My iphone Oh GOD please help!!!

[Halo_Donut]

well i got this iphone for 100$ after my friend got the new bb storm. i was intending to use it as just a music player/wifi, basically a touch. it was working well but when i updtaed the firmware from 2.1 to 2.2 it got screwed up the butt. It only lets me make emergency calls and its telling me to insert a sim card for activation. i just want it back how it was help please!!!! Thanks if you can!

[bobb-mini]

Lesson.... latest is NOT ALWAYS the greatest.

I'll let others tell u what to do.

[Halo_Donut]

aww you cant just help me please? well im using my friends warranty and going to apple on saturday do you think they can help?

[Pay0The0Man]

No, they cannot help you, because if an iPhone is not registered, it is a $200 paper weight.

[ReyZero]

I'm assuming you updated the iPhone without the SIM card, or it's been deactivated.
If it was without, try doing an update with it in, then shut it down and remove it. Otherwise you'll have to do a factory restore back to ground zero and find a patch that'll bring it to 2.1. If anyone out there has tried using an iPhone without a plan, you'll have to give feedback.

PLEASE make subjects clear on the problem, such as iPhone Problem (No SIM) or something.

[Halo_Donut]

if i jailbreak it do you think that would solve it?

[ReyZero]

if i jailbreak it do you think that would solve it?
Would it hurt?

[elyx]

Yes, jailbreaking probably will solve the issue. You can also restore the iphone back to a previous version. I recommend 2.1, as theres not allot of reasons to go to 2.2. either way, hit the hacks and mods forums for info, or Google (that's what i did). Plenty of stuff out there, some real good jailbreak programs, and you can all do it for free. avoid anything that would charge you.

I bought my 2g specifically to unlock, and works great with my pre-paid SIM. all features work fine. But do your research, and make sure you know what your doing before you do it.

If you have a 3g your toast...sorry :( no solutions as of yet for jailbreaking a 2.2 - 3g unless it was broken prevoiusly.

Edit: correction...seems like within the last few weeks they have pwned 2.2 for the 3g, so your safe even then. However, it seems like unlocking it is still up in the air, but jailbreaking is doable for teh 2.2 os on 3g.

[deftdrummer1]

You are correct elyx, they have recently jailbroken 2.2 but that won't do the OP much good I'm afraid. Jailbreaking is for third party apps, but if the phone is locked its locked. They have yet to come out with a software unlock for the 3G.

If it were me (and I'm definitely not the foremost expert on jailbreaking and unlocking), I would insert a buddy's sim card and research on Google how to revert back to previous firmware versions. That way, at least you have full access to the phone (if needed) so that you can get back to the old firmware. You might just have to wait it out until there it a software unlock for the 3G, and there's no telling how long that might be.

[Jimmy97]

and there's no telling how long that might be
Wrong. Got good news for anyone here hoping for an unlock: it's coming this month.
Bad news: that's only for the 2.0 firmware. 2.1 should follow soon enough. 2.2 is out of the question right now, likely to take a lot of time, if ever, and even if you downgrade to 2.1, the baseband remains the same so you can't unlock for a while if you have 2.2.
Take my word for it ;) I've been monitoring the dev-team pretty closely. I have 2.1 and am in great need of the unlock, so I'm hoping they don't delay with that too much.
But this won't help the thread starter, so moving on...

Anyways, for your problem: jailbreaking activates the phone as far as I'm aware, so do it, it should work. Download QuickPwn for the 2.2 version. Go to www.iclarified.com if you need a source to download or a tutorial. If you need anything else, just ask here.

Another option: if your friend still has the AT&T SIM that he got with the iPhone's contract and it's still active, just pop that in and activate, then just use it as an iPod as usual.

[ShadowMunky]

Won't that stuff yr phone up ( Jailbraking it) and which apps can u download if you do anyway... Also wouldn't it void the warantee ?

[deftdrummer1]

Yes yes and ... Yes

[Jimmy97]

You know, his second question wasn't a yes or no question.
I don't know what you mean by "stuff up" but if you mean "slow down" then no, not unless you use Winterboard for themes and stuff, and if you mean "ruin" it then also no, it's not dangerous at all - a 5 year old could do it in literally 10 minutes.

You can download apps not approved by Apple - frankly, I like to stick to the "official" stuff, but I have Cydia and Installer for the unlock package for my 3G. (Which works perfectly by the way). But if project iBluetooth ever gets out via one of these 2 I'll probably download it. Then all you fearful non-jailbreakers will have something to be really jealous about, aside from the unlock and free AppStore apps and extra apps :) These extra apps are seriously useful, seeing as some compensate for the iPhone's shortcomings such as MMS and copy and paste (among many others) but I don't really use them because they're a) not convenient b) not official (which is why they're not convenient and c) I don't even really want them.

Technically speaking, it would void your warranty. But you can erase all traces of it at any time by just restoring to an official Apple ipsw, so basically, no it won't void your warranty. Do-gooders just use that as an excuse to comfort themselves and others of what they're deprived of by jailbreaking :)
It's not illegal you know - you're just getting more use out of your device than officially supported. Big deal. Unlocking isn't illegal either.

Basically though - if you have no interest in unlocking (I do), extra apps (themes, folders, iPhone shortcomings, numeric battery and Wi-Fi which I personally find very useful but don't use because they'd slow down the phone), or free AppStore stuff, then there's no real reason to jailbreak. If you do want one of the above, maybe you should consider jailbreaking :)

[ReyZero]

Can you use Flash on a jailbroken iPhone? That's the main thing I'm waiting for to be released officially. I've never really checked to see if it was out for jailbreak

[ShadowMunky]

You know, his second question wasn't a yes or no question.
I don't know what you mean by "stuff up" but if you mean "slow down" then no, not unless you use Winterboard for themes and stuff, and if you mean "ruin" it then also no, it's not dangerous at all - a 5 year old could do it in literally 10 minutes.

You can download apps not approved by Apple - frankly, I like to stick to the "official" stuff, but I have Cydia and Installer for the unlock package for my 3G. (Which works perfectly by the way). But if project iBluetooth ever gets out via one of these 2 I'll probably download it. Then all you fearful non-jailbreakers will have something to be really jealous about, aside from the unlock and free AppStore apps and extra apps :) These extra apps are seriously useful, seeing as some compensate for the iPhone's shortcomings such as MMS and copy and paste (among many others) but I don't really use them because they're a) not convenient b) not official (which is why they're not convenient and c) I don't even really want them.

Technically speaking, it would void your warranty. But you can erase all traces of it at any time by just restoring to an official Apple ipsw, so basically, no it won't void your warranty. Do-gooders just use that as an excuse to comfort themselves and others of what they're deprived of by jailbreaking :)
It's not illegal you know - you're just getting more use out of your device than officially supported. Big deal. Unlocking isn't illegal either.

Basically though - if you have no interest in unlocking (I do), extra apps (themes, folders, iPhone shortcomings, numeric battery and Wi-Fi which I personally find very useful but don't use because they'd slow down the phone), or free AppStore stuff, then there's no real reason to jailbreak. If you do want one of the above, maybe you should consider jailbreaking :)

Thanks a lot Jimmy, very very helpful.. I do kinda want the free applications but my dad says it's a no go.. Oh well. Just another question, would the apps work with an iPhone that isn't jailbroken, and why ?

[AKCHRIS]

Ok here's My Question..U bought a Iphone and Planed on Using it as a Itouch? I guess u forgot that it's a Phone also..uh? But I see where ur getting at. Just a shame u had too Spend $100. You Were Better off Getting the Touch if You Just wanted too Have a Player. But Ya. I'm glad that I got the Iphone..Shame that I can't jailbreak my Iphone Since I upgraded the Firmware from 2.1 WHICH is what it comes as Straight Out of the BOX...LOL I should have just left it wit the 2.1, Now I cant jailbreak..BUT it's ok..

[Jimmy97]

Can you use Flash on a jailbroken iPhone?
I'd never looked into this either, because I'd never actually really needed video so bad on my iPhone urgently. But since you mentioned it, I ran a Google search, and turns out that as of recently, yes you can.
But like I said, unofficial apps never run as clean as official ones. The app that enables flash, called iMobileCinema, is still buggy (hasn't been out long) and I don't think it supports Hulu videos. Unless someone needs flash video desperately, I'd hold off til Adobe releases an iPhone version (or until Apple lets them), but I wouldn't hold my breath.

Just another question, would the apps work with an iPhone that isn't jailbroken, and why?
No, you couldn't. Jailbreaking means getting an app called Cydia, and/or one called Installer onto your phone. This provides you with the jailbroken apps. Without these two, you wouldn't have a download source.
Also, I'm not sure about this, but it's possible jailbreaking also somehow mods your phone to allow non-Apple signed apps to be downloaded to your phone. Again, I'm not sure about this.

In my opinion, if you don't need an unlock, and you don't want free AppStore stuff, jailbreaking isn't worth it. Sure, it has some cool stuff, but they're nothing you can't live without (unless you really need some of them like MMS or something). I've only installed 2 things from jailbreaking: the unlock, and a patch that allows me to run cracked apps.
I find things like the flash player mentioned above, or MMS/copy&paste substitutes to be just less than ideal. They make nice extras, but I found that I don't use them much, and unless Apple actually releases them, I don't want them. I don't care for MMS, as long as YouTube's active I don't really care for flash either, and only once have I found myself wishing I had copy/paste while using Safari (to open an un-clickable link), but even then it wasn't really urgent.

Some apps from Cydia others may find useful: Winterboard (themes - be warned though, this slows down your iPhone like hell- you can also use it to get folders to place apps, and numeric battery/Wi-Fi), Cycorder (video camera) - MySMS (landscape SMS) - Snapture (digital zoom for camera, burst mode, timer, black/white photos), FiveIconDock (pretty self explanatory), Stacks (those who use Macs will be familiar with this) Backgrounder (run apps in the background, obviously slows down your iPhone when in use), OpenSSH (remote access for your iPhone), iMobileCinema (flash plug-in, still buggy) and NemusSync for those who need to sync their GoogleCalendars.
Hopefully soon: iBluetooth, which gives you full Bluetooth access (A2DP, data transfer). I hope Apple someday gives us Bluetooth, because I hate resorting to jailbroken apps, and Bluetooth is perhaps my biggest complaint.

In the end, for me, I never intended to get apps out of jailbreaking, just the unlock and free AppStore apps. So far, I remain convinced, and probably will remain so. The iPhone's shortcomings aren't as important to me, certainly not important enough for me to download them from a third-party source which offers less than ideal interfaces (since they're not embedded into the iPhone's UI), and gives the possibility for slowing down your iPhone. However, 3 things I would really like Apple to add with firmware 3.0: themes (that don't slow down your iPhone) - and full Bluetooth support (definitely not happening) and stacks or folders. I hate getting my iPhone's main level cluttered and messy. I want a folder for games, one for the default apps, one for apps (those from the AppStore), one for web clips, and widgets/backgrounds. I'd seriously like the option to have my main page with the taskbar, a background, and the dock, and a button for the menu which brings up folders. Or something to that effect, Apple's better than me at design.

Ok here's My Question..U bought a Iphone and Planed on Using it as a Itouch? I guess u forgot that it's a Phone also..uh? But I see where ur getting at. Just a shame u had too Spend $100. You Were Better off Getting the Touch if You Just wanted too Have a Player. But Ya. I'm glad that I got the Iphone..Shame that I can't jailbreak my Iphone Since I upgraded the Firmware from 2.1 WHICH is what it comes as Straight Out of the BOX...LOL I should have just left it wit the 2.1, Now I cant jailbreak..BUT it's ok..
Stop being such a smarta**. I half don't want to help you, but anyway, the OP got the iPhone for $100 instead of buying an iPod touch for at least $130 more, and got a camera and mic and such extra.
And you can jailbreak any firmware.

[ShadowMunky]

I really really want the free app store apps, but i'm just too scared to jailbreak the thing... That and my dad won't let me.. Lemme get this straight, you can get all the apps in the app store.... for free ??

[Jimmy97]

Not literally all, but most. It's not easy though. Well the implementation is easy, but finding links and stuff isn't. I had to search for quite a few days on the net to get reliable links and a place to download cracked apps. Be warned though: In the US, this is illegal. Jailbreaking and unlocking isn't.
This is basically piracy... you know, like ripping protected content or downloading copyrighted movies from the net. If I had had the choice, I wouldn't do this. But my country isn't all that supported by Apple, and until I move to the US or something, this is pretty much my best option. If you live in the States, I don't recommend you do this.
If however, someone really wants to, it's as simple as downloading a patch from a link in Cydia (which I could provide), and downloading cracked apps from a site which gives links to the apps uploaded onto sites such as Megaupload.com, rapidshare, etc. After downloading said patch, you can download apps from this site (it has most apps on the AppStore, at least the popular ones - I only can't find the eBooks present in the iTunes Store and 1 app that I wanted but I found a replacement) - then you just double click the downloaded app, it opens with iTunes, and sync to the iPhone.

There's no reason to be scared of jailbreaking. It's not like Apple's let loose some sort of cyber-dog to sniff out jailbreakers. It's not even illegal. However, if you live in the States, you should probably be afraid of piracy (a category which downloading cracked apps falls into). But if you live in the States, I see no reason to do this anyway, since you could buy the apps easily, and most aren't even expensive. The only overpriced one that I have is Beejive IM (which is great, incidentally, but I wouldn't pay $16 for it).
All your choice. Provide these details to your dad as well. I'm sure he won't change his mind though (it's piracy, and if he doesn't even want you to jailbreak, he's not going along with something that actually is illegal). But again, even I don't recommend you do this. It's much more advisable to actually buy apps you're sure you want from the AppStore, but be careful - I've downloaded around 100 apps, and used most. I have around 30 left on my iPhone. Just goes to show how many pieces of junk there are in the AppStore. I'm glad I didn't pay for those I deleted after 5 minutes of use (around 70% of apps, in case someone's not good at math.)
Some you just get bored of after an hour or so's use, and some just plain suck. These make up 70% of the apps.
Also, for free Apps on the AppStore, you can just make an account without associating a credit card and download those for free. Go nuts with that, and choose those you want to pay for with caution. As good an option as you can get if you don't want to jailbreak/use cracked apps, and the option you should probably take.

EDIT: Just noticed you live in South Africa (read another post of yours). Apple has an AppStore for South Africa, so provided you have a credit card, you can get paid apps. You can get free apps without a credit card.
Also, I don't know what you're complaining about (of Apple not offering support for South Africa). You get iPhones there, sold officially. And if you have 3G, you should be happy. We have neither, yet I've coped. Bought an iPhone from the States, got me some cracked apps, download music from the net (or in some cases ripping CDs) and I'm fine.

[AKCHRIS]

Yeah there are SOME good Apps that Are free..I have alot of them on My iPhone. I just also Jailbroke my Iphone But am wondering NOW how too get themes and Add a Video Recorder too my Phone.As for Unlocking it OF COURSE..THAT Makes the phone MORE Valuable when they come out wit the NEW IPHONE..yeah I said New Iphone. at least that's what I've been told.But yeah The App Store has a FEW Good Paid Apps, BUT FREE is always good.

[ShadowMunky]

Not literally all, but most. It's not easy though. Well the implementation is easy, but finding links and stuff isn't. I had to search for quite a few days on the net to get reliable links and a place to download cracked apps. Be warned though: In the US, this is illegal. Jailbreaking and unlocking isn't.
This is basically piracy... you know, like ripping protected content or downloading copyrighted movies from the net. If I had had the choice, I wouldn't do this. But my country isn't all that supported by Apple, and until I move to the US or something, this is pretty much my best option. If you live in the States, I don't recommend you do this.
If however, someone really wants to, it's as simple as downloading a patch from a link in Cydia (which I could provide), and downloading cracked apps from a site which gives links to the apps uploaded onto sites such as Megaupload.com, rapidshare, etc. After downloading said patch, you can download apps from this site (it has most apps on the AppStore, at least the popular ones - I only can't find the eBooks present in the iTunes Store and 1 app that I wanted but I found a replacement) - then you just double click the downloaded app, it opens with iTunes, and sync to the iPhone.

There's no reason to be scared of jailbreaking. It's not like Apple's let loose some sort of cyber-dog to sniff out jailbreakers. It's not even illegal. However, if you live in the States, you should probably be afraid of piracy (a category which downloading cracked apps falls into). But if you live in the States, I see no reason to do this anyway, since you could buy the apps easily, and most aren't even expensive. The only overpriced one that I have is Beejive IM (which is great, incidentally, but I wouldn't pay $16 for it).
All your choice. Provide these details to your dad as well. I'm sure he won't change his mind though (it's piracy, and if he doesn't even want you to jailbreak, he's not going along with something that actually is illegal). But again, even I don't recommend you do this. It's much more advisable to actually buy apps you're sure you want from the AppStore, but be careful - I've downloaded around 100 apps, and used most. I have around 30 left on my iPhone. Just goes to show how many pieces of junk there are in the AppStore. I'm glad I didn't pay for those I deleted after 5 minutes of use (around 70% of apps, in case someone's not good at math.)
Some you just get bored of after an hour or so's use, and some just plain suck. These make up 70% of the apps.
Also, for free Apps on the AppStore, you can just make an account without associating a credit card and download those for free. Go nuts with that, and choose those you want to pay for with caution. As good an option as you can get if you don't want to jailbreak/use cracked apps, and the option you should probably take.

EDIT: Just noticed you live in South Africa (read another post of yours). Apple has an AppStore for South Africa, so provided you have a credit card, you can get paid apps. You can get free apps without a credit card.
Also, I don't know what you're complaining about (of Apple not offering support for South Africa). You get iPhones there, sold officially. And if you have 3G, you should be happy. We have neither, yet I've coped. Bought an iPhone from the States, got me some cracked apps, download music from the net (or in some cases ripping CDs) and I'm fine.

Well, no, i don't have 3G unfortunately, and since i'm only 14 i can't afford to pay for the contract myself so if i did have 3G my dad would be bankrupt :D . In anycase, what i mean't about poor support is that we don't have those kinds of apps that the people in the states do ( Not even a single game ). Oh yeah, that and i don't have an apple account or a credit card to pay for the apps that i do want.

[iDev]

This is truly unfair of Apple.
I was planning on upgrading to the iPhone 3g in a couple weeks, but have debated about it for a number of reasons, such as this. There are undoubtedly a lot of users who would like the option of having the features of the iPhone without the data plan, or they may switch phones in the future and would still like to use all of non-phone features (ie, ipod), etc...

The new iPhone competitors about to be unleashed for '09 are looking more attractive every day.

[ShadowMunky]

I'm not saying that it's a big deal, trust me if you get the phone you will fall in love with it, and all it's problems ( at least i did:D )

[jmyler]

Ok here's My Question..U bought a Iphone and Planed on Using it as a Itouch? I guess u forgot that it's a Phone also..uh? But I see where ur getting at. Just a shame u had too Spend $100. You Were Better off Getting the Touch if You Just wanted too Have a Player. But Ya. I'm glad that I got the Iphone..Shame that I can't jailbreak my Iphone Since I upgraded the Firmware from 2.1 WHICH is what it comes as Straight Out of the BOX...LOL I should have just left it wit the 2.1, Now I cant jailbreak..BUT it's ok..

You can jailbreak 2.1 AND 2.2 fyi