Tutorial:Unlock iPhone 3G with TurboSim

{{disclaimer}

This article is a step by step instruction to use a net-locked iPhone-3G with your (different) contract provider.

This example: official provider: Swisscom (prepaid), contract provider: O2 Germany

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Motivation

Everyone who dislikes pink T's, over-priced unlocked iPhones and likes investigating exciting techniques ... (a.s.o.)

Prerequisites

You need:

• your jailbroken iPhone-3G with openssh installed (from cydia) and WLAN connection to your PC
• putty, winscp (or equivalent mac proggies)
• turboSim programming sw (http://dl.free.fr/pzijbVjXl/turbo-cable-utils-iPhone-0.7.0-rev3-firmware-v2.tar.gz)
• turboSim app zero-g (http://www.bladox.com/pub/zerog-0.95.tar.gz)

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Installation

1. Put your official provider card (prepaid) together with turboSim into the sim card slot of your iPhone-3G. Google a little bit how to do this. IMHO it's a good idea to (TESA-)tape turboSim and SIM-card together (on upper surface, tape needs to clasp around the chip to the connection's side of the card, so there is no tape edge on the surface in direction of tension), otherwise your SIM can get stuck in your phone and you have to open it.

2. unpack turbo-cable-utils and use WinScp to copy the contents of bin-iphonev2 to folder /bin/ on your iphone (user root, pass alpine)

3. connect with putty to your iPhone (user root, pass alpine) (btw, changing your password is a good idea: passwd)

4. change permissions

chmod 755 /bin/turbo-*

5. run turbo-info

iPhone:~ root# turbo-info
initializing modem
modem initiated
Kernel Version 1.2.7.0
Serial Number <...>
OK. No Error

If this does not end with "ok" you have connection problems:

localhost:~ root# turbo-info
initializing modem
AT+CPMS="SM","SM"
ERROR
AT+CPMS?
ERROR
modem initiated
Mobile Phone/Serial Cable Communication Error

Check your turboSim-Sim-pack, sometimes there are some bumps from the cutting process which need to be removed. If all electrical contacts work well, this error will vanish.

6. use WinScp to copy unpacked zero-g-trb to folder /private/var/root

7. run turbo-reset and then turbo-app to programme your turboSim

iPhone:~ root# turbo-app zerog095.trb
SRC zerog095.trb
SIZE 1023
initializing modem
modem initiated
OK. No Error

You now should see zero-g sim app in settings -> phone -> sim applications (ignore the carrier, I took screen shots later on)

9. Remove official card + turboSim and replace it with your contract card + turboSim, turbo-info should end with okay

10. reboot / switch on/off phone

I have to type in my SIM-Pin first

then: no service, okay...

10. commit green button of zero-g application, which appears after some seconds

11. Some timing problems? Lost carrier? Just closing...

'cos it works at the end...

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Status

• calls okay (incoming, outgoing)
• SMS okay (incoming, outgoing)
• Still no data, possibly due to old SIM card. Don't know if USIM works, will see it in some days.

Remarks

• Could be, you could do the programming with your contract card too, so you don't have to massacre your official provider card. I didn't, because incidentally my official card was the first not to have contact issues. So I don't know, at the end.
• Important is you get zero-g into your turboSim. So you could also try with a first gen iphone, probably this needs the other version of turbo-cable-utils (bin-iphonev1)