How to Activate 3gs without at&t sim?

[aaddaam]

Dear all,

i just received an ihpne 3gs from a relative in USA.. i am based outside USA.. it says to connect it to itunes for activation.. when i connected it said that insert a valid sim card.. now i do not have an at&t card and i am new to iphone stuff.. its my first time and i am cautious.. please guide me how can i activate it without at&t sim.

please reply as soon as possible as i am waiting desperately for it

regards,

Adam

okay i ran snow breeze's forecast and it told me that i have the latest 3.1.3 firmware with baseband 5.12.01.. it says that jailbreakble only if on SHSH file.. now what is SHSH file and how can i bypass the itunes activation thing to start using it at-least like a ipod..
please help

[CaptainChaos]

You cannot jailbreak. Very soon though The SHSH file you need is 3.1.2, but you cannot get it anymore. Basically your phone is stuck on AT&T until the new jailbreak arrives. Some say it comes by the end of the month and some think it may be June/July.

Another way to get it to work as an ipod is for your relatives to tell AT&T that they need a new sim card for one of the phones they use everyday. AT&T is supposed to give you 2 free ones a year. After that AT&T will disable the old simcard, but they can send it to you and it will activate your phone so you can at least use it as an ipod.

[aaddaam]

You cannot jailbreak. Very soon though The SHSH file you need is 3.1.2, but you cannot get it anymore. Basically your phone is stuck on AT&T until the new jailbreak arrives. Some say it comes by the end of the month and some think it may be June/July.

Another way to get it to work as an ipod is for your relatives to tell AT&T that they need a new sim card for one of the phones they use everyday. AT&T is supposed to give you 2 free ones a year. After that AT&T will disable the old simcard, but they can send it to you and it will activate your phone so you can at least use it as an ipod.

thanks for the information but can't i just get that SHSH file from any database or website? is their any way i can jailbreak it at least now? Actually it will take many days even a month before anyone comes NY to my town and i can get that sim

[CaptainChaos]

No you can't get the file from anywhere. Each one is encrypted and iPhone specific. As far as the simcard goes...you can't get it through the post office? Have them mail it!

[aaddaam]

No you can't get the file from anywhere. Each one is encrypted and iPhone specific. As far as the simcard goes...you can't get it through the post office? Have them mail it!

okay let me try to contact them.. so once i inserted that at&t deactivated sim my phone functions will start working except for the phone itself? and do i need to have that specific sim on which iphone is delivered or i can use any at&t sim?

[iduhfs]

I think you can install a 3.1.3 ACTIVATED custom firmware and have it work as a jailbroken ipod/gps/whatever. Find the firmware with a Google search for "3.1.3 ACTIVATED custom firmware", then install it with itunes by holding 'shift' while you hit the restore button once you have the phone in DFU mode.

Google search any of these terms you don't know, folks around here probably won't take time until you've put in some time reading up about what you want/have...

[aaddaam]

I think you can install a 3.1.3 ACTIVATED custom firmware and have it work as a jailbroken ipod/gps/whatever. Find the firmware with a Google search for "3.1.3 ACTIVATED custom firmware", then install it with itunes by holding 'shift' while you hit the restore button once you have the phone in DFU mode.

Google search any of these terms you don't know, folks around here probably won't take time until you've put in some time reading up about what you want/have...

my baseband is 5.12.01.. will it work? i need assurance please from someone senior

[Amadomon]

It will not work as a phone. I am in the same situation. We must wait for the unlock. :-(

[aaddaam]

It will not work as a phone. I am in the same situation. We must wait for the unlock. :-(

but will it work atleast as an ipod before the jailbreak and unlock comes? can i atleast make it work as an ipod? because currently its just a dead phone with no use.. please confirm me can i activate it now atleast for an ipod use and later on when the unlock/jailbreak comes i can unlock it and use as a phone?

i am new to these things please let me know if i can at least activate it for ipod use

[CaptainChaos]

Custom firmwares will not work for you. First, it must be in a jailbroken state already to accept custom firmwares and second, if it is a newer 3GS you cannot use any custom firmwares on it even if it was jailbroken. Get the dead sim like I explained before and you will have your iPod The only thing that will not work then is the phone app. Everything else will work.

[aaddaam]

thank you.. hope that the JB comes soon

[stigbosmans]

Custom firmwares will not work for you. First, it must be in a jailbroken state already to accept custom firmwares and second, if it is a newer 3GS you cannot use any custom firmwares on it even if it was jailbroken. Get the dead sim like I explained before and you will have your iPod The only thing that will not work then is the phone app. Everything else will work.

Hi, I'm from belgium and i have the same problem as aaddaam, is it possible to activate my iphone with a prepaid at&t simcard from ebay? (I also bought a locked iphone 3gs in the us)
like this one: ebay at&t simcard
thx