Is a paused 6.1.3 update causing "No Service"?

cheeseball · Nov 16, 2013

I purchased a supposedly factory unlocked 3GS iPhone - can't return it, so I figured the only option left was to try to jailbreak it. Here's everything I did. It came with 5.0.1 so I did a redsn0w jailbreak and ultrasn0w unlock, but I was getting "Searching" and "No Service". I thought there may have been an error in the unlocking download (my fault - thought it was finished) so first I tried to Erase All Content and Settings so I could do it all over again, but after waiting all night for it to work, I found info that said it would just spin forever with a jailbreak. Tried to restore in iTunes to 5.0.1 or 6.0.1 - I kept getting the 3194 error code.

I reinstalled ultrasn0w a couple of times, still no service. Finally uninstalled it and then uninstalled cydia and went to jailbreakme.com to download it directly on the phone this time. I got a message that my device was not supported. I tapped on Software Update and noticed that 6.1.3 is there and paused. I don't know if it did that automatically, because I didn't do it, not knowing at the time if there was an untethered 6.1.3 jailbreak. Would that cause the problem and if so, is there any way to fix it?

Serial starts with 88208.

Do I have to let it finish updating and then wait *sobs* for the 6.1.3 jaibreak?

And yes, I should have come here first, but I just found you guys this morning☺

willerz2 · Nov 16, 2013

If your device was factory unlocked, you wouldn't need to use UltraSn0w since it's not wiped upon restoring.

Using UltraSn0w does not immediately guarantee that your device is unlocked. UltraSn0w only works with specific basebands. If your device is not within the list/range of the supported basebands, it won't be of any use.

You cannot restore to 5.0.1 or 6.0.1 unless you have SHSH blobs. Error 3194 is either a host issue, or an incompatible iOS. If you do not restore in Pwned DFU mode using a custom IPSW, 3194 will come up because the iOS is no longer signing, meaning it's "incompatible" in a sense.

Jailbreakme only works on iOS 3 and most iOS 4 versions. iOS 5+ is strictly utility only, using RedSn0w, Absinthe, Absinthe 2.0.1 or Evasi0n. Sn0wBreeze as well.

6.1.3 is untethered only for the old bootrom 3GS. The 4 has a tethered, and everything else is not jailbreakable.

Your serial reads XX208, which means 2012, 08 weeks, which is well beyond the XX945 mark for the old bootrom device.

Pausing an update during the downloading process does not affect the device's signal. If you pause it during the download, you end up with a fragment of the file on your device, that's all. "No service" is a result of 2 things:

Using an unsupported SIM card
Your account is not activated on the locked carrier (if locked)
Your account is not activated on your carrier (unlocked)

If you still have iOS 5.0.1 SHSH blobs (or any blobs for the matter), you can downgrade to 4.1, flash the iPad Baseband, upgrade back to 5.0.1 or whichever while preserving the baseband, then unlock using UltraSn0w.

cheeseball · Nov 17, 2013

Thank you very much for the detailed answer, willerz2. Contrary to how it was advertised, I discovered that the phone was definitely not unlocked (factory or any other kind) as soon as I charged it and turned it on...lock symbol right at the top of the screen. After searching for several more hours once I posted here, I finally found out that it was the baseband - 05.16.05 modem firmware.

I had already spent the last week trying to get in touch with the seller and then requesting an unlock from AT&T as a non customer. Then someone suggested an unlocking service and I found out about "the great iPhone unlocking shutdown". Since everything IMEI based had already been exhausted, I figured jailbreaking and unlocking was my last hope. Thanks again.

willerz2 · Nov 17, 2013

The lock symbol on the top of the screen represents the rotation lock, not whether the device is unlocked or not. The 05.16.05 baseband is also not unlockable using UltraSn0w. UltraSn0w's compatibility list is 05.13.04 and below, or, 06.15.00, which is the flashed iPad Baseband.

It's hard to resolve the issue because you do not have SHSH blobs at all, or ones that works within the range of UltraSn0w. If you had iOS 5 blobs or iOS 6.0 - 6.1 blobs with valid APTickets pre-saved already, you could restore the device cleanly, flash the baseband, then restore back to an UltraSn0w supported iOS version.

Alternatively, you can downgrade to 4.1, flash the iPad Baseband and unlock using UltraSn0w. BUT. you will have <5% AppStore compatibility, and a very limited amount of tweaks from Cydia, which essentially means your phone is only there to go online, text, call, take photos/videos, and play a limited range of apps.

cheeseball · Nov 18, 2013

I should've clarified - I was all, "Whoohoo!" when I saw that it might be the rotation lock a week ago, but it isn't the lock with the arrow circling, it's just a plain lock. When I looked up iPhone icons, it said that the plain lock meant that it was locked, but it didn't say what kind of locked. Since this phone doesn't have a passcode lock on it and that symbol isn't on our other iPhone which is factory unlocked, I figured it meant it was locked to a network. When I went into iTunes, it confirmed that it was network locked.

Someone strongly suggested that I use iFaith's dump feature to save the 5.0.1 blobs, which I did...then they said that it wouldn't work because of the baseband. I wish I had a buddy at AT&T I could talk into unlocking it☺

willerz2 · Nov 18, 2013

Then it's a visual bug. The device does not show whether or not your device is carrier unlocked or not through an icon. At most, you may be able to find out in Settings.app > About, but no physical icons are made. Otherwise, it would be easy to duplicate on jailbroken devices or easy to duplicate by masking an icon on the statusBar on a stock device to look like the icon to con buyers into thinking that the device is unlocked.

If you used iFaith to dump your 5.0.1 blobs, assuming they also consist of valid APTickets, there is a way to get UltraSn0w working, but it will require that you have 5.0.1 blobs. One way to check it is to attempt to create a 5.0.1 custom IPSW (which you'll need later anyways if it does work). If iFaith lets you create the IPSW, then they're valid SHSH blobs + APTickets. If not, then they may be the auto-cached blobs from Cydia when the device was OTA updated to 5.0.1, which doesn't work