iPhone 2G wifi-only activation after wiping phone

[Nate75Sanders]

I've looked on the forum and found similar answers, but nothing exactly like my situation, so here goes:

disclaimer: I first touched an iPhone a few days ago...I know very little about them.

I'm a software developer doing some contract work for a university. I've been given a 2G to do some application development on. Before they gave me the iPhone (which I believe may have been in wifi-only mode because the guy whose iPhone it was has recently upgraded to a 3G), they wiped the data off -- the slow way -- writing zeroes over all the data -- took a few hours. Now when I plug the iPhone into my Macbook with iTunes running, it waits for a while and then gives an error -- all the while, the iPhone is wanting a sim card.

- Is there a way that I can get around the sim card problem, use wi-fi, and install applications "the normal way"?

Do I need to jailbreak it? Will I still be able to install applications like somebody with a non-jailbroken iPod Touch would?

After jailbreaking an iPhone can you reverse the jailbreaking process that it appears that the iPhone was never jailbroken?

What's the correct way to remove somebody's personal information without zeroing out the entire drive -- I ask this because we might be able to reactivate the phone with somebody's sim card without jailbreaking it, then delete just their personal info without wiping the iPhone and then I can do development without the sim card hopefully.

 

[rotobadger]

I've looked on the forum and found similar answers, but nothing exactly like my situation, so here goes:

disclaimer: I first touched an iPhone a few days ago...I know very little about them.

I'm a software developer doing some contract work for a university. I've been given a 2G to do some application development on. Before they gave me the iPhone (which I believe may have been in wifi-only mode because the guy whose iPhone it was has recently upgraded to a 3G), they wiped the data off -- the slow way -- writing zeroes over all the data -- took a few hours. Now when I plug the iPhone into my Macbook with iTunes running, it waits for a while and then gives an error -- all the while, the iPhone is wanting a sim card.

- Is there a way that I can get around the sim card problem, use wi-fi, and install applications "the normal way"?

Do I need to jailbreak it? Will I still be able to install applications like somebody with a non-jailbroken iPod Touch would?

After jailbreaking an iPhone can you reverse the jailbreaking process that it appears that the iPhone was never jailbroken?

What's the correct way to remove somebody's personal information without zeroing out the entire drive -- I ask this because we might be able to reactivate the phone with somebody's sim card without jailbreaking it, then delete just their personal info without wiping the iPhone and then I can do development without the sim card hopefully.

I'll see if I can answer a few of your questions. First off, what firmware version is the phone on? This will be important if you wish to a)Leave it on its current versions and b)You wish to Jailbreak.

As far as "getting around the SIM card" issue...you must jailbreak (and activate the same way). After succesfully Jailbreaking you will then be able to access the web via Wi-Fi. Keep in mind that, if you wish to install apps from Apples online store, you will need firmware version 2.x. I would just go with 2.1.

So, here's what I would suggest:

Restore/upgrade the iPhone using iTunes to 2.1. Then, download QuickPwn and Jailbreak. You will then be able to do what I suspect you need to do.

As far as un-jailbreaking...You will just need to simply do a restore to the factory firmware when you are ready.

You will be able to wipe personal info off the phone using an available "remove all data" function from the UI (under settings).

Hope this helps some...

 

[Nate75Sanders]

I'll see if I can answer a few of your questions. First off, what firmware version is the phone on? This will be important if you wish to a)Leave it on its current versions and b)You wish to Jailbreak.

As far as "getting around the SIM card" issue...you must jailbreak (and activate the same way). After succesfully Jailbreaking you will then be able to access the web via Wi-Fi. Keep in mind that, if you wish to install apps from Apples online store, you will need firmware version 2.x. I would just go with 2.1.

So, here's what I would suggest:

Restore/upgrade the iPhone using iTunes to 2.1. Then, download QuickPwn and Jailbreak. You will then be able to do what I suspect you need to do.

As far as un-jailbreaking...You will just need to simply do a restore to the factory firmware when you are ready.

You will be able to wipe personal info off the phone using an available "remove all data" function from the UI (under settings).

Hope this helps some...

This is all very good information -- thank you.

I'm not sure what firmware version I have. I can't do anything with the phone (as far as I can tell) until I get around the fact that the iPhone wants a sim card. I can either touch the little info icon to toggle between the "sim card wanted" message or the IMEI/ICCID number OR I can slide some arrow across to make an emergency call. iTunes complains that it won't talk to my phone until I've inserted a sim card into it, so I'm not sure how I'm going to upgrade the firmware -- ideas?

Thanks,
Nate

 

[TheConfuzed1]

Plug the phone into your computer. On the summary tab for your phone in iTunes, you will be able to see what iPhone OS you're running.

If it's not 2.1, update it first.

If it is, then jailbreak it, using either PwnageTool, or QuickPwn.

Activate it during the jailbreak, and you should be all set.

If you don't want the data package, make sure to call AT&T (or whoever) and ask them to shut off Edge for your account.

If you do want data, you should be good to go, as long as it is part of your subscriber package.

 

[Nate75Sanders]

Plug the phone into your computer. On the summary tab for your phone in iTunes, you will be able to see what iPhone OS you're running.

If it's not 2.1, update it first.

If it is, then jailbreak it, using either PwnageTool, or QuickPwn.

Activate it during the jailbreak, and you should be all set.

If you don't want the data package, make sure to call AT&T (or whoever) and ask them to shut off Edge for your account.

If you do want data, you should be good to go, as long as it is part of your subscriber package.

Exact same problem I describe in my reply to the other guy -- maybe I wasn't clear enough: The phone isn't showing up under iTunes, so I can't do anything with it. The phone says something about plugging in a sim card. While this is going on, iTunes says that it's trying to connect to my phone, but eventually gives up and says (now on the computer screen as well as on the iPhone screen) that I need to plug in a sim card.

Thanks,
Nate