If you are reading this guide, it means that you, as me, as well as many others got stuck at some point. iPhone OS 4 is nice and it really have some new and very useful features, but than again, what features are good for if the device is impossible to use? Until Apple will release a reliable firmware 4.xx for iPhone 3G you can downgrade the firmware to one that enables you to sent messages, make phone calls, read mail, write notes.. you know , the things for what you bought your iPhone in the first place.

So what will this guide explain?

– Slow iPhone 3G iOs 4 solution
– Downgrade iPhone 3G from firmware 4 to 3.1.3
– Restore error in iTunes code : 1601, 1602, 1603, 1604, 1608, 1609, 1611, 1612.
– Restore error in iTunes code : 1002, 1011, 1013, 1014, 1015.
– In-out Restore Mode using RecBoot
– Redsn0w is unable to recognize the 3.1.2 or 3.1.3 firmware.
– Cydia error : apt.saurik.com host unreachable.
– Saurik repository : dev-team repository to Cydia (repo666.ultrasn0w.com).
– Accessing iPhone as root solution

First of all, and very important : Save (write down) all your important data like:?contacts, notes, mail, SMS. It is impossible to restore the iOs4 backup to the 3.1.3 firmware. Be warned of the risk of losing your data and act accordingly. Yes, you can restore back iOs4 or 3.1.3 Back and Forth…and Back Again as many times you need, but than again, that will make you loose time.

The problems began for me with this first step. Here are the correct information regarding the downgrade:

Download the required old ipsw firmware files. (Download links: iOS 4, 3.1.3, 3.1.2)
Put your device into DFU mode (not recovery mode).

* Connect your iPhone to your computer.
* Turn iPhone off.
* Start iTunes.
* Hold Power and Home buttons together for 10 seconds or so.
* Release Power button but keep holding the Home button until your computer recognizes a new USB device.
* iTunes will now recognize your iPhone.

Note: Your iPhone screen at this time should be blank (black in color), if not, then you are most likely in Recovery Mode, not DFU mode.

The solution is correct but you might find yourself in the situation where you cannot restore the phone and iTunes will display one of the errors: 1601, 1602, 1603, 1604, 1608, 1609, 1611, 1612. If you got one of this errors the only way is for you to downgrade iTunes to a version that allow you to restore since the last version ( 9.2.14) will make the same error again and again. I had an old version of iTunes 9.0.3 (you can download from Apple ) already installed on another computer and so was able to restore my phone to the 3.1.3 firmware. At the end of restore process iTunes will give one of the following errors : 1002, 1011, 1013, 1014, 1015. Do not worry , at this step the restore process is complete; Just use RedBoot to kick iPhone out of Restore mode (all about RecBot including links and source code can be found here: news4gsm.com/2010/07/30/iphone-ipod-ipad-recovery-mod-tool-recboot-8244″>iPhone-iPod-iPad-recovery-mod-tool-RecBoot ). If something is wrong pls go to the beginning of the guide and start all over.

Now you will need to exit your device from Recovery Mode. To do this, download a program called RecBoot (Windows / Mac). Run it and the click on “Exit Recovery Mode” button. Your device will now restart normally.

This is it, you should now be able to jailbreak your device on this older OS. For iPhone 3.1.2 firmware, you can use blackra1n, PwnageTool, redsn0w, sn0wbreeze, ultrasn0w and blacksn0w to jailbreak and unlock your iPhone and iPod touch. For iPhone 3.1.3 firmware for iPhone 2G, 3G, 3GS and iPod touch 1G/2G, you can use redsn0w 0.9.3, redsn0w 0.9.4, sn0wbreeze, PwnageTool 3.1.5. Unlocking can be done using ultrasn0w or blacksn0w. iPhone 3.1.3 (on devices with new bootrom and baseband) can use Spirit to jailbreak iPhone 3GS/3G and iPod touch 3G/2G.

Wow… we made it… For a big bunch of you Yes, the journey stops here. As for me and other unfortunate people, the journey just begins . But don’t worry, we’ve figured it all out, and we’ll give you instructions for other problems too.

So here we are, we found another problem : Redsn0w is unable to recognize the 3.1.2 or 3.1.3 firmware. Strange since before (3 mount before) it worked… Something happened in the mid-time but cannot figure out what. I tried with redsn0w 0.9.3, redsn0w 0.9.4 on firmware 3.1.2 and 3.1.3 using Windows Xp, Windows Vista and Windows 7 and with different versions of iTunes installed : 9.2.1.4 and 9.0.3.
So I decided to use Spirit to jailbreak my phone. news4gsm.com/2010/05/03/spirit-jailbreak-iphone-3-1-3-ipad-3-2-ipod-touch-3g-7173″> Follow this tutorial on how to use Spirit to jailbreak iPhone3G.

Here comes another problem and this problem occurs especially for the guys who are in China at the moment of this process (like I am now ) : The Cydia version that gets installed by Spirit is an old version and have some errors making it impossible for you to install anything. While trying to upgrade the essential packages I constantly receive this error : apt.saurik.com host unreachable. I tried to unlock my phone using ultrasn0w by manual adding the dev-team repository to Cydia (repo666.ultrasn0w.com to Cydia. That last “o” is actually the number zero “0”. If you use the letter “o” you’ll get an error). Problem is that there are some dependencies that should be download from saurik’s repo… and here we are again.. impossible to unlock or use my iPhone3G.

I found the solution on the modmyi forum and I will explain how to do it.

the final host file should be like this

##
# Host Database
#
# localhost is used to configure the loopback interface
# when the system is booting. Do not change this entry.
##
127.0.0.1 localhost
255.255.255.255 broadcasthost
::1 localhost
fe80::1%lo0 localhost
echo ”
93.184.221.133 cache.saurik.com
”

So in order to make this mod you need to access the file located at /etc/host . And in order to do this you need to be able to root-access your device. So there is a new problem and of course we’ve got an answer to it. The package that gives you root access to your iPhone is named afc2add and can be found in saurik repo ( that you can’t access for the present moment) but also on ModMyI.com repo that is available. It does come with one dependency but that will pose no problem ( at least for me it didn’t). Just follow the picture I attached and go in Cydia and enter : Manage than Sources and than navigate trough ModMyI.com repo until you find afc2add package. Install the package.

Now you are able to access your iPhone at a root level, and you can do this using iPhone Explorer or with Total Comander after installing T-Pot plugin. I use Total Commander on regular bases and for this task too.

This was the final step for me and for all the unfortunate Asian friends that struggle with the same problem. Modifying the host file will allow Cydia to update all its sources, upgrade to the latest version and so unlock your iPhone 3.1.3
I have once again an functional and quick iPhone3G.

I hope you enjoyed this journey and I hope this guide was useful for you. If you find this guide useful, please leave a comment.
News4GSM team