The Easiest Way to Unlock Your New 1.1.1 iPhone

Okay, the last time I posted about unlocking a brand new out of the box iPhone with firmware version 1.1.1 involved a long, complicated process. That was because when I bought my iPhone, the guide I previously posted about was the one of the first to hit the forums. Please remember this blog is to document my experience and observations about life with an unlocked iPhone in Canada. So please have patience if the stuff I post is something you already know. I want to make this site very user friendly for all audiences out there, especially the first time iPhone owners! 🙂

Now, things have come a long way since my previous iPhone unlock post. The current 1.1.1 iPhone unlock does not even require a computer (read here on how to check your firmware)! All you need is a wireless internet connection. Here is a guide inspired by the wonderful team from Unlock.no …this will help you unlock your iPhone for use with the Rogers or Fido GSM network in Canada.

How this iPhone unlock process works:

This unlock works because it takes advantage of the TIFF exploit discovered in Safari browser on the iPhone. By using that loophole, you are able to install the program, AppTapp Installer via WiFi, which will then in turn give you access to the program AnySIM, to unlock the phone portion of the phone! I made a mistake when I was following this guide because I erroneously failed to see the “*” (see how hard it is to spot that?) before the “#301#” to make the iPhone call itself. I blame it on the font of my FireFox browser (and maybe it’s a sign I need glasses–or a break from the computer!). So yeah…don’t forget to punch in the asterisk! Doh!

Bypass iTunes Activation and Prepare for Installation

1. Make sure you have a SIM-card with PIN turned off, and power on your phone (the supplied AT&T card works fine).
2. On the activation screen, slide for emergency and dial: *#301# to make the phone call itself. (If the incoming call dialog quickly disappears but it keeps ringing, just dial 0 (remove *#301# first), and it will call itself)
3. Answer the call, and tap on Hold
4. Phone will call it self again, tap Decline. You will now be returned to the normal dialer.
5. Tap on contacts, and tap the + icon to add a new. The only info you are going to add to this contact are two URL’s. To add a URL, tap Add new URL. The first URL is prefs followed by a colon: prefs: and the second is jailbreakme.com. Tap Save.
6. Your contact now has two “web pages” – tap on the first one (prefs:). This will take you to the settings dialog. The reason you want this, is because you need to connect to a Wi-Fi network, so tap on Wi-Fi, and get connected to a network, and make sure the icon on top of the screen is indicating that you are connected. While you are in the settings dialog, you should also set: General ? Auto-Lock ? Never.
7. Now, press the home button, and again, slide for emergency dial 0, Answer the call, Hold and Decline the new call so that you get to the contacts. Tap on your contact (No Name), and this time tap on the other home page, jailbreakme.com
8. Safari will launch and show you a webpage. Read through the text, before you Install AppSnapp
9. Phone will return to activation screen, but don’t panic, just wait.
10. Phone should automatically restart after almost a minute…If it does not restart withing 2 minutes, click here.
11. When the phone starts again, it should no longer say slide for emergency, but rather Slide to unlock It means it was successful! Activation is now bypassed, and phone prepared for software installation!

Unlock the SIM-lock (so you will be able to insert your Rogers or Fido SIM)

1. Open Installer, and install the update if prompted.
2. Go to sources and tap Edit and Add
3. Add this URL: http://i.unlock.no
4. Tap Done and then Refresh
5. Go to Install (at bottom) and scroll down to the Unlocking Tools category and install AnySIM
6. When installed you can press the home button, and you will find a new AnySIM icon on your home screen. Launch it and follow the instructions.
7. The unlocking process will take about 5-10 minutes, in the end it should say it was successful!
8. To clean up your phone, launch Installer and uninstall AnySIM. Then go to Settings ? General ? Auto-Lock and set it to a preferred value (ie 1 minute, 2 minutes, etc).

There you have it! I had to use this guide when I updated my iPhone firmware from 1.0.2 to 1.1.1 (I will post a guide for that later). Man, if only this unlock came out earlier! By far, this is the easiest unlocking process for the iPhone–so if you can get your hands on a brand new iPhone with firmware version 1.1.1 out of the box (OTB), jump on it! Any questions, let me know and I’ll see if I can help!

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