How to Jailbreak and Unlock Your iPhone 3GS Using RedSn0w (Windows) [4.2.1]
Comments

The title of this tutorial is wrong! iClarified wake up! that's for Iphone 4 not 3GS and mac not windows!

iclarified standard is dropping... 1. The firmware file download link is for iphone 4 not 3gs 2. The tutorial says "for windows" yet the screenshots and instructions are for mac 3. In the screenshot too the iphone 4 firmware is shown instead of iphone 3gs. Waste of time

i cant download this link as an ipsw iPhone2,1_4.2.1_8C148a_Restore.ipsw it only does it as a zip file and wont show up when i try to restore my iphone. can anyone help

I got finally got this working. This is what I ended up doing. I ended up restoring in the official manner via itunes since I don't care what my baseband is, i don't need to unlock. The official restore will update BB to 05.15.04 on iphone 3gs so don't do it if you need to unlock. I then had to us the official IPSW I downloaded from apple for the choose your IPSW step of this tutorial. Don't us the IPSW from the link above if you did the official apple restore. This is found at %Userprofile%\Application Data\Apple Computer\iTunes\iPhone Software Updates it might be in different location for some people. Once i did that it was worked great. I for some reason could not downgrade must be a blob problem. Cydia says i have all blobs from 4.0 and greater stored and i uploaded before i restored. Not sure what's happening. i have seen at least 2 different addresses for saurik's server maybe one is incorrect.

Hello. I have been at this for quite some time and have had zero luck. I get into DFU and when I hit waiting for reboot everything just stops. nothing get rebooted nothing happens at all. All i can do is reboot the thing normally. got redsn0w running in xp sp3 mode and as admin. Any suggestions would be great. thanks

I had limera1n installed back in 4.0.2 and when i upgraded my iphone 3Gs with redsn0w i keep getting stuck on exploiting limra1n part of install. The install would just stay there. I tried restoring my iphone but didnt help. Help plz :(

topic says jailbreak and unlock for iphone 3gs on windows but the tutuorial says for 4 on mac

i jailbroke and then when trying to reboot after cydia is installed and installing roqy app all i have is the apple logo screen! please help! what do i do?? phone will not reboot normally!

I did it, and the Jailbreak and Unlock worked out perfect. --- BUT! --- I'm having problems with Push notifications, I RECEIVE NOTIFICATIONS THAT DON'T BELONG TO ME, on Twitter, Whatsapp, Facebook, etc... Anyone is having the same problem?

folks, it says above "If you are on 05.14 or 05.15 or higher you will need to do this to unlock." well, I am with a GS on software v4.0 with modem fw 4.26.08. would I need to upgrade to the v6.x modem firmware, too, to unlock? also, how to keep my baseband (if possible) at v4.26,08? I mean, when I restore to default firmware 4.2x using rightclick restore in itunes then it would upgrade the baseband also, wouldn't it?

I would upgrade and leave your baseband the same look for the tutorial to upgrade with out screwing up baseband. My baseband is still 4.03 from back in the day

when i restore my 3gs iphone firmware. in the end it shows error.(the iphone could not be restored an unknown error occured (1015), pls help me . i would be very greatful to you.

the download link for the redsn0w program doesn't seem to work...is there somewhere else i can download the program?

I am stuck at "waiting for reboot" screen. Any work around ideas? thx

I got everything ok, But everytime my phone turns power off or goes dead (no battery) it will not get on again, unless I launch RedSn0w, plug the iPhone in and select “just boot tethered” to kick boot my iPhone 3gs. This is very annoying as it means I have to carry a computer with me.

i'm using an iphone 3gs that has the old bootrom. after jailbreaking with redsnow, i found that it shows the white cydia icon. very strange.

Why nobody read the complete tutorial... man, there is one more step u need to go throw.... read the last 2 or 3 instruccions...u need to do the complete process one last time and you are set!!! the diference is that u use the window for unlock only.... and...done!!!!

Hi there. I have a 3Gs, 3.1.3., fw 05.12.01, it is jailbroken and unlocked. I would like to update to atleast 4.1 but not sure how. I did download the ispw file. Would I just need to go to iTunes and shift click the restore and go to the ispw file??? Thank you for your help in advance. :)

Yes Julieb, you can do that without upgraded your baseband so you can keep your baseband and do the unlock, don't use redsnow

Hi Nina, thanks for the response. I am a bit anal and a n00b at this. So I just want to make sure I got this right. I can go to iTunes click restore to 4.1 then after that I will have to take the steps to unlock again? Correct. Sorry if I sound dumb but I just want to make sure I do this correct. I had my iPhone for about 5 months just sitting there because I had the new bootrom and could not unlock it yet. Then Came across a chatroom that kept me updated but the chatroom is no longer there or their hiding.. :) So just want to double check.. thank you so much. Julie

Nina, I did the click restore to the 4.2 and itunes said that there was an error. Then when I boot my phone up it says to plug into itunes... I think I am messed up here. Any help would be much appreciated.. sigh..

iTunes says the phone is in recovery mode??

Hi julieb you have to hold shift key and hit restore and use tinyumbrella to kick the device out off recovery mode and use limer1an to jailkbroken, after all that u will have cydia and u can unlock with ultrasnow in cydia

Thank you Nina... I have got my phone back after using Tinyumbrella. Maybe it is not meant for me to update my phone. I am on 3.1.3 and fw 5.12.01 Jailbroken/Unlocked I was just wanted to update the OS to atleast 4 because some of the apps on Cydia or Apple are not compatible with 3.1.3... I really don't want to stay where I am at. thank you so much again.

I did the steps again and it said done but it didnt change anything. Same OS and fw... not sure what I am doing wrong..

Link for download RedSn0w is unviable.

HELP! The link to redsnow on this tutorial doesnt work. Can someone help me with where else I can download it from as I have tried it multiple times and it says google cant find it as i use google chrome internet browser and that there is an error

i cant dl redsnow 0.9.6b5 from tat link anyone can send? a new link?

im having the same problem and its driving me nuts!

hi i am new to iphone and i did jailbreak 4.2.1 with all baseband and all but after unlocking when i rebot that it the phone just stand still with apple logo if i have to start it again i have boot from redsnow every time help to over come this prob

FIXING THE LOOP FOR IPHONE 3GS ...STUCK ON RESTORE LOGO: https://forum.gsmhosting.com/vbb/f456/how-upgrade-iphone-3gs-4-2-1-bb-05-13-04-using-custom-firmware-guide-1154534/ if you want the easy way for dfu use iReb 4.0 then restore your iphone 3gs with the costum ipsw: https://ih8sn0w.com/index.php/welcome.snow

I've had the older model bb 5.15.04. I thought I don't need to do the unlock because 02 UK unlocked it for me , so I guess it was factory unlocked. I did the tutorial without the unlock, so I was still on my old bb. Well it went really well, until I noticed that my O2 unlock had gone! I thought it was permanent what O2 did, but obviously not because I couldn't use my t-mobile simcard anymore. Any Idea why the O2 unlock didn't work after I upgraded?

Hello , I am from india and had upgraded to 4.2.1 from 4.0 with my iphone 3G. The jail break and unlock had no errors.But after the reboot the carrier is still "searching". When i click in settings menu to select a carrier it says "Unable to load list of networks". Please help me.

So I finally got out of Recovery Mode, and back to 4.1 JB'd state. I have tried using redsn0w to get to 4.2.1 JB'd, but it keeps on failing. redsn0w runs its course, but I end up with a 4.1 JB'd phone at the end......any idea how I can upgrade to 4.2.1??

I have seen some similar scenarios as mine, but not identical. It has been several days since my phone has been stuck at the Restore Mode (itunes and USB logos), and I can really use to expert advice as to how I can get my phone working again. Background: iphone 3GS (built prior to the cut-off date, so it is an "older" model) Windows XP redsn0w History & Symptoms: I used redsn0w to JB the phone successfully, but I did not update to ipad BB. The result was that I did not have ANY cell signal at all. Realizing my BB was not supported, I re-run redsn0w, update to ipad BB. Still no cell signal AT ALL. Used wifi and Cydia to download Ultrasn0w. Finally got cell signal, but horrible battery life and ballooning data count. I read that this was related to the phone constantly searching for network validation. So I tried to re-run redsn0w again to see if something was amiss and it got stuck at the restore mode. I tried to reboot tethered, or put it into DFU mode and re-run redsn0w, but it always fail and returns to the Restore Mode. Has anyone been able to get out of a predicament such as this?? Please please help!!

Is this a joke?

chanimal, so in the end how did you get out of the Restore Mode (itunes and USB logos)?

Hi all, ~~~BEWARE~~~ It has been almost two weeks since I applied this tutorial to my 3GS (now with BB 06.15.00 and FW 4.21). Thus far, we know that GPS functionality is not there and speaking of which who knows when a fix will be available--let's hope sometime soon. But GPS aside, today I lost Wi-Fi :( During these two weeks is been working fine, no connection problems whatsoever. However, today I tried to download my email from various accounts and no connection was available. The strange thing is that the Wi-Fi symbol on the top bar of phone is shown as well as the network from Settings is listed and with check mark next to it. Has anybody out there experienced intermitent connections? In my case, I haven't been able to establish connection again, I think I've lost Wi-Fi for good. I tried a few reboots but it didn't address the problem. Please any solutions would be greatly appreciated.

My apologies to all, it seems that network I was trying to connect to had ceased leasing IPs, thus, rejecting connection. Yet, I think I have read in other forums issues with Wi-Fi whether is attributed to the 06.15.00 baseband I am not sure. Anyways, I just wanted to clarified my findings and again sorry for false alarm.

why in the fridge >? i read that some ware before does it really work if u place it in frige

I did as it said and when i turn on my iPhone it just says iClarified. Please help me

my phone is doing the same thing just says iclarified the little loading wheel comes up every once in awhile but doesnt do anything else...help!!!!

I have 3GS and when I attempt these steps first time it fails. Its start with Apple logo with Loading wheel and hangs there. Then I search on net and found recommendation for restore and I did. The restore fails which I understand due to baseband updatation to 6.15 so I repeat the guide again. This time everything went perfect but I am not sure why this iTune Logo is coming up every time I starts. Even doing last step of "Just boot tethered right now" again and again my phone is not starting. Please suggest some solution.

Hi all, I stuck in dfu mood (itunes logo) for a long time.... I tried so many time to JB my iphone 3gs with latest BB (06.15.00) with redsn0w but met no luck!! Can anyone in this world help me?? is it ok for me to restore using official apple fw 4.2.1 and JB using redsn0w? anyone ever tried this? Thanx in advance

Those who get stuck in the uploading ramd disk part under windows seven 64bit: Rightclick the redsnow exe file and select properties, go to compatibilty tab and select windows xp service pack 3 form the list. Then apply/OK. Then rightclick again on the exe file and select run as adminstrator and follow the guidelines from the tutorial. Doing so manage to jailbreak my 3GS (old model) within a few minutes. One thing i did: if you tried before to jailbreak, and the redsnow hangs at the uploading ramdisk part, i replaced the official iphone firmware file with a new downloaded copy since it was patching the kernel of the file. But this was done in the non-compatible setting. Just in case... Cheers.

I followed up the instruction to jailbreak my 3GS and it was done completely but after rebooting, it has never started up and I just can see the apple sign even after half a hour. my 3GS was 4.1 and i tried to upgrade the base band to be able to unlock it. anybody can help me?

Once you have the Apple screen, start process where you push off button for several secs, then the home button then realease the off button... it will work as if it was off... it happpend to me to and know 6 days enjoying this new firmware... gook luck

Thanks Capitanloria, but the same happened again. i don't know what is wrong! :-(

Same situation. Now I can restore my phone SW to 4.1 and the BB is 6,15. can anyone help please? If I'm trying restore to 4,2,1 i getting error 1015

Hey I got Iphone 3GS with new bootroom.... I jailbreaked.. and i tethered with the redsnow... but still my iphone 3gs shows connect to itunes logo. and i try it with my another Iphone 3gs old bootrom its hangs when its jailbrak the iphone so plase can you help?

I did everything the way is explained, my iPhone 3Gs was stuck at the reboot stage. and now it only shows the restore screen. I tried restoring with the iPhone2,1_4.2.1_8C148a_Restore but iTunes always comes back with a 1501 error message. What can I do? PleASE HELP the phone is a gift for my wife.

Need help please. I got past the first part, but when it goes to "Uploading ramdisk" . It simply stalls out and does nothing. I have tried it three times now, each time it seems to get less further along. I have left it for 15 minutes with no change...does anyone know the problem?

you need to right click over redsnow archive and set compatibility mode to win xp, after that, open redsnow and leave it open, then open the windows task manager, open "processes" look for redsnow, right click, set affinity, and then uncheck one of the cores... that´s it!!! it doesnt present problems with dual cores cpus.... good luck!!

Need Help. I downloaded the first file with no problems. I have the 4.2.1 version on the phone already so I don't need to do step 2. Problem is the other link that is provided iPhone2,1_4.2.1_8C148a_Restore.ipsw downloads into a zipped folder. I can't find this file inside it when I extract it. Not sure what to do, please help.

when u download sw, in the file type do "All file" and then add ".ipsw" ahead of the file name like this "iPhone2,1_4.2.1_8C148a_Restore.ipsw". sorry 4 bad english

can someone pls help me, i did everything right and my phone is jailbreak n unlocked, ungraded bb to 6.15. n upgrade itune. the problem now is that itune cannot recognize my iphone 3gs. what is wrong guyz ? i just wanna get my contatct and apps back from itune backup

REALLY NEED HELP!!! Guys I follow the tutorial to the letter. I have an IPhone 3g. Using the tutorial it now has 4.2.1 and I'm assuming the IPad baseband because after this issue happened and I tried to put in the original ipsw it errored out. I went through the tutorial and everything worked fine and the phone was in the process of jailbreaking. It get's the screen with the pinapple and comment saying "Installing Activation Bundles" and then reboots before the status bar gets to complete. After the reboot it gets to the screen saying "Connect to Itunes". Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. I've been working on this pretty much non-stop for 3 days.

if you really wanna use ur iphone, i d suggest u go back to 4.1... thats the safest bet... i am stuck at d same stage.. i had no option but to go back to 4.1.. gud luck m8

Im experiencing the same thing on my end. it never get past at "Installing Activation Bundles".. what should i do next??? pls help us..

Hi!! i jailbreaked my iphone 3gs 4.1 and got the ipad baseband now everything works fine! thats imba!! but the battery SUCKS! do some one know why :S or how i can fix it ?! :'( need help!!

STUCK 3GS 06.15. Recovery MODE .... SOLVED yesterday I upgraded to 4.2.1 with baseband 6.15. Then unlocked it without wifi. Tried to install applications using cyder but springboard crashed and everything got screwed up. In the end it was stuck in recovery mode. Then I came across this site and followed ur steps. U saved my day. Everything went on exactly like you have described. 1) Downloaded 4.1 stock firmware 2) changed the hosts file C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\Etc\ @ the end put #74.208.11.249 gs.apple.com (Remeber edit the file host .. Run as Adm.. ) 3) Then I put my iphone 3g in DFU mode 4) Opened Itunes browsed to stock 4.1 and then shift+restore 5) 1015 error came and using tiny umbrella kicked it out 6) Then I used redsn0w 0.9b5 to jailbreak it using stock 4.1 7) itunes recovery mode again 8) Result- 4.1 up and running unlocked, its faster than before and Edge working perfectly. What more I am able to update my cydia as i speak.

what was the tiny umbrella thing that you were explaining...! I do have 3gs with new bootroom and i am still stuck in receovery mode.. logo..... help

at the recovery mode stage... use tiny umbrella to "EXIT RECOVERY" it shoud be at the top most right hand corner of the application... after ur done exiting the recovery mode, use redsnow to jailbreak it.. u have to knw that wenever ur iphone battery goes dead.. u ll have to use redsnow to reboot it..

Jack, you said you updated your 3gs to fw 4.2.1 with bb 06.15.00 and then downgraded it back to fw 4.1?

Which website is this that you referred to?

Hey I got Iphone 3GS with new bootroom.... I jailbreaked.. and i tethered with the redsnow... but still my iphone 3gs shows connect to itunes logo. HELP

I got the same problem... Can someone pls help? Million in advance.