheel of death, reboot. Some times mobilesubstrate’s install causes this and after a reboot it will be fine.

On to the app list:

Edit #2: redsn0w replaces quickpwn and also handles jailbreak of iPhones without restore! (I believe the name quickpwn was retired because quickpwn.com is a stolen, fake site and the dev team does not want to support it).

Edit (June 20th): redsn0w 0.7 for 3.0 is out now! Get here

The dev team just released pwnage for OSX. So all your MAC users can now jailbreak your iphones. Note that this is pwnage not quickpwn. You can download it here. Also read the notes on the blog. Some highlights are:

* UltraSnow (3.0 unlock) is not available yet. If you have YellowSn0w, do not yet upgrade.

* If you have a 3gs, you must wait for an unspecified amount of time.

* iPod touch 2 users: Download here. If you have an iPod touch 2g, you must wait for a redsn0w update. Not ready yet.

* There is no windows version, there is no quickpwn yet. Coming later.

The basic pwnage guide should still work basically the same.

This is the BIGGEST ever release of biteSMS! This release has got everything the built-in Messaging application has got!!! Provides support for all the new Apple features; Full Landscape, 3G MMS, Multiple Forward / Delete, Cut & Paste and the Retry Sending feature. Plus all these extra great features For Firmware 2 users, although you’ll [...]

So Apple released 3.0. I suggest you wait a few hours for a jailbreak (released anytime now) before you update. Here are a few facts about this update:

1) Apt backup probably will not work reliably. Some packages are not going to install on 3.0 and I do not know if it is graceful about failures.

2) If you don’t trust iTunes backup, you should use SCP or iPhoneBrowser and copy /var/mobile/Library/AddressBook to your computer. This contains your contacts. While you’re at it you may want to copy all these:

/var/mobile/Library/AddressBook – Contacts
/var/mobile/Library/Calendar – Your calendar
/var/mobile/Library/Notes – your notes database
/var/mobile/Library/Safari – your bookmarks and cookies
/var/mobile/Library/SMS – your text messages.

3) The jailbreak will be out soon. The unlock soon as well. If you require unlock you should wait for it before your update.

4) Some apps are still not ported to 3.0. Most apps will work. But some things that require some hacking to work will probably not work. Known issues (there may be more):

- Quickgold is replaced by spotlight, but spotlight wont launch hidden apps.
- BiteSMS, MySMS, iRealSMS are not yet updated (BiteSMS and iRealSMS are due to be released anytime though and could be ready by the time jailbreak comes).
- Backgrounder – No development for 3.0 has started on this great app

5) You will need to be at iTunes 8.2 to update, and iTunes 8.2 will not allow you to revert to an older version.

6) Apps that don’t work will likely cause mobile substrate safe mode to trigger.

7) SBSettings, categories, bossprefs, docs, and all my other apps have been ported and tested on 3.0 b5 and should be ready to go on a proper jailbreak.

8) You should have a pwnage and quickpwn type tool updated for iPhone 3.0. The instructions and usage will be the same. I will update my guides when these tools are released.

9) If you have hidden any apps using poof, sbsettings, bossprefs or such, you should unhide them all prior to updating to avoid issues. Go to settings, enable restrictions, enter a password, then disable restrictions. That should unhide all apps you care about making you update worthy in one easy step.

10) Make sure you do not “update” to 3.0 but you “restore” to 3.0. An “update” will mean you lose all your space where your jailbreak apps were installed. The files will still be present but no longer available so you just out on the disk space. Restore solves this problem.

Updates will be posted here when jailbreak is released.

Update: The Dev-Team has just updated their blog in conjunction to MuscleNerd’s Ultrasn0w Demo (that’s what they are calling the 3.0 unlock)

* Only ultrasn0w is going to take til Friday to get pushed out. All of our other tools should be out pretty soon after the official Apple release.
* If you apply our jailbreak when it comes out, you can install ultrasn0w anytime after that. You obviously won’t have cell service in the meantime, though.
* This may in fact be directly applicable to the iPhone 3GS if it can be jailbroken, because it runs the same baseband version. Whether or not it can be jailbroken is a big question right now!

Watch MuscleNerd’s Ultrasn0w Demo

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The Dev-Team Blog has just confirmed that they are in the finalizing stages of testing Pwnage Tool and Quickpwn that will work with iTunes 8.2.

In more anticipating news, they also announced that on Tuesday evening (just before 3.0 goes live), they will perform a live demo of the yellowsn0w carrier unlock working on official 3.0 firmware.

This is great news for all, as the image they provide shows the final 3.0 modem firmware (04.26.08) – basically sayings that all iPhone 3G’s are unlockable – even ones that have 5.9 Bootloader and 02.30.00+ modem firmware.

I would still recommend waiting on upgrading to 3.0 until the Dev-Team releases all information regarding the jailbreak and unlock.

Thank you Dev-Team!

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Yes, 3.0 GM is released to developers. This is the final 3.0 release. There is no jailbreak for it at this time. Do not yet upgrade. There are rumors of people using the 3.0 b5 jailbreak tools. This is a terrible idea. It will replace most your 3.0GM with B5 components. You will not have a real 3.0 final any longer, instead you will have a hybrid 3.0 and beta 5. It’s a terrible idea. Next week when beta 5 expires, your 3.0 jailbreak could expire as well and you would have to restore all over again.Yes, some people may claim that they did this and “it works fine”. But as I just stated, it is not a real 3.0 final any longer. Definitely not a good idea nor is this something you want.

Just wait a few days and you should be ok.

Edit: dev team announced a 3.0 software unlock, so these sim adapters may become irrelevant again. I have discontinued sales of them waiting for the new release.

I have spent some time researching options for all of us on 3g iPhones with a 2.30 baseband that cannot be downgraded. Yellowsn0w is not working for these devices, and if Fuzzy cannot downgrade your baseband, you are stuck with using a sim adapter. Unfortunately, not all sim adapters are the same. In fact, many are unstable and drop signal regularly. I have done some testing on various sim adapters and am pleased to report that the Gevey3g sim works very well and hasn’t dropped my TMobile signal once yet.

The sim does not require any sim card cutting, seems to offer full signal strength, and seems stable. It requires you enable data roaming if you want to get data (EDGE is all that’s offered here on TMobile USA).

In the process of my testing, I contacted Gevey3g and managed to get a small shipment of these sim adapters. They sell for $49.99 + shipping from gevey3g.com, but I’m offering them for a substantial discount to anyone that needs them (less than half price). Mind you, I am not trying to make a business of selling these and am only doing this to help out, because sim adapters are otherwise hit and miss. If you can find these for cheaper elsewhere, by all means feel free to buy them from someone else. I’m only offering a products that I personally tested and can put some level of confidence into selling. Note, I considered not selling these as I have prided my site around giving everything away for free. Therefore, I may stop selling these after the first lot is gone. There are also counterfeit versions of Gevey3g sim (since they seem to be stable) so make sure you are getting the real thing.

If you are interested from buying from me, you can use the google checkout link I have provided. All prices include shipping.