[Gankdawg]

I cleared this with a mod before I posted.

Any one on here have experience jailbreaking and unlocking an iPhone? My friend is getting an iPhone 4 and selling me his iPhone 3G this week. I've been researching what programs to use, and I think I will be using the information on this site:

Jailbreak iPhone

I'm on T-mobile right now and have a prepaid account (I have a Razr). I know that I won't have 3G service but I don't care. I don't care about a complete hack (like mega-customizations, running non-App software, etc), I just want it to work like a regular iPhone. I asked my friend not to upgrade to iOS4. I don't know what version of the iOS the phone is on, but I could ask.

A couple of questions:

1. When my friend upgrades his account, does he take his SIM card with him? I think not because the 4 has a micro SIM. But will AT&T keep his old SIM? Do I need to tell him to make sure he keeps his old SIM?

2. Do I need the AT&T SIM to perform the jailbreak/unlock? Or will it work without a SIM card in it?

3. Should I plug the iPhone in to my laptop, connect to iTunes, and restore it before I do any hacks?

4. Anything else?

Thanks in advance! I've been waiting for years to get an iPhone so I'm excited. Hopefully by this weekend I'll have it.

[-Q-]

Originally Posted by Gankdawg 

I asked my friend not to upgrade to iOS4. I don't know what version of the iOS the phone is on, but I could ask.

Definitely keep it on 3.whatever. The jailbreaking community is still working on iOS4 (last I checked, anyway).

1. The new iPhone 4 uses a micro SIM, which is a completely different form-factor than the one used in the 3G. When you upgrade to the new iPhone, AT&T just de-authorizes the SIM card in the old phone and activates the new.

2. I don't think it's required, but I'd recommend at least keeping the old SIM in there while you perform the jailbreak.

3. Can't hurt to start with a clean phone, but I used Spirit Jailbreak on a phone that was heavy on apps and usage time and didn't have any issues. (I did back the phone up prior to the jailbreak but didn't restore).

4. Nothing that I can immediately think of. I don't think I would be considered a "heavy" jailbroken apps user as I only used MyWi for tethering. Everything else was typically acquired through the Apple Apps Store. And saw no issues with the phone after jailbreaking. My only caution is that tethering kills your battery, so keep the phone plugged in if you're going to do that.

Enjoy your new iPhone. Just don't get frustrated at that Edge data speed.

[Gankdawg]

Thank you! My mind is more at ease now.

[David2213]

The iPhone 3G can be jailbroken and unlocked after the 4.0 upgrade.

iOS 4.0 Jailbreak Redsn0w 0.9.5 for Windows and Mac | Redmond Pie
Unlock iPhone 4.0 with ultrasn0w | Redmond Pie

You must first jailbrake with Redsn0w 0.9.5. This is a beta, but I have had no problems with it. Once the jailbrake is done you can add the ultrasn0w package in Cydia and complete the unlock. I completed the unlock on my phone, but do not have another SIM card to test it with, so I can not speak to the success of the ultrasn0w package, but it installed fine.

Here are couple of screenshots:

[King Bob On The Cob]

If it really is an iPhone 3G (Not a 3G[S]) it is a device considered to be pwned (jailbreakable) for life. There is a command you can issue the phone at USB level which allows you arbitrary access to the bootloader, so the "chain of trust" that Apple uses to keep people from jailbreaking the newer devices does not work. It's a hardware feature of the ARM chip Apple used in the iPhone 1st generation and the 3G, so it will never go away.

The iOS 4 jailbreak, hacktivate, and unlock are all released on iPod Touch 2G, the iPhone 3G, and the iPhone 3G[S] with the old bootloader (Provided you can get down to 3.1.2), so there is no need to worry about going to OS 4 at the moment, and actually, there's a good chance you will have to move to OS 4 as Apple has stopped signing the older iPhone Software Updates, so iTunes will refuse to install older bundles.

You can follow updates at Dev-Team Blog They're the people who put out ultrasn0w (the unlock you will be using), pwnagetool, and redsn0w (Which is the jailbreak I would recommend that you use. I haven't ever had to get around activation, but if you come across an option that asks if you want to "hacktivate," you should answer yes.)

Have fun with it!

[Gankdawg]

I used redsn0w today to jailbreak my new (to me!) iPhone 3G. It worked flawlessly. I followed the directions to unlock it through Cydia after that. Everything is working great! I don't have MMS, but I don't really care about that (I could text pics with my RAZR though). Maybe there's an app for that. Can't wait to get home and start downloading apps!

[MacinTraining]

If I were to purchase an iPhone 4 online (Apple Store) which would be locked to AT&T, could I jailbreak it (when they release the jailbreak) and not pay the AT&T monthly fee?

[Atheist]

iPhone 4 baseband soft-unlock has been accomplished by planetbeing. Won't be long now for an official iPhone 4 jailbreak/unlock solution!

[-Q-]

Originally Posted by MacinTraining 

If I were to purchase an iPhone 4 online (Apple Store) which would be locked to AT&T, could I jailbreak it (when they release the jailbreak) and not pay the AT&T monthly fee?

There's a lot of 'ifs' involved, but it would be doable.

The biggest 'if' (which is more like a 'when' with the jailbreak community) is the baseband unlock. That is likely coming.

You'll then need to acquire an iPhone 4 without a contract, if you can. No contract means you don't have to pay an Early Termination Fee (ETF) but you'll pay through the nose for that (prices vary depending upon country, but they're not cheap).

If you can't get one without a contract, you'd have to pay the ETF to get out of the contract and "reimburse" AT&T for the phone subsidy they gave you at the time of purchase. Again, not cheap but removes the contractual obligation to AT&T.

I'm assuming you live in the States based on your referencing AT&T as the carrier, so there's one last 'if' - this all works 'if' you can live with T-mobile as your only other carrier choice AND can live with EDGE speeds. I don't believe the iPhone 4 has a radio that's compatible with T-mobile's 3G network.

So yes, you can do it but there's a lot to overcome to get there.

[Atheist]

Originally Posted by -Q- 

You'll then need to acquire an iPhone 4 without a contract, if you can. No contract means you don't have to pay an Early Termination Fee (ETF) but you'll pay through the nose for that (prices vary depending upon country, but they're not cheap).

AT&T iPhone 4 w/o contract:
16GB $599
32GB $699

It's cheaper to just buy the phone on contract and pay the $325 ETF.

[MacinTraining]

No, I don't live the States, Europe actually. So what would you recommend then? I am a student with a limited capital, but I have friends in USA and I thought it would be cheaper to get the iPhone 4 through the States, apparently not. Thanks for the well informative response!