iPhone 3G unlock arrives at last, time to eat some yellowsn0w

So, it didn't quite land before midnight as some had hoped, but we're sure you were partying too hard to notice. The Dev-Team just launched its long-awaited iPhone 3G unlock, dubbed "yellowsn0w," and while they're still working out a few kinks (terming this release a 0.9 beta release), reports are already pouring in of successful unlocks. It's also been confirmed that this release will work with the iPhone's latest v2.2 firmware, and in fact requires that the phone be updated to v2.2 to run at all -- much to the chagrin of folks who've held off on that update at the Dev-Team's behest, we're sure, but hopefully all will soon be forgotten in the new year... already freer than the last! Hit up the read link for download instructions and caveats.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Update: Unfortunately, it seems yellowsn0w might be living up to its beta status, with plenty of commenters and others across the interwebs reporting problems getting "unlocked" iPhone 3Gs to pick up their preferred carrier. As always, proceed with caution, and prepare some loose papers that need weighting just in case.

[bill cant fart @ Jan 1st 2009 10:34AM]

DON'T EAT THE YELLOW SNOW!!!

...Just kidding, knock yourself out!

[CraigJ @ Jan 1st 2009 12:24PM]

Is it done with vigorous circular motion, hitherto unknown to the people in this area, but destined to take the place of the mud shark in your mythology?

[ZenStyleJunglist @ Jan 1st 2009 3:27PM]

Here it goes,the circular motion, now rub it!


He went right upside the head of my favorite baby seal
He went whap with a lead-filled snowshoe, and
He hit him on the nose and hit him on the fin, and he
That got me just about as evil as an eskimo boy can be. so I bent down
And I reached down, and I scooped down and I gathered up a generous
Mitten-ful of the deadly yellowsn0w

The deadly yellow snow, from right there where the huskies go!

[bk @ Jan 1st 2009 6:27PM]

might be beer

[CJ @ Jan 2nd 2009 7:31AM]

... Then again, might not.

Personally, if yellow snow appeared anywhere in my vicinity, I'd be less worried about eating than why the hell it's snowing in the middle of summer, in a sub-tropical climate.

[aaron @ Jan 1st 2009 10:36AM]

Hmmmm... I was always told to stay away from yellow snow. Oh well, I didn't listen then and I won't now!!!

[Michael C Taylor @ Jan 1st 2009 1:12PM]

I think Yellowsn0w is sort of a play on the theme of Apple's internal iPhone codenames. Alpine, Bigbear, Littlebear, etc.

Either way, congrats to the Dev Team on another milestone. Breaking into the baseband was clearly no small feat - and it's really cool to see a devoted group of gadget enthusiasts working their butts off for no profit.

I know it's thankless work... but it shouldn't be.

so - THANK YOU for you efforts.

[Bob CK @ Jan 1st 2009 10:42AM]

So anyone here successfully unlock their 3G yet?

[Joshua Meadows @ Jan 1st 2009 10:46AM]

Well, it's not working for me so far yet. :\

[EI8HT @ Jan 1st 2009 10:50AM]

it's still beta

[Flashpoint @ Jan 1st 2009 10:56AM]

This is not a big deal.
The iPhone and iPhone 3G can be unlocked in less than 20 minutes with Quickpwn.

Its the new ipod touch where there is a problem. Apple put a new cpu in the 2nd gen touch and it can't be unlocked with Ziphone or Quickpwn unless you are a true hacker.

[ducky @ Jan 1st 2009 10:59AM]

@Joshua Meadows, reinsert your SIM.

[James @ Jan 1st 2009 11:03AM]

As opposed to a fake hacker?

[Bob CK @ Jan 1st 2009 11:05AM]

What? This is the first 3G software unlock. And do you know why the second gen iTouch hasn't been jailbroken? Because fucking cares

[Joshua Meadows @ Jan 1st 2009 11:05AM]

@ducky, Yeah, I tried that. I'm using a Vodafone AU SIM and it says "Invalid SIM" when I reinsert it. Gonna try the fix below to put the original AT&T SIM back in and see if that helps anything.

[Rob Conway @ Jan 1st 2009 11:27AM]

@flashpoint

I think you're confusing "jailbreak" and "unlock". Yes, the 3G has been "jailbroken" for quite some time (which means that you can install unoffical "non-App Store" applications via Cydia or Installer. "Unlocked" means you can use a Sim card from Any GSM carrier in the phone and it will work. This is the First software unlock for the 3G. And just in case you weren't aware, QuickPwn is made by The iPhone DevTeam, just like this release YellowSn0w is also made by the DevTeam.

[V Langs @ Jan 1st 2009 11:28AM]

@ flashpoint,

you're an idiot. i hope you know. before you state such ludicrous statements as fact, make sure they are correct.

iPhone 3G can be JAILBROKEN by quickpwn. not unlocked. as for the 2g Touch, it's not a new cpu more than its clocked slightly higher. and because of the difference (and the fact that the dev team is indeed the IPHONE Dev Team) they have decided to not work on it for the time being

a quick read before you post so matter-of-factly would really help your cause

[V Langs @ Jan 1st 2009 11:28AM]

dang conroy beat me too it! :-)

[Rob Conway @ Jan 1st 2009 11:37AM]

@v langs
Well, we can't have misinformation floating around the interwebs, now can we? lol.

Here at Engadget, we're all about building people up!

[i-i @ Jan 1st 2009 1:08PM]

This is i-i,

Flashpoint, you noodle head!!!,
I cannot believe you don't even know the difference between UNLOCKING and JAILBREAKING...

SHITE!

[bigemsx @ Jan 1st 2009 2:32PM]

hey easy on the guy, I didn't realize there was a difference between unlock and jailbreak, and i consider myself generally savvy. Just not everyone is well-versed in the language of Apple.

[holycow @ Jan 2nd 2009 8:55AM]

Just downloaded the 0.9.4 version, and followed the tutorial over at iclarified. I have succesfully unlocked it now and it seems to be working with a PIN enabled SIM. Didn't even need the airplane mode toggle.

[rock99rock @ Jan 2nd 2009 10:02AM]

@Flashpoint

I see now, that you are the reason we arent allowed to edit our comments.

[BlkR @ Jan 1st 2009 10:52AM]

For guys in Australia, this is how i did it, install yellowsnow and reboot the phone with a sim that originally works with the phone. After reboot, replace with a sim with a different carrier, wait for like 10 secs or so, it will show new carrier.

UPDATE: Have tried this on my 2nd iphone as well and it works fine. So 2 out of 2 unlocked, can confirm it works

[Joshua Meadows @ Jan 1st 2009 11:12AM]

Awesome, I can confirm this worked for me too. Once I put the original AT&T SIM in, then waited for it to find the network and popped the Vodafone AU one back inside, it came up working fine for me.

Am getting really weak signal strength though.

[Jinto @ Jan 1st 2009 8:57PM]

You EDITED THE POST. Wow. Please share your magic!


Just kidding, I know that you added that before you submitted.

[Hugh Jacta @ Jan 3rd 2009 7:52AM]

Dunno why you say you need it in Oz. I was with Vodafone AU and got the Iphone 3g 16gig free through them (well, 2 year contract style free anyway) and it just worked. I know others with Iphone 3g using Telstra, Optus etc. Why do you need to unlock, unbrick, jailbreak, whatever you want to call it when it works as is, anyway?

[mac boy @ Jan 1st 2009 10:52AM]

top work Dev-Team

[GMaccow @ Jan 1st 2009 10:52AM]

I figured as much, never rush to drink the koolaid, beta culture is just a bitch.

[design natin @ Jan 1st 2009 10:57AM]

cool! keep it up! FREE WORLD!

[ducky @ Jan 1st 2009 10:58AM]

People are all "it dun werk!" without actually reading their instructions. If the unlock doesn't work for you, REMOVE AND REINSERT YOUR SIM AFTER REBOOTING.

It's difficult to get a good measure of whether it's working or not when people don't know how to actually read the things they ask you to do.

[Joshua Meadows @ Jan 1st 2009 11:09AM]

Why assume nobody read the instructions? It's completely possible for someone to follow the instructions to the letter and still have it not work. Case in point, mine.

[ducky @ Jan 1st 2009 11:24AM]

I'm going by the post on the devteam blog, where everyone says "It's not working... oh wait."

All I'm saying is check the instructions and give it some time. It's new territory, as they say on their post.

[SPOKE @ Jan 1st 2009 11:28AM]

Not only should be read the instructions, but they should also be reading through all the threads people are commenting on at the dev site.

Some with tmo have left the sim OUT and let it sit for 5 mins, then reinsert, then reboot... after some minutes part, voila. Working unlock. You have to have patience.

[Kris120890 @ Jan 1st 2009 11:17AM]

A lot of people are saying it doesn't work then getting it to work and not explaining what they did. Not every unlock is working the same way. Some are saying you have to do the unlock certain ways to get the sims to work.

Does anybody think the iPhone Nano might just be a mobile phone while the 3g will be a smart phone (if you can call it that). The nano would be PAYGO no need for unlocking.

[ILoveApple @ Jan 1st 2009 11:19AM]

The iPhone Dev team is a gift from God himself. Thank you, Steve!

[Joshua Meadows @ Jan 1st 2009 11:20AM]

I can also say that the 0.9.1 fix they just rolled out solved the problem I had the first time with my Vodafone AU SIM. I didn't need to go through the fix of putting the original AT&T SIM in and then switching them out while the phone was on.

[ducky @ Jan 1st 2009 11:26AM]

Could you also comment on the release post at blog.iphone-dev.org confirming that 0.9.1 works for you? Helps them to know what works.

[Joshua Meadows @ Jan 1st 2009 11:32AM]

Good idea, I left a comment saying it worked for me now. Thanks.

[Kevin @ Jan 1st 2009 11:27AM]

Let me just get this dumb question out of the way: will this void your factory warranty?

I have seen numeral ppl being driven away at the Apple store for havin supposedly modified the software. If I unlock, and Apple comes out with a new FW, will that reset everything to factory default and they won't be able detect the mod? Thanks!!

[AC @ Jan 1st 2009 11:27AM]

There's a lot of info being displayed in that screen capture...

[Alex Willmer @ Jan 1st 2009 11:40AM]

Am I understanding this right. The message from the Dev Team so far has been avoid the 2.2 baseband, or you won't be able to do a software unlock. But this announcement is for 2.2 only.

Has the Dev Team just pulled the sweetest of misdirection then big reveal?

[Dan @ Jan 1st 2009 11:57AM]

It works with the newest baseband specifically and it's a soft unlock (it can be turned on and off).

[Franklo @ Jan 1st 2009 11:51AM]

Time to unlcok this sons of bitches.
And hit u craiglist. CASHING.

Time to take some peoples holiday money YEEAAAH!!1

[Frankfurter @ Jan 1st 2009 5:46PM]

I remember my first beer.

[Nastro @ Jan 1st 2009 11:52AM]

works for me :)

[BlkR @ Jan 1st 2009 11:55AM]

I like it how ppl are already trying to cash in on this free unlock by charging others for jailbreak and unlocking service lol..... really saddens me

[Dan @ Jan 1st 2009 11:57AM]

This is great, it doesn't even require firmware hacks now.. you just install it from Cydia and it runs when the phone boots in the background. Kudos to them for this!

[Todd @ Jan 1st 2009 12:09PM]

3G iPhone unlock!?!?!? Headed to Wally World now...

P.S. Thank you Dev-Team!

[Elijah @ Jan 1st 2009 12:20PM]

Not working for me. YES, I read all the directions on their blog- been refreshing that page since 9pm last night. I've rebooted with SIM in, waited a minute, (and longer), taken the SIM out and re-inserted it. Nothing. Sometimes I get "no signal", but mostly just the empty bars next to the wifi signal. I'm using T-Mobile USA and 0.9.1. Any Ideas??

I had a lot of trouble installing through cydia as well- it froze up while supposedly downloading 4 times, but the 5th supposedly worked, (saw all the command line work being done on screen). When it didn't work I removed it and installed through Installer, where it installed the first time with no problems.

I know it's a beta, but if anyone has any ideas for me please let me know.

Thanks Dev Team!!!