Stuck in recovery mode - printenv empty

[BrainBurner]

Hi,

my iPhone 3G unlocked and jailbreaked with redsn0w in 4.2.1 got stuck in recovery mode.

I think it happens during a crash of a Cydia installation..
Now my iPhone is only displaying the iTunes icon, and I can do nothing at all!

I already tried to restore it, but it's not helping the problem is (seems) always the same!
Restoring with Pwnage Tools I also get an error 1015 when the iPhone should restart and do the unlock (it never starts after the installation of the firmware!).

Reading on the web I found iRecovery, I tried it, but printenv is returning nothing! Also setenv (with and without arguments) seems useless.

Any idea what else can I do?

Thanks a lot for some help!

[i.Annie]

Downgrade your phone to stock 3.1.3. Then when you get error 1015 or 1013, kick it out if recovery with TinyUmbrella. Then you can upgrade back to 4.2.1 if you want and run Redsn0w 0.9.6b6 on it again. If you want, you could go to 4.1 with PwnageTool or if you don't have a Mac, you can use a PwnageTool made custom 4.1 firmware. Youll just have to jailbreak on 3.1.3 first with redsn0w 0.9.4 before using the custom firmware to go to 4.1.

[Orby]

Downgrade your phone to stock 3.1.3. Then when you get error 1015 or 1013, kick it out if recovery with TinyUmbrella. Then you can upgrade back to 4.2.1 if you want and run Redsn0w 0.9.6b6 on it again. If you want, you could go to 4.1 with PwnageTool or if you don't have a Mac, you can use a PwnageTool made custom 4.1 firmware. Youll just have to jailbreak on 3.1.3 first with redsn0w 0.9.4 before using the custom firmware to go to 4.1.

First question: what is your baseband at currently?

If it's at anything OTHER than 05.15.04, trying to restore to 4.2.1 will always* end with an unbootable Recovery mode.

Assuming you have a non-05.15.04 baseband... it's good to learn that apparently the NVRAM environment variable section is EMPTY on mismatched BB/iOS versions. Which explains why the device is unbootable from a "setenv" command vis-à-vis TU and iRecovery...

(*working to change that from "always" to "usually")

[BrainBurner]

Thanks, I'm now in 3.1.3 with baseband 06.15. At least I got the iPhone out of the recovery mode!

I tried to upgrade back on 4.1.2 back I found the same situation as before (iPhone not exiting recovery mode).
What is exactly the procedure I have to follow to bring my iPhone 3G at 4.2.1 unlocked with baseband 06.15?

I tried to restore from 3.1.3 to 4.2.1 but I cannot exit recovery mode.
I tried to simply update from 3.1.3 to 4.2.1, but I get error 14.

[i.Annie]

If restoring to stock 4.2.1 is giving you problems, you'll want to go back to 3.1.3, jb it, then use a custom firmware to upgrade to 4.2.1. If you have a Mac you can use PwnageTool. If you don't have a Mac, you'll have to find someone who can send you the custom fw or find the custom fw online on your own. Just make sure if you don't have an AT&T SIM to activate with that you get an activated version of the custom firmware. And one that doesn't include the baseband update since you already did that part.

[BrainBurner]

Thanks everybody for the help!
I now succeed and I have my iPhone back to work!

What I was doing wrong was the custom firmware.. I was using creating a custom firmware with iPad baseband, which I already installed before...

[Orby]

Thanks everybody for the help!
I now succeed and I have my iPhone back to work!

What I was doing wrong was the custom firmware.. I was using creating a custom firmware with iPad baseband, which I already installed before...

Wait, so a custom firmware for 4.2.1 without any baseband update in it got you to iOS 4.2.1 (probably with a 1015 error, but you would apparently have been able to kick it out) with baseband 06.15.00? Did you restore or upgrade to this firmware?

Figuring out a reproducible series of steps to get 06.15 to boot on CFW 4.2.1 would be very nice for everybody who has been stuck on it.

[i.Annie]

I think because it's a custom fw it worked. I know almost 100% sure if it were a stock 4.2.1 it wouldn't gotten stuck in recovery again. OP restored from 4.2.1 to 3.1.3 then upgraded to 4.2.1 custom.

[Orby]

I think because it's a custom fw it worked. I know almost 100% sure if it were a stock 4.2.1 it wouldn't gotten stuck in recovery again. OP restored from 4.2.1 to 3.1.3 then upgraded to 4.2.1 custom.

You see, that's what I don't get.

I had somebody else (on a 3G) restore to a custom 4.2.1 with the 06.15 BB update, get locked out, then restore to a CFW from pwned DFU /without/ a baseband update, and they still got stuck in unbootable Recovery.

BrainBurner, would you please post the size and/or MD5/SHA1 digests of your PwnageTool-made IPSW that got you past the Recovery logo? Was it hacktivated? No baseband update? Any pre-installed programs?

[i.Annie]

Did that person try to downgrade to 3.1.3 first then try the custom fw to 4.2.1 yet? It could help us understand if s second person did this.

[Orby]

Did that person try to downgrade to 3.1.3 first then try the custom fw to 4.2.1 yet? It could help us understand if s second person did this.

No, I directed them straight from one CFW 4.2.1 (with BB update) to another 4.2.1 CFW (with enable BB update unchecked).

They reported that TinyUmbrella didn't even give them the option to kick their phone out of recovery at all.

I've been talking with iH8sn0w about this, he thinks it's not intentionally designed to fail nor an Apple-placed check in the firmware, but rather, is a boot-argument not being set correctly as the ramdisk/iBoot finish restoring.

Because I haven't seen a single person who updated as opposed to restored affected, printenv apparently comes back clean on a phone stuck like this, plus "setenv auto-boot true" doesn't do anything, I think it's a different flag set very early by the ramdisk failing due to a glitch/failing to pass the check (in iBoot, thereby never touching the NVRAM E.V. section).

Still... Brainburner, I'd love to know what you did differently that allowed you to succeed when the person I coached didn't get their device working. MD5/SHA1/size would be greatly appreciated.

[BrainBurner]

Sorry for the delay in the reply, but I was traveling without connection..

1. iPhone 3G to stock 4.2.1, then redsn0w 0.96b5 to update activate, jailbreak and update the baseband.
2. (unlock with ultrasn0w)

Everything was then working nice.
Then something happened (during a Cydia installation) and the iPhone went into Recovery mode.

3. (not 100% sure about this step) Restore to stock 4.2.1
The iPhone was stuck in Recovery mode. Nothing from printenv, and TinyUmbrella was not helping either.

4. Restore to custom 4.2.1 with iPad baseband
Nothing usefull here..

5. Restore to stock 3.1.3, TinyUmbrella on error 1015 (working)
6. Activation and jailbreak with redsn0w 0.9.4 (selecting stock firmware 3.1.2)
This got my iPhone 3G in 3.1.3 working again (well, I didn't test the unlock, but I think ultrasn0w should be able to do that)

Then I tried some steps to bring it in 4.2.1, but they didn't work:
- restore to custom 4.2.1 with iPad baseband (not working)
- restore to stock 4.2.1 (not working)
[before every try I was coming back to step 5&6]

7. Restore in custom 4.2.1 without iPad baseband (no 1015 problems)
WORKING!!!
8. Unlock with ultrasn0w


I created custom firmware with Pwnage Tool 4.1.3, here are details on the firmware I used:
- stock 3.1.2:
iPhone1,2_3.1.2_7D11_Restore.ipsw, 253.3MB
MD5 (iPhone1,2_3.1.2_7D11_Restore.ipsw) = fc9d1c3f6dacb7e97639ac09a088f41a
- stock 3.1.3:
iPhone1,2_3.1.3_7E18_Restore.ipsw, 239.1MB
MD5 (iPhone1,2_3.1.3_7E18_Restore.ipsw) = 82e93e4e51b0e4503a8165507b8a3df2
- stock 4.2.1:
iPhone1,2_4.2.1_8C148_Restore.ipsw, 338.6MB
MD5 (iPhone1,2_4.2.1_8C148_Restore.ipsw) = 8b1657935408a1638b69740b282f62b3
- custom 4.2.1 without baseband update (the working one!)
iPhone1,2_4.2.1_8C148_Ripristino_Personalizzato.ip sw, 346.9MB
MD5 (iPhone1,2_4.2.1_8C148_Ripristino_Personalizzato.i psw) = 95cb48883acfa6b15a6a149198ea71c3


I hope this is all what you need. Otherwise just ask!