The finer points of unlocking a 3gs

[hack-a-shack]

Hi, I have a week 39 3gs, running version 3.1 and firmware 05.11.07 I am trying to unlock, theoretically with redsn0w and blacksn0w. I have a couple of questions for the experienced.

1. It is possible that this phone has already been unlocked. The previous user claims he was using t-mobile. However, I don't see a blackra1n icon or any application that would lead me to believe that it is. I inserted an active t-mobile sim card, and it did not show a connection. Do I have to reboot the iphone and/or reinstall blacksn0w whenever I insert a new sim?

2. Is redsn0w or blackra1n better for jailbreaking the iphone?

Any help is much appreciated.

 

[ldobson]

Is the 3GS already jailbroken? You will need to jailbreak the phone before you can unlock it. Look for a Cydia or Rock icon on the springboard, if you dont see one you will need to download either RedSn0w or Blackra1n to jailbreak. RedSn0w is a little more refined than Blackra1n but Blackra1n is a one step click process.

Once you have jailbroken the phone, you can then proceed to unlock it with either ultrasn0w or blackSn0w, that involves running an app on the phone which causes the unlock to be injected in to the phones baseband software. At that point you will be unlocked and there is no need to run it again.