iPhone "reviriginizer" method for Windows posted
Over at ModMyiPhone, forum user ReVan has posted instructions for revirginizing 1.0.2 iPhones. He write that this method fixes seczones and NVRAMs, presumably restoring the iPhone to its original, locked, and upgradable state.
The method he shows is pretty complicated and based on the work of the iPhone DevTeam, including gray, ipsf, and geohot. Although there's no simple GUI yet, should this method pan out, you can bet someone will soon package it up and make it easy to use.
Update: Another method here at hackint0sh.
Update 2: "DogGunn" aka Josh H. writes: "Watch out! This just replaces the corrupt seczone with empty data. So next update, you may be really [messed up]. Using these methods may be irreparable as there is no data to repair." He suggests you wait for a Dev or Elite release.
Update 3: "Qapf" adds that running this process may expose your iPhone's IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) to others and cautions against it for privacy and security reasons.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Carl Trimble said 10:34PM on 10-20-2007
What if you do not want an unlocked phone? What if I just want a TRUE virginized iPhone?
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iPhoneWriter.com said 10:45PM on 10-20-2007
THis method worked for me, like a champ, on a Mac. As long as one can do the mental translation of "use WinSCP" to "open terminal and type SCP" and things like that, one can follow the step-by-step without need for being on Windows... except for one step, which is the creation of the .bin_loader from the .bin file.
Other than that, this method is ready for prime time (but not the NOOB or feint of heart) and allows for the successful migration from 1.0.2 unlock'd to 1.1.1 updated, unlock'd and ready to rock.
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sekdawg said 10:45PM on 10-20-2007
Erica (or anyone else actually), do you think this will work for people who used iPhone sim free?
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riffola said 11:05PM on 10-20-2007
I saw this earlier today and gave it a shot. It worked for my AnySim 1.0.2 unlocked phone.
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DogGunn said 11:23PM on 10-20-2007
Nice, I hope the people who use this enjoy their seczone being filled with 0s.
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DogGunn said 12:02AM on 10-21-2007
@ Brennan Tallack
Nah, IPSF is only used to upload the seczone. This method is not the same as IPSF.
Geohot was just too lazy to code his own program to upload the seczone.
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oshawapilot said 12:53AM on 10-21-2007
So let me get this right - I can use this method to virginize my 1.0.2 unlocked/hacked iPhone back to it's original "Out of the box" state without the fear of the baseband issues of weeks past, correct?
So I could then theoretically upgrade to 1.1.1 and then jailbreak/unlock again with impunity under 1.1.1?
(I'd like a few of the 1.1.1 features, but I'm reluctant to be the guinea pig at this point, so I've been holding onto 1.0.2...)
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oshawapilot said 12:54AM on 10-21-2007
Forgot to mention - I unlocked with AnySIM.
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DogGunn said 12:58AM on 10-21-2007
oshawapilot, you can use this tool, then you'll be able to upgrade.
HOWEVER, it erases certain parts of your seczone, and if you do not take a backup, you'll not be able to use your phone section ever again if issues arise.
I recommend you wait, as the Elite Team have a virginizing method coming out soon, that will not cause the same problems as this does.
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chr5s said 1:13AM on 10-21-2007
so if we used this method is there no going back? totally screwed?
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michaeljk said 1:22AM on 10-21-2007
the question is if IPSF uses the same unlock-procedure and how it can be fixed in future times. Does iTunes a complete restore if something on the baseband is corrupt?
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Steve said 2:03AM on 10-21-2007
Oh for F**** sake! I'm going back to a blackberry. At least the BB devs know what they're doing.
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DogGunn said 2:03AM on 10-21-2007
Well with what this method does, iTunes can not do a complete restore of the baseband as the main unique fingerprint of the baseband has been damaged even more by running this tool.
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SRG said 2:33AM on 10-21-2007
Um, running what _tool_???? (or do you just have poor engrish?)
In the future, I certainly do NOT expect apple to just start pushing around bits in the seczone. IF needed, I'm guessing they will overwrite it entirely.
Fingerprint? Are you just making this up as you type? At least ONE of us realizes this isn't the area where itunes/apple/whatever is going to look for the phone's IMEI during an upgrade.
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DogGunn said 3:22AM on 10-21-2007
@ SRG
I was trying to dumb it down. Look on all the Wikis for more information.
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LurkingEngadgeteer said 4:44AM on 10-21-2007
So Apple was right in that unlocking damages the iPhone. That was pretty broad (IPSF method doesn't, it avoids corrupting the baseband to get the job done), they were accurate about it.
Honestly, if I had known Anysim's method involved corrupting a part of my iPhone, such that it was difficult to recover, I wouldn't have unlocked with Anysim. I would have spent that money on a paid but safe unlock. Afterall, they're offering a paid solution, so its in their best interests to not destroy any part of their clients hardware.
This Anysim solution was a quick and messy way of getting the job done, with no one person or company responsible for it.
The splintering of the iPhone dev team into a separate group calling themselves iPhone Elite, was a good thing. From what I've read, iPhone Elite team is more concerned about preserving existing functionality, and forward and backward compatibility.
To me, that sounds like the new team is more concerned about quality work, rather than fast and haphazard work.
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AndyK said 8:07AM on 10-21-2007
Why hasn't someone made a good one click GUI for opening up 1.1.1 for apptapp Installer? Did it fine for 1.0.2....
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Richard said 8:50AM on 10-21-2007
Erica, thank you for guidance. I decided to wait. Right now, I am satisfied with my Iphone@FW1.0.2&Iunlocked. FW1.1.1 does not offer me much; except better speaker volume.
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rawhead said 8:51AM on 10-21-2007
@18 LurkingEngadgeteer
I wouldn't blame the Dev Team. This has been, from the get go, a "hack" and if you look up the definition for "hack"... well we shouldn't have expected anything more or less than what we got.
With that said, I do think this should give everyone some perspective.
1st, as you said, AnySIM unlocking was inherently dangerous and destructive, and it was idiotic to put the blame on Apple for intentionally "bricking" hacked iPhones with 1.1.1.
2nd, the claims by some people that it should have been "easy" for Apple to provide a safe 1.1.1 updater, which would have magically erased and rewritten the baseband (and seczone and whatever the heck else needs to get fixed) before the update is pure BS. I mean, if it's so *easy*, where's our fix? The Dev Team has had a month to work on this and still, has provided us with nada. iPSF and now this method finally have been able to "fix" the issue, but apparently, both of them are problematic. Fixing what AnySIM (and similar unlocks) did obviously is anything BUT a simple matter.
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iPhoneWriter.com said 1:24PM on 10-21-2007
Could someone please explain the "bad things and 0's are going to happen to your seczone" position/theory in more detail, without fear of confusing NOOB's (as we're not all at that level.) Keep in mind that this process is using IPSF, during the step-by-step. Now, the DNS is re-routed so as to *not* actually use the IPSF servers to generate the unlock code/key, but the process is using the IPSF application none-the-less.
Considering that the original 1.0.2 unlock's caused problems with the 1.1.1 update, I would hope that anyone trying these things (a.k.a hacking their iPhone) does so with a mind that it is absolutely likely that future updates could cause problems. It kind of goes with out saying, or at least it should. The act of hacking a device, any device, brings with it certain levels of risk: namely, potential void of warranties (unless your really lucky or really clever should that time ever come) and the potential for damage to the hacked device.
As noted by another posted, do you expect Apple to *manipulate* the seczone with future updates? If they needed to, wouldn't they just *overwrite* it completely instead of jacking with certain bits... unless of course, another round of iBrick'ing is the goal, in which case any unlock/re-virginize method is susceptible... even IPSF got jacked up with the 1.1.1 release.
Either way and even if the worse were to come with the next update, my iPhone is current, unlocked, and fully functional on the 1.1.1 release as a result of following this process. And, I am smart enough to keep my iPhone this way until long after any future update is released... at least, long enough to know exactly what to expect by reading the outcomes of the less-than-smart-upgrader's who don't wait.
Common sense? Yeah, and the exact same approach taken to avoid the entire 1.0.2 -> 1.1.1 update iBricking snafu/fiasco.
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