I bought an iPhone 3G from a friend that is locked to Claro (local telephone company). The phone was using 2.3 firmware I believe..

So first thing I did when I came home was to follow this tutorial ( iClarified - iPhone - How to Jailbreak Your iPhone 3G on OS 3.1.2 Using PwnageTool (Mac) ) to get it on firmware 3.1.2

Everything went fine, no errors at all. But when it was done and the iPhone finished rebooting, I noticed that it didn't have any signal, and was VERY laggy. I mean it would take a second for the screen to turn on after I pressed the lock/unlock/power key. Once I was inside the phone, everything was very laggy, so slow that to open "Settings" sometimes it would take up to 7 seconds and once inside, navigating through it was slow as hell.

So I decided to re-pwn it with the same custom firmware that I created with PwnageTool.. Same thing all over again. Then I decided to Restore it again, but with the Original Apple Firmware 3.1.2. Now the phone is not laggy at all, and I can use it just fine. (I have a simcard from Claro, but its not mine)

So right now I have full access to the phone (no Cydia or anything obviously), with my real-simcard inside, but I have no signal at all since its locked to Claro.

So what can I do now? what would you guys recommend?

Some useful info taken from the Settings > About section:

Version 3.1.2 (7D11)
Model MB489LA
Modem Firmware 05.11.07

--

Any help will be greatly appreciated,
cheers.

__________________
iPhone 3G 8GB [3.1.2]
15" MacBook Pro [Unibody]
Custom PC [Windows 7 RC(7100)]

After restoring with Apple stock firmware you got baseband 05.11.07. Your only way out now if you want to use the iPhone with different simcard is to use Blackra1n. Check the tutorials here
iClarified - iPhone - How to Jailbreak and Unlock Your iPhone 3G, 3GS Using BlackSn0w [Windows]
or
iClarified - iPhone - How to Jailbreak and Unlock Your iPhone 3G, 3GS Using BlackSn0w [Mac]

__________________
Read the stickies and search the forum before posting!
If you want to become a Hackint0sh supporter click here
----------
iPhone 3GS factory unlocked (3.1.2; Blackra1n, Cydia, OpenSSH, custom 3.0 ipcc file (no sig), tethering hack by Dev team, 32 GB)
iPhone 3G (3.0.1; Redsn0w 0.8, Cydia, OpenSSH) 16 GB

Thanks for the help volkspost. It worked like a charm.

Can I do this with firmware 3.1? having problems here and there with 3.1.2

__________________
iPhone 3G 8GB [3.1.2]
15" MacBook Pro [Unibody]
Custom PC [Windows 7 RC(7100)]

I dont have any iPhone at 3.1, so I cant test it, sorry.
What's the problem you're having with 3.1.2?

__________________
Read the stickies and search the forum before posting!
If you want to become a Hackint0sh supporter click here
----------
iPhone 3GS factory unlocked (3.1.2; Blackra1n, Cydia, OpenSSH, custom 3.0 ipcc file (no sig), tethering hack by Dev team, 32 GB)
iPhone 3G (3.0.1; Redsn0w 0.8, Cydia, OpenSSH) 16 GB

Random freezes here and there. not total freezes, but after a restart (holding power & home button) its back to normal. Besides, almost all the apps are available to 3.1, not the case for 3.1.2, maybe is just too new I guess.

__________________
iPhone 3G 8GB [3.1.2]
15" MacBook Pro [Unibody]
Custom PC [Windows 7 RC(7100)]

Hmm, I dont have any issues at all. Most my apps (about 35) are from the app store, plus less than 10 from Cydia.
Just one general question: After you upgraded from 2.x to 3.x did you get iTunes asking you if you want to "restsore data from a backup" or "setup as a new iPhone". If so, what's been your choice?
Background: From os 2 to 3 is a major step. When upgrading I'd always recommend to "setup as a new iPhone". If you use the backup option you'll get back tons of legacy preferences and stuff that might cause trouble later.
Just keep in mind when "setup as a new iphone" you'll loose call historym sms history ...

__________________
Read the stickies and search the forum before posting!
If you want to become a Hackint0sh supporter click here
----------
iPhone 3GS factory unlocked (3.1.2; Blackra1n, Cydia, OpenSSH, custom 3.0 ipcc file (no sig), tethering hack by Dev team, 32 GB)
iPhone 3G (3.0.1; Redsn0w 0.8, Cydia, OpenSSH) 16 GB

I think iTunes did.. but I always choose Setup as new iPhone hehe.

so you don't have a clue if it would be safe to go from 3.2.1 to 3.1? I mean, because of my baseband.. could that damage my phone in anyway? I've been disconnected from the iPhone world for quite a while.. Had a blackberry for the past 9months (biggest mistake EVER.. did it only for work, but still, huge mistake.. blackberry sucks big time)

__________________
iPhone 3G 8GB [3.1.2]
15" MacBook Pro [Unibody]
Custom PC [Windows 7 RC(7100)]