How to Capture Your iPhone 3GS iBEC and iBSS on Mac

[ugotpwned5]

Quick question for the experts -- I ran the "iBEC and iBSS Grabber" program and performed a DFU restore. The resulting files captured are named:

iBEC.n88ap.RELEASE.dfu (103 KB)
iBSS.n88ap.RELEASE.dfu (103 KB)

Were my efforts successful?

Yes Buddy.

[redhouse101]

STEP 2 ??


Why doesnt this folder open? ["/Users/'your username'/Library/Caches/Cleanup At Startup"] Does this folder only show up after you've hooked up a 3GS phone? Im presently using a 2g and have my 3GS sitting on my desk ready to unlock. So for me this window doesn't exist. Curious?

[Melech518]

STEP 2 ??


Why doesnt this folder open? ["/Users/'your username'/Library/Caches/Cleanup At Startup"] Does this folder only show up after you've hooked up a 3GS phone? Im presently using a 2g and have my 3GS sitting on my desk ready to unlock. So for me this window doesn't exist. Curious?

Correct, this folder only appears after you have connect and restored your 3g[s]

[Azzo]

Like I told you on the Dev Blog, these are ALL the same exact files whether you do it with the command line, the iClarified /tmp method, or the Cleanup At Startup method here. In the end you will get the same results. There is no wrong or right way to do this, it is very simple and each method works the same. Each way is unique in its simplicity and that alone.

Hi Melech518

the point is that you don't get the same results. I did it your way and both files have 104.772 Bytes. The files in the *.ipsw have exactly the same file size (104.772).

If you get the files from the tmp folder, both files have 104.793 Bytes.

So in my understanding theese files can't be the same!

btw both files in the *.ipsw also have the 21st May as date...

Bye Azzo

[wildturkey]

If you messed up can you try it again??????

[manny0]

This is what happened to me. I used the Tmp method. The folder showed up and disappeared before i could get it, but it showed up again i was able to capture it at that point. It gave me the iBEC file which reads as 104,793 bytes. I then did the DFU restore and was able to capture it using the terminal cmd and i got both the iBEC again and the iBSS in which both files read as 104,793 bytes. Did I do it right? I saved all 3 files just in case and i also have my purplera1n as well.

[HDClown]

You guys are making yours life difficult

Mac: Updated iClarified Guide, this is the easiest method - iClarified - iPhone - How to Capture Your iPhone 3GS iBEC and iBSS (Mac) [Updated]

Windows - Use diffrnt's IBEC/IBSS grabber - difrnt.com ECID Grabber & iBEC and iBSS Grabber
(open the grabber and run it before you actually click restore)

These will get the correct files, which are from /tmp or %temp%, the ones dated May 21st are not the right ones.

the general concensus now seems to be that the IBEC you get frm restore mode and DFU mode are the SAME. So you should only need to grab the files under DFU mode (as this is the only way to also get IBSS).

But, I did both regular restore mode and DFU restore mode, just to be safe. Only takes an extra 5 minutes.

[Crana]

Quick question for the experts -- I ran the "iBEC and iBSS Grabber" program and performed a DFU restore. The resulting files captured are named:

iBEC.n88ap.RELEASE.dfu (103 KB)
iBSS.n88ap.RELEASE.dfu (103 KB)

Were my efforts successful?

Hi, I'm a bit stuck with that program, where do you set the "Save Location" as? The folder in your temp directory?

EDIT: Ah, I see, nevermind! It stores your files in the folder of your choice. Hope this works on Windows 7 (I have the program set to compatibility mode for Vista SP2 just in case)

[Mp3Supply]

Hi, I'm a bit stuck with that program, where do you set the "Save Location" as? The folder in your temp directory?

EDIT: Ah, I see, nevermind! It stores your files in the folder of your choice. Hope this works on Windows 7 (I have the program set to compatibility mode for Vista SP2 just in case)

I did mine on Windows Server 2008 & then on my Windows 7 box.. both crashed after like 6mins.. but it doesnt crash before it grabs both iBSS and iBEC

Folder%you&choose\Firmware\dfu\

[ricm68]

I get a message that tells me that the folder doesn't exist. What am I doing wrong???
Any ideas.
Thanks.

[Crana]

I did mine on Windows Server 2008 & then on my Windows 7 box.. both crashed after like 6mins.. but it doesnt crash before it grabs both iBSS and iBEC

Folder%you&chooseFirmwaredfu

Same! I noticed it had already copied the files across before it crashed so I didn't worry. I have the following files ready for the jail break now:

iBEC.n88ap.RELEASE.dfu
iBSS.n88ap.RELEASE.dfu
purplera1nyday_00000*********** (Censored my ECID out just incase )

[realiti2000]

Okay, It is not a coincidence we ALL have the May 21st creation date. But also dont forget, we did not create these files, these are the files apple put on the phones when they were created, when the software was written, when the iBSS and iBEC were assigned. I believe that with the iClarified method, the files you are taking off the phone are a copy of the "iPhone Temporary Files.noindex", hence being created whenever you do the restore. With the method I provided we are copying the actual files from the phone. If you noticed when doing the iClarified method, the files you are copying are all "shortcuts" to an original. I traced these shortcuts to the "iPhone Temporary Files.noindex" to find the originals more or less and came up with this method. I hope this made a little sense and cleared up some concerns.

@Melech518:
Thank you very much. Very useful explanation.

One additional question: In many of the posts (here or on the iPhone Dev Team Blog) people report a file size of 103kb for both files.

I bought my 3GS from T-Mobile Germany and I have a file size of 104kb for both files.. Does the size have to me the same for all 3GS owners or could there be regional (etc.) differences?

[hydroabiscuit]

ok, i my 2 files with me, along with my ECID dump...i used iClarified's method. also, for those on t-mobile, leave your 3gs on airplane mode...no reason really, i guess just to be safe

[vriesfde]

I downloaded the 3.0 IPSW the wring way on my Mac so it appeared as a zip.
Inside the 3.0 IPSW one can already find the IBEC and IBSS files...(in firmware\dfu\)
The folder that is being created in the Cleanup At Startup folder contains exactly all the files in the IPSW, the size is also the same......are we sure that we are doing something useful here???

By the way the creation date of my IBSS and IBEC files are 21 May 2009, I did not have the 3GS at that time so I wonder how these files can contain anything related to my iPhone!

Ciao,
Frans

[Kaatje]

Using this method will only grab the files from the firmware, unsigned, etc. The correct way to do this on a MAC is to use terminal.app and DFU Restore. It will capture the two files signed and requires one pass at it.

in terminal: while sleep 1; do cp -R /tmp/PersonalizedRestoreBundle.* ~/Desktop/; done

hit enter and ignore the errors. Put your iphone into DFU Restore mode and restore. Once you see the PersonalizedRestoreBundle folder on your desktop, use control-c to kill the script and you are done. The folder on your desktop will contain both Ibss and iBEC files.

[ryan christopher]

I use a program called Candybar
Iconfactory : Home

Which icon set are you using for the folders?

[vriesfde]

I downloaded the 3.0 IPSW the wring way on my Mac so it appeared as a zip.
Inside the 3.0 IPSW one can already find the IBEC and IBSS files...(in firmwaredfu)
The folder that is being created in the Cleanup At Startup folder contains exactly all the files in the IPSW, the size is also the same......are we sure that we are doing something useful here???

By the way the creation date of my IBSS and IBEC files are 21 May 2009, I did not have the 3GS at that time so I wonder how these files can contain anything related to my iPhone!

Ciao,
Frans

Update: I checked the creation date of the IBSS and IBEC files inside the downloaded 3.0 ipsw, these are from 22 May 2009!
So, they (the 21May ones) are definitely not the files from the firmware parked in a temp folder, but they are from the phone itself.

[williamjv]

Question,
I'm able to to reach folder /Users/*myusername*/Library/Caches/ however, if i do /Users/*myusername*/Library/Caches/Cleanup At Startup/ i get "the folder cannot be found. I'm using OS X 10.5.2 (hackintosh)

Any ideas?

[sayam]

I get a message that tells me that the folder doesn't exist. What am I doing wrong???
Any ideas.
Thanks.

You can create the folder

[williamjv]

You can create the folder

Thanks sayam,

This also answers my question