How To: Unlock the iPhone 3G/3GS/4 on iOS 4

I. Before You Begin

1. This will work on the iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, and iPhone 4 on iOS 4 (aka iPhone OS 4).

2. This will work on all basebands up to 5.13.04 (check your baseband by going to Settings > General > About and looking for Modem Firmware).

3. In order to unlock the iPhone, you must have jailbroken your iPhone. If you have not, then please do one of our procedure to jailbreak your iPhone model:

How To: Jailbreak iPhone 3G
How To: Jailbreak iPhone 3GS (Coming ASAP)
How To: Jailbreak iPhone 4 (Coming ASAP)

II. Unlock the iPhone

1. If you jailbroke your iPhone, you have an app called Cydia on your phone. Click on it.

2. If this is your first time opening Cydia, allow it to update itself and choose Graphical Only when asked. It may reboot a few times.

3. Once it is done updating and setting up, click the Manage tab at the bottom.

4. Select the Sources button.

5. Click Edit at the top right, then click Add at the top left.

6. Enter http://repo666.ultrasn0w.com for the source url (KEEP IN MIND THE 0 is a “zero” not an “oh”). Then click ok.

7. Click Return to Cydia button then click Done.

8. Select the Repo666.UltraSn0w.com under User Entered Source.

9. Select UltraSn0w the app

10. Then click Install at the top right of the screen and then Confirm in the same place.

11. Once installed press Reboot, and the phone will reboot.

12. Now goto Settings > General > Network and turn OFF 3G (if you are using T-Mobile USA) and ON Data Roaming.

13. Pop in the SIM you want to use and viola! Enjoy!

Reported Issues:

Issue: Says searching forever after I finished this procedure and won’t recognize the new SIM.

Solution: Simply goto Settings > General >Reset > Reset Network Settings (do NOT click reset ANYTHING ELSE besides Network Settings). Phone will reboot and find the network.

89 thoughts on “How To: Unlock the iPhone 3G/3GS/4 on iOS 4”

  1. what a great job you’ve done. now i can use my 3gs to travel to other country. thx a million.
    one more question: i was on 3.13 / 05.12.01 before i jailbreak and unlock. now can i upgrade to ios4??

    Thx

    1. Kevin,

      Do NOT upgrade to 4.0 on a 3GS. Even though this unlock will work on 4.0 you wont be able to jailbreak if you upgrade (and out need to be jailbroken to use this unlock).
      You need to download Pwnagetool and upgrade to 4.0 using a custom firmware from that program instead of upgrading directly through iTunes.
      Well put up the how to jailbreak the iPhone 3GS on iOS 4 as soon as it can be done safely (once we have that up you can upgrade to 4.0 and then use the new jailbreak).

      1. hello unlocker,

        i’m from Philippines and i have this iphone 3gs with iOS 4.1.. my dad sent me also this from US.. i just want to ask if i’ll send him back and let him unlock it there will it finally work here in the Philippines?
        i tried to jailbreak before it but i just found some trouble shooting with cydia so i updated it in itunes and now it is locked again.. is any other way of unlocking iphone 3gs without installing cydia? please help me because i am so frustrated..

    2. Hi
      Got Iphone 3gs with os4 and 5.13.04 ,can i do something to
      enable calls?
      is there any solution coming soon?
      thnx a lot

    1. David,

      Yup. BUT keep in mind you must be jailbroken to unlock. So even though the unlock works for all the phones, we don’t have a safe way to jailbreak iPhone 3GS or iPhone 4 yet. So don’t upgrade to 4.0 on those two phones until you see a how to jailbreak for them on our site.

  2. Just got my iphone4 and lovin’ it. was wodering, when I checked my modem firmware, it’s showing 01.59.00 Anybody else got this firmware?! Hoping I can get this jailbroken and unlocked soon as I will be going to the Philippines in a week and a half. (crossing fingers)

  3. Hey Unlockr thanks for this help on jailbreaking and unlocking my phone, ya’ll are on top of the game like always! but just one problem…. after the unlocking process i was able to use a t-mobile sim card so i know the unlocking we well but now when i open CYDIA i get an error reading “Error: refreshing Data” below it says “Failed to fetch http://repo666.ultrasn0w.com/./Release.gpg Host Unreachable”. Two more appear but read different after the “.com/./”, they read “.com/./en.bz2 Cached Failure”, “.com/./Packages.gz Cached Failure Some index files failed to download, they have been ignored, or old ones used instead.” Whats causing this problem or what should i do?
    Thanks

    1. Dood001,

      Thanks!
      That’s a new error to me honestly. Not sure, I’d suggest starting over as the only thing I could think of.

  4. Hi!
    I’m from the Philippines and I have the iPhone 3G. I upgraded the OS and it started not recognizing my carrier here. I was worried and helpless but when I came across this website, I followed the procedures on how to jailbreak the iPhone and unlock it, it now works. My Globe SIM, which is my local carrier here, just works fine. Thank you so much.

  5. Joshua D. Buenaflor

    Gud afternoon Unlocker,

    Need help my iphone firmware modem is 05.12.01 version 3.1.3(7E18). I’m a first timer user of this unit but unfortunately i can’t use it because it’s still lock can you guide me please. i need to use this cellphone. need urgent reply pls. Thanks in advance.. God Bless.

    Joshua

    1. Joshua,

      What phone is it? IPhone 3G, or 3GS? If its the 3G, then upgrade it to 4.0 and then use our how to jailbreak the iPhone 3G on iOS 4 and then come back to this procedure after to unlock it.
      if its a 3GS, do NOT update it to 4.0 yet and just Google how to jailbreak the iPhone 3gs on 3.1.3 and then come back to this procedure once your jailbroken to unlock it.

  6. So i got this iphone 3gs and it doesnt even show up on itunes because we tried so many codes on it what should i do i need help please !!!

  7. I have iphone 3gs and by mistake i upgraded to iso 4.0 (8A293). Modem Firmware is 05.13.04 I want to unlock the phone ASAP because I am going back to my country. So tell me what to do?

    1. Jatin,

      There is no way to jailbreak the iPhone 3GS on iOS4 yet. Soon as there is it’ll be on our site. Click on How To’s > iPhone How To’s then look for How To Jailbreak the iPhone 3GS on iOS 4. Soon as its there thats where itll show up.

  8. hi
    i’m from dubai
    i have an iphone 3gs with 3.1.3 and 5.12.01
    i could jailbreak it, but wen i go to cydia and follow the procedure to get http://repo666.ultrasn0w.com..i get a message that “DID NOT FIND REPOSITORY”
    I would have probably tried hundred times..but all in vain…could you pls suggest how to overcome this issue??? would really appreciate ur help..
    i guess etisalat (ISP)in UAE has blocked ” repo666.ultrasn0w.com”…if so could you pls suggest if there is VPN setting that can be done on iphone??
    Thanks for ur great work!!

    Regards

    Sam
    thanks

  9. Nice job!!,
    Any one know how to make tmobile internet work?. Before with 3.1.3 was easy just field APN epc.tmobile.com
    but now I don’t have the option to do that.

    Please any one can help me?

    Thanks guys

    1. use wifi and go to http://www.unlockit.co.nz, click tmobile us, and follow the steps, you can also run the 9.99. tmo plan, if you switch to tzones, do it online though with your sim card out, pick a dummy phone that uses the tzones.

  10. chad, thank you very much for your help. I did what you told me and work perfect.

    Once more thank you very much for your help 🙂

  11. My sister gave me an iPhone 3G to unlock. I followed the steps to jailbreak it and then unlocked. Works perfect on my T-Mobile account. However, is it not possible to use the 3G network after the phone has been unlocked? I would like a clarification on that step to turn it off. Thanks!

    1. Raul,

      3G will never work on T-Mobile. 3G is dependant on what 3G frequencies are hardwired into the phone when it is made. Since T-Mobile uses a unique frequency (1700mhz) and Apple only put 850/1900/2100mhz into the phone when they made it (since they had no intention of it going on T-Mobile), you will only get EDGE speed regardless of how you unlock the phone. This is because the phone can simply “not see” the 1700mhz band that T-Mobile is broadcasting in.

      1. What if I am in another country and my phone is currently working with the 3G network? Do I need to disable it after the upgrade to use the internet? There is no hardware issue that I am aware of that should prevent it as long as I do not need to switch off the 3G setting.

        1. Caeruleus,

          No, you only need to disable the 3G if the company you are planning to use does not support 3G on the iPhone (like T-Mobile USA here in the States).

  12. Hey the Unlockr, your threads have been helpful! I know a lot of us out there really appreciate everything you and others do!!! I am HIGHLY anticipating the jailbreak for the 3GS on 4.0, I got stuck between a rock and a hard spot- I have the old bootroom but I got the phone from a friend who had upgraded it, so I am pretty sure I have no way of downgrading, since it wasn’t jailbroken previously, so I am stuck! Grrr.

    Any word at all when we can anticipate this? End of July?

    1. Sizzle2010,

      Damn him for upgrading! lol Ya right now if you upgraded using iTunes on a 3GS or higher, your kinda stuck.
      The new jailbreak is coming according to the dev team, but no word on when. I’d say by the end of July is a good worst case scenario estimate.

  13. Joey Lardieri

    The Unlockr,

    Any news on when i the iPhone 3GS 4.0 Jailbreak will be available?:/
    i got mine from a friend on AT&T and now he gave it to me but ive tried everything to jailbreak it, I Just keep getting Errors on iTunes (1600,1601, etc.)
    So does anyone know when the DEV team will release it???

    These guys do deserve a Whole Bunch of Donations for all the hard work they put into this stuff.
    Good Lord.

  14. Joey Lardieri

    The Unlockr,

    Can’t we Just get our IMEI number form our iPhone and Give it to you guys and unlock it from there???

  15. I followed your great instructions however when I put in my tmobile SIM it goes to the emergency only screen and needs to be activated through iTunes. I can see the T-Mobile icon next to the cell phone signal. When I put the AT&T SIM back in it says “Waiting for Activation, this could take some time” How do I activate the iPhone so I can use it on T-Mobile?

    iPhone 3g with OS 4.0 jailbroken (I have the Cydia app and have installed UltraSn0w)

  16. I have a iphone 3gs, running on 3.1.2 unlocked and jailbroken i use tmobile with it, is their anyway to upgrade to 4.0 and having it unlocked and jailbroken again with no problems? im scared to mess with it unless i have like detailed instructions :/

    1. Stephanie,

      You can either wait for there to be a full unlock for the the 3gs on iOS4 OR you can upgrade using a custom ipsw. Google for Pwnage Tool and it should come up with how to do the upgrading, but it only works on specific models with specific basebands etc so read carefully.
      A jailbreak that works on iOS 4 has not been released yet, but they are working on it.

  17. Hey Unlockr,

    I’m running 4.0.1 version 05.13.04 on a 3g and still can’t unlock sim card. The weird thing is the in the ‘carriers’ there’s a check mark on the provider but still gives me a ‘no service’ message and a restricted access message when I turn my phone off and back on.

  18. hi. i’m contemplating on buying a used iPhone 3G with iOS4, jailbroken. my only concern is if it will work with carriers in the Philippines. what do i need to do for it to work. thanks.

  19. Hi!

    I’ve bought a unlocked and jailbroken iphone 3G in France this summer.. I asked my friend if it is possible to upgrade to 4.0, and then he said that I have to have to original sim card that followed with the phone? Is this true or can i upgrade with my norwegian sim card?

    Regards,

    Emil

  20. Hi Unlockr,

    Thanks for all of your help as always. My question is this:

    Once the jailbreak for the iPhone 4 on iOS 4 is released, if I unlock the iPhone 4, will it be able to run 3GS on other carriers like Verizon?

    1. IPhoneAddict,

      You will never be able to use your iPhone on Verizon. ATT and Verizon use completely different technologies for their phones. ATT uses GSM and Verizon uses CDMA so no matter what you do to the iPhone it will never work on a CDMA carrier.

  21. Now will you guys be posting a video of how to downgrade from 4.0.2 to 4.0.1 cause i cant find a way to jailbreak my iphone 🙁

  22. Okay I ran redsn0w did that all but I still have to activate it on iTunes in order to get to cydia. I’m stuck! I’ve been googling everywhere for hours.

  23. Unlockr….I tried the jail break on my gfs phone worked fine…now i have one and tried it and it did the process cydia is on the home screen but the artwork for it isnt there and it wont do anything i cant even add the repository for repo666 and best off my phone wont shut off it acts like it does and just resets on its own….bye the way its on 4.1

  24. Ok unlockr…i was finaly able to downgrade to 4.0….but now with cydia it give me a netdb: error and ultrasn0w doesnt do anything even though it says its complete….any ideas….

  25. Unlockr

    Im stuck on the searching for network forever….ive reset network multiple times and still nothing 3G is off and all that good stuff…i dont know what else to do…..

  26. well got it figured out….after accidently upgrading to 4.1 it changed my baseband to 5.14.02 which ultrasn0w cannot currently unlock so will have to wait for Dev to come out with an update and right now if ur bootloader or whatever it is, is over 5.08 you can not use fuzzyband to downgrade ur baseband….pretty wack i know….just got iphone 3G white 16GB and cant even use the thing…..i will be paitently waiting for something to happen…and hope it comes quick because my gf is tryin to gt me to sell my phone and that is not gonna happen….sorry for all the post Unlockr

  27. Hello i have a 3gs 3g 32gb and its jailbroken and unlocked on firmwere 4.0 and im curently using Cincinnati Bell and the phone works fine its just that im trying to send MMS and it wont let me at all and i have the proper settings i believe so can i get some help on what to do thanks….please email me at anthonyrothwell@yahoo.com THANKS ALOT

    1. Anthony Rothwell,

      What firmware is is on? The iPhone never had the ability to send MMS until a certain firmware (it was pretty late in getting it).
      Otherwise, search our site for Internet/MMS Settings in the search box at the top of the site and we have a page with a collection of settings.

  28. Just curious on if and when will you guys be posting some new jailbreaking software for the 4.1 software that apple released for the iPhone. I tried to jailbreak my phone not realizing that the update wouldn’t let me jailbreak it so now I’m stuck with my 3g iPhone with now 4.1 update and a base firmware of 5.14.23. I just want to say thanks as well because I love the site, it’s helped me out a lot in the past few months.

  29. If you go to sinfuliphone.com and search the forum for Fuzzband (5.14.02) in the search and bring up the thread you will find aze2learn has a method to use fuzzyband 4.0 to downgrade BB 5.14.02 but you HAVE TO HAVE BOOTLOADER 5.08 or it wont work…you are just simply using ifunbox to place the 5.14.02.cert file into the fuzzyband application to accept BB 5.14.02 after a few trys you will succeed in downgrading your baseband if your lucky it will work first try…BUT YOU MUST HAVE BOOTLOADER 5.08 and fuzzyband will tell you if u have that Bootloader…..the .cert file is located in the thread for you to download….all credit to aze2learn…..just read his post in the thread easy to follow instructions

  30. Thanks Mike for the info, I’ll try it out and let you know how it goes, But will this help me in unlocking or jailbreaking my phone? Curious…. Thanks again.

  31. Hi,
    when my I-phone is unlocked and running on T-mobile, will I be able to access and download apps from the app store?

      1. Thanks a-lot. I did unlock it, but after a day or two using it, I hated it. I went out and bought a Mytouch 4G that blows the pants off of the Iphone 3g or 3Gs, I never used an Iphone 4 but after watching about 25 IPhone 4 VS. Mytouch4G videos on youtube and the MT4G beats the Iphone 4 every time, Not to mention wifi calling, and flash 10 out of the box.

  32. So check this out I buy and Iphone 16GB on ebay jail break it and unlock it thinking I can use it for T-mobile and I am the tool that finds out it is uses a smaller sim card. I guess the joke is on ME! Screw AT&T!

      1. Thanks Unlockr! I figured I should google the smaller sim cards and I read an article about how they were the same sim just without the plastic around it so I took a box cutter to mine and got it to work. 🙂

  33. But then of course like a moron I realize the person that had it before me already updated it to 4.1 so I didn’t unlock it just jail broke it.. So I have been trying to downgrade back to 4.0.1 with no avail so far. I am using a MacBook and downloaded the firmware and changed the hosts file in the etc folder with the included line I found on some youtube videos to (Trick Itunes) into thinking its talking with apple but I keep getting the (This device isn’t eligible for the requested build) error message. Any thoughts? Or am I SOL until a better unlock comes out for 4.1?

  34. Hello Unlockr.. badly needed your expert help. im from Philippines and my dad sent me an iphone 4 from US..
    version: 4.1 (8b117)
    modem firmware: 02.10.04

    can you unlock this? im really really frustrated now.. will treat your lunch for your help… pls.. thnx in advance. will be waiting for your reply..

  35. Please help I have iphone 4 with 4.0.2 baseband 01.59.00.
    used limera1n to jailbreak and Ultrasn0w 1.0-1 to unlock

    I’ve tried it several times but it’s not working. I keep losing the carrier after about 5-10 minutes, I can make calls in this 5-10 minute period but after I lose unlock and the phone shows a single bar,without carrier. (tmobile)

    I have to reboot he phone to use another 5-10 minutes than same story.
    MY unlock is not permanent, it keeps going away, any idea how to fix this?

    Should I upgrade to 4.1 with using tiny umbrella in order to keep the baseband 01.59.00. and try to unlock and jailbreak again?

  36. Hello unlocker,
    I have modem firmware 05.14.02 and i have tried your procedure and i cannot get my phone to unlock. I am using a telus sim card if that makes a difference. Can you help me?

  37. I have an iphone 3g i unlocled with ultra snow and i have done this process with 3.1.2, 4.0, 4.0.1, 4.0.2 and all of them still say searching at the top. I cant seem to get out of it. I am a t-mobile user what should i do. I am on 4.1 now and it still wont work.

  38. Hi…I have the 3g and went thru the steps to jailbreak my phone. Now I cannot make calls. The phone icon is missing and cannot make calls from my contact list…any ideas??

  39. Hi…I have the 3g and went thru the steps to jailbreak my phone. Now I cannot make calls. The phone icon is missing and cannot make calls from my contact list…any ideas??

  40. I tried to update my 3g phone thinking it was unlocked but it was not. Now it is blocked telling me that i have the wrong sim card. What should I do. Thanks in advance.

  41. Hey I just jail broke and unlocked my iPhone 3GS. Version 4.1 and Modem Firmware 05.14.02. But I can’t get past the problem of my phone constantly saying “searching…” instead of T-Mobile. I have taken your steps of resetting the network settings, but still does not fix the “searching…” problem. Please let me know if you have a solution for me! Thanks.

  42. i bought iPhone 4 in India in March Version 4.0.2, Model MC605B, firmware 01.59.00
    why i cant upgrade my iOS? in India & in UK… everybody said i cant.. why?

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