iPhone 3GS Activation

[iHeartMyiPhone]

Hello all,

I am currently on T-Mobile and with the release of the unlock/jailbreak nearing, I bit the bullet and went to purchase the iPhone 3GS outright from Best Buy this weekend. I simply paid for the phone and walked out. I have been scouring the forums for info to make sure everything will work correctly before I proceed to open the box.

Here is what I have gathered so far: I can jailbreak the phone with purplera1n and then run ultrasn0w to unlock it. Problem is, the phone has not been activated (and purplera1n only works with activated phones).

So, there are posts saying that I simply need to insert a legitimate AT&T sim into my phone, connect it to iTunes and I will be set. I do have access to AT&T sim cards. What happens to the account that is tied to that AT&T sim? Will activating the 3GS with their sim cause their contract to be extended (or 3GS data plan to be added)?

If I can simply borrow an AT&T sim to activate the 3GS without having a adverse affect on the owner of the sim, I think I can proceed. Otherwise, I will continue to wait for the dev team's release.

Thoughts? TIA.

[twiggs462]

I am in the same boat. I can use someone else's sim, but not sure what that will do.. has the DEV TEAM announced they have a work around for this?

[MetallicaFan1991]

Just use any AT&T sim, put it into the iPhone and connect to iTunes, iPhone will be activated and then purplera1n and ultrasn0w. Not sure if it will work though.

Oh and don't you get AT&T sim with the iPhone?

[iHeartMyiPhone]

I have not yet opened the box, but I would assume so (since my iPhone 2G came with one).

So if I use the sim that came with the phone to activate, I should be fine? Can someone confirm this please? I would assume that the activation phase would require you to set up a new account with AT&T.

[Poseidon79]

It has been confirmed to work.

[iHeartMyiPhone]

What has been confirmed to work? Could you please link me to the thread or suggest keywords for me to perform a search for it?


Okay, so just to recap:

1) Use the sim that came with the phone to activate. This will not lock me into any type of contract/plan with AT&T.

2) Use purplera1n to jailbreak.

3) Use ultrasn0w to unlock.

[Poseidon79]

REALLY?!!! ugh!

"So if I use the sim that came with the phone to activate, I should be fine? Can someone confirm this please?"

You asked THIS question to which I replied "THIS has been confirmed to work.

[iHeartMyiPhone]

I'm sorry if I am being difficult, but I really don't want to open the box to an expensive phone unless I know I will be able to activate, jailbreak and then unlock it. I don't want to have an expensive paperweight laying around until the dev team releases their jailbreak.

I do appreaciate your comments. Thank you.


P.S. What is involved during the activation process via iTunes?

[iHeartMyiPhone]

Just wanted to give everyone an update to this thread.

I have been able to successfully activate, jailbreak and unlock my iPhone 3GS I bought outright from Best Buy without contract. After I figured out the keyword to search for (hacktivate), I continued my search for info.

I came across this guide (from a trustworthy source): Hack that Phone - Jailbreaking and unlocking the iPhone 3G S - with hacktivation

I basically followed it and everything works now. The minor deviation from that guide that I would like to note is that I had to manually connect to my protected WiFi network before running the Freeze.app to download Cydia. Other than that, I believe the guide is very straight forward.

Happy modding everyone!

[ddfilms]

how much did the iPhone cost outright at Best buy?

[iHeartMyiPhone]

$600 before taxes.

After some more testing, I found that YouTube is not working. It is a known problem with hacktivated phones as indicated by the dev team. I am testing something at the moment. If I find a solution, I'll report back.

[iHeartMyiPhone]

After some tinkering last night, I believe I have found a solution.

Here is how to hactivate, jailbreak and unlock a brand new iPhone 3GS out of the box without a contract with YouTube working.

Follow this guide: Hack that Phone - Jailbreaking and unlocking the iPhone 3G S - with hacktivation

NOTES:

• Before starting the process, with the AT&T sim that came with the phone inserted, connect the phone to iTunes. It will try to activate, but I believe it will fail. During this process, the files/settings that require YouTube to function are downloaded. Once you see the unlock screen screen on the phone, you can turn it off and switch to your unauthorized carrier's sim and proceed with the guide.
• Hactivate the phone as indicated by the guide. You will notice that iTunes will detect the phone differently (different screens will appear) once it has been hactivated.
• Prior to running the Freeze.app, make sure you can connect to a WiFi network (Settings > WiFi). This will speed up the Cydia download.
• When the Freeze.app is complete, Cydia might not appear on the screen at first. Simply launch another program (like Settings) and exit out. You should then see Cydia.
• If you no longer want Freeze.app, you can use the same DiskAid program and navigate to /Applications and delete it.

I have tried this process on two separate iPhone 3GSs straight out of the box and so far they seem to be functioning correctly.

I'm no expert, but let me know if you have any questions.

[isanta]

glad to see you figured it out. I still don't know if i want to upgrade to the 3gs.

[Tronky]

congratulations on unlocking your iPhone

I have a question to you, I have been away from jailbreaking & unlocking iPhones since the iPhone 2G but I recently got a new iPhone 3Gs through a cousin living at the states, he bought it yesterday for me & sent me an e-mail telling me that
It's no warranty as he didn't sign up with AT&T, the sales person told him that there's a SIM card inside ( I guess it's an AT&T SIM ), so will I have to go through the same process you outlined above or will there be any deviations from that process............provided that I will run the iTunes from outside USA, will this cause a problem as the iPhone 3Gs is not yet launched where I live ?

I would really appreciate your soonest reply.

[iHeartMyiPhone]

@Tronky: I believe you just need to go through the same steps that I have outlined. The only issue I can see that you might run into is whether or not YouTube will work for you. If your cousin activated the phone prior to giving it to you, you should be okay. Also, there have been new tools that have been released since, so I would also do some research on these options before proceeding:

http://www.modmyi.com/forums/iphone-...w-windows.html
http://www.modmyi.com/forums/iphone-...sn0w-os-x.html

[Tronky]

@Tronky: I believe you just need to go through the same steps that I have outlined. The only issue I can see that you might run into is whether or not YouTube will work for you. If your cousin activated the phone prior to giving it to you, you should be okay. Also, there have been new tools that have been released since, so I would also do some research on these options before proceeding:

http://www.modmyi.com/forums/iphone-...w-windows.html
http://www.modmyi.com/forums/iphone-...sn0w-os-x.html

Thanks iHeartMyiPhone for your feedback, I already did a search while I was waiting for a reply over here and I found a few topics talking about that here & also a couple of tutorials on iCalrified.

Thanks again

[nhe1234]

Hi, I bought one iphone from Scotland and i want to use it in Angola, the box was opened in Angola, i tried all the softwares to make it free but still got the same message " please insert one valid sim card", so i can only do emergency calls.

Is there any way i can anblock for Angolan territory ?

All help will be much aprecciated.

[n0idea]

Now that the DEV team has also released their jailbreak utility, I'm wondering what the differences are between the two? On the dev blog, they mention needing to capture two files before jailbreak, I've not seen this mentioned anywhere else though, so for me, this has only added to the confusion. Thanks for sharing the guide though, it's much appreciated. Also, and I don't know if this could help anyone, but I've got a 3GS activated and working on A T&T, if there's a way for me to somehow extract the missing youtube settings, I'd be glad to do it and share before attempting jailbreak.

[Melech518]

Now I know why all the mods left this thread after the last page, NONE OF YOU LISTEN!! Your 3G[s] Comes with an AT&T sim card in the phone. Run purplera1n(with the sim in the phone) or redsn0w, it doesnt matter. The phone will activate with any at&t sim card, ANY AT&T SIMCARD, ANY ANY!!!!!! Youtube will work, there are no settings to extract n0idea. If you all follow the simple guides posted ALL OVER this forum you will find answers. NHE123- get an at&t sim, activate, and walla!! You will get past the screen. Or just use redsn0w....
WOW

[nhe1234]

Thanks for your answer.

The problem is that i dont have the sim card anymore, the person who brought me the phone took it with him, Im in Angola and he left the country.

Is there any other way ?