iPhone bootloader changes

Mon, Nov 19, 2007

iPhone

For anyone thinking of purchasing an iPhone in the near future, be aware that Apple is now shipping iPhones with an updated bootloader (4.6_M3S2) which has seen the a number of unlocking avenues closed.

All iPhone’s shipped after week 45 are very likely to have 1.1.2 pre-installed with this new bootloader - you can check to see the week of manufacture by looking at the devices serial number (e.g. xxx45xxxxxx means it was manufactured during week 45) or by issuing the following command within a shell:

-sh-3.2# ./bbupdater -v
Resetting target...
pinging the baseband...
issuing +xgendata...
firmware: DEV_ICE_MODEM_04.02.13_G
eep version: EEP_VERSION:208
eep revision: EEP_REVISION:1
bootloader: BOOTLOADER_VERSION:4.6_M3S2
Done 

Thankfully (obviously) Apple has not seen fit to include a bootloader update with their firmware releases, so iphonesimfree users with their zero’d seczones should be okay for the foreseeable future. Updating the bootloader would create all kinds of headaches for all end users - upgrading a bootloader is always a risky proposition.

13 Comments For This Post

  1. darren Says:
    November 19th, 2007 at 7:51 pm

    hello jason,
    my son is looking for an iphone for xmas and i was going to buy one in the u.s and i was just wondering is it complicated stuff unlocking it or is it simple enough
    thanks for your help

    darren

  2. Jan Says:
    November 20th, 2007 at 4:15 pm

    Hi Jason,
    I was wondering if iPhone ever worked on 3 Ireland and if not, why it’s so? I’m sorry about asking dumb questions but I’m googling for this information for like a month now and it seems that ppl opinions vary on this topic. Thank you, Jan

  3. Ronan Says:
    November 24th, 2007 at 10:51 pm

    Hi Jason i was wondering if i bought a iPhone in the uk would it work here i kina need it for xmas

  4. Jan Says:
    November 27th, 2007 at 1:25 pm

    What data plan are you guys on and with whom?

  5. Kristian Says:
    November 27th, 2007 at 9:28 pm

    Hi Jason.I was wondering if i bought a u.k. or usa i phone is it easy or hard to unlock.I have googled how to unlock it but i have come up with anything.Also do you know any sites that you can purchase unlocked iphones..

    Thanks for your help,kristian

  6. Kristian Says:
    November 27th, 2007 at 9:49 pm

    Hi, I recently came across ‘unlockthatiphone.com’ selling unlocked iPhones for Ireland. Having bought it for €549 they emailed me to say they were still trying to get it unlocked. Have you seen any unlocked and sim free iPhones work here? Does yours work well and are you aware of any legitimate sites /people who have them for sale?

  7. rafalski Says:
    December 4th, 2007 at 9:48 pm

    Might be worth adding, all EU iPhones come with the new bootloader. Mine was week 43, UK model. I had to ebay it quickly and get an US one which works flawlessly on Meteor.

    The only unlock for the UK phones now requires modifying the sim card (google TurboSim)

  8. Shane Says:
    December 6th, 2007 at 5:14 pm

    hi i am thinking about buyin an iphone from america. If i get it there is that all i need and will it be possible for me to get it workin on meteor?? Thanks for your great work Jason!

  9. rafalski Says:
    December 10th, 2007 at 11:41 am

    Shane you need to make sure it is an early unit, with the older bootloader. All EU iPhones come with the new one and in the US it’s a lottery - sometimes a week 45 phone can have 3.9 while other from the same week can have 4.6. I’m afraid you can assume anything you get from a store now is 4.6.

    Getting meteor to activate EDGE is a nightmare, but that’s a different story..

  10. dave Says:
    December 19th, 2007 at 12:09 pm

    What is edge!! just bought an i phone from dubai. works well . I have 2 apple lap tops when I try to download my music from it to the i phone it says my IP does not have 10.4.4? But it works perfctly well on my other latop! Help if you can. Thanks

  11. Paulie Says:
    January 10th, 2008 at 11:31 am

    Hiya,

    I was just wondering with the new 1.1.2 and new bootloader (i.e. those after 45 weeks) how they would be “activated”.. i was looking into turbosim/nextsim etc and they seem to all say “firstly activate with your at&t sim… and then…”
    Do the iphones come with an at&t sim when purchased in an american store, even if you haven’t set up a payment plan with them?

  12. Jason Madigan Says:
    January 10th, 2008 at 8:00 pm

    Paulie,

    Yes, all iPhones sold in the US come with an at&t SIM preinstalled, regardless of where you purchase one.
  13. eamonn Says:
    January 17th, 2008 at 11:50 pm

    has anyone got the edge setting to work on meteor. won’t save for me

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