Every time when Apple releases a new version of iPhone update or iTunes, I always got questions from iPhone jailbreakers concerning about the upgrade. The same happens for iPhone 3.1 OS and the debut of iTunes 9. It’s always good to share these thoughtful questions with everyone as some of you may also have the same question in your mind.
So, here is the Q & A.
1. Is iTunes 9 safe for Already-jailbroken iPhone?
Yes. MuscleNerd, one of the iPhone Dev team member, has posted a tweet and mentioned “iTunes 9 plays well with already-jailbroken and unlocked devices”. It’s safe to pair your jailbroken iPhone with iTunes 9 and sync your data. I have tested it on my jailbroken 2G with firmware 3.0. Everything works well. But one thing you should note is not to upgrade to iPhone 3.1 when iTunes 9 prompts you for upgrade.
2. Can I use iTunes 9’s application management on iPhone with firmware 3.0 or lower?
With iTunes 9, you can manage and organize your iPhone home screen right from iTunes. However, this feature can only work with iPhone loaded with 3.1 OS. For those iPhone with older version, iTunes 9 will not show you the app management feature.
3. I’m planning to upgrade to iPhone OS 3.1. But do I need to use iTunes 9 to upgrade my iPhone?
No, both iTunes 8 and 9 should work.
4. Can I jailbreak iPhone 3.1 with redsn0w 0.8? What about PwnageTool for Mac?
Presently, there is no way to jailbreak iPhone 3.1. Redsn0w 0.8, the jailbreak tool for iPhone, can only handle jailbreak up to iPhone OS 3.0.1. From what I know, iPhone Dev team is working in progress to release the new version of redsn0w for iPhone 3.1 jailbreak. At the mean time, please hold off the upgrade to 3.1. Otherwise, you will lose the jailbreak and unlock. The same goes for PwnageTool that it does not support iPhone 3.1 yet.
5. Accidentally, I hit the upgrade button in iTunes and upgrade to iPhone 3.1. Is there any way to downgrade to iPhone 3.0?
According to Bigboss, you can restore to iPhone 3.0 if you’re using iPhone 2G or 3G. To download the older version of firmware, you can check out here. For iPhone 3GS user, however, you are not allowed to restore lower version of iPhone OS.
Before I end this post, let me highlight it again. If you’re using ultrasn0w to unlock iPhone 3G/3GS, please DO NOT UPGRADE to iPhone 3.1. This latest version of iPhone OS will also upgrade the baseband to 05.xx.xx. That means, your iPhone cannot be unlocked.
Do you have other questions about iPhone 3.1 jailbreak and iTunes 9? Leave comment below and let us know. Also, stay tuned. I’ll continue update this post if any new question comes up.
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{ 54 comments… read them below or add one }
Nice post!
When DevTeam release pwnagetool for jailbreak & unlock iphone 3.1
i will upgrade my iphone to 3.1
I accidently upgraded my 3g to 3.1. I can not seem to downgrade it back to 3.0. What should I do?
Guys downgrading from firmware 3.1 to 3.0 is possible on 3GS. though it might take some time… stay glued to cydia installer and saurik’s twitter…..
Saurik Confirms Firmware Downgrade From 3.1 To 3.0 On 3GS
After having spoken of iH8sn0w finally Saurik also informs us that he had managed to downgrade its 3GS iPhone from firmware 3.1 to 3.0, then regained the ability to run the Jailbreak. All this happened thanks to his method “ECID ShSh”, ie, using the saved certificate via Cydia, as described in the guide posted on iSpazio.
Using his method, you can downgrade only through iTunes and that will make things much simpler. Saurik will issue a comprehensive guide by tomorrow so that it becomes available asap.
Via ispazio.net and http://www.sinfuliphone.com
@jagney, thanks for your tip!
Hi Al if u want restore to 3.0
make device to DFU mode and then restore to 3.0 if u get eror just ignore. And jailbreak with redsnow
I hope the method can help you.
Sory my English language not good.. I am from japan
I have a Iphone 2g and I updated to 3.1 because my iphone froze and I had to restore it. Im trying to figure out how to make it go back to 3.0, It doesnt say it in itunes only restore and update
guys i accidently upgraded to 3.1 , i have 3Gs , but before i upgraded i had jailbroken it
and now i upgraded it, cant use tomtom and stuff,, pls help me i am stuck, want to have jailbreak again,
@cano,
Presently, there is no way to jailbreak iPhone 3.1. iPhone Dev team is working hard to release a solution for that. Let’s wait and see. I’ll update you when the jailbreak tool is available.
Guys im about to lose my marriage. I had mcleaner on my JB 3g. That app was the best ever for blocking unwanted incoming text or calls. Got it thru cydia. I upgraded to 3.1 accidentally. Is there any way to go back and JB it! or do i have to wait for DEV and team to come up with a solution
@prez,
For now, there is no jailbreak solution for iPhone 3.1. But it’s expected iPhone Dev team will release a solution very soon. I’ll keep you update on that.
I have the same problem with Al. I upgrade my 2G iphone to 3.1 and can’t be able to downgrade 3.0. It’s currently not working saying sim is not known on the itune. Any solution we can make on this?
Is it true that the SSH Feature will stop working once upgraded to Itunes 9?
@Flipback, SSH feature is not related to iTunes 9. As long as your iPhone is jailbroken and with SSH installed, you can use it even after iTunes 9 upgrade.
Can I use iTunes 9 for jailbreaking and unlocking my iPhone 3G? I have already jailbroken and unlocked it once using iTunes 8.2 to fw 3.0.
@AJ, no problem. iTunes 9 works with already-jailbroken iPhone.
a friend of mine jailbreak my iPhone and now i just downloaded itunes 9 and i want to download music to my iPhone using itunes.. pls help me to transfer music to my iphone without restoring or updating/updating it.. because the last time i did it my fone got restored…
pls help!!
Hey all.. I m using iPhone 3GS with JB’ed 3.0 OS. I woulnd like to jailbreak when upgrade to 3.1. from what I researched I need to backup ECID and ECSH what ever be4 official 3.1 released. But it is already too late for me. I can’t restore my phone with 3.0 to get ECID backup When I tried yesterday. so am I out of luck to JB 3.1 when it release???
everytime i jailbreak my itouch with redsn0w, itunes 9 omes up and tells me to restore the ipod, and there is no way to avoid this to get a firmware on my itouch.. any suggestions?
I accidentally upgraded my iPhone 3g to 3.1 from itunes, will i ever be able to unlock my iPhone?? i have JB it succesfully with 3.1
So, to clarify, iTunes 9.0 works with 3.0.1 iPhone (except for a few features) and you will not be forced to upgrade to iPhone 3.1? Is that correct?
I have Tethering enabled and I know 3.1 breaks that too. I want to upgrade iTunes to 9.0 and keep my iPhone OS at 3.0.1
Thanks!
@DS, that’s correct. You can use iPhone 3.0.1 with iTunes 9. But make sure you DO NOT accept the iPhone 3.1 upgrade when iTunes prompts you.
Simon, you are correct. After the upgrade, Tethering is still active and iTunes does not “force” you to upgrade to 3.1. Thanks again.
no hope of downgrading baseband or unlocking iphone 3.1? :S
@Roman,
For now, there is no way to downgrade the baseband. Hope that iPhone Dev team will find a new unlock solution for iPhone 3.1 in near future.
Turbo Sim will work?? Simonnnn
I have a unlocked iphone2g. I have been using this iphone with AT&T without data plan. Few days back i have upgraded the SW to 3.1. The phone deactivated and promted me to activate with AT&T.
Somehow, AT&T guy activated the phone without data plan. Also, he said that if i connect the phone to itunes it will deactivate again. Is it true?? I lost all my data during upgrade. I want to load some movies and stuff to iphone. However, i am afried of deactivating again. Please advise me.
@Sree, normally not. I’m not sure what the deactivation refers. Did he mean if you sync it with iTunes, your iPhone will activate the data plan again?
Simon, thanks for quick response. He said that, if i sync with itunes, it will recognize that, i do not have a data plan and it will deactivate. To reactivate the phone a need to add the data plan. is it true.
Does the itunes9 have the capability to recognize phones with out data plan? can i avoid this with old version of itunes. Thanks.
@Sree, from what I know, iTunes will not deactivate those iPhones without data plan. It should apply to all versions of iTunes.
Hello Simon, i have one more question. As i told you earlier, i am using the iphone 2g without data plan on AT&T. However, i am not able to setup voice mail. Some people said, it is not possible to activate voice mail without data plan. is it true? Is there any way to activate voice mail. Thanks.
I am facing this problem with itunes 9. When i connect my ipod touch and while holding shift key press restore it does not open a browsing window instead it says it needs to connect to the apple website to find a restore file or something like that. I have downloaded the 3.1 update file. How do i update my ipod touch now? And how to I manually update thru itunes 9?
Hello guys…I am trying to verify what firmware I have on my iPhone…iTunes 9 does not show firmware or capacity of iPhone…can you please help what do i need to do? thanks
Hi Simon
I foolishly updated itunes to version 9.0 without thinking first, my JB Iphone 3G is still on version 3.0 and I haven’t upgraded it although it is now no longer recognized by itunes and prompts me to restore when connected. I tried re-installing itunes 8.2 but the iphone cannot be recognized anymore either. any advice on what I should do?
The phone is still working as normal, although I cannot sync with itunes any longer.
please help the complete jackass here….haha
@Andrew, iPhone 3.0 (jailbreak) should also work with iTunes 9.0. I guess your itunes file may be corrupted. You can try to re-install iTunes 9 and try to sync your iPhone again.
thanks for your answer Simon,
wondering if anyone else has had this same problem?
Tried reinstalling itunes again but it is still prompting me to restore to factory settings. Currently I’m on 3.0 if I click restore will that remove all data and will I have a locked phone again?
Hello Simon, i am using the iphone 2g without data plan on AT&T. I am using the latest firmware 3.1. However, i am not able to setup voice mail. Some people said, it is not possible to activate voice mail without data plan. is it true? Is there any way to activate voice mail. Thanks.
I have a unlocked 2g Iphone with 1.0.2 software unfortunately i have updted software 3.1.2 now my phone is locked pl help to unlock the phone
@rupakumar,
For 2G, you can use PwnageTool and create a custom ipsw to restore back your iPhone. You can follow this guide for details.
Hello, i have a iphone 3g running on the os 3.1 firmware my apple. it updated my baseband. I HAVE A PC NOT MAC. i am also on tmobile, so i would like to unlock the phone. know i have to downgrade it to 3.0, but how? also, i need a download link for the ipsw. if anyone can help me, reply back, or suggest a video to me on youtube to hamzillagod Thannks!!!!!
ohh, and should i update to itunes 9 or not, im on itunes 8.2 my computer is a 64bit system if that has any effect on any of this. thanks!!!!!
dude i just upgraded my iphone to 3.1 through itunes but i am succesful in downgrading to os 3.0 but my baseband is still 05.11.07 and when i insert the airtel sim it tells me searching or no service wat to do
plz tell me
hey. guess what. if you havent figured this out allready, your iphone baseband is permantly upgraded unnless you have the 05.08modem(you bought the iphone before september 2008) hopefully you jailbroke your iphone. if so, go to cydia, and download “fuzzyband” when you do that, open up the app and it will tell you from there. if it sais you have the 05.09, then you have to wait like me until the 3.1 unlock comes out which is in a few months…
so yea, any other questions, email me aderbique@yahoo.com hope this helps 
I am using redsn0w to jailbreak and unlock my iphone 3GS with 3.1 firmware on and rstoring to iPhone2,1_3.0.1_7A400_Restore.ipsw. Each time I get to the end where redsn0w says “done,” my iphone goes to the blue grey screen and stays that way. Am I meant to do something to the phone or restore in Itunes to get the phone to start up and have the unlock work? Thanks.
why dont u use blackra1n????
it works best for iphone 3GS
And now my question:
I have a 2nd GEN ipod touch with jailbroken 3.1.2 firmware.. I decided to upgrade to iTunes 9 and everything is fine.. my cracked apps work perfect.. but now I’m wondering:
HOW CAN I PUT NEW CRACK APPS in iTunes 9???
can someone help me??
it is my first time to jailbreak my i-phone.. do i need to update it on i tunes before jailbreak? sorry my english is bad.. i’m from japan
@kimura, what version of iPhone OS are you using? If you’re on firmware 3.0, you can use redsn0wto jailbreak it.
u have to update to 3.1.2 then jailbreak with blackra1n and thats it.. enjoy!
so really it doesn’t matter which i tunes version u have if you are going to jailbreak cause i have a 2g touch and just downloaded i tunes 9
I have JB 3G (8G) iphone. I accidently upgraded it via iTunes to 1,2_3.1.2_7D11.
Now, I am locked out. PLEASE HELP. How do I unlock it?
Jailbreak it using whichever method you prefer and then unlock it using balcksn0w.
Hi…. i have iPhone 3G version 3.1.2 (7D11). I got it jailbreak using blackra1n. But now i am not able to transfer music or apps from iTunes to my iPhone. when i connect it to iTunes it shows syncing and sync contacts, mail accounts but not music or apps. Please help!!!
kunal I have your same exact problem but instead I have an Itouch with the 3.1.3 software jailbroken. How can I do? Please help me!!!
Hi Simon,
I have just got a 3GS downgraded to 3.1.2 version to jailbreak from a 3.1.3. However now after jailbreak am unable to connect the phone to itunes after synchronising the first time. And thereafter everyting time if i need to synchronise i need uninstall the itunes, download and install the itunes over again, register the iphone and then only i can connect. The moment i synchronise the next time i am unable to connect to itune…
Please advise a solution t this as the above is realy annoying to adhere everytime i need to snchronise.
tks,
McGuire