How to Unlock an iPhone 3G using yellowsn0w

Alright folks, here’s the tutorial some of you have been waiting for on how to unlock your iPhone 3G! This is relatively a painless process but I’ll try to make it as simple as possible. Earlier we mentioned how yellowsn0w will unlock firmware 2.2 and the latest 02.28.00 baseband!

How to Unlock your iPhone 3G using the iPhone Dev Team’s Unlock, yellowsn0w

If your iPhone 3G is already jailbroken, jump to step 3 (you already knew that):

1. Update your iPhone 3G to 2.2 firmware via iTunes (to ensure you’ll be on baseband 02.28.00).
2. Jailbreak using QuickPwn 2.2 (updated with 2.2 download links).
3. Launch Cydia –> click on Manage –> click on Sources –> click Edit –> click Add –> enter the following Cydia repository URL found here –> Click on Return to Cydia.
4. Click on Search. Type in “yellowsn0w”. Install yellowsn0w (it should be version 0.9.1, it was updated fairly quickly). Let it finish installing, exit Cydia.
5. Reboot your iPhone with foreign SIM installed…10 seconds later after reboot you should get a signal. If you don’t, try taking the SIM tray out then reinserting again.
6. That’s it! Your iPhone 3G is unlocked!

I installed yellowsn0w was able to pop in my du SIM card I was using in Dubai on my iPhone 2G. At first I quickly saw the “SIM Failure” message pop up then disappear quickly. The du SIM was able to pick up a signal! Success!

If you had success or some problems, let us know, but more important, let the Dev Team know by posting comments on their blog here. It’s imperative for them to get feedback in order to improve yellowsn0w to work for all carriers from around the world!

Big props to the entire iPhone Dev Team for their hard work. The entire globe is thanking them right about now!

**Looking for an iPhone 3G case? Go get an invisibleSHIELD, the strongest protection for your iPhone backed by a 30 day moneyback guarantee, lifetime replacement warranty, and FREE shipping! Use coupon code iphoneinca for 20% off your purchase! Order today!**

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Dusty
Dusty
17 years ago

Cool cool! I have no need to unlock my iPhone as my 2G iPhone is going strong! (Plus unlocked… lol)

Good luck to everyone and cheers for a unlock release!

djaj
djaj
17 years ago

Hey all,

I have successfully unlocked a Fido iPhone 3G.
I can get the phone to use the Rogers SIM, but there are still some bugs with the yellowsn0w app.
I can receive calls however I am unable to make calls from the iPhone. When I try to do so, it loses the signal and unregisters the SIM. Eventually it re-registers the SIM and again I am left to where I started.

I have let the Dev Team know about this bug. If someone has something else to share, please do so here!

Happy new year!

iPhone Fan
Reply to  djaj
17 years ago

Are you using the latest version of yellowsn0w 0.9.1?

Justin
Justin
Reply to  djaj
17 years ago

Same thing happening to me now. Can receive call, but when I try to make a call, it lost its signal.

Tony
Tony
17 years ago

I unlocked it no problem, it was extremely easy. Thank you dev team.

The Poker Jerk
17 years ago

yellowsn0w delivers! Good job!

sang
sang
Reply to  The Poker Jerk
17 years ago

Hi
Iam sangay from bhutan ihave a 3g 16gb iphone with jambo sim is it ok or not

Dsquared
Dsquared
17 years ago

djaj: have the same problem, I can receive calls, but can’t make any outgoing calls. Rogers here.

djaj
djaj
17 years ago

Yes, I am using the latest release of yellowsn0w… 0.9.1.
Still no luck!

Oh well, still a step ahead from last night..haha…
Any help is much appreciated!

Jasper
Jasper
17 years ago

Grrr,
I really don’t wanna jailbreak my phone =(

Tony
Tony
Reply to  Jasper
17 years ago

Why not, with quickpwn its so easy, and if you’re worried about warranty just make sure to restore your phone before you bring it in.

Justin
Justin
17 years ago

Mine didn’t work. 🙁

I installed 0.9.1. reboot with my Fido in a Roger iPhone and it does not show me any signal. Question is do I need to have a Roger SIM card while installing YellowSn0w?

shirley
shirley
17 years ago

does the unlock void the phone’s warranty? is it reverseable like the jailbreak is?

iPhone Fan
Reply to  shirley
17 years ago

any tinkering with the iPhone will void the warranty but it is reversible.

shirley
shirley
Reply to  iPhone Fan
17 years ago

So if I restore in itunes before I bring it into apple for repair… Can they tell it had been jailbroken or unlocked?

David
David
17 years ago

I updated to the newest 2.2 and ran quickpwn 2.2. After i finish running quickpwn, it shows that it was successful, but Cydia does not come up. I have rebooted several times, and no change. If I restore, what will it restore to? I had a jailbroken phone before, so will it restore to that point, or to a otb iphone? Anybody else have this problem??

Squirmy
Squirmy
17 years ago

the people that say it works are shills

Tony
Tony
Reply to  Squirmy
17 years ago

Why is that?

Mike
Mike
17 years ago

I installed yellowsn0w and I have the same issues as everyone else. I lose my signal when making calls. I’ve uninstalled it for now though.

Using Rogers SIM in Calgary, AB.

iPhone Fan
Reply to  Mike
17 years ago

Okay after some initial testing I am getting the same problem with my Rogers SIM. Uninstalled and will wait for an update.

KnightFire
KnightFire
17 years ago

Double check your “Modem Firmware” as 02.28.00 and not 02.28.01 via Settings -> General -> About

minel
minel
17 years ago

rogers iphone. 02.28.00 baseband 2.2 firmware.
ran yellowsn0w, turned off phone, put a fido sim, no signal

so no luck

Tdog
Tdog
17 years ago

I’m having the same issues. I have an ATT iphone that I’m trying to unlock with yellowsn0w. Followed instructions to a tee, restored to factory setting and redid it again. When I put my Rogers SIM card in, nothing…

Artistguy
Artistguy
17 years ago

same issue here. it seemed to work but my signal would drop every minuter for 10 seconds. tried the posts on dev teams blog. still no go. so i restored back. i’m sure they’ll have a fix soon. thanks for the work dev team!

teddyx
teddyx
Reply to  Artistguy
17 years ago

sorry but your signal would drop every minute for 10 seconds? …lol?

Mike
Mike
Reply to  teddyx
17 years ago

Mine dropped every minute for 10 seconds as well. I’ve uninstalled it and waiting for an update.

Rogers SIM in Calgary, AB

dynomity
dynomity
17 years ago

Same problem here as everyone else. I’ve since removed the app and will await an update. Calls come in but get dropped shortly thereafter. Most outgoing calls fail.

djaj
djaj
17 years ago

hey all,

thanks for posting your “adventures” with yellowsn0w here… i’ve tried pretty much every fix/tip on the dev team blog and yet again i am at the same point as this morning..
no out going calls yet…

hopefully there’s a fix soon…thanks to dev team for their efforts.

Nasir
Nasir
17 years ago

Question: is it important to put in the Unlocked SIM?
e.g If i have Rogers SIM, should must put in Fido SIM to unlock or I can just unlock on Rogers SIM?
Please help here. Thank you

Justin
Justin
Reply to  Nasir
17 years ago

Wonder about the same thing.

Justin
Justin
17 years ago

Installed version 0.9.4. Still can’t make out-calling call. Drop signal when try to make a call.

troutym
troutym
17 years ago

I can not jailbreak, it goes through all the right steps then i never get to see the Cydia icon? Any ideas?

Graham Fielder
Graham Fielder
17 years ago

Successfully jailbroke my iPhone 3g (Version 2.2 and Modem Firmware 02.28.00) that I bought in the U.K. locked to O2 carrier and installed yellowsn0w 0.91 using Cydia but no luck when I changed my O2 SIM for my Rogers SIM. Just got an error “Invalid SIM” – no signal strength or carriers name. I’ve tried the usual tricks e.g. Airplane mode, rebooting, resetting Network etc that the forums are suggesting.

I guess I’ll uninstall yellowsn0w, and continue using my O2 SIM with its expensive roaming charges and wait for a fix from the MuscleNerd and his friends. However I’d like to thank the team for the work they’ve done so far, obviously some people have got the unlock to work. Carry on the good work – “if at first you don’t succeed, …”

Graham
Graham
Reply to  Graham Fielder
17 years ago

I have since found that using OS 10.5.6 requires a modification to enable it get into DFU mode when first using QuickPwn. See http://www.hackint0sh.org/news/401 for further details. My iPhone can now receive calls but NOT send them, at least the Rogers SIM is now recognized with full strength signal bars in the menubar

troutym
troutym
17 years ago

if you dont see cydia after jailbreak.

Hello all. This happened to my brother and I fixed it without installing anything. I read you must enable your Restriction in Settings > General > Restrictions, then disable them. And voila, all your icons are back.

Nasir
Nasir
17 years ago

Any ideas about my question that Is it must to put in the different SIM than original SIM, e.g I have Rogers and I must have to put in the Fido SIM to unlock the phone.

Dsquared
Dsquared
17 years ago

Anyone with Rogers or Fido in Canada successful making calls with the unlock?

Justin
Justin
Reply to  Dsquared
17 years ago

not me. lol

Brian
Brian
Reply to  Dsquared
17 years ago

me neither =P, Fido iPhone attempting to use SpeakOut in Vancouver. When I put my Fido SIM card back in with yellowsn0w (0.9.4 via Cydia) still installed, I cannot make calls out either even though it’s locked to Fido. However, I can receive calls (with both SIMs). I’m just guessing we need to wait for another update. I trust the AMAZING Dev Team will find a fix quickly =).

Marinic
Marinic
17 years ago

Worked for me in 2.5G GSM network. Done the following steps.

1. Restore to 2.2 in itunes (without SIM).
2. jailbreak by QuickPwn 2.2 to add Cydia and Installer (without SIM).
3. installed Terminal and SBSettings without upgrading Cydia (without SIM by wifi).
4. installed yellowsn0w 0.9.4 from cydia adding source http://apt9.yellowsn0w.com
5. insert 3rd party SIM and rebooted from SBSettings.
6. find 5 dots and no carrier logo for several mins after rebooted. (got null/null in carrier)
7. went to terminal and type following commands
a) yellowsn0w -c
b) yellowsn0w -l (done it several times, when it works it takes longer like 1 min. and got null/2.9 in carrier & ICCID loaded)
8. rebooted again from SBSettings.
9. after reboot find the phone searching for network and it got signal at last. both carrier and ICCID loaded. now carrier shows Carrier/2.9.

After that voice call (both MO/MT), SMS & Edge working fine. Got no 3G service yet so will check 3G later. Hope 3G will also work. Unlock is ok and also works after reboot.

Main parameters to check in the about screen Carrier & ICCID. if both loaded perfectly then it should work. if not loaded then re-install yellowsn0w from Cydia or Installer and try those terminal commands until those parameters are loaded.

Great job done Dev-Team. And best of luck to the users.

djaj
djaj
17 years ago

Hello fellow Canadians,

Success! with Yellosn0w 0.9.5 for me.
Unlocked a fido locked iphone 3G and used a Rogers SIM to make and receive calls.

Steps used:
1) Remove yellowsn0w 0.9.4
2) Restart using Bossprefs
3) Installed 0.9.5 kept SIM in the phone.
4) Reset Network settings which automatically rebooted the phone.
5) Waited a bit to open Home screen, after which I saw that it was connected to Rogers.

Hope this helps!

Thanks Dev-Team.

Justin
Justin
Reply to  djaj
17 years ago

Which sim card did you leave in the phone to install 0.9.5. The 3rd party or its original one??

djaj
djaj
Reply to  Justin
17 years ago

I left the 3rd Party SIM in the phone, which for me was a Rogers SIM.

Justin
Justin
Reply to  djaj
17 years ago

Success! Thank you Dev-Team!

Dsquared
Dsquared
17 years ago

Guys download 0.9.5, they have fixed the problem with outgoing calls. Everything is working now with my Rogers SIM card. Thanks Dev-Team

surfnet
surfnet
17 years ago

I can confirm now…version 0.9.5 works
I’m officially on Fido with my Iphone…but have an other Iphone (not a 3G a version 1 ) with a Prepaid Card on Rogers.
Ran version 0.9.5 on the Fido Iphone , put the Sim Card from the Prepaid Rogers Iphone and now I can make call on the Fido Iphone

dollars421@hotmaill.com
dollars421@hotmaill.com
17 years ago

ROGERS and Fido
yellowsn0w working like a charm incoming/outgoing 3g wifi and all the applications

Will
Will
17 years ago

Iphone 3G locked to Rido, jailbroken, unlocked with yellowsn0w 0.9.5. with 0.9.4, I used to be able to get signal, but outgoing calls would result in dropped signal from Rogers. After updating to 0.9.5, the phone gives me an “Invalid Sim” error and never connects. Tied resetting network settings, and enabled/disabled airplane mode…same result

And ideas?

Justin
Justin
Reply to  Will
17 years ago

I have a Fido phone which I want to unlock to put a Roger Sim card. It does not work for me too.

Justin
Justin
Reply to  Will
17 years ago

Works ok now. So all good with unlocking phone from Roger or Fido!

Justin
Justin
17 years ago

Will this unlock works for iPhone 2G?

Brian
Brian
Reply to  Justin
17 years ago

I believe you can already unlock the iPhone 2G on 2.2 already via Quickpwn 2.2, yellowsn0w was designed to unlock the iPhone 3G.

Justin
Justin
Reply to  Brian
17 years ago

I imagine it’s so easy that no tutorial is required 🙂

dynomity
dynomity
17 years ago

Fido locked phone now works on Rogers SIM!!! Just reboot with the SIM you want to use and upon power up, it searching for the network. To speed things up, I simply turn off and on airplane mode (in SBSettings, for me) and it locks up to the carrier right away!

Awesome work, DEV-TEAM!

Peli
Peli
17 years ago

Sucess!!!
I’ve unlock a P Vodafone iPhone 3G (Portugal), now works on P TMN.
Thanks dev-team!!!!

iPhone Fan
17 years ago

Glad this has been working for you guys. Keep the updates coming!

loyalty
loyalty
17 years ago

i tried everything i read on the internet, and even upgraded to 0.9.6 still get outgoing call fail, incoming calls work fine. any good advices, thanks

CROiga
CROiga
17 years ago

0.9.6 on iphone 3G 2.2 works fine unlocking from T-Mobile to VIP and TELE2 in Croatia

FLU
FLU
17 years ago

Help needed! I’m trying to unlock my iphone 3G (fido; Ver.2.2/02.28.00) before taking off on a trip overseas, downloaded Quickpwn 2.2 but stock in 2nd step. QuickPwn just won’t show IPSW so I can move on with rest of the steps before running yellowsnow. Help needed!

FLU
FLU
17 years ago

Help wanted!
I’m trying to unlock my fido iphone 3g (Ver. 2.2/02.28.00) so I can use 3rd party SIM when I’m outside of Canada. However, keep getting stock during step 2 in QuickPwn 2.2, it just won’t display IPSW so I can proceed with rest of the jailbreak. I REALLY WANT TO RUN YELLOWSNOW!!! Fido/Rogers are charging enough $$$ as is and I last thing I want to see is a huge roaming bill. PLEASE HELP!!!

iPhone Fan
Reply to  FLU
17 years ago

I would try doing a clean restore to 2.2 firmware, then running QuickPwn 2.2. Make sure you download 2.2 firmware and put it in a folder on your desktop.

FLU
FLU
17 years ago

thanks iPhone fan, but here’s a silly question. How do I go about doing that?

iPhone Fan
Reply to  FLU
17 years ago

Plug in your iPhone and launch iTunes. Sync so everything will be backed up, then click “Restore”. This will reset your iPhone to factory settings so it will be like a brand new iPhone.

Next, download QuickPwn 2.2 along with the 2.2 iPhone 3G firmware. Links can be found on my post “How to Jailbreak your iPhone 3G with QuickPwn.” (one of the popular posts along the sidebar).

Launch QuickPwn and follow the steps. You should be fine.

FLU
FLU
Reply to  iPhone Fan
17 years ago

Thanks iPhone Fan, you are a rockstar! Kudos to Dev team!
No problem with incoming & outgoing calls (I’m on fido) running QuickPwn 2.2 & Yellowsn0w 0.9.6

Mason
Mason
17 years ago

Hi ppl:

I have installed Yellowsn0w 0.96 on my Fido iphone 3G. When I put in Rogers SIM, it didn’t show “Invalid SIM”, but i see “NO SERVICE”.

Is it maybe my Rogers SIM is not activated? I dont hv Activated Rogers SIM to try out.

Mason
Mason
Reply to  Mason
17 years ago

Approve can use phone calls, txting.

How about Data part, can that have the access after unlock?

Shajaan
Shajaan
17 years ago

i did everything i could, even started fresh from 2.2 then jailbreak then gogo cydia and install yellosn0w but everytime i restart i get SIM Locked, please any help here?? THANKS

Paddy
Paddy
17 years ago

Having problems unlocking my friend phone. He gave me 3G phone and I don’t know if it was previously hacked but I used pwnage 2.2.5 and firmware iPhone1,2_2.2_5G77_Restore.ipsw. It created the custom ipsw and then I restored this with itunes. I then tried yellowsn0w by installing it with Cydia and I still could not see a network. I thought it was down to the fact that I had put in a non 3-g sim. But I put my own 3G sim in the phonen and still can’t see the network. So I then restored again to the 2.2 firmware through iTunes. I then used Pwnage to install iPhone1,2_2.2.1_5H11_Restore.ipsw. It again created the custom restore so I restored this again through iTunes. Installed yellowsn0w again but I still can’t see a network????? The baseband is still at 02 28 00.

Any idea’s how I can get the service provider.

Carrier doesn’t how up in settings. I just get ….. at the signal bar on the top left.

JAY
JAY
17 years ago

Anyone have issues with this. I am able to jail break the phone and run yellowsn0w 0.9.8 but if it locks up or if i restart or shut the phone down. when i get back in the phone doesn’t work, so i have to reinstall with a sim that comes with the phone and then stick the fido card in, and it is ok. basically anytime i have to shut or restart the phone it seems to be locked again. I have a rogers iphone 16gb, 3g, brand new, with fido sim. Just kind of a pain to do it all over if I restart. I have run into situations where the phone was out of battery, so I have no choice.

Unlock iPhone 3G
17 years ago

I’ve tried using this guide to unlock my iPhone 3G but now I can’t get any signal on T-Mobile, anyone else had this problem or know how to fix?

Zahra Ramzan
Zahra Ramzan
16 years ago

Hey, I followed up with all the instructions and after I rebooted (turned off and then turned on) I still acquired no signal. What to do? Please suggest ASAP.

Kas
Kas
16 years ago

Hi,
I have tried all the steps mentioned i still get invalid SIM, i have a fido Iphone and want to now use a Rogers SIM. please help

wendymckee
wendymckee
16 years ago

I have the 3G internet stick. How can I unlock? Will yellowsn0w work for this application too?

wendymckee
wendymckee
16 years ago

I have the 3G internet stick. How can I unlock? Will yellowsn0w work for this application too?

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