New iPhone 3GS 8GB Uses Toshiba Baseband Chip Not Compatible with iPad Baseband 6.15.00
Posted by Richard Kerr on Monday Nov 28, 2011 Under News
How does Apple prevent people from unlocking their brand new iPhone 3GS 8GB? They replaced one of the components inside! As it turns out any 3GS produced after week 28 of year 2011 (sometime in July) is made with Toshiba baseband chip, as opposed to Infineon baseband chip.
If you attempt to flash it using iPad baseband 6.15.00 there is a risk of bricking your phone! Take this as a warning!
The typical symptoms of a corrupted baseband chip are:
- No WiFi
- No ECID
- No IMEI
- No Bluetooth
Please take note of serial number of up to XXX109XXX may NOT be compatible with the iPad baseband. See example below:
XX109XX = 1 is the year of 2011 and 09 is week 9 of 1 year
If the serial number is XX931XXX that means it was produced in 2009 in week 31. Thus, it’s safe to flash it with the iPad baseband. If you’re already encounted with the errors above, consider having your logic board fixed. Contact us for a free quote.
You can use this website to check your iPhone’s production year and week based on its serial number.
If you intend to unlock your iPhone by flashing it with an iPad baseband, please check your serial number first!
So which year production and week number is your iPhone 3GS?
November 30th, 1999 at 8:00 am
Anything produced in 2011 has high risks
November 30th, 1999 at 8:00 am
hi there!,..
it is possible to replace toshiba chip into infenion chip?,..
November 29th, 2011 at 11:52 am
Downgraded new iphone 3gs to 4.1 and unlocked with 6.15.00 with no issues. It was produced in week 39 of 2011. Guess I got lucky!
November 29th, 2011 at 12:04 pm
damn lucky indeed!
November 29th, 2011 at 4:21 pm
It's practically impossible for Baseband processor (Infineon) to change to Toshiba…However if it is true that some hardware has changed- the Baseband NOR (Numonyx) would seemingly be the candidate..only way to find out is to check yourself to confirm..
The week 09 as a rule posted by a few people also seems very overzealous.. personally I've only seen problems from week 35+ but I until it can be checked directly rather than serial I guess it's better to be safe than end up with a possible permanent brick
November 29th, 2011 at 4:27 pm
after reviewing some forums, I would agree with you on this one
I'd play safe and set the week production to earlier than the stated "safe week"….
But ultimately, flash at your own risk!
December 2nd, 2011 at 10:05 am
would it be fine to unlock my iphone? here are the details….
production year – 2011
production week – 05 (feb)
cheers!
December 2nd, 2011 at 10:27 am
risky! proceed at your own risks…
December 2nd, 2011 at 1:36 pm
i have the same one with produdction year =2011 and production week=39, should I go aheady and unlock with 6.15.00?
December 2nd, 2011 at 1:40 pm
Most likely it's going to break….
December 3rd, 2011 at 12:38 am
what do you suggest me do?
December 8th, 2011 at 9:36 am
THIS IS A WARNING…just got two of them…bricked…so my suggestions are dont flash it…
December 8th, 2011 at 12:45 pm
is it possible to unlock 3gs iphone made with Toshiba baseband chip, as opposed to Infineon baseband chi
December 8th, 2011 at 6:57 pm
hi iwas trying to update the baseband to 6.15.00 on my 3gs 5.16.05,i followed all the steps ,everything was ok untill i got to step 11. i try to launch cydia but ther was no wifi on my i phone(no bluetooth,no ecid,no imei) so i went to step 17 (broken wifi,ifun-box) i followed instruction, but didnt worked. then i found out about serial # which in my case is XX138XXX . i understand that i may have corrupted baseband chip, is there any way out of this situation? thanks
December 10th, 2011 at 2:31 am
Send your logic board to beijingiphonerepair and have the replace your baseband chip. You will get it back unlocked with a baseband that is untethered. Total cost with shipping is around $89.00.
December 12th, 2011 at 4:37 am
my serial number xx052xxxxxxwould this be OK to update the baseband please help
December 13th, 2011 at 4:01 am
just got a new iphone last night and didn't even think of looking this up. i have serial# 8xx128xxxxxx and it bricked my iphone 3gs. i wish i would've known about this earlier. There really isn't any other info on this around the web as I did a ton of searches before coming across this one.
December 14th, 2011 at 11:31 am
Mine has xx112xxxxx will it work?
December 14th, 2011 at 1:21 pm
I did it anyways, And it turned out great. Got it working.
December 15th, 2011 at 1:38 am
my serial number is 87143LWWEDG ???
December 16th, 2011 at 6:52 am
My serial number is xx144xxxxxx. I downgraded to 4.1. then tried to jailbreak and install iPad baseband. I got the same issue. It would not start up or anything. So i re applied the redsnow jailbreak and iPad baseband. I still got the blank baseband values. Thought I was screwed. I just downloaded the 5.0.1 firmware then did a restore with i tunes and the phone came right back up with proper baseband settings. Not sure if it will brick after so many times but mine came right back with re-applying the jailbreak so it will boot then just restore stock 5.0.1 firmware.
Hope this helps those who have tried
Ray
December 16th, 2011 at 8:00 am
thanks Ray
December 16th, 2011 at 10:55 am
hey guys my phone is xx014ylx3xx would this phone be ok to update the baseband?
December 16th, 2011 at 11:05 am
should be ok but at your own risks!
December 16th, 2011 at 4:52 pm
hey mine is 860415j8edg
December 16th, 2011 at 8:55 pm
Hi there,
I am so glad to find this post before installing iPad baseband. Mine is 3Gs xx117xxxxxx. That means it is produced 2011, 17-th week. According the information above it should be alright to install iPad BB, right?
December 16th, 2011 at 10:40 pm
Anything produced in 2011 is risky, proceed at your own risks!
December 16th, 2011 at 11:36 pm
Thanks for the answer. But the risk isn't big because I can restore it with 5.0.1 like Ray did and it will be in the same condition like now. Right?
December 17th, 2011 at 9:53 am
I have iphone 3gs 8gb
86143xxxxxx can i unlock mine??
December 19th, 2011 at 6:36 pm
Hi COCO! How are you doing!? I have an iphone like yours! same production week and year!
I could onlyrestore to ios 4.1 or some others but with the problem of No WIFI,Bluetooh etc……Also, after the iphone gets to the initial configuration, it restar by its own even with a full battery
I am already a month trying all the possible ways and programs…. Could you help me to do what you did, PLEEEAASEEE!!!
I will apreciate soo much!
my email is nanoluis@hotmail.com in case you need it.
THANK YOU AND ALL IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR HELP!!!
December 19th, 2011 at 11:56 pm
I don't know if this always works though as I tried 5 or more times to restore to 5.0.1 after my blank baseband values and after each one the values were still blank. It's worth a try but I don't know if I would count on this working a large percentage of the time.
December 20th, 2011 at 3:33 am
Hi Ray! That's is great! so, your phone is a 3gs production year 2011 and week 44th right? Mine is week 39th._I replied to COCO to his message ,telling him my situation. It is similar to your just that the iphone i have was brought from a pawn shop….. (last time I do this hehehehe) I was told that previous owner took out all his info and the phone needed a restore through itunes…… so I took the risk….. then After many tries, I could restore some of the firmwares but in all of them :
1- at information settings : no wifi, no bluetooth, no emei… (exactly as the picture above, from the post)
and
2- every time the phone starts, it takes about 3 minutes and then turn off and back on. It restarts by its own in a loop…..
Can you help me to solve the problem??? The only thing I did do is to install ipad baseband…. even if I know that it might be the problem with the previous owner (corrupted baseband vs toshiba baseband chip)
I do not know exactly if I install the ipad baseband, If I get any possibility to restore 3gs again with original firmwares or not….
Can you, or someone help me please???!!!
Thank you in advance!
December 20th, 2011 at 9:16 am
my Iphone 3gs the new one and latest version, it is bricked wifi and other stuff because of my trying to unlock it, if I send the phone to iphone repair in China will replace the chip, that will fix the Iphone back and be unloked?
December 20th, 2011 at 10:14 am
we'll be back early January 2012
December 22nd, 2011 at 7:58 am
Sounds like Ray has been a very very lucky guy! I have tried everything with a 3GS I got to unlock for a customer including the restore with ios 5.01. Tried it several times with the same outcome (error -1) done a lot of searching over Internet and seems everyone who has tried the restore gets same stupid -1 error. Don’t think anyone else has managed to rescue a Toshiba processor apart from the guys who rip them out and replace them with an unlocked one out in China. Hope someone does find a fix, however none of the jailbreak team have found one yet so I think it has been an expensive lesson for us all!
Happy jailbreaking everyone think I will be keeping back from the unlocks in future when it comes to screwing with baseband processors!
December 23rd, 2011 at 5:51 am
I have the same exact issue with the iTunes error. I was just wondering if I should sell it now or wait until a new update and try to restore then? Also, for those who have downgraded, did you do it with SHSH blobs or what? I don't have those. I'm so mad at myself about this. Huge mistake.
December 25th, 2011 at 6:46 pm
Don't do it cause your phone produced at 2011 43rd week ,this has a risk
December 26th, 2011 at 7:05 am
My phone problem is that i got the same issue because i didnt know about the Toshiba chip,and i flashed it with the base band 6.15.00, and now it's bricked, I can UnBrick it but What do i do to fix this problem to unlock it
December 28th, 2011 at 6:36 am
Is there any way to unbrick a 3GS iPhone with the same rebooting symptons as above??!!Please can somebody take a couple ofminutes and help me? pm me at this address email : gaby_redX@yahoo.com !!!!!!!!!!
December 29th, 2011 at 3:53 pm
Unbrick it?Please let me know ,how.
December 29th, 2011 at 5:24 pm
Yeah( It was truth.
Failed 05.16.05, 44 week.
Can I fix baseband somehow fixing hardware?
When I got 'no wifi, no gsm etc' brick I tried again install ios4. Unsuccessful.
My question is:
Can I install any ios version with broken baseband? (Ofcourse withot wifi, gsm and so on)
January 2nd, 2012 at 1:13 pm
Has anyone tried this method ( http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=6031… ) to restore a bricked IPhone 3GS to a clean state (to include baseband settings)?
January 4th, 2012 at 1:45 am
my serial no is 008 is this ok to unlock?
January 4th, 2012 at 4:10 am
Hey Chris,
I have the same problem like you. I get the same error -1. If you find a fix please oblige me by letting me know how did you fix it. My eid = gauravs05@gmail.com
January 7th, 2012 at 12:43 pm
is serial number 849340UTY7H compatible
January 7th, 2012 at 2:21 pm
2009 models should be OK, but then again, do it at your own risks!
January 8th, 2012 at 3:34 am
great if you are able to unbrick.. it will be of great help if you explain how to unbrick. my email id: rafiqsha@yahoo.co.in
January 8th, 2012 at 11:32 am
my symptoms are a bit different, but wondering if this is the problem. my 3gs is stuck on the reboot after flashing. anyone had this problem? should i disconnect and see what happens?! thanks.
January 8th, 2012 at 2:36 pm
Got my iphone bricked before i read this, Are the any fix for it ??
THX
January 8th, 2012 at 2:47 pm
I have the same problem too. It seems that quite a few people has the problem.
Please reply to malaz_chahine@hotmail.com when a fix is found.
THX
January 8th, 2012 at 7:30 pm
update: i was able to put it in recovery mode and then do a standard restore via itunes. problem now is activation, as itunes claims there is no SIM and so will not activate it. not sure if that's a legacy of flashing it, or if the phone simply can't read an AT&T SIM outside of the US. (i'm in the UK with an American phone… realize this really can't be the issue, but searching here.) any ideas? thanks.
January 8th, 2012 at 10:56 pm
use redsn0w 0.9.10b3 to jailbreak/hacktivate it
January 9th, 2012 at 8:21 am
Hey beijjngjphonerepair I broke my baseband chip since its the 2011 model cuz i flashed the ipad baseband so can you fix it up for me and let me know the cost
January 9th, 2012 at 8:39 am
email us in Feb 2012!
January 9th, 2012 at 1:40 pm
This blows, my phone still has the plastic on it.
January 10th, 2012 at 3:44 am
Can I update to 6.15 when my SN is XX952C6W3NP
January 11th, 2012 at 12:53 am
So does this problem only affect the 3GS' with 8 Gigabyte? I have one (produced in the 29th week of 2011) but it has 32 Gig. Is it safe to update to the ipad Baseband?
January 11th, 2012 at 2:35 am
Once your phone is bricked, it is almost impossible to fix. So far I have not found a solution. I upgraded to 5.0.1 with an iPad baseband, downgraded to 4.1, created a custom firmware with sn0wbreeze and restored with iTunes; nothing works. I've been trying to fix my phone for three days now.
The problem is, we can't connect to the internet to get into Cydia. I think there are some wifi fixes in there. Ultrasn0w may even correct the network not working issue.
Once you flash the iPad baseband onto your iphone, you will NEVER be able to remove it. I know a lot of people are having issues with restoring with iTunes when you have an iPad baseband. You have to keep trying. When you get the error message, just unplug the phone and plug it back up to iTunes; it will restore eventually. Use Redsn0w to put the phone into pwnd dfu mode first. I've restored an iPhone with the iPad baseband at least 30 times trying to fix this "bricked" iphone issue. iTunes updated my iPhone to 5.0.1 a couple of times, without me even having to point to a custom ispw. You just have to keep trying.
If I find a solution, I'll post it here.
January 13th, 2012 at 7:47 am
my iphone serial is xx131xx can I unlock with patching baseband?? how to be sure what the baseband chip is?
January 13th, 2012 at 8:05 am
very risky
January 15th, 2012 at 6:39 pm
i got baseband 05.16.05
and my serial is xx147xxxxxx
my firmware is 5.0.1
kindly tell me pls whether its risky or not to JB my iphone 3gs 8gb.
pls….
January 15th, 2012 at 6:52 pm
i got baseband 05.16.05 and i got a xx147xxxxxx serial number
and my firmware is 5.0.1 will this be safe or risky? please kinly inform me… =(
January 15th, 2012 at 7:05 pm
what is your serial anyway justin?
January 18th, 2012 at 2:09 am
My serial is 1467. I don't think I'm able too, right? if anything, will ultrasn0w release an update for 5.15.05 FW users?
January 18th, 2012 at 3:07 am
Well, according to what I know, it is NOT safe to unlock your phone by flashing it with the ipad 6.15 baseband, as your serial number xx147xx eems to indicate manufacturing in 2011, week 47 and that's after 2011 week 28 were Apple seems to have switched baseband chips to incompatible ones … You can JAILBREAK the phone without problems with 5.0.1, of course, but you just can't unlock it a 3gs with baseband 5.16.05 (nor can most 4 and all 4s). AFAIK.
January 20th, 2012 at 5:51 am
my serial is xx116xxxxxx is that good? kinda scared
January 20th, 2012 at 9:34 am
Model introduced: 2008
Production year: 2009
Safe to jailbreak your unit
January 21st, 2012 at 2:57 pm
I have xxx116xxxx is it good to unlock?
January 21st, 2012 at 2:59 pm
50-50
January 22nd, 2012 at 9:42 am
But it's before week 28 so is it still good and safe to unlock with ipad baseband?
January 22nd, 2012 at 10:33 am
it is risky! dont do it
January 22nd, 2012 at 10:38 am
what week is it?
January 24th, 2012 at 1:51 am
news about unlocking bricked phones?
January 24th, 2012 at 2:02 am
16th week, it’s ok I sold it lol!
January 24th, 2012 at 11:09 am
Estou com meu Iphone 3gs com a mesma imagem acima (brickado). Existe alguma forma de restaura-lo? Nem mandando pra assistência técnica da Apple? Existe alguma chance de te-lo funcionando de volta?
January 24th, 2012 at 1:08 pm
English please….
January 26th, 2012 at 11:14 am
My Iphone 3gs is 2011 40+ week produced at&t cellphone, and I failed in unlocking it, but I didnt use 6.1.5 Ipad baseband. so should i wait for the jailbreak team to work something out, or better to take it apple store?
January 26th, 2012 at 3:19 pm
Take it back to Apple store
January 26th, 2012 at 4:37 pm
listen people THIS WILL ANSWER ALL YOUR QUESTIONS IF YOUR PHONE IS COMPATIBLE OR NOT…. its all about the 3rd 4th and 5th number of your serial number. Any phone made week 35 or later in 2011 is not compatible from my experience(I do this for a living). 3rd number is the year. So if your 3rd number is a "0" that means your phone was made in 2010, if its a 9 then 2009; ALL these phones are OK. If your 3rd number is a 1, then that means 2011. At this point check the 4th and 5th number. if they are 35 or over, you are out of luck
January 27th, 2012 at 3:50 pm
Hi, I have iPhone 3gs with serial xx138xxxxxx with baseband 5.16.05 and iOS 5.0.1. Is is safe to jailbreak it without unlocking it? Could I jailbreak it without having to upgrade the baseband since I would not want to brick my phone. Thanks in advance!
January 27th, 2012 at 11:06 pm
we're working on it
January 28th, 2012 at 5:29 am
More like week 30.
January 30th, 2012 at 9:17 am
my serial is 946.is this ok?can someone please tell me.
January 30th, 2012 at 1:53 pm
man can you tell me how did you unbrick the phone plz? ive been lookin for a way to do it plz my email is sobervius@gmail.com
January 30th, 2012 at 10:48 pm
My iPhone is 16GB 3GS with
Version: 4.3.3(8J2)
Modem Firmware: 05.16.02
Serial Number: 7R9468QA3NP
Can I flash it with iPad baseband 6.15.00 on 4.3.3 ?
January 31st, 2012 at 6:23 am
Is the baseband issue applicable to all 3GS phones after week 28 or only on 8GB? I have a 32 GB 3GS phone (week 31) and am in France. If yes, wWhat would be the cost to replace the ship including shipping? Thank you!
January 31st, 2012 at 6:31 am
Hey did you ever find out? I have a 32GB phone as well…
January 31st, 2012 at 8:03 am
kindly email help@beijingiphonerepair.com
February 2nd, 2012 at 2:48 pm
I've got a 3GS 16 GB
ios 5.0.1
Baseband 05.16.05
SN : 8093740D3NP
I there a risk to use ipad baseband ??
February 2nd, 2012 at 3:06 pm
this is a 2009 model…. should be ok but at your own risk!
February 2nd, 2012 at 6:23 pm
if your phone is in warrenty,restore it to original settings and take it to apple store they will replace it
February 2nd, 2012 at 8:00 pm
that's right, because there's no proof that you were attempting to unlock it
February 2nd, 2012 at 11:36 pm
thanks
My iphone is american, I live in Mexico. A friend of mine said me I must pay 120 dollars to unlock it in USA. Is it true ?
February 3rd, 2012 at 1:20 am
I am lucky to find this site before trying to unlock my iPhone (8GB 3Gs, Baseband 05.16.05, SN=87201xxxEDG, just got it 2 weeks ago by renewing 2 years contract). I will wait for latest solution to unlock the iPhone 3Gs with Toshiba baseband chip.
February 3rd, 2012 at 7:55 am
looks like yours is freshly produced from the factory!
February 3rd, 2012 at 7:55 am
who provides the unlocking service?
February 4th, 2012 at 12:26 am
Hi! My Iphone 3GS serial number is xx122xxxxxx, i know it is risky, but has anybody else tried to flash the ipad baseband to an Iphone of the same week?
February 4th, 2012 at 1:44 am
if you see the warning from redsn0w, it says week 35…. but you never know…
February 5th, 2012 at 2:32 am
Hello can you help me? I have no bluetooth, no wifi, and phone kkeps rebooting? is there a way to get out of this mess? Returning it is not an option.
February 5th, 2012 at 2:39 am
there's no software fix once you get this error
February 6th, 2012 at 12:31 pm
Just did xx125xx and it was fine.i did a 130 but locked it up so nothing after xx130xx
February 6th, 2012 at 12:52 pm
so anything after week 28 is definitely not safe, in redsn0w it's week 35 and later…
February 6th, 2012 at 8:49 pm
can i use the ipad baseband with this serial number 147?? iphone 3gs 5.16.05, already jailbroked it but I didn’t install the baseband cuz it might bricked.. any advice guys??
February 6th, 2012 at 11:44 pm
99% it will be bricked
February 8th, 2012 at 12:13 am
##135 im so tempted to do it.
February 8th, 2012 at 1:08 pm
don't do it i bricked an iphone 3gs XX134.
February 9th, 2012 at 2:25 pm
Hi,
If you know how to unbrick it, please let me know how or post it , email to: malaz_chahine@hotmail.com.
Thanks
February 9th, 2012 at 2:44 pm
hi there can u please tel me if miine would be able to ulock it??
the s/n is 889240xxxxxx
thanks so much!
February 9th, 2012 at 4:28 pm
2009, week 24… should be safe but do it at your own risk!
February 10th, 2012 at 10:07 pm
news for bricked phones??
February 10th, 2012 at 11:14 pm
only replacing the chips
February 11th, 2012 at 5:36 pm
and this is already possible?
February 12th, 2012 at 4:03 am
Hi, any recent changesupdates on possible unlockin 3gs (week 44 of 2011) with ios 5.0.1…appreciate your reply…
February 12th, 2012 at 11:09 am
nothing yet, Nate
February 13th, 2012 at 5:13 am
so yesterday i did about 10 iphones 3gs 8gb all made before week 25 and they all seem to work well with the ipad baseband. one thing i noticed that all the ones i flashed the chip had this id: 36MY1EE, the chip is found in the location on this picture http://www.beijingiphonerepair.com/wp-content/upl… then i went ahead and opened an iphone which was week 46 and already bricked, removed EMI shield and the id on this chip was: 36MY1EH so im gessing that is the new toshiba baseband chip or whichever manufacturer produces it.
February 13th, 2012 at 8:23 am
so what is that chip? because i compared the bricked 3gs and 2 of the unlocked ones and that was the only difference i found.
February 13th, 2012 at 10:49 am
the old one is 36MY1EE, physically it's the same, but the newer one has added security/algorithm check?
February 13th, 2012 at 12:03 pm
i have a 3gs xx139, can u tell me if you did it with redsnow or snowbreeze????????????
February 13th, 2012 at 12:56 pm
It doesnt matter if you have toshiba or infeneon. To be more technically, Apple updated baseband chip in new iphone versions so if you take it apart and check the chip you can know exactly it can be flashed or not:
1. Remove the LCD.
2. Remove the baseband metal shielding.
3. Check the label on the baseband flash chip.
If your flash chip is Intel 36MY1EE or non-Intel it is safe to proceed.
If your flash chip is Intel 36MY1EH, 36MY1EG it will die 100%.
February 13th, 2012 at 1:50 pm
Great info, thanks!
February 13th, 2012 at 1:50 pm
In other words, 36MY1EE is compatible with iPad baseband, everything else is not
February 16th, 2012 at 3:38 pm
pls. help me how to unbrick my phone=c josedenhernaez@yahoo.com
February 17th, 2012 at 11:48 am
So? no one got the way to unbrick the iphone?
February 23rd, 2012 at 9:26 am
i got iphone 3gs serial 841052 can it b unlocked with ipad baseband