How to Jailbreak & Unlock iPhone 2G v 3.0

iPhones that have been Jailbroken & unlocked sell better on eBay, so I decided to Jailbreak my old 2nd generation iPhone OS 3.0 before I put it up for auction. This is the second time I Jailbreak my iPhone after writing my original iPhone Jailbreak guide a couple years ago.

Here’s how I did it:

[Note: This iPhone Jailbreak guide is intended for 2nd generation iPhones with 3.0 firmware or below ONLY. For instructions on jailbreaking other iPhone versions, visit the ultimate guide to jailbreaking your iPhone.]

Jailbreak iPhone 2G with OS 3.0

  1. This iPhone Jailbreak guide requires you to download the following: (1) RedSn0w for Windows, Mac or Linux; (2) the 3.0 firmware for iPhone 2G; and (3) the 3.9 and (4) 4.6 BootLoaders if you want to unlock your iPhone in addition to Jailbreaking. Save your downloads in a folder named “Jailbreak.”

    iPhone Jailbreak files

  2. Launch RedSn0w and click “Browse.” Find the 3.0 firmware (the .ipsw file you just downloaded to your Jailbreak folder) and select it. Then click “Next” to restore your 2G iPhone to the 3.0 firmware.

    iPhone Jailbreak RedSn0w

  3. Choose whether to install Cydia, install Icy and/or unlock your iPhone. I chose to install Cydia (like an “App Store” for Jailbreak) and to unlock my iPhone 2G, which allows the iPhone to be used on non-approved carriers.
  4. If you chose to unlock your iPhone, RedSn0w will ask you to identify the bootloader files you downloaded in Step 1.

    iPhone Jailbreak Bootloaders

  5. Now turn off your iPhone (but leave it connected via USB), click “Next” and follow instructions.

    iPhone Jailbreak instructions

    In under a minute, you will have a Jailbroken iPhone 2G.

    iPhone Jailbreaking with RedSn0w

    iPhone Jailbreak activating

  6. Let your iPhone reboot, open Cydia and download a bunch of cool apps and modifications that you could not otherwise download with a factory iPhone.

What Do You Think?

Did this Jailbreak solution work for you? Got any iPhone Jailbreak tips? Let us know in the comments.

Voice Memos on iPhone 3.0 [Video Demo]

Watch the video below to see the new Voice Memos app in iPhone 3.0.

Voice Memos is a simple, useful iPhone app. But frankly, I don’t know why it was necessary for Apple to create it, since there are other recording apps in the App Store that closely resemble Voice Memos. I use Griffin’s iTalk, for example.

This raises the question I asked over a year ago before the App Store’s debut: Will Apple compete with its App Store developers?

iPhone 3.0: Now With Text Message Privacy

iPhone 3.0 SMS privacy

One of the problems I used to complain about most was iPhone’s “SMS Preview” feature, which prompted you with an excerpt of any incoming text message you received. You can imagine — or maybe you’ve actually experienced — the awkwardness when a raunchy text message from your significant other pops up on your screen while a relative or coworker is using your iPhone.

SMS Preview and the lack of text message privacy on the iPhone caused embarrassment for a lot of my readers, who left comments about inappropriate text messages popping up on their screens at the worst times — pretty funny, you should go read them.

After TWO YEARS of complaining about this extremely irritating issue, Apple has finally heard our pleas and given us the option in iPhone 3.0 to turn off SMS Preview for incoming text messages.

Just go to Settings >> Messages to turn SMS Preview on or off. That’s it, no more unnecessary text message drama.

Update: Mark writes,

I do not agree that this solves the problem. I actually think Apple needed one more SMS privacy preferences option to completely suppress pop ups for text messages, don’t you? Complete suppression of text messages would be I don’t get any popups about any text messages if desired.

I agree. I noted this as a concern in my post 6 iPhone Privacy Issues You Should Be Concerned About.

iPhone 3.0 Shake to Shuffle [Video Demo]

Here’s another feature that’s new to iPhone 3.0. Shake your iPhone and it shuffles your iPod. Watch my video demo of iPhone 3.0’s shake-to-shuffle feature:

The iPhone will shuffle once shaken regardless of whether you have the iPod app open. Stay tuned for a full review of iPhone 3.0.

Update: Deda adds, “I just tried the shake/shuffle feature. You can’t return to a previously skipped song if you choose to shake the phone.”

Caution: iPhone 3.0 Could Brick Your iPhone

Lots of people on Twitter are reporting that their iPhone 3.0 software downloads have been interrupted, leaving them with bricked iPhones.

Apparently, the rush to download iPhone 3.0 is “clogging the pipes” at Apple and causing many users to get error messages that read: “We could not complete your iTunes Store request. The network connection timed out.”

You can keep track of this issue on Twitter.

If you’re concerned about bricking your phone and can wait until tonight or tomorrow to download iPhone 3.0, then maybe you should postpone the download.

iPhone 3.0 Spotlight Search [Video Demo]

You can now search through your iPhone in one place. To use Spotlight Search, simply flick the home screen to the right when you’re on the first page of your apps. Watch the brief video demo below:

In the video I use Spotlight to search for a Radiohead song, and then to find the details of a meeting.

Stay tuned for a full review of iPhone 3.0.