Redsn0w, PwnageTool With iOS 5.1.1 Untethered Jailbreak Support & Ultrasn0w For iOS 5.1.1 Released

iPhone Dev team has just released a new version of Redsn0w and PwnageTool, which includes Rocky Racoon and untethered iOS 5.1.1 jailbreak developed by pod2g and planetbeing that was used in Absinthe 2.0.x jailbreak.

If you were having problems jailbreaking your iOS device with Absinthe 2.0.x then you could try again using Redsn0w 0.9.12b1.

If you've already jailbroken your iOS device using Absinthe 2.0.x, iPhone Dev team's CLI tool or the Rocky Racoon 5.1.1 Untether, then you don't need to use Redsn0w or PwnageTool.

iPhone Dev team have provided the following information about Redsn0w 0.9.12b1 on their blog:

redsn0w allows owners of A4+earlier devices to install rocky-racoon two different ways:

• backup/restore method similar to Absinthe and cinject
• its traditional limera1n-based ramdisk install.  If you have a lot of media on your A4 device (music, movies, TV shows, etc), then the ramdisk method is preferrred because it avoids any possibility of later problems related to syncing to iCloud (including Photo Stream and Music Match).  The ramdisk method is not available for A5 devices or later because limera1n can’t be used.  If you’d like to use redsn0w’s ramdisk method, just be sure to put the A4 device in DFU or Recovery mode before starting redsn0w (otherwise it will immediately start to use the backup/restore method).

iPhone Dev team has also added support for the SAM unlock, which allows you to add the SAM tickets that you might have saved as part of your initial ramdisk jailbreak of iPhone 4 or earlier. Alternatively, it allows you can upload your SAM tickets to any device after its been jailbroken.

redsn0w accepts either the individual SAM activation ticket plist file, or the entire zip file created by redsn0w’s “Backup” button. 

Redsn0w 0.9.12b1 now allows users to jailbreak their iOS device on iOS 5.1.1 all the way back to iOS 4.1.

PwnageTool 5.1.1 allows users who depend on Ultrasn0w to unlock their iPhone, to create and update iPhone with custom pre-jailbroken iOS 5.1.1 firmware file to preserve the baseband. PwnageTool is available only for Mac users. iH8sn0w had released Sn0wbreeze 2.9.5 for Windows users. Dev team has also released an updated version of Ultrasn0w (v1.2.7), which now supports iOS 5.1.1 that can be installed after preserving baseband with PwnageTool or Sn0wbreeze. iPhone Dev team have provided the following information about PwnageTool and Ultrasn0w: 

PwnageTool also avoids any possible sync issues, but again it applies only to A4+earlier devices.  If you unlock your iPhone with ultrasn0w or a commercial method, you must use PwnageTool to avoid updating your baseband otherwise you’ll lose the unlock.  PwnageTool will also jailbreak+untether the AppleTV2,1 5.0_2B206f (unless you customize the IPSW further, you’ll have just basic SSH access to the device).

iPhone Dev team had included PwnageTool functionality into Redsn0w last year so it's not clear why they've again released PwnageTool as a standalone tool to create custom iOS 5.1.1 firmware file.

Here're the download links:

• Redsn0w 0.9.12b1 for Mac
• Redsn0w 0.9.12b1 for Windows (Run in administrator mode)
• PwnageTool 5.1.1 for Mac
• cjinject 0.5.4 for Mac and Windows

As always, let us know how it goes.

If you want to show your appreciation for iOS 5.1.1 Jailbreak team's hard work, then don't forget to give them a donation via PayPal link on Dev team's blog.

Read More

Has AT&T Unlocked Your Off-Contract iPhone Yet? [Updated]

It's April 8th, and according to AT&T's statement issued a couple of days back, the carrier plans to unlock users with off-contract AT&T iPhones starting today.

AT&T lists the following requirements in order for you to be eligible for an unlock:

• Your account must be in good standing.
• You should have completed the 24 months contract period, or paid an early termination fee, or upgraded under one of AT&T's upgrade policies.

According to some readers that have commented on the announcement post, the awareness about this policy change isn't high enough among AT&T's customer service reps, so expect a few clueless responses from the other end of the line when you call AT&T for an unlock.

A few comments from readers:

lynda writes: I called AT&T this morning, just after they opened the customer support lines. First customer service rep said that absolutely no-way could they unlock an iPhone, then cut me off. Second customer service rep said the same, but then did a little more research and acknowledged that they now can unlock iPhones that satisfy the requirements. However, despite the rep being able to see that my phone qualifies, they do not have access to unlock codes.

Happy writes: Called AT&T earlier today told them I have three iPhones and that I do not have an AT&T account with them and asked if I would be able to get them unlocked on the 8th and she said as long as they were free of contracts and charges they would be unlocked free of charge:}:}:}:} About time.

One reader whose unlock request did get accepted by AT&T writes in the comments section:

I just called ATT a while ago and requested to unlock my iPhone 4S which I paid the full retail price for. The guy I spoke to asked for my name, email, phone and IMEI. Put the request in and gave me a request confirmation. He confirms I will get details of how to unlock my iPhone a week from the day I called which is today. So fingers crossed.

You can note your device's IMEI number by navigating to Settings -> General -> About, or by connecting your iPhone to iTunes and checking it from there. (You have to click on the Phone number field twice to see the IMEI number.) Alternatively, you could get this number from the SIM tray.

After AT&T processes your request, which seems to be a week from the time they accept your unlock request, you'd be given instructions to complete your unlock.

You can call AT&T on 1-800-CALL-ATT (1-800-225-5288) or contact them via the online chat feature here and hope that the customer service rep on the phone has been briefed about AT&T's policy change on iPhone unlocks.

Update 1:

A forum member on iMore claims he has managed to get his AT&T iPhone unlocked:

Today, 4/8/12, I called AT&T to unlock my contract free 3GS. Took 30 minutes on T’s end to get the unlock code, and only 5 minutes to perform a backup and restore via iTunes. Interestingly enough, the phone number shows as NA in the iTunes screen. Same IMEI and ICCID if you click on the same spot.

Update 2:

Thanks everyone for the feedback.

While most readers who are eligible for the unlock are being told to wait for a week to get their unlock instructions, some readers have managed to get their iPhone unlocked. We're not sure what's the criteria.

Since it has been less than 24-months since the launch of iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S, the only way you will be able to get your iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S unlocked would be if you pay the early termination fee.

Update 3:

Please note that you can also request for the unlock using the online chat feature on AT&T's website. Use this link to use the chat feature.

Update 4:

Ideally, you should not be required to restore your iPhone, connecting your iPhone to iTunes once your IMEI has been added to the whitelist should be sufficient (Check out Update 8 for more details). So restore your iPhone only if connecting to iTunes after you get a confirmation from AT&T does not work.

Update 5:

If you've purchased a used AT&T iPhone, then it looks like AT&T is looking at the original owner's history and checking if he or she has completed the terms of his contract, to verify if the used iPhone is eligible for the unlock. Hat tip to chpwn!

Update 6:

According to chpwn, the maximum number of iPhones that AT&T will unlock per account is apparently 5.

Update 7:

If you're eligible for the unlock, then you should receive the following email from AT&T, which provides the instructions to complete the unlock (via MacRumors). As we've mentioned earlier, you should not be required to restore your iPhone, connecting your iPhone to iTunes once your IMEI has been added to the whitelist should be sufficient (Check out Update 8 for more details). So restore your iPhone only if connecting to iTunes does not work after you get the confirmation email from AT&T.

Update 8:

Check out our step-by-step guide on how to unlock your off-contract AT&T iPhone without losing the jailbreak.

Update 9:

Users without an off-contract AT&T iPhone can check out this method to unlock iPhone using SAM.

Don't forget to let us know what response you get from AT&T in the comments below.

Read More

AT&T to Unlock Off-Contract iPhones From April 8th

Couple of days back, we reported that best option to get your AT&T iPhone unlocked after the contract period was to send an email to Tim Cook.

At that time, we had mentioned that though it was nice to see Tim Cook going out of his way to ensure that the customer's iPhone is unlocked, we couldn't understand why users have to escalate matters to get their iPhones unlocked after they've completed their contractual obligation.

We've some great news for AT&T iPhone users. Engadget has just reported that AT&T has changed its policy for off-contract iPhones. It plans to start unlocking off-contract iPhone from April 8th.

We've just received word of a spicy strategy change, to be enacted this Sunday, that's sure to please the AT&T iPhone-loving masses. On Easter, select Ma' Bell customers with iPhones -- those off-contract with accounts in good standing -- will be able to request a carrier unlock for their device.  Once freed, any micro-SIM can be used -- provided its carrier's frequencies are supported -- by the smartphone. An AT&T spokesperson was able to confirm that "a policy change concerning iPhones" would indeed be rolled-out on Sunday, but declined to elaborate further.

Engadget reports that AT&T spokesperson has also confirmed the change in policy. This means that after AT&T customers have finished their 24-months contract they will be get their iPhones unlocked so that it can be used with any other GSM carrier. Update: It turns into a factory unlocked iPhone, so you don't need to be worried about locking it again when you update to the latest iOS software update.

AT&T has issued the following statement to MacRumors:

Beginning Sunday, April 8, we will offer qualifying customers the ability to unlock their AT&T iPhones. The only requirements are that a customer’s account must be in good standing, their device cannot be associated with a current and active term commitment on an AT&T customer account, and they need to have fulfilled their contract term, upgraded under one of our upgrade policies or paid an early termination fee.

We wonder if Tim Cook (or the flurry of emails he may have received) had anything to do with this policy. But anyways, it is good to see AT&T finally making a pro-customer policy change.

We expect the resale value of older iPhones to go up slightly as a side effect of this move and giving users one less reason to jailbreak their iPhone.

We would love to find out how this policy change affects you, so sounds off in the comments.

Read More