Backing up iPhone 3G data without passcode

[zMario]

Hi guys,

I have an iPhone 3G running 3.1.3, however I dropped the phone and now the screen is unresponsive, and will not display anything.

The touch screen will not respond no matter what, even if I pretend where the slider is to unlock the phone, and if someone calls me the phone rings, but I cannot slide it to answer the phone.

However, I do know that the phone is still working, because iTunes recognizes it. I would like to back up the data on the phone, and put it on to another iPhone, but the problem is iTunes will not allow me to back up the data without entering the passcode (which I cannot do due to the touch screen being unresponsive).

Is there a way I can possibly A) remove the passcode manually or B) backup the data without having to enter the passcode in (all I care about are the contacts)

I have searched the internet for a solution, and found the iPhone Finder and such programs, however the iPhone is not jailbroken so I cannot use any of those programs.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

[Mes]

The passcode is required the very first time the iPhone is sync'd to iTunes. Subsequent syncs are fine.

[zMario]

The passcode is required the very first time the iPhone is sync'd to iTunes. Subsequent syncs are fine.

Basically I need to find the computer I synced with?

Also what if this sync was 6 months ago... would I still be okay?

[Mes]

A sync replaces all backups regardless of how long ago it was last sync'd.
Using the original computer will not require a password.

[zMario]

The original computer is completly obsolete. However, I have the hard drive from the original computer.

Can I take the files off of that and put them in my new one, which would make iTunes think its the same old computer? And if so, where would these files be?

[Mes]

Likely no. If you use the hard drive in your new computer and reauthorized the iTunes account it ...may... work.

[zMario]

Right, I gave it a long shot and it still ended up not working.

Is it possible for me to be able to jailbreak the phone without being able to touch it, and then use a iPhone Browser type program to navigate to my contact list, and/or delete the passcode keychain file and then back it up using iTunes? All I'm interested in is my contacts.

Or could I possibly put it into DFU mode, and then use some type of script to take the passcode off so iTunes can backup the data, which can then be transfered onto antoher phone?

[Mes]

Oh well, it was worth a shot.
Jailbreaking (or rejailbreaking ) won't release the password or provide any better access.
There's likely a way among the expert forensic scientists to bypass the passcode.
But these are way above our heads.

[zMario]

Well, what I was thinking was that if the iPhone is jailbroken, then I could access the read-file system using one of those iPhone Browser programs, in which I could manually extract the Address Book out of the phone, correct? And then from there of course decoding said Address Book becomes another issue in its own, but theoretically it could work?

[Mes]

Theoretically yes. This thread may get you started:
Emergency SSH access using a pwn'd DFU mode RamDisk

Don't take this personal, but MMi is very concerned w/privacy, security, theft and the like. Helping someone break passwords is not something we embrace.

[zMario]

What changes / modifications would I need to use this on a 3G device?

Sorry about all the questions / being a nuisance, I'd just really like this to work out for me lol

[Mes]

What changes / modifications would I need to use this on a 3G device? l

The guide was written for those who have experience. My suggestion is stay away unless you're an expert.

[zMario]

Right, so I started following the guide, and used iRecovery instead, since I first attempted to do it with TetheredBoot, but it said that the Identified device was iPhone 1,2 and that it was incompatible with this jailbreak / exploit.

So then, I used iRecovery, but iRecovery will not even recognize the phone.
I definitely set up the ramdisk correctly with the usage of a custom 3.1.3 firmware made through PwnageTool (initially used sn0wbreeze, but for some reason the RamDisk program would crash, so I used my MacBook and then moved the file, and got past that obstacle)

But now I'm at this point, where TetheredBoot recognizes the phone in recovery/DFU mode, but says its incompatible, while iRecovery doesn't recognize it at all.

Any help? lol

[Mes]

The ramdisk (and access methods ) are different between iOS 3.x and 4.x.
My guide covers 4.x (not 3.x !). There is a link to another side with details on 3.x

[zMario]

Are you talking about this site that you linked to? Mostly iPhone hacking: Booting SSH ramdisk on new devices

I followed their instructions as well (with iRecovery), and my phone isn't recognized.

Unless I've missed something - once again sorry about all this lol.

[Mes]

It took me about a month's research, testing, experimenting, and read read read to make the 4.0 guide --- and I have experience. Can't tell you how important google was to my research. Had to sift thru tons lots of junk, but the keys were there. Hidden of course, but there.

Nothing that I found was simple for 3.x. I didn't need it so I didn't do the homework to make a guide. If you're determined, you will make it work because it uses the same methodology as jailbreaking.

[zMario]

Ugh time to find some coffee

[Mes]

^Yep, and lots of it !! And some Rogaine to regrow the pulled-out hair

[zMario]

Ok, so I thought I'd take a step back and look at the overall situation again (since I feel there are several solutions to my problem)

Hardware wise, what could cause the fail for the screen to not display nor the touch screen to work - I've used 2 different screens, and installed them correctly in the iPhone, and even had someone else install the screen (without me saying anything) to make sure I was doing it right, and both screens failed.

While there is probably no fix for that (whatever the situation may be), I have come up with a new solution, which hopefully Mes or someone can look at and see if theoretically it sounds good:

I jailbreak the iPhone with redsn0w, which would therefore not involve restoring the iPhone with another firmware through iTunes (like PwnageTool or blackra1n involves), and thus would retain my data. Then, once jailbroken, I can use any of the iPhone Finder type programs to manually retrieve my data (Address Book, SMS, etc) and thus life would be perfect once more.

Any flaws? Or did I miss something and redsn0w actually does delete everything on the phone and starts it as new (with Cydia).

Just to add, so my thought process is clear for everyone/anyone reading, I got the hint from Mes saying that I need to use the same methodology of jailbreaking, so I revisited jailbreaking the phone and realized that the guide he wrote is essentially jailbreaking a bricked phone (which isn't the case for me) so lets just simply jailbreak the phone while retaining the data - thus allowing readwrite access to the hard drive of the iPhone, which will allow me to use one of the many programs out there (planning on using iPhone Finder) to withdraw the necessary files that I want (Address Book SQList, and sms.db). Redsn0w will/should give me the read/write access I want through the usage of AFC2 support.

Just want the all-clear from someone who is more knowledgeable than I am before I do something that makes the whole project useless (aka deleting the entire phone and having nothing at all).

[Mes]

....so I revisited jailbreaking the phone and realized that the guide he wrote is essentially jailbreaking a bricked phone (which isn't the case for me) so lets just simply jailbreak the phone while retaining the data -...

Not different. The beginning process is the same in both cases. Getting access to the iPhone.