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http://www.macnn.com/articles/09/11/03/utility.supports.hacktivation/

BlackSn0w jailbreaks iPhones with 05.11.07 baseband

updated 01:50 pm EST, Tue November 3, 2009

 

Utility supports hacktivation


Blackra1n coder George Hotz has released blacksn0w, a new jailbreaking utility that unlocks iPhone firmware v3.1.2 and the latest baseband v05.11.07. The tool now allows users to upgrade to v3.1.2 from older firmware without losing the unlock. The process also enables tethering, allowing the handset to be used as a computer-connected modem even on carriers, such as AT&T, that still block the function.

Users that already have the previous version of blackra1n on the iPhone can upgrade to blacksn0w from within the app. GeoHot has also announced blackra1n RC3, which now works with both Windows and Mac platforms while cutting approximately 15 seconds from the process.

Support for "hacktivation" allows the handsets to be activated without an official iPhone plan offered by many carriers. GeoHot warns that the blacksn0w unlock only works with the iPhone 3G and 3GS, although a permanent unlock is already available for the 2G model. Users are also urged to be patient before downloading Apple's firmware updates, as the baseband cannot be downgraded.


by MacNN Staff

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TAGS :

 iPhone, software, hacks, jailbreak, tethering

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Comments

  1. byRyan

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Jun 2007

    +3
    11/03, 02:56pm | report spam | Reply |

    Tether-ball!!

    TETHERING!!! SWEET!!!!! (s**** you att) I might just jail brake my iPhone after all... I haven't done that since my first one... so I could get apps before there was an app store.

    Don't you just love the open source movement of geeks with nothing better to do then circumvent protection enabling code!!!

  1. bjojade

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Jun 2007

    +1
    11/03, 03:19pm | report spam | Reply |

    Anyone reverse tether?

    Tethering is cool if you have an iPhone plan. But I want the opposite. I want to tether my iPhone to my regular phone via bluetooth to get on the internet when WIFI isn't available to me.

    Someone figure that out please.

  1. howdesign

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Aug 2005

    +1
    11/03, 05:05pm | report spam | (1 reply) Reply |

    Jailbreaking

    Besides the obvious downsides of jailbreaking, what else is different on your phone once it's complete? Can you still use visual voicemail and use/purchase official apps on it? Thanks.

  1. King Bob On The Cob

    Mac Elite

    Joined: Apr 2002

    +2
    11/03, 05:41pm | report spam | Reply |

    comment title

    I use visual voicemail and official apps after jailbreaking. I really, really, really, wanted to use a program named "Orbit" on my iPhone, and it was only available to jailbroken phones, that allows you to "expose" your screens on your phone.

    Now that I'm here, I use several programs all the time.

    Like Music Control, which lets me use Pandora in the background, and you can use the "normal" Apple Skip/Pause GUI to control it from your headphones or the double-tap screen just as if you were using the official Apple iPod program. Really nice. I wish Apple would allow other people to plug into this feature.

    I also use "QuickReply" all the time. It allows you to simply double tap a text message pop-up and reply from your current application (It sends the same command that receiving a call would give, so it pauses your games, but you can go right back to the game after you send the text without exiting.)

    Adding a scrollbar, while basically sacrilege, allows me to read a few of my favorite websites without my carpal tunnel acting up every time I need to refresh.

    Oh, and there's a real spellcheck extension, which will underline your misspelled words and offer suggestions, but that's a bit iffier in the quality department when using Safari, as text boxes like this one don't always seem to correct properly.

    Everything else I use is just kinda fun hacks that just make the phone "feel" better. Like having the weather icon do a live update every fifteen minutes so that it's accurate rather than always showing it as 70 and sunny, making the clock on the springboard accurate, and adding missed calls, voicemails and e-mails to my status bar.

    The disadvantage is really just that the jailbroken applications that run like haxies may interfere with certain functionality, and if you don't know what you're doing, they can really slow down your phone (Just like Apple warned us). Other than that, there isn't too much of a downside. If you're a reasonably advanced user of OS X, the iPhone will be very familiar once you jailbreak it.

    The key thing when jailbreaking is, you better know what you're getting yourself into, and realize that Apple's next upgrade will probably break everything, so you can't always use the latest and greatest if you want to continue on the jailbreak.

  1. jeebus

    Junior Member

    Joined: Dec 2005

    +1
    11/03, 11:45pm | report spam | Reply |

    comment title

    You don't need a scrollbar to scroll to the top. You can just tap the top of the screen and it jumps to the top right away.

    There are many benefits to jailbreaking. But the downsides are that your phone will crash a lot more, it will run slower (esp if you have the 3G), will have worse battery life and you are circumventing all the security measures of the phone, so you are completely exposed to viruses, exploits etc.

  1. King Bob On The Cob

    Mac Elite

    Joined: Apr 2002

    -1
    11/04, 02:53pm | report spam | Reply |

    comment title

    Find a quick way to scroll to bottom on slashdot though. You can't.

    And no, just jailbreaking the phone does not do any of the things you describe. Jailbreaking, in it's most simple form, just means that you'll have read-write access to the root level of the iPhone File system. Now, am I going to try and say that some of the add-ons may cause your phone to crash more? Of course not, and if you run apps in the background, will your phone run slower? Of course it will, but those are not a side effect of jailbreaking. They're a side effect of users installing retarded apps without a clue of what they're doing.

    As I was saying earlier, learn the system before you jailbreak, or be prepared for the consequences.

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