iPhone update to 4.2 and unlock

[Kratos8051]

Hi Guys,

My iPhone 3G is still on firmware 3.1.2. Yesterday I came to the conclusion that it is time to update the firmware since all the newest apps require iOS 4.0 and higher.

It sounds simple enough if I haven't had an issue with my phone a while ago. My phone was jailbroken and I tried installing Android. However, my phone got bricked. After doing a restore to the firmware (using redsnow and firmware I downloaded from the internet), my carrier was locked even though I'm on a Vodacom contract and my carrier wasn't locked when I got the phone. Now, I'm scared to update. What will happen if I update? Will I need to unlock my carrier again? I know some versions of Apple's firmware is unable to be unlocked. iTunes told me that a new firmware version is available (4.2) and I'm busy downloading the update. Is it safe to continue?

Thanks!

 

[Synaesthesia]

No it will probably re-lock it. Read a tutorial on how to unlock 4.2 for iPhone 3G, you may need to prepare a custom ipsw and restore that.

 

[Kratos8051]

Thanks for the reply. As long as it is possible to unlock it, I might try it. iTunes was struggeling to download the firmware from the internet (kept getting error 9006) and I saw that the incomplete firmware file is in fact iOS 4.2.1. Guess iTunes doesn't show the last .1. If the carrier probably will be locked again and the firmware is updated to 4.2.1, I'm not going to update since the unlock on firmware 4.2.1 means that I might lose GPS. I"m currently on modem firmware 05.11.07. Is there no way to update and keep my modem firmware on 05.11.07 using Tiny Umbrella? Let's say I update to iOS 4.2.1 and my carrier gets locked, can I downgrade back to my current firmware 3.1.2 with my unlocked carrier (assuming I didn't update the modem to the iPad 06.15 modem firmware)?

 

[MikeCTZA]

Don't know the answer to your question exactly, never had to deal with it so I'd rather not lead you astray, best place to check is on the Dev-Team blog as they will have solid info here: http://blog.iphone-dev.org/ - but based on my understanding - upgrading your iPhone 3G to 4.2.1 is possible and you can get an unlock no problem.

 

[Kratos8051]

According to that blog:

Unlockers have been reporting mixed results about GPS functionality at 06.15.00. Until we can track down what differentiates those who retain GPS vs. those who lose it, be conservative and assume you’ll lose GPS at 06.15.00

Thats why I am scared to update to 4.2.1. So, what I want to do is update to 4.2.1 to see if my carrier is unlocked. If it is, I'll just jailbreak it. If it is not, I want to downgrade back to 3.2.1. I have my SHSH saved in Tiny Umbrella. Will that work?

 

[Kratos8051]

lol, nevermind guys. I read something on the internet today which I completely ignored the first time I restored my iphone: the activation part. On my first restore I was impatient and disconnected the phone everytime after the restore, which didn't give iTune time to activate my phone on the Vodacom network, and this was the reason I had to unlock my phone after the restore. I redid the restore, waited patiently and then updated to 4.2.1. My phone is now updated and jailbroken without the need to unlock. Thanks anyway for all your help!