Walk a newb through jailbreak/unlock?

[MBHockey]

I find myself in the very non-unique situation of wanting to sell my iPhone 3G to offset some of the cost of the iPhone 3G S, and I realize I can do a bit better on the sale if I sell it as unlocked. I've never jailbroken or unlocked or anything like that. I don't know if I've ever even read the Hacks forum until yesterday.

I have put together some information so far. Please let me know if this is right.

Ok so first off, I have an iPhone 3G running 2.2.1 and the dreaded 2.30.03 modem firmware. The Internets tell me that this combo cannot be unlocked via yellowsnow.

But then I read you can downgrade the modem firmware to a version that can be unlocked via yellow snow (with fuzzy something -- available on the Cydia store).

So to me it seems I should do this in the following order:

1) Jailbreak the iPhone with QuickPwn
2) Install the fuzzy modem downgrader app from Cydia
3) use yellowsnow to unlock 2.2.1

Is there anything I'm missing here? Did i misunderstand anything entirely? Is there any way to know the bootloader version prior to jailbreaking, so I can see if the fuzzy downgrader app should work on my phone?

 

[AirAssault]

It all depends on what boot loader you have.... 5.8 you can downgrade and unlock, 5.9 and you are toast.
Jailbreaking is very simple, start the program and do what it says.

 

[Manzana]

Why would a jailbroken iphone sell for more on ebay?

Do you mean unlocked so it can be used on any network?

 

[TSX]

Got to youtube and look up "how to jailbreak" and you'll realize how easy it is.

 

[rmorningst1]

I find myself in the very non-unique situation of wanting to sell my iPhone 3G to offset some of the cost of the iPhone 3G S, and I realize I can do a bit better on the sale if I sell it as unlocked. I've never jailbroken or unlocked or anything like that. I don't know if I've ever even read the Hacks forum until yesterday.

I have put together some information so far. Please let me know if this is right.

Ok so first off, I have an iPhone 3G running 2.2.1 and the dreaded 2.30.03 modem firmware. The Internets tell me that this combo cannot be unlocked via yellowsnow.

But then I read you can downgrade the modem firmware to a version that can be unlocked via yellow snow (with fuzzy something -- available on the Cydia store).

So to me it seems I should do this in the following order:

1) Jailbreak the iPhone with QuickPwn
2) Install the fuzzy modem downgrader app from Cydia
3) use yellowsnow to unlock 2.2.1

Is there anything I'm missing here? Did i misunderstand anything entirely? Is there any way to know the bootloader version prior to jailbreaking, so I can see if the fuzzy downgrader app should work on my phone?

You have it correct. Your only problem is what bootloader the iphone has. If it was a phone purchased on the launch date then it should work flawlessly. If it tells you that you cannot downgrade the baseband with the fuzzy downgrader, then you are out of luck. Here are the 3 sites I followed to successfully unlock 2 phones:

1st: http://www.metacafe.com/watch/yt-4YYnFRCTwJU/how_to_jailbreak_and_unlock_2_2_1_iphone_or_ipod_touch/
2nd: http://www.iclarified.com/entry/index.php?enid=3977
3rd: http://www.macgeekblog.com/blog/archive/2009/01/01/iphone-3g-unlock-tutorial-with-yellow-snow.html

 

[MBHockey]

Why would a jailbroken iphone sell for more on ebay?

Do you mean unlocked so it can be used on any network?

Yeah -- I said unlocked in the first post, not jailbroken. I think you just misread my first post.

Thanks for the help guys.

So there is now way to know the bootloader version without it being jailbroken? I don't really want to jailbreak it just for the fuzzy downgrader app to tell me it doesn't support my phone.

This iPhone 3G is a replacement (service unit) for one whose lock button stopped working about a month ago -- doesn't sound promising does it?

 

[rmorningst1]

Yeah -- I said unlocked in the first post, not jailbroken. I think you just misread my first post.

Thanks for the help guys.

So there is now way to know the bootloader version without it being jailbroken? I don't really want to jailbreak it just for the fuzzy downgrader app to tell me it doesn't support my phone.

This iPhone 3G is a replacement (service unit) for one whose lock button stopped working about a month ago -- doesn't sound promising does it?

It has something to do with when it was manufactured. There is a number you can look at and it will tell you what week of the year it was made. This will tell you if the fuzzy downgrader will work or not. Just google it.

 

[MBHockey]

Thanks for the info. My serial number starts with 5K, so it looks like I probably have 5.08 and should be able to downgrade.

Just one last thing -- does jailbreaking "reformat" the phone? Will I have to re-sync everything after the jailbreak, or does it leave my data in tact?

Also, does a full restore back to normal 2.2.1 firmware through iTunes also restore the modem firmware to 2.30.03? Or will it stay the downgraded version if I do a restore?