hey guys. this is driving me nuts. i went on ebay looking for an unlocked iphone phone and bought one.

tried using my tmobile sim..... won't let me get by the itune/emergency phone stage. i then installed itunes and connected the phone to the pc. now i can't get by the activation stage.

is this phone really unlocked or am i doing something wrong?

i really need to unlock this phone before going to europe. if the phone isn't truly unlocked then how can i unlock it and still use my tmobile sim. i've tried searching before asking and this is driving me crazy. i've googled and youtube like crazy but all seem to require getting by the activation step.

thanks for any help

ok, i think i found a solution.

YouTube - Unlocking the iPhone 3GS for Dummies

the thing is i don't know what firmware i'm using. should i just run blackrain? it says:
blackra1n
jailbreak for 3.1.2 all devices
blacksn0w unlock for 3G and 3GS
installed using blackra1n

not sure i'f i'm running 3.1.2

please help. i'm losing sleep. thanks

The most robust and reliable jailbreak for a 3GS is redsn0w at present. blackra1n works, but you immediately need to add the afc2add package from Cydia in order to have root filesystem access, and I personally can't recall whether blackra1n pwns the LLB as required to maintain a healthy spot on the jailbreak train.

Ultimately, redsn0w is the best option. If that doesn't work, blackra1n is a good alternate.

Unlocking the phone does not bypass the initial activation -- you must hacktivate for that. Blackra1n and redsn0w will both hacktivate, so either should solve your problem. In the recent past, I've had better luck with blackra1n, but because of the amount of extra work it entails, I still recommend you attempt with redsn0w first.

thanks for your help.

before using redsnow how would i find the driver version, modem number i have? from the description these are the requirements to use it, right? all i know is i have iboot359.3.... got this by going into dfu mode and device manager in my pc. i can't go into phone properties within the phone since i'm stuck at the itunes screen. in itunes i'm stuck with the message that i don't have an approved sim card.

i do however have the original box with serial numbers. from looking around the 4th and 5th digit refers to the week of production. in my case it is 29. also, from dfu mode i know it's the old boolrom which is iboot359.3