Upgrade a old Jailbroken iPhone 3G

June 27, 2009 11:21 PM

I'm so unhip, my Jailbroken iPhone 3G is at ver. 2.1 . Unsure how best to make it shiny and cool again.

My iPhone 3G has been running the jailbroken 2.1 firmware, as a result of the one and only jailbreak I've done. I don't understand the internals of the process well, let alone the dependencies. Being both a salty, weathered professional in technology, and an utter control-freak, I'm a bit hesitant to just go ahead with some of the instructions I've seen online. Hence, I'm reaching out to the hive mind.

When recently I found that the Facebook app for iPhone won't run on 2.1, I realized I finally have to take the step of continuing with the jailbreaking process. So I'd like to upgrade to 2.2.1, or heck maybe even 3.0. However I haven't found much info out there related to upgrading from such an "old" firmware version.

I've downloaded QuickPwn 2.2.5-2, along with firmware version "iPhone1,2_2.2.1_5H11_Restore.ipsw" and am ready to give it a go .... once I've gotten some reassurance that I'm not jumping too quickly :-)

Subquestion 1: Are there any caveats (esp. related to loss of data - contacts, calendar, etc.) for upgrading from 2.1 directly to 2.2.1 or 3.0, i.e. skipping 2.2 or any other intermediate version? (Note, I am not concerned about the baseband-upgrade caveat; I've no intention of ever unlocking my iphone.)

Subquestion 2: What's the role of iTunes in all this? I'm running 8.0.0.xx ; one document I found indicated that 8.2 is necessary, but another said that this would "break" jailbreaking. (Note, I'm running iTunes on Windows, not Mac.)

Subquestion 3: Does the jailbreaking process require that I first upgrade to the non-jailbroken version of firmware (using iTunes) and *then* install the jailbroken version? Or can I just upgrade from jailbroken-version-2.1 to jailbroken-version-2.2.1_or_3.0 ?

Subquestion 4: Is my understanding correct that, after I've successfully upgraded the iPhone to whichever-version of firmware, that iTunes is then to be used to do a restore of all my data back onto the phone?

Thanks in advance for your help,
Old Wussy Geezer

posted by armoir from antproof case to computers & internet (18 comments total)

Sigh... should have proofread the title.... er, I mean, I'm hoping that the bad grammar attracts lots of readers!
posted by armoir from antproof case at 11:22 PM on June 27

The 3.0 jailbreak is available from the iPhone Dev-Team. You can go straight to the 3.0 jailbreak.

You can use redsn0w or PwnageTool which are both linked on their page. I found redsn0w to be faster and easier, but the instructions to get your phone into DFU mode arent as detailed as in PwnageTool.

You will need iTunes 8.2 and your data will be safe- make sure you back up your phone before upgrade.
posted by wongcorgi at 12:07 AM on June 28

I agree that you can probably go straight to 3.0. I skipped 2.2.2 myself.
However, I prefer Pwnagetool to redsn0w because when I jailbroke to 3.0 with redsn0w I got errors when I tried to install almost anything in Cydia, including automatic updates.

Also, Pwnagetool gives you a lot more options if you go to "Expert mode." Here are a few:

Choose your boot logo Normal apple, Pwnapple (Pineapple), Custom...

Not include the seems-to-me-to-be-useless-at-the-moment Icy (which is a Cydia alternative)

Select packages to pre-install in Cydia right away.
posted by N2O1138 at 1:27 AM on June 28

EDIT: Sorry, I kinda skipped some of your sub-questions.

SubQ 2: It should be safe to update to iTunes 8.

SubQ 3: I went to a non-jailbroken 3.0 first, but I'm pretty sure you can go straight to jailbroken 3.0. If not, Pwnagetool will say that your firmware is incompatible.

SubQ 4: iTunes will back up all your App Store data, including saved games/passwords/etc. However, it won't save applications and tweaks from Cydia. To save those you should install and run a Cydia app called Aptbackup (as opposed to Appbackup).
posted by N2O1138 at 1:34 AM on June 28

Oh, great... it looks like both wongcorgi and I missed that you were on Windows. Pwnagetool isn't for Windows. I would either use redsn0w or wait for Quickpwn 3.0.

By the way, I have a first-generation iPod Touch, so my results could be different than your iPhone 3G
posted by N2O1138 at 1:47 AM on June 28

Hey, thanks for the speedy replies, and the good information. And the votes of confidence.

So, I've went ahead and followed the instructions here for using redsn0w (on Windows). First I downloaded the 3.0 fw from the apple site, the fired up redsn0w and had it 'process' this .ipsw file; then followed the instuctions for getting redsn0w to put the phone into DFSU mode (all the button pressing and counting etc.)

It looked as though the process went as expected - the redsn0w wizard got to & through the part asking me if I wanted Cydia - then about 3 or 4 reboots of the device -- then to a box that had a button labelled "finished!" which I pressed. Then redsn0w closed, but the phone still has the HDD icon and says "Downloading Jailbreak Data..." and the swirly Circle of Hope at the bottom....

It's been at that point for about 10 minutes now..... wondering if all is well, or if I'm hosed....
posted by armoir from antproof case at 2:06 AM on June 28

Soon after that post, the phone screen flickered then came up with an screen showing a USB cable pointing to an iTunes icon. Then my PC detected a device, referring to it as "iphone restore device" or some such. Fired up iTunes, told me it had to connect to Apple Software Updates (?) in order to determine the type of device.... eventually I got to the Update / Restore screen 'cept that Restore was my only option. I pressed Shift then Restore, browsed to the IPSW I had downloaded previously (and which I'd pointed redsn0w to -- is this the original, or "processed" version?) and now it appears to be restoring the iPhone.

Waiting nervously....
posted by armoir from antproof case at 2:17 AM on June 28

After a nice long healthy wait, the phone's screen returned to a screen similar to the one described above, with the USB cable and iTunes icon, but at the bottom along the slider were phrases in several languages scrolling by, to the effect of "For emergency....". Then iTunes came up on the PC, saying:
-- "Your phone has been restored to factory settings...."
-- "Connecting to itunes store..."
-- "[Set up your iphone] ; "An iphone has previously been synched with this computer / restore from the backup of:

And now it's "Restoring iPhone from backup..." Phone's screen says "Restore in Progress.... iPhone is activated" and it's attempted to register with the GSM network, or so I've heard via the interference with the nearby speakers.

A little while later, my PC began making the sounds of USB connections stopping & starting, and the phone's screen changed to the Apple logo icon & another progress bar. At this point, it looks like my contacts are being synched, and iTunes shows "Updating applications on iPhone..."

Looks like I have a fresh 3.0 iPhone. Unclear whether it's running the Jailbroken version or not. Will post again once I know....
posted by armoir from antproof case at 2:42 AM on June 28

I successfully jailbroke and unlocked an iPhone 3G just yesterday. Please follow the instructions on this link for jailbreaking instructions.

If you would like to unlock your iPhone 3G, please follow the instructions on this link (via ultrasn0w).

Before you jailbreak/unlock the phone, please do a complete restore with an upgrade to the 3.0 firmware. Let us know how it went.
posted by mahoganyslide at 2:51 AM on June 28

iTunes has been sitting on "Updating applications on iPhone..." for several minutes now, still showing "Installing aSleep" without any movement of the progress bar.

Decided to slide the slider and stop the synch. Looks like my contacts, calendar, SMS's, etc. are there.
posted by armoir from antproof case at 2:52 AM on June 28

Uh Oh! The links didn't come through in my last post. Sorry!

For jailbreaking: http://www.iclarified.com/entry/index.php?enid=4254

For unlocking: http://blog.iphone-dev.org/post/128573459/ultras-now
posted by mahoganyslide at 2:52 AM on June 28

Thanks, mahoganyslide. I'm assuming that my phone is now running the stock 3.0, with a partial restore (no apps yet). Tomorrow I'll try to go through the jailbreak again. Perhaps this whole excercise has demostrated that it's *not* possible to upgrade straight to a jailbroken 3.0. At least, not from jailbroken 2.1
posted by armoir from antproof case at 2:54 AM on June 28

You're exactly right armoir, a jailbroken firmware cannot be upgraded to another jailbroken firmware directly (without any Cydia trickery at least). Your best option is to do a complete restore that has no signs of a jailbreak, and then follow the instructions on iClarified. Best of luck!
posted by mahoganyslide at 3:21 AM on June 28

A tip for redsn0w. ONLY install cydia. Do not install both Icy and Cydia in the jaulbreak process. It will lead to the problems N2O1138 experienced. Once you have jailbroken and updated cydia you can install Icy from cydia.
posted by gergtreble at 4:43 AM on June 28 [1 favorite has favorites]

I'm assuming that my phone is now running the stock 3.0, with a partial restore (no apps yet).

Just a note - if you think it didn't restore your apps, check to see if there's a blank page of apps - every iPhone and iPod Touch in my house that was upgraded to 3.0 put an extra blank screen after the Voice Memos app and we initially thought the apps weren't there. Then we scrolled to the right. This happened on both jailbroken and non-jailbroken devices.
posted by bedhead at 9:55 AM on June 28 [1 favorite has favorites]

IMPORTANT:

If you restore a jailbroken phone and you were running Categories from Cydia, UNINSTALL Categories before you restore. If you don't, your app icons will be invisible, resulting in possible pages of unused desktop.
posted by sourwookie at 11:18 AM on June 28

sourwookie. you can get round that by doing a homescreen layout reset.

Settings>>General>>Reset>>Reset Home Screen Layout.
posted by gergtreble at 1:43 PM on June 28

I sort of left this thread dead. Bad armoir! So, things turned out much less bleak that where I'd left off. After the next couple of restores, or synchs, or whatever, I got all my old purchased apps back, along with all my personal data, etc. etc. So the 3.0 upgrade was pretty flawless. I do still need to jailbreak, but it sounds as though that will be much more feasible now that I'm already up to stock 3.0.

Man, this thing is *So* much more stable now, than all those long months I was still running 2.1 . I was living in the dark ages.
posted by armoir from antproof case at 11:32 PM on July 17