Problem: Upgrading JB 3G to 4.1 with sn0wbreeze

[Castun]

So I had my iPhone 3G already jailbroken on 3.1.2 with blackra1n for quite some time now with no problems. Decided to finally try to upgrade to 4.1 simply because there are more and more apps out there I wanted (both Cydia & App Store) that needed iOS4.

I followed the general jailbreaking guide here on the forums, and went with the sn0wbreeze method. Got the stock 4.1 restore ipsw, iTunes 10 & sn0wbreeze, created a new custom firmware. Everything went smoothly at first, got to the green screen DFU no problem, but iTunes refused to restore it, kept giving me error 21. Was able to kick it out of restore mode with TinyUmbrella with no problem, nothing changed yet. I seen other suggestions on the web (not here though) to try restoring with the standard DFU mode when you get error 21. That worked at first, it showed the sn0wbreeze boot logo after a few seconds, then got the progress bar.

But here’s where things went wrong, I think the progress bar was only at around 75% when iTunes hit me with error 37 and stopped the restore. Now I was stuck at a blank screen (iTunes still detected it as a device waiting to be restored) but was unable to get it to reboot properly, or get it back into the standard restore / DFU mode. TinyUmbrella would kick it out but it was stuck in the DFU loop it seems. I was still able to get it to the green screen DFU but of course iTunes just refused to restore again with the error 21. If I tried the restore from the blank screen I got error 1600.

I ended up restoring back to the stock 3.1.2, and was rather annoyed because in my rush to get it finished before I had to head out last night I had forgotten to back up my contacts. At least I did remember to back up all my music & video with SSH & WinSCP the other night before, so it wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been. I suppose that's what I get though for following random advice on the net.

However, I’m back in the same boat I was before. f0recast still shows my phone as unlocked, and always jailbreakable, but with the green screen DFU & sn0wbreeze, I still get error 21.

Any ideas? Should I just try the redsn0w method instead?

[Simon]

For iPhone 3G make sure you are using snowbreeze 2.0.2 (not 2.1). Use redsnow to put the phone in pwned dfu first then shift restore to the custom one in itunes.

[Castun]

Ahh, that could be it, I know I was using sn0wbreeze 2.1. I'll give that a shot when I get home, thanks!

[Simon]

No prob, snowbreeze 2.1 has big issues for iPhone 3G so should definitely be avoided right now.

[Castun]

For iPhone 3G make sure you are using snowbreeze 2.0.2 (not 2.1). Use redsnow to put the phone in pwned dfu first then shift restore to the custom one in itunes.

I keep getting an error with redsn0w, it's unable to recognize the IPSW when I choose either the 3.1.2 (which is what I'm still on) or the 3.1.3 when choosing the CURRENT firmware. It only wants to recognize the stock 4.1 restore firmware. I've tried several different versions of redsn0w also.

[Simon]

I thought you were using snowbreeze?

[i.Annie]

Have you tried redsn0w 0.9.4 then? That's the one for 3.1.3 and 3.1.2.

Aside from that...why do you need redsn0w?

[Castun]

I thought you were using snowbreeze?

Well yes but you also said:

Use redsnow to put the phone in pwned dfu first then shift restore to the custom one in itunes.

I got sn0wbreeze 2.0.2, and also tried to use iReb to get the phone to the green screen, but I still get iTunes error 21 with shift+restore (using iTunes 10.1.1.4)

[Simon]

Aah, ok. Use a regular 4.1 firmware with redsnow to put the phone in pwned dfu first.

[i.Annie]

I don't think iReb is necessary, just the pwned dfu should do.

[Castun]

OK, with redsn0w, used the stock 4.1 firmware, got the phone into blank screen DFU, and now iTunes is giving me error 1600 when trying to shift-restore with the sn0wbreezed 4.1 firmware.

[Simon]

Do you have the latest itunes installed?

[Castun]

Do you have the latest itunes installed?

Yes, 10.1.1.4.

[Simon]

Try the restore from recovery mode (cable on screen) instead of dfu.

[Castun]

Tried twice, almost seemed like it was going to work each time, took about 5 minutes or so of 'Preparing iPhone for restore...' but then errors out, this time with error 1604.

[Simon]

Ok, try rebooting the computer and then go the redsnow pwned dfu route again.

[Castun]

Tried that again, same as before. iTunes begins to prepare it, then after a few seconds you hear the sound of a USB device disconnecting, then reconnecting and gives the error 1600.

[i.Annie]

Have you tried another computer? Did you ever edit your host file before?

[Simon]

Ok, try this:

Shift restore to a regular 3.1.2 firmware.
Use redsnow 0.9.4 (browse for 3.1.2 firmware) to jailbreak.
Once jailbroken go into itunes with phone booted up normally and shift restore to the custom 4.1 you made with snowbreeze 2.0.2

[Castun]

Have you tried another computer? Did you ever edit your host file before?

No and no. Don't have another computer with me to try it on at the moment.

Ok, try this:

Shift restore to a regular 3.1.2 firmware.
Use redsnow 0.9.4 (browse for 3.1.2 firmware) to jailbreak.
Once jailbroken go into itunes with phone booted up normally and shift restore to the custom 4.1 you made with snowbreeze 2.0.2

I'll give this a shot and let you know.

OK, redsn0w successfully jailbroken on 3.1.2, but when trying to shift+restore to 4.1 on iTunes (with normal recovery mode) still gives me error 1604.

Trying again with redsn0w's pwned DFU gives error 1600, and trying with iREB's green screen gives error 21.