Redsn0w 0.9.15b3 Fixes Error 2601 & 14 During Custom iOS 6 Restore on Windows

Published on November 1, 2012 by Richard Ker

The latest redsn0w was just released by MuscleNerd et al and promised to fix error 2601 for Windows users when attempting to restore their iPhone.


About 2 weeks ago I posted a tutorial on how to Build Custom iOS 6 IPSW to Preserve iPhone 4 or 3GS Baseband with Redsn0w 0.9.15b2 but unfortunately many Windows users have had the issue of getting iTunes error 2601 during restore.

As expected the latest redsn0w would fix this issue. Aside from that, redsn0w 0.9.15b3 also allows to those lucky ones with the new iPad mini and iPad 4 to save their SHSH blobs onto Cydia.

Here is the official update from Dev Team’s blog:

Update #2 (Nov 1): Version 0.9.15b3 fixes the redsn0w “error 2601” that Windows users were seeing using the Restore button.  It also fixes a related Windows iTunes error 14 for stitched files.   Note that if you have a baseband, you should probably avoid stitching and simply use redsn0w’s native Restore (not iTunes).

Those lucky recipients of new iPad minis and iPad4s on Friday can use this redsn0w to save your 6.0 blobs off to Cydia.  First connect your new device and turn it on, then use redsn0w’s Extras->SHSH Blobs->New and point it at the 6.0 IPSW.

Expect an ultrasn0w compatibility update for iOS 6.0 by Friday (mostly useful for 3GS old-bootrom users who are currently enjoying the untethered 6.0 jailbreak!).  Same baseband support as with 5.x.

Thanks to @iamgolfy for helping test the 2601 Windows fix!

As mentioned above an updated ultrasn0w 1.2.8 is coming this Friday and it will be fully compatible with iOS 6. Unfortunately, as you might have expected, it will be for older basebands only.

Here are the direct download links!

Download redsn0w 0.9.15b3:

How to Reactivate and Unlock iPhone 4S or iPhone 5 without Full iTunes Restore

Published on October 30, 2012 by Richard Ker

Got your iPhone 4S or iPhone 5 factory unlocked recently? Normally, it’s recommended that you perform a full iTunes restore. However, there’s a quicker and easier way to activate/unlock it.

As always, Apple had spent a lot of time engineering the iPhone unlock process to make it as simple as possible. The method below shows how easy it is to re-activate and unlock your iPhone without doing a full restore. This is only supported on iOS 5 and iOS 6. It should work with iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 as well. This method is also ideal if you want to keep your untethered jailbreak (currently iOS 5.1.1 or below).

For non-factory unlocked iPhones especially A5-based devices and later, it will prompt you to reactivate whenever a non-official SIM card is inserted. For example, if you have a locked AT&T iPhone 4S, once you insert a T-Mobile SIM card it will prompt you with ‘Activation Required’ message as shown above. However, once you’ve got your AT&T iPhone officially unlocked, all you need to do is the following:

1. Find a place with an active WiFi connection – that’s either your home or your office.

2. Once you’ve got your unlocked confirmation, remove your official SIM card (in this example, your AT&T SIM card) from your iPhone.

3. Insert your non-official SIM card e.g. T-Mobile SIM card. Shortly, you will see an ‘Activation Required‘ message.

4. Connect to your WiFi network and your iPhone’s iOS will do the rest!

That’s it, you should get a mobile signal after that.

Many iPhones sold in the US may require additional activation information such as Billing Zip Code and SSN (last 4-digit) of the person who purchased the iPhone. If you don’t have these you can get them here.

Hope you like this simple and handy tip!

Possible to Hacktivate iPhone 5 or 4S on iOS 6 that Requires SSN and ZIP?

Published on October 24, 2012 by Richard Ker

While hacktivation is still possible on older iPhones, Apple had added additional security on iPhone 5 and iOS 6 to prevent unauthorized activation or “hacktivation.”

Back in the early days, activating an iPhone was one the easiest hacks you can perform on an iPhone. Jailbreaking tools such as redsn0w or sn0wbreeze will do the trick. This is great for every iPhone owner but it’s not so great if you lost your iPhone.

If you own an A4-based devices or earlier, if for any reason you lost it, one can easily do a full restore by putting your iPhone into DFU mode first, and then later use redsn0w to activate it, even without an official SIM card.

On iPhone 4S or iPhone 5, the only way to activate it is to use its original carrier SIM card. However, if you know what network it’s locked to, all you need to do is to get it officially unlocked, and then you can activate it normally using iTunes.

It was only until recently that major US carriers such as AT&T started blacklisting iPhones which are reported missing or stolen. When iOS 6 was released together with the iPhone 5, Apple and AT&T worked together and implemented additional security by requiring Billing Zip Code and the last 4-digit of Social Security Number (SSN) of the person who purchased the iPhone to be entered during iPhone activation.

Many people who became the second owner of an iPhone 4S or 5 were caught unaware of this new security measure and pretty much stuck with an expensive brick. Even by getting an official unlock from AT&T would not help bypass the activation screen.

Thankfully, if you’re stuck in this situation, it’s still not the end of the world as we are now able to provide you the Billing Zip Code and last 4-digit of the original owner’s SSN.

So far none of the free tools available are able to bypass iOS 6 activation on iPhone 4S or 5. Hopefully hackers will be able to come up with a solution pretty soon. In the meantime, why not officially activate your iPhone 4S or 5 using this method?

Chips Replacement to Downgrade iPhone 4 on iOS 6 Baseband 04.12.02 to 01.59.00

Published on October 21, 2012 by Richard Ker

Don’t have an official unlock for iPhone 4? Just like before, we can also downgrade iPhone 4 baseband 04.12.02 to 01.59.00 via chips replacement.

Of course, nothing beats an official unlock from Apple – especially if you have an AT&T iPhone which can now be officially unlocked at a very low cost. Some worldwide network are also available although the prices vary from one network to another.

If you’re new to iPhone 4, you must have spent countless hours searching for a solution online to unlock iPhone 4 running on iOS 6 with baseband 4.12.02. Sadly, there hasn’t been a software unlock since baseband 01.59.00.

Our customer, Pedro from Portugal wrote us an email about a week ago that his logic board which has been downgraded to 01.59.00 has finally arrived and works perfectly on his country’s mobile network.

This isn’t the first time for us performing chips replacement for iPhone 4. We also offer chip replacement to remove your iPhone 4 from network blacklist. Essentially, the chips replaced will have a different IMEI. This is ideal for those who purchased a used iPhone 4 without realizing that it was blocked by their country’s network.

On a final note, do be aware not to fall into scam websites like this which they claimed that they can downgrade your baseband using software method. Having said that, however, iPhone 3GS users (older models made before week 28 of 2011) can always downgrade from iPad baseband 6.15.00 to 5.13.04 using the latest redsn0w.

As always, we will strive to provide unlocking solution to everyone, if you have any question, please feel free to contact us.

How to Activate iPhone 4S or iPhone 5 that Needs Zip and Social Security Number SSN

Published on October 20, 2012 by Richard Ker

If you purchased an iPhone 4S or iPhone 5 which has never been activated before, there’s a chance that you won’t be able to activate it without knowing the SSN or Zip code tied to the iPhone.

On A4-based devices, it’s always possible to bypass activation by “hacktivating” it with jailbreaking tools such as redsn0w or sn0wbreeze. However, iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 have stricter requirements to activate it. At present no tools are available to accomplish this. Alternatively, you can try this method which so far has not been successful.

One of my customers had just purchased a new AT&T iPhone 5 off eBay but he’s stuck in this situation in which iTunes is asking for the Zip Code and the last 4 digit of SSN of the phone. The original owner simply refused to provide any information to help him activate his new iPhone. Why? We have no idea.

Don’t despair if you’re stuck in this situation because we are now offering this service to help you activate your iPhone 4S or iPhone 5. What we need from you:

  • 15-digit IMEI of your iPhone (Go to Settings, General, About).
  • The phone number tied to the iPhone when it was purchased.

Just like our official AT&T iPhone unlock, we will submit these information to unlocking servers and they will be processed accordingly. Servers will take about 1-4 business days to return with the information needed to activate your iPhone 4S or iPhone 5. We’ll then pass them to you so that you can use your iPhone again!

Don’t wait any longer because we know that you’ve been waiting too long! Get the information you need to activate your iPhone 4S/5 now.