Hi guys. I'm a long time forum member here but its been a while since I unlocked a phone. It looks a little more involved and I want to make sure I do it right. I am traveling last minute overseas and really want to unlock my phone but I just dont have time to research it all. Can you guys help? Here's my current setup:

-iphone 3G, was jailbroken in the past, but not now
-Version 4.2.1 (8C148)
-Baseband 05.15.04

Do I need to jailbreak BEFORE unlocking? Please advise the best method(s) for this. Aslo, i would prefer to have an unteathered method. Thanks for your help. I usually have time to look into this but am really pressed at the moment. I trust you geniuses to point me in the right direction. Thanks!!!

Can you get an official unlock from your carrier?

If you can't, then I would strongly advise you to think hard about NOT attempting to unlock your 3G iPhone.

The only solution available to you is to load the iPad baseband on your iPhone. This works for maybe 95% of people but some lose GPS functionality.

There is no way to remove the iPad baseband once it has been loaded.

Wow, I'm shocked it cant really be done. Apple or AT&T will give me an unlock if I ask? is that what you're saying? I'd love to try.


My wife hs an iphone probably with older software on it. i'll post her specs when i can and maybe we can find a way.

Originally Posted by GPUnique

Wow, I'm shocked it cant really be done. Apple or AT&T will give me an unlock if I ask? is that what you're saying? I'd love to try.


My wife hs an iphone probably with older software on it. i'll post her specs when i can and maybe we can find a way.

AT&T won't authorise an unlock unless you paid full unsubsidised price for your iPhone.
However in other countries it's quite common for the carrier to allow an unlock if you are willing to continue to pay the remainder of your plan/subscription.

So what is the issue with my setup? Is it because I upgraded the firmware thru itunes? I assume an unlock will be available for me in the future. I dont get it since i every time a new firmware comes out, I see articles saying that the firmware was hacked before it was released. Back when I unlocked a lot I never had this issue. Oh well. Thanks so much for your help.

Originally Posted by GPUnique

So what is the issue with my setup? Is it because I upgraded the firmware thru itunes? I assume an unlock will be available for me in the future. I dont get it since i every time a new firmware comes out, I see articles saying that the firmware was hacked before it was released. Back when I unlocked a lot I never had this issue. Oh well. Thanks so much for your help.

There is a huge difference between jailbreaking and unlocking an iPhone.

The iPhone 3G is pwned for life (that means it can always be jailbroken) - however a new vulnerability for unlock needs to be found each time Apple update the baseband.

The phone calling/SMS/mobile data part of the iPhone is controlled by a different chip than the one which runs applications. These chips have different security models and this is why the hackers have a much harder time unlocking the chip that controls telephony functionality.

Back to your problem, yes it is because you updated to 4.2.1 without using custom IPSW (if you rely on unlock you should always use custom IPSW as this can disable baseband update)

There is zero guarantee that the dev team will ever develop an unlock for baseband 05.15.04 - the mistake (updating without custom IPSW) is yours, the official advice regarding unlock has always been use custom IPSW to block baseband update.

As of today, there is only one option available to you - the iPad baseband (which can be unlocked). This option has several drawbacks (GPS may stop working, you will get errors restoring with official IPSW, no way to undo/revert this update). So I recommend you do some research and think hard before deciding if this option suits you or not.

Thanks for the nice update. I just got my wife's phone and hope it can be unlocked. She hasn't updated in a while. Here are her specs:
Iphone 3G
Version 3.1.3 (7E18)
Modem Firmware 05.12.01

I really appreciate all you help. If this is possible to jailbreak and unlock, I would love to know the best tried and true method to do this. Thanks so much.

Originally Posted by GPUnique

Thanks for the nice update. I just got my wife's phone and hope it can be unlocked. She hasn't updated in a while. Here are her specs:
Iphone 3G
Version 3.1.3 (7E18)
Modem Firmware 05.12.01

I really appreciate all you help. If this is possible to jailbreak and unlock, I would love to know the best tried and true method to do this. Thanks so much.

Yes that phone can be jailbroken (via redsn0w 0.9.2 or 0.9.4), pwnagetool 3.1.5 or an older version of sn0wbreeze (not sure which offhand) - iclarified has guides
Unlock via ultrasn0w.

I don't recommend you try to update to iOS 4.x on that iPhone as it is slower and you risk losing your unlock if you don't block baseband update (via custom IPSW)

Awesome thanks. So when updating it I should use the 3.XX version just before 4? I'm glad this one should do the trick. Will i need a custom IPSW or will the use of a 3.xx firmware do it with the unlock software? thanks a million.

Originally Posted by GPUnique

Awesome thanks. So when updating it I should use the 3.XX version just before 4? I'm glad this one should do the trick. Will i need a custom IPSW or will the use of a 3.xx firmware do it with the unlock software? thanks a million.

iOS 3.1.3 is the LAST version of iOS 3.xx - so you should just try to avoid updating the iPhone past iOS 3.1.3 at all (generally a very good policy if you rely on unlock)

The simplest approach to your unlock is to use redsn0w (0.9.2 or 0.9.4) to jailbreak. iClarified - Jailbreak Wizard for iPhone, iPod, AppleTV
Then unlock with ultrasn0w. iClarified - iPhone - How to Unlock the iPhone 4, 3GS, 3G Using UltraSn0w

The only tricky part of jailbreaking with redsn0w is that (confusingly) when redsn0w asks for an IPSW, you need to give it a 3.1.2 3G IPSW (even though the phone is running iOS 3.1.3). It is only redsn0w that needs this 3.1.2 IPSW, you don't need to restore via iTunes at all.