How To: Unlock and Activate iPhone on iOS 5 [teathered]

So i spent some time the other day trying to unlock and activate an iPhone 3GS (also works for other models and iPad)... So rather than letting this be forgotten forever (because it took a while!) I'd thought i'd make a blog about my findings.


Preliminaries
- Latest version of iTunes
- Redsn0w [Which version?]
- Tiny Umbrella (Used to find out the firmware version)
- The Target Firmware [Files here]



!!Things to note!!

Teathered vs. Unteathered?
This simply means, weather you need a computer to start your phone. If a release of redsn0w offers a Teathered solution, then !everytime! your phone turns off (out of battery, new app install etc.) you will need to plug it into your computer and use redsn0w to boot the phone! The batteries are pretty decent, so you probably don't even care or it's no big deal.

Which firmware shall I get?
Currently, if you want an UNTEATHERED solution (basically the phone can boot by itself) then firmware 4.3.3 is what you need. Currently there is no unteathered solution for the latest firmware (including: 4.3.4, 4.3.5 and 5).

I want UNTEATHERED, but, I have later than 4.3.3 on my iPhone!?
Most website will tell you that you need SHSH Blobs in order to do this. If you don't know what they are or you didn't upgrade your iPhone before, chances are you won't have them. Check my Blog post on what SHSH blobs are HERE
Apparently there IS solution to do this, I have not tried it personally. You can find it here



OK enough preliminaries, lets do it!....

1. Ok this guide is for iOS 5 and TEATHERED, so lets get iOS 5 on the iPhone. If your not sure weather you have it already, connect the iPhone to the computer and open TinyUmbrella. This will tell you your current firmware version. If you already have iOS 5, skip steps 3-5.

2. Put iPhone in DFU mode HOWTO VIDEO HERE

3. Connect iPhone to computer, and use 'Restore', this will prompt you to install the latest firmware (iOS 5).

4. You now have the latest and greatest firmware!

5. Ok, now, lets jailbreak.... download firmware for iOS 5 (links above or here). If you already did an update through iTunes, this will already be in your downloaded directory. See below to find this...

On Windows XP :
Documents and Settings\\Application Data\Apple Computer\iTunes\iPhone Software Updates

On Windows Vista/Windows 7:
Users\\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\iTunes\iPhone Software Updates

On Mac:
~/Library/iTunes/iPhone Software Updates

6. Now you have the firmware handy, open redsn0w for your current firmware version. Currently, 0.9.9b4 for windows or 0.9.9b5 for mac.

7. Click extras and specify firmware manually. Point to the iOS 5 firmware (*.ispw).

8. Go back and hit the jailbreak button. Select 'Install Cydia', continue to next dialog which will ask you to put the phone into DFU mode. HOWTO VIDEO HERE

9. Redsn0w will do all its business, don't touch the iPhone until it finishes, it stops on the spinner (which has probably stopped spinning).

10. Ok the jailbreak is done, but like I said, its teathered. So open redsn0w, click extras, and we just want to boot the iPhone. Click the button, and prepare to enter DFU mode again. This is a bit trickier with a phone that won't turn off.

Note: If your jailbreak left you on the crashed spinner, don't worry its fine. Simply hold the power and home buttons for 10secs until the phone does a hard reset. Once the phone resets, proceed with the DFU instructions!

11. Ok you should see a pineapple logo on the iPhone if done correctly, and the iPhone will boot up. You should be able to use the iPhone to its full extent, unless you need to unlock your iPhone to any network, then only your calls will not work. If you need to unlock as well, follow the rest of this guide....

12. Next step (for the unlock), you need a WIFI connection! It'll probably say 'No Service' in the top left corner.

13. Open Cydia (now on dashboard) and search for ultrasn0w. Download and install this and it will ask you to reboot when you are done. (Don't forget you need to boot using redsn0w as its teathered!)

14. When you re-boot, your iPhone should is unlocked and ready to party!



OK i've done all of this, but still 'No Service'!?

1. Ok first, disabled 3G (general settings > Network > Enable 3G)
2. Toggle airplane mode (this will refresh the signal).

If this does not work, then you may need to update your base band (basically a firmware update for your inbuilt modem). We will update this to match the iPad's baseband (currently v06.15.00), works just as well. There are somethings you should be aware of before doing this though!! - Personally, I needed to do this myself!


OK i've decided to update my base band, how do I do this?!

1. First, double check you actually don't already have v06. (Settings > General > About > Modem Firmware).
2. Re-run the jailbreak process again, but when you check 'Install Cydia', also check 'Install iPad base band'... this will do the jailbreak, but also update your modem firmware.
3. Check on iPhone that the modem firmware was updated to v06.
4. Repeat the process above to unlock the phone with ultrasn0w.
5. Awesome!



OK I DON'T WANT THIS JAILBREAK STUFF ANYMORE, HELP!?

1. Plug into Computer via. USB.
2. Put phone in DFU mode.
3. Click 'Restore' in iTunes.
4. Sorted!