i need some advice, please 3gs...

[falcmik]

Ive had several 2g iphones jail broken and unlocked for a few years, so i have a little(very little but not completely new) experience with this stuff. when my last 2g died, a friend offered to give me his 3gs!! (he just got it from the apple store in October brand new, as a replacement for one he had found on the sidewalk in a rainstorm.) instead of buying one off craigslist and unlocking it. He said that it was jail broken, and i just had to do the unlock. I got home with it and powered it on-
and it powers on, then the slide to unlock screen opens, slide to unlock and the main screen opens, EXCEPT there is nothing, at all just the wall paper back ground and the dock which is empty as well. swiping finger to right will bring up the search window the keyboard will open if the search field it tapped, and terms can be entered, tapping search closed the keyboard but it does not search.below the search field you are given two choices -
search web or
search Wikipedia
choosing either one brings up unsupported URL error.
and that's it.
i asked him what he did to it his answer was, he jail broke it when he first go it, and when he got his iphone4, he did a backup from his computer and when it was done it was this way.
its a 3GS
iOS 4.0.2
it is jail broken (iphone browser confirmed that). if i put my tmobile sim in it when it starts the signal bar in the upper left corner shows 1 bar, but itunes says sim is unsupported etc...so its not unlocked.
i need to reload the iOS obviously, and i tried, got the ipsw for 4.0.2 and itunes 9.2.1 sees the phone, shift restore and get error- unknown error has occurred iphone can not be restored (error 3194). uninstalled itunes 9.2.1 and installed the newest itunes, it saw the phone too and shift restore- same error. I tried running redsn0w but it cant confirm the ipsw version. i dont know how to proceed. any suggestions? i dont know if he saved shsh blobs, i doubt it.
i would appreciate any suggestions thanks
mike

[iYeow]

Run tiny umbrella , plug your iphone and click save shsh to see your shsh blob. If you only have 4.2.1 , then you can only restore to 4.2.1 and nothing else.

[blkcadi]

That should at least get it running again (restoring) hopefully. Follow iYeow's instructions, download and run tiny umbrella, see what ya got and let us know.

[Orby]

That should at least get it running again (restoring) hopefully. Follow iYeow's instructions, download and run tiny umbrella, see what ya got and let us know.

Your unlock will come courtesy of redsn0w 0.9.6b6 after restoring to 4.1 or 4.2.1 (depending on SHSH hashes). Untethered JB on 4.1 and earlier (all bootrom) and 4.2.1 (old bootrom only). Tethered JB otherwise.

...you're telling me you found that phone on the ground out in the rain?! I'll take you at your word on your acquisition of that phone, but if you found it in the rain, how the hell does that thing not have any visible water damage (I don't see the red disk in the USB connector, and the screen is spotless).

You're one lucky man, unless Apple thinks that phone is stolen and revoked its ECID for SHSH signing. In which case, you're screwed.

[blkcadi]

^no, he said his friend got the found one in the rain replaced by Apple. That doesn't make a whole bunch of sense cause if the moisture sensors as you mentioned orb.

[Orby]

^no, he said his friend got the found one in the rain replaced by Apple. That doesn't make a whole bunch of sense cause if the moisture sensors as you mentioned orb.

You're right, reading fail.

On the sidewalk in the rain, the odds are way too high that the thing would get stepped on or there would be at least some moisture damage on the screen/bezel/moisture detector would trip (and those things are REALLY sensitive). The warranty would be voided, I would hope any Genius would notice it immediately, and would refuse to replace it (which explains no water damage on this model, it's a 'replacement.'

Upon further examination, I'm starting to question the validity of this story. Especially the blank app screen--Exchange nukes the user partition of iPhones differently than MobileMe, or a JB program could as well.

Somebody may want this unit back at any rate if you know this to really be less-than-legitimate. Be a nice person.

[falcmik]

I was not there when he found it, but i did see him write and post a found a lost iphone listing for craigslist, which he maintained ( he claims) for 2 months. i also know that the moisture indicator inside the phone had turned pink (indicating moisture damage)so why they gave him a new one i have no clue but I was with him when he went to the apple store (i went to find how much a replacement battery for my 2g would cost). i would not have accepted they gift if i thought there had been any thing shady with it.

the screen shot is the new phone he received from apple, he jail broke it and had been using it since October, then he got a iphone 4, offered the 3gs to me, he said he then did a back up from his computer and when the back up was done this is how it was. The iOS on it according to iTunes and iphone browser is 4.0.2, which is what it came new from with. so if i ran tiny umbrella and saved my shsh blobs they would be saved as..? ill do it now and see what happens. thanks.