Unable to restore my iPhone 3GS & also have no carrier signal after downgrading

Nine_Lives

Basically i'm looking to change carrier & found my iPhone was locked to o2. I found that my "Modem Firmware" is 05.16.05 which according to what i've read means that i can't unlock my iPhone & i would need to downgrade the baseband.

I followed the instructions to downgrade the baseband as listed on iClarified. It didn't seem to work - the "Modem Firmware" number remained 05.16.05. It was late so i went to bed.
I start the day today & go to work & i notice that i don't get an o2 signal at all - even when others i work with do. I've clearly done something bad to my phone.

So tonight i figure i'll just upgrade to 5.1.1 (as i am on 5.0.1). I don't want to upgrade to 6.
So again i download the 5.1.1 restore file from iClarified & follow their instructions to jailbreak the phone for 5.1.1.

I select my iPhone in iTunes & then hit shift while clicking on restore. I select the file 5.1.1 & this is where the problem lays ...... it wont let me restore with this file.

At the top of iTunes, it goes through the process & says it's going to verify to restore & then i get the error:

The iPhone "name" could not be restored. An unknown error occurred (3194).

And that is as far as i get.

Anyone able to help with this as i don't want to try updating to 6.0.

jayme1

For iPhone unlocks always go the official carrier route, on O2 it costs £15 (perhaps free if you were on contract) that way you will never have this headache again.

as for the restore, Apple are not signing anything other than iOS 6, do you have your SHSH blobs saved? you will need them to restore a firmware that Apple are no longer signing.

Nine_Lives

I've unlocked the phone previously via iClarified for free. However that's no longer the issue any more - i just want my phone to work & preferably not on 6.0.

Via iClarified i followed the instructions to save the SHSH blobs a day or so ago, so if it did it properly then yes they're saved, i just don't know where.

Nine_Lives

From reading i see i should try putting it in DFU mode & then try to restore.

Problem is, every time i try this, it puts it in recovery mode, which i read is different to DFU mode. Tried about 10 times now & hit recovery mode (not DFU mode) every time.

jayme1

K_P83 wrote: »

I've unlocked the phone previously via iClarified for free. However that's no longer the issue any more - i just want my phone to work & preferably not on 6.0.

Via iClarified i followed the instructions to save the SHSH blobs a day or so ago, so if it did it properly then yes they're saved, i just don't know where.

You probably unlocked the phone via Ultrasn0w therefore if you want to update to 5.1.1 and keep your unlock you have to preserve the baseband which means a custom 5.1.1 firmware but I'm not even sure you can upgrade to 5.1.1 any more, the baseband is the main problem.

this is why an official unlock is always best, with an official unlock you would be able to update while staying jailbroken and not have to worry about the baseband or unlock.

According to this the 3GS if updated to iOS 6 can always be downgraded to 5.x (5.0.1 in your case because you have the blobs saved for that)

is your phone stuck in restore? I would if I were you get it to a working firmware possibly 5.0.1 via this method since you have the blobs saved for 5.0.1, I wouldn't care if you loose your unlock (unlocks were only really made for countries with no official unlock route), once you have a working phone get an official unlock, then you will have a working 5.0.1 unlocked and you can work from there to try to get to 5.1.1 with no worry of loosing your unlock.

It's been a while since I was on the jailbreak scene so I might not be 100% correct, it wouldn't do you any harm to pop over to the Hacks thread on Macrumors for a second opinion, but the chance of bricking your device is practically zero.
Absolute worse case is you end up with iOS 6 and an official unlock, (from which you can always downgrade to 5.0.1 via Redsn0w because you have your SHSH blobs saved).

also (just to be nosey) why do you definitely not want iOS 6?

Nine_Lives

Thanks for that.

I know i saved those SHSH blob things, but i've no idea WHERE.

Oh and i've heard really negative things about the maps with iOS6 & i use the google maps app a fair amount. Plus when i upgraded to 5.0.1 from 4.0.1 it slowed my 3GS down an incredible amount, especially when using the keyboard in safari.


EDIT: I saw step 3 of your final link - put the phone into DFU mode.

I'm having no end of bother with that. I must've tried more than 10 times now & every time it goes into recovery mode, NOT dfu mode.

jayme1

K_P83 wrote: »

Thanks for that.

I know i saved those SHSH blob things, but i've no idea WHERE.

Oh and i've heard really negative things about the maps with iOS6 & i use the google maps app a fair amount. Plus when i upgraded to 5.0.1 from 4.0.1 it slowed my 3GS down an incredible amount, especially when using the keyboard in safari.


EDIT: I saw step 3 of your final link - put the phone into DFU mode.

I'm having no end of bother with that. I must've tried more than 10 times now & every time it goes into recovery mode, NOT dfu mode.

The SHSH blobs will be stored in the cloud with Cydia.

DFU mode can be tricky, not really much I can suggest you just gotta try and try again, make sure you start with the phone off then hold the power and home for exactly 10 seconds then release the power continuing to hold the home button for 10 more seconds or until iTunes says it has detected an iPhone in recovery mode (but the screen should be blank), you may need to be connected to your computer to do this as per these instructions.

Nine_Lives

Well i get a message in iTunes saying i'm in recovery mode, yet the black screen of the iPhone ties in with the phone being in DFU mode. Either way it wont let me restore to 5.0.1

I'm reading this is because Apple wont recognize anything lower than 6.0. I've found the blobs file which is a .plist file created by redsn0w, but can't see where it gets used. As i say, it wont let me restore.

consultant31

Well..........my hair is standing on end :eek:

I read this post as DH has just bought me a (nearly new) iphone 3gs cos my Nokia 'brick' has finally broken.

I'm technologically challenged at the best of times and reading the answers in this post has put my head in a spin

I only got it yesterday and haven't even put my sim card in it yet. Looked at the booklet which seemed a bit advanced for me, but I thought I'll sort it tomorrow when I'm not so tired!!! Heaven help me if anything goes wrong with it cos it'll end up on eBay and I shall be looking to buy another Nokia.

I certainly hope my DDs have the patience to impart some knowledge to their dozy Mum :rotfl:

Nine_Lives

Basically you'll be A-ok if you're not interested in jailbreaking & unlocking your phone, which by the sounds of it, you wont be

Nine_Lives

Well i seriously have no idea what to do at all with this problem.

Most of the errors are 3194, although i've had 11, 20, 16xx(1602 i think it might've been).
I've tried all manner of methods. DFU mode, recovery mode, editing hosts file with this, that & the other. Nothing works.

So now there's nothing 'new' to try, nothing i can find that i haven't already tried.
It will be getting replaced, but i wasn't wanting to replace it so soon & at any rate i was wanting to sell it on.

So now i'm pretty much phone-less