Has anyone tried to downgrade back to 4.2.8 since the upgrade? Its been successful accept itunes cant activate it after restore, any suggestions?? Thnx
Downgrading from IOS 5 to IOS 4.2.8
- Thread starter mruiz949
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Downgrading from IOS 5 to IOS 4.2.8
- Thread starter mruiz949
- Start date
Bluering
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Do you mean, you've gone back to 4.2.8 and now you are having problem with iTunes? What made you go back to 4.2.8?
No I've downgraded back to 4.2.8 but iTunes won't activate it. I get an error message. Because theirs no untethered jb out for ios 5 yet.
iSteveO
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The reason iTunes cannot activate 4.2.8 is because you are trying to use the iOS 5 baseband (modem firmware), which was upgraded when you restored to iOS 5. Before iOS 5 was released to the public, you could have downgraded back to 4.2.10 to get back the iOS 4 baseband then downgraded to 4.2.8 using iFaith, but now it is too late as apple is no longer signing the old 4.2.10 iOS (SHSH). If you had created a custom IPSW file using the "preserve baseband" option, and upgraded to iOS 5 using it, you would still be on the old bb in iOS 5. Since you did a clean restore from apple, allowing them to update your bb, you will no longer be able to downgrade, (for now) even with saved SHSH's. I did the same thing you did, but I was lucky enough to do it while apple was still signing 4.2.10, prior to public release of 5. This way I was able to use a clean restore from apple to get it back down to 4.2.10 and iOS 4 bb. Once the bb was restored to iOS 4, and the firmware was restored to 4.2.10, I was able to create a custom signed IPSW file using iFaith and my SHSH to downgrade to 4.2.8 without activation errors. You have just learned a very important lesson about basebands and how apple has many ways, not just SHSH files, to ensure that you don't try to cheat old firmware versions. The only option you MIGHT, MIGHT, MIGHT have is to use Redsn0w to update to the iPad bb, and restore using a custom Sn0wbreeze IPSW using a pre-10.5 version of iTunes. The one caveat to this is that you will have to use custom IPSW files to restore from now on, and you will have to rely on "Hacktivation," which I am not sure will work with CDMA iPhones yet. You'll have to do your own research on that. Your best option at this point is to stay with iOS 5, use the tethered Redsn0w 0.9.9b7 jailbreak tool, then install the SemiTether tweak from BigBoss (Repo address http://thebigboss.org/semitether). This will give you iOS 5 Jailbroken that will allow you to boot to an IT Safe-Mode-like state without booting tethered until you can get to a PC to use the same Redsn0w to boot tethered. This tweak just came out yesterday, so it is in its infancy still. I hope this helps you find the best path to get your device back to a somewhat agreeable state. If you use the last option, I recommend updating to iOS 5 clean, then Jailbreak tethered, then install AppSync for 5+, then use itunes to restore from backup to get all your info and data back on the phone, then install the SemiTether tweak. If you do it in this order, you should get no errors, and be able to boot tethered to a jailbroken state or untethered to an IT Safe-Mode-like state until you have time to boot tethered. The SemiTethered state will allow you to use your phone and send/receive texts, but no jailbroken apps or tweaks will work, nor will Safari (just install a 3rd party browser to get around this), or mail (can also use 3rd party and webmail apps). But at least you will be able to use the phone, and won't be stuck in a boot-loop, or get stuck on the recovery screen. I hope this helps you out, and good luck!
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toplicphone
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good explanation 
iSteveO
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good explanation
Thanks toplicphone! I know how frustrating it can be to get partial information, or to not have the down-sides disclosed to you before you try something. I appreciate your approval, as this is my first post anywhere.
carbrad
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Just curious. Why do you want to go back to 4.2.8 from 5.0? I am still sitting and waiting at 4.2.8 till an untethered comes along but am thinking of making the jump to 5.0. Do you miss your tweaks or is there something about 5.0 that you dislike?
iSteveO
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I'm actually in the same boat as you, carbrad. When the iOS 5 Gold Master came out on 10/8, I updated to check it out, and to see if my absolutely necessary favorite tweak (Bluetooth Mono SBSettings Toggle) was functional. I must say that I absolutely love iOS 5 and the Notification Center and the dev's have done a great job of porting almost all of the great tweaks over to the new firmware. That being said, the tethered jailbreak is just a tad (and I do mean just a measly tad) unstable. Keep in mind, it is still in beta and tethered. Of course, I immediately knew I would be downgrading because BT Mono did not work in iOS 5, and I live on this tweak everyday at work listening to Howard Stern through my headset (great for GPS in the car too). The worst part is, it seems as though the original dev on the project has abandoned it, and won't give up the source code or even respond to emails; so I doubt it'll be getting an upgrade for iOS 5. At this point, that is the only thing holding me back, besides maybe a bit of apprehension about the tethered status of the jailbreak, and it's stability relative to the untethered 4.2.8 Jailbreakme3.0. You know the old adage, if it ain't broke, don't fix it! Since the final iOS 5 had not been released to the public yet, I was able to just plug it into iTunes 10.4 and restore to 4.1.10 to get my baseband and then use a custom iFaith IPSW to restore back to 4.2.8 (as there was no bb change from 4.2.8-4.2.10). That is (was) the only way to get the bb back down to iOS 4. Now you're kind of in the dog-house if you upgraded to iOS 5 without using a bb preserving IPSW, because apple will no longer allow you to restore to anything but iOS 5 for the 3GS, 4 & 4s, and 4.1 or 4.2.1 on the 3G. Even if you use TinyUmbrella's TSS Server, it has no ability to change your baseband. I hope you find my explanation helpful in your decision, but in the end it is all about your preference. I've told you mine. Thank you for your interest.
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anneathome
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I have a similar problem trying to revert to previous os. I gave my wife my old 3g first updating to 4.2 from 4.0. Now it won't connect to the car bt system. However before blaming the car system my new iphone 4s with ios 5 connects without problem. I also renamed the 3g phone to her name from mine.
Is the renaming the problem (ie even though deleting and adding as new on the car-in case some remnant of the oldname/phone remained) or is it the upgraded os to 4.2 and is so how can I go back to previous os
Is the renaming the problem (ie even though deleting and adding as new on the car-in case some remnant of the oldname/phone remained) or is it the upgraded os to 4.2 and is so how can I go back to previous os
iSteveO
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I have a 3G as well as my i4 CDMA, and i have not had BT problems on 4.1 or 4.2.1, I've never tried 4.0. I would recomend downgrading to iOS 4.1 using a sn0wbreeze custom firmware (download here: iH8sn0w.com). 4.1 runs a bit (not much) smoother on the 3G, so it is really up to you which iOS you use. You will need snowbreeze 2.1 for 4.1 or 2.2.1 for 4.2.1 (there is no sn0wbreeze for 4.0). Sn0wbreeze will never update the baseband, so if you have it unlocked, you should be safe. Sometimes there are anomalies that occur which can be fixed with a simple restore (esp with unlocks). To do this type of downgrade/restore, you will need to use a pre-10.5 version of iTunes for the best (or any) results. Once finished, you may need to run some sort of fixrecovery utility to knock it out of recovery mode. Are you an unlocker, and if so, what is your bb (modem firmware under Settings>General>About)?
anneathome
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Hi, The phone is not jail broken .Its as is from Apple, actually a replacement since the first went wrong.However the modem firmware is 05.15.04.which presumably ties it to O 2. I've read horror stories about unusable phones after software fixes?.
iSteveO
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The baseband/modem firmware does not really specify an individual carrier, but it is specific to the iOS version, and the version of the phone you have (my 3G has that same BB on AT&T). The good thing about this BB is that you can update to the iPad BB and unlock the phone to work with any GSM carrier, including prepaid sim's. If you upgrade the BB, however, you will have to use custom firmware every time you restore or apple will change the BB back, which will erase your unlock ability. If you use a custom sn0wbreeze IPSW file to restore the phone, it will be jailbroken by default, but that doesn't mean you have to use it. Contrary to popular belief, jailbreaking itself is 100% legal, and 99.9% safe (FOLLOW DIRECTIONS!!!). The illegal part of it is when you use it for piracy, either by installing paid jailbreak tweaks from pirate sources for free, or by installing cracked IPA's (iPhone/iPod/iPad apps). FYI; there are many things you can do with a jailbreak that are not illegal, like theming and adding many things that make the iOS much more intuitive like SBSettings (settings toggles available from anywhere, including the lockscreen and inside of apps, with a swipe of the status bar), Winterboard (advanced theme insertion platform that allows you to theme almost every aspect of the user interface including sounds), and activator (allows you to setup different actions to perform system functions, ie. hold volume up button to skip iPod track up, etc.). All of the things I just listed are 100% free, and 100% legal, and if you need service from apple you can always just plug into iTunes and do a clean restore from Apple. Most of the stories you read of unusable iPhones had to do with people accessing the root file system and messing with things they don't know about or fully understand, or they interrupted a process prematurely, or just didn't follow instructions. It's nearly impossible to "brick" an iPhone at this point, and the software that has been developed to help thwart Apples security checks, such as sn0wbreeze, are extremely safe and easy to use. All you have to do is follow the on-screen instructions and you can't mess it up. I have personally used sn0wbreeze on many different devices with absolute success the first time, every time. If you really don't want to use a custom IPSW file to restore, or don't want to jailbreak, you can try a clean restore again from apple to see if that fixes your BT problem, but I recommend Sn0wbreeze to everyone, and all of iH8sn0w's (awesome) programs have worked flawlessly for me every time, the first time, with every device I've done (iH8sn0w.com). If you'd like to try sn0wbreeze, I'd be glad to give you pointers to help guide you through the process (twitter @iSteve_O). I believe if you pay for a device, you should be able to use it how you'd like, and not have apple constantly policing what you can and can't do with YOUR $200-$1,000 device! Good luck, and I hope I have been helpful, even though I've gotten slightly off topic. Below is a short list of the devices I've experimented with and the software I have used for many restorations/jailbreaks (mine and other people's).
Devices I've personally modified
iPod Touch (2nd Gen) - Custom jailbroken Sn0wbreeze iOS 4.1 & 4.2.1 IPSW using Sn0wbreeze 2.1 & 2.2.1, respectively.
iPhone 3G - Same as above iPod Touch 2g.
iPhone 4 (CDMA) - Custom iFaith SHSH Signed iOS 4.2.8 & 4.2.6 IPSW with Jailbreakme 3.0 (jailbreakme.com) and Greenp0ison, respectively.
iPhone 4 (CDMA) - Custom Jailbroken Sn0wbreeze iOS 4.2.8 IPSW using Sn0wbreeze 2.7.3.
iPhone 4 (CDMA) - Custom Jailbroken (tethered) Sn0wbreeze iOS 5.0 IPSW using Sn0wbreeze 2.8b8 (then back to 4.2.8 using iFaith).
iPhone 4 (GSM) - Custom iFaith SHSH Signed iOS 4.3.3 IPSW with Jailbreakme 3.0 (jailbreakme.com).
iPhone 4 (GSM) - Custom jailbroken Sn0wbreeze iOS 4.2.1 & 4.3.3 IPSW using Sn0wbreeze 2.2.1 & 2.7.3, respectively.
iPhone 4 (GSM) - Custom jailbroken (tethered) Sn0wbreeze iOS 5.0 IPSW using Sn0wbreeze 2.8b8.
iPad1 - Custom Jailbroken Sn0wbeeze iOS 4.3.3 IPSW using Sn0wbreeze 2.7.3.
iPod Touch (4th Gen) - Custom jailbroken Sn0wbreeze iOS 4.2.1 & 4.3.3 IPSW using Sn0wbreeze 2.2.1 & 2.7.3, respectively.
Description of each available software (All software created by iH8sn0w (@iH8sn0w on twitter), and is available at iH8sn0w.com)
Sn0wbreeze - Creates a custom IPSW that is pre-jailbroken with which you will use iTunes to restore (Sn0wbreeze will always preserve your current basband).
iFaith - Creates a custom non-jailbroken IPSW pre-signed with your saved SHSH's, spoofing apple's SHSH verification process (iFaith will always preserve your current basband).
iREB - Tool to put your device into a "pwned" DFU mode that lets you restore using custom IPSW files (included as part of Sn0wbreeze).
iBooty - Tool to quickly boot a tethered jailbreak (much faster boot than Musclenerd's Redsn0w, which is a good tool as well).
iDetector - Tells you if your iPhone 3GS has the old or new bootrom (old bootrom = untethered iOS 5 jailbreak, new bootrom = tethered iOS 5 jailbreak).
f0recast - Tells you if your device is able to be jailbroken and unlocked, and whether that jailbreak will be tethered or untethered.
