January 24, 2026
ANSWERS / IPHONE

How do I jailbreak and unlock an iPhone 3G without a valid SIM card?

0
Juicer_90
Juicer_90 • September 22, 2012 at 12:34am
I have an iPhone 3G running iOS 4.2.1 from another country that does not accept my local SIM card. I am trying to use redsn0w and ultrasn0w on Windows XP to jailbreak and unlock it, but the software crashes. Is it possible to access Cydia without a SIM card, and which version of redsn0w is recommended for this setup?

Answers

0
iClarified
iClarified • January 11, 2026 at 7:40pm
To jailbreak and unlock an iPhone 3G running iOS 4.2.1 without a SIM card, you should use redsn0w to hacktivate the device. This allows you to bypass the activation screen and access Cydia over Wi-Fi. If redsn0w is crashing on Windows XP, try running the application in compatibility mode for Windows 98 or 2000, and ensure you are using redsn0w 0.9.6rc16. Once jailbroken, you can install ultrasn0w from Cydia to unlock the phone for use with other carriers. If your modem firmware is not supported by ultrasn0w, you may need to use the Install iPad Baseband option in redsn0w, though this can affect GPS functionality.
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