Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

JesterAZ

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 22, 2017
49
40
So I'd like to use it as a sort of iPod since they can't be activated anymore, however I don't have a SIM card for my 1G iPhone. Where can one be found? What size does it take?

Thanks!
 
So I'd like to use it as a sort of iPod since they can't be activated anymore, however I don't have a SIM card for my 1G iPhone. Where can one be found? What size does it take?

Thanks!
Hey Jester! If you want to use the phone essentially as a music storage/playback device, then you actually don’t need a SIM. Provided your collection is offline, you won’t need internet at all. Just plug into iTunes and transfer your songs, and enjoy your listening.
 
Jester will need to get past the setup screens before he can use the media features on the phone. That normally requires a SIM. You have a few options here. The first is to go onto Amazon and buy an adaptor to convert your current SIM card (nano sim for iPhone 5 or later, micro sim for iPhone 4/4S) into a standard size SIM. This will only work if your carrier is AT&T since the phone is likely still locked to that network. Another option would be to go to an AT&T store and ask them to use a SIM card there to activate the phone for you. As a side note, I’m not 100% sure either of these options would work. The original iPhone could only connect to the 2G network and I’m pretty sure I read a few months ago that AT&T had finally pulled the plug on their 2G network to free up bandwidth for 3G and LTE signals. So it may be that it is actually impossible for the iPhone 2G to be officially activated any more. (EDIT: Confirmed)

A less official option would be to activate the phone using jailbreak tools. The firmware in the original iPhone was actually not that secure. I’m pretty sure both the last iPhone OS supported by the phone (3.something) and the phone’s baseband firmware have both been hacked long ago. I’m pretty sure the jailbreak tools can “hactivate” the phone for you by convincing it the activation signal has been received. It has been a long time since I jailbroke and I don’t remember exactly the process for this but I don’t recall it being too difficult. A google search should tell you how to do this. I think either 9to5 Mac or iDownloadBlog also maintains links to all the old jailbreak tools, which could prove useful. Ultimately, this may be what you have to do if there is indeed no way to officially activate the phone.

Good luck!
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.