Question about sn0wbreeze and PwnageTool method for iPhone 3G

[Celestica]

I read the awesome pdf guides by i.Annie and they cleared up a lot of general questions I had about jailbreaking and unlocking iPhone 3G on iOS4.2.1. I have some questions about the sn0wbreeze and PwnageTool custom firmware methods for unlocking.

- I'm using iPhone 3G on iOS4.0, and never went past that so I still have 05.13.04 baseband
- I would like to preserve the 05.13.04 baseband and not switch to the iPad 06.15.00 baseband
- Basically iPhone 3G + iOS 4.2.1 + jailbreak + unlock + preserve 05.13.04 baseband; but if it's not stable then I'm fine with just staying on 4.0

In the guide it was mentioned sn0wbreeze does not work well with iPhone 3G, I have some questions:

- What doesn't work well, like what bugs are present?
- From the quote "PwnageTool Method with Windows (to 4.1 and 4.2.1; ONLY POSSIBLE IF SHSHs ARE SAVED FOR 4.1 OR 4.2.1)", I never went past 4.0, so wouldn't that mean I don't have SHSH for 4.2.1?
- What is meant by "find a custom firmware created with PwnageTool"? Is a custom firmware basically a 4.2.1 firmware that has 05.13.04 baseband? And Windows users can use custom firmware created by PwnageTool? Then basically it means PwnageTool simply creates the custom firmware on Mac, and Mac users can share their creations with Windows users?
- sn0wbreeze basically does the exact same thing as PwnageTool, except it doesn't work well on iPhone 3G?
- What's the difference between jailbreaking 4.2.1 with redsn0w and greenp0ison?
- What's the order of jailbreaking/unlocking, is it first upgrade to custom firmware, then unlock with ultrasn0w, then jailbreak, or first jailbreak then unlock?

I'm new to jailbreaking and unlocking on iOS 4.x.x since it got much more complex than the 3.x.x generation, so thanks in advance for help.

[Orby]

I read the awesome pdf guides by i.Annie and they cleared up a lot of general questions I had about jailbreaking and unlocking iPhone 3G on iOS4.2.1. I have some questions about the sn0wbreeze and PwnageTool custom firmware methods for unlocking.

- I'm using iPhone 3G on iOS4.0, and never went past that so I still have 05.13.04 baseband
- I would like to preserve the 05.13.04 baseband and not switch to the iPad 06.15.00 baseband
- Basically iPhone 3G + iOS 4.2.1 + jailbreak + unlock + preserve 05.13.04 baseband; but if it's not stable then I'm fine with just staying on 4.0

In the guide it was mentioned sn0wbreeze does not work well with iPhone 3G, I have some questions:

- What doesn't work well, like what bugs are present?

I wouldn't know per se, as I have never used sn0wbreeze, but such bugs as incomplete kernel patches, bad seatbelts, poor NOR flashing, and poorly-written sandbox control have been reported in the past. I'd still recommend PwnageTool for your situation above all else.

- From the quote "PwnageTool Method with Windows (to 4.1 and 4.2.1; ONLY POSSIBLE IF SHSHs ARE SAVED FOR 4.1 OR 4.2.1)", I never went past 4.0, so wouldn't that mean I don't have SHSH for 4.2.1?

Apple is still signing SHSHs for at least iOS 4.2.1 on the 3G--I think they're also signing 4.1. If you used Cydia on your 4.x device, your blobs were probably saved anyway.

- What is meant by "find a custom firmware created with PwnageTool"? Is a custom firmware basically a 4.2.1 firmware that has 05.13.04 baseband? And Windows users can use custom firmware created by PwnageTool? Then basically it means PwnageTool simply creates the custom firmware on Mac, and Mac users can share their creations with Windows users?

Yep.

- sn0wbreeze basically does the exact same thing as PwnageTool, except it doesn't work well on iPhone 3G?

Generally, yep.

- What's the difference between jailbreaking 4.2.1 with redsn0w and greenp0ison?

Slightly different ramdisk payloads used to jailbreak the phone. The difference to the average end-user, however, is essentially nil.

- What's the order of jailbreaking/unlocking, is it first upgrade to custom firmware, then unlock with ultrasn0w, then jailbreak, or first jailbreak then unlock?

I'm new to jailbreaking and unlocking on iOS 4.x.x since it got much more complex than the 3.x.x generation, so thanks in advance for help.

Installing a custom firmware to your device is the method of jailbreaking. You still jailbreak first (installing Cydia) then use Cydia to install ultrasn0w.

[Celestica]

Apple is still signing SHSHs for at least iOS 4.2.1 on the 3G--I think they're also signing 4.1. If you used Cydia on your 4.x device, your blobs were probably saved anyway.

So you mean I do not need to do anything in my case if I want to upgrade to 4.2.1 and jailbreak + unlock it?

Installing a custom firmware to your device is the method of jailbreaking. You still jailbreak first (installing Cydia) then use Cydia to install ultrasn0w.

Are there any official sources where I can download the custom firmwares made by PwnageTool?
Thanks.

[Celestica]

Bump~

[i.Annie]

Orbyorb covered it really well.

To answer your last question, your latest fw is 4.2.1 so you don't need SHSHs for it. But that doesn't mean you can unlock on it with stock firmware. So you would use a custom firmware. As you know, sn0wbreeze when I say "buggy" mean sometimes it doesn't even jailbreak. In simple terms, the restore to custom fw made by sn0wbreeze doesn't always go onto the phone. Occasionally Cydia if restore/jb was even successful won't open or load. But some people have had success. I'd highly recommend using pwnagetool but of course if you don't have access to a Mac, that'd be difficult to do. Use sn0wbreeze then as best as you can. If sn0wbreeze won't work right, find a custom 4.2.1 made by pwnagetool online (but be sure it does NOT include the iPad basement bc you have a perfectly unlockable bb that shouldn't be replace with the iPad bb).

These custom fw we can't provide help on getting them bc of copyright. But google searching it is the way to go.

[Celestica]

Thank you. I managed to find a place where they uploaded custom firmware created by PwnageTool. However this was in the instructions:

HOW to UPGRADE :
Add sauriks server to hosts file before using any custom ipsw :
open the file C: \Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts (Windows)
or/etc/hosts (Mac OS X) and add the following entry to the bottom of the file

I read and found out this does the same thing as TinyUmbrella. Do I need to do this step if I'm upgrading to 4.2.1, which is the last firmware for iPhone 3G?
Also I was wandering if I should use activated or unactivated custom firmware by PwnageTool, and ones with or without "extra functions enabled"? I searched around and wasn't able to find any instructions on what these terms mean. Right now my phone is on official carrier (Rogers, Canada), I'll still be on official carrier for a few months, then I'll be out of country.
Thanks!

[i.Annie]

Yeah just run the TSS Server in TinyUmbrella

Activated means you don't need an official SIM to bypass emergency call screen.

If you have an official carrier SIM it's best to use an unactivated version and then activate yourself with the SIM after the restore.

So for you you should use unactivated.

Extra functions, well I am not sure what those extra functions are?

[Celestica]

Yeah just run the TSS Server in TinyUmbrella

Activated means you don't need an official SIM to bypass emergency call screen.

If you have an official carrier SIM it's best to use an unactivated version and then activate yourself with the SIM after the restore.

So for you you should use unactivated.

Extra functions, well I am not sure what those extra functions are?

Thanks. All it says on the site I found it was:
- iPhone 3G 4.2.1 (activated w/ all extra functions enabled)
- iPhone 3G 4.2.1 (activated w/ no extra functions)
- iPhone 3G 4.2.1 (unactivated w/ all extra functions enabled)
- iPhone 3G 4.2.1 (unactivated w/ no extra functions)

And no explanation whatsoever. I did a search on google and no results either, everyone seems to know what "extra functions" is lol. Is there like an "extra functions" feature in PwnageTool when you create the firmware?
Since you said that we are not allowed to post the links to the custom firmware, can I perhaps PM you the site where I found it?

[i.Annie]

I'm guessing it means like wallpaper multitasking and possibly animated bootlogos.

Regardless I'd recommend if you're wanting to go up to 4.2.1 to use one without the extra features bc it'll slow your phone down. iPhone 3G is just not good on 4.2.1 with all those features enabled.