I am really really confused with unlocking/jailbreaking/hactivating... There are so many softwares out there: blackra1n, blacksnow, redsnow, whitesnow.... I AM REALLY CONFUSED

If I am running Windows, what are the steps I need to carry out in order to unlock iPhone 2G, 3G, 3GS and also the firmware to 3.1.2?

Based on my understand from reading around, I want to clarify:

It doesn't matter which iPhone I have: 2g, 3g, 3gs, the steps to hactivate/unlock/jailbreak are the following:
1) Update to latest firmwareOS 3.1.2 using iTunes
2) Use blackra1n to jailbreak & hacktivate
3) blackra1n will automatically install Cydia. I should use cydia to install blacksn0w, which I am guess will unlock the phone and the baseband???????????

Few more questions:
1) Whats this wifi problem I hear that everyone has? Will I have the same problem? How do I fix it if I get the same problem after unlocking/jailbreaking/hacktivating?

2) How I carry out the jailbreaking/unlocking process without losing data on the iPhone?

It does matter a lot what iPhone you have.

1. I would not be encouraging 3G and 3GS owners to upgrade their baseband to use blacksn0w if ultrasn0w is working fine for them
2. 3GS jailbreaks are very OS dependant. Backing up your ECID SHSH for each OS release is very important to avoid losing the ability to jailbreak in the future
3. pwnagetool is the long term jailbreak solution, if you stay on this path you will be able to keep on jailbreaking. Restoring to stock apple firmware is something that users should generally be avoiding once they have jailbroken their iPhone. The only exception was OS 3.0 and now to
4. blackra1n will NOT automatically install cydia, nor will it install blacksn0w. Blackra1n simply installs an app that gives you the choice to install either of these tools.
5. There has been a lot of confusing talk about the wifi problems. Some are likely real hardware problems, others seem to be fixed by resetting network settings.
6. You risk more chance of stability, network and battery problems by jailbreaking without losing the existing data from the iPhone. It is possible, via redsn0w or blackra1n but it is not recommended.

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iPhone 3GS 32GB factory unlocked (3.1; Pwnagetool, Cydia, OpenSSH)
iPhone 8BG (3.1.2; Pwnagetool, Cydia, OpenSSH)

Does pwnagetool unlock the latest baseband?

For the safe way to unlock all iPhones should I just carry out these step?

1) Update to latest firmware using iTunes
2) Install blackra!n to jailbreak iPhone 2g, 3g, 3gs...
3) Create custom firmware using pwnagetool and restore this custom firmware using the "shift +restore" method in itunes? ??

Nice post. This can be a guide for the Windows OS users. And it is true that you should not upgrade ur baseband to use blacksn0w if ultrasn0w is working fine. I have never had wifi problems. It is working fine.

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Please do not confuse jailbreak (pwnagetool/blackra1n/redsn0w) with unlock (yellow/purple/black/ultrasn0w)

You are safer and on a more well tested unlock if you stay with ultrasn0w

Please stop encouraging 3G and 3GS users to restore to factory ipsws. This is not a good habit to recommend, you will come unstuck in the future with this approach if you rely on unlock or jailbreak.

__________________
Please read the stickies and search the forum before posting!
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iPhone 3GS 32GB factory unlocked (3.1; Pwnagetool, Cydia, OpenSSH)
iPhone 8BG (3.1.2; Pwnagetool, Cydia, OpenSSH)