Jailbreak and Unlock iPhone 3g/3gs running 3.1.2 firmware

Thanks to GeoHot @ (www.blackra1n.com) we now have a very easy and simple jailbreak and unlock available for the iPhone 3g/3gs running on firmware 3.1.2. I have tried this myself and was able to use any Indian SIM CARD on my iPhone 3g. Here are the steps, with details of the time it takes to perform each step.

1. Download the 3.1.2 firmware for the iPhone 3g or iPhone3gs from the below sites

Download iPhone OS 3.1.2 for iPhone 3G (~240MB)
Download iPhone OS 3.1.2 for iPhone 3GS (~300MB)

[Time for download could vary based on your connection speed.]

2.Take a backup of your contacts and (eg. by syncing your iPhone contacts with the windows address book, using iTunes) before installing the new firmware. If you have been connecting your iPhone to iTunes regularly then it would have already been backed most of your stuff once before. (Read : http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1766)

3.Open iTunes and press the SHIFT (key) + Restore option (in iTunes), to upgrade to a custom firmware (and not Apple's official firmware). Then choose the firmware downloaded in step 1. Do not let iTunes upgrade your iPhone's firmware. [ Time it takes ~ 10-15 mins to install the new firmware]

4. Once you have installed the firmware, follow steps mentioned here to install and unlock your phone.This process installs Cydia (the jailbreak app) and Sn0w (the unlock by 'geohot'') on your iPhone. Vola ! you are done and you should see your carrier signal after this step ! If you r carrier does not support 3G please turn it off and reboot your iPhone once. [~ Time : 10 mins]

5. Alternatively if you are familiar with Cydia you can also unlock you iPhone (after jailbreaking and installing Cydia in step 3) using method mentioned here.

Enjoy your unlocked iPhone and hats off to GeoHot !!!

For iPhone 2g users follow these instructions from the  Simons blog to use 'blackra1n' to unlock your iPhone 2g.

Share your comments and feedback on the process. I would be more than welcome to help out with questions if required.

Guide to Unlocking iPhone 3g

Thanks to Simon from http://www.simonblog.com we now have a very easy and precise documentation of how someone could jailbreak and unlock a locked iPhone (2g/3g/3gs) using ultrasn0w, which is the software solution to unlock the iPhone from the "Dev Team" (http://blog.iphone-dev.org/). I have tried this myself and it works like a walk in the park. I had my iPhone 3g unlocked with the new OS3.0 in 10 minutes flat. Jailbreaking gives you Cydia (an alternative to the App Store) in your iPhone which you can use to install other applications being developed by iPhone developers. Some of the useful Cydia apps that I would recommend are

1. SBSettings (easy way to toggle settings like wifi,brightness, power off etc right from the home screen)
2. Battery % display (Displays the battery remaining as a %)
3. Cyrocorder (video recorder for iPhone 2g/3g)
4. Five column springboard (2 can see icons in 5 columns instead of the default 4)
5. Five Icon Dock (Add a fifth icon in the dock on the home screen)

Disclaimer : jailbreaking and unlocking voids your warranty and hence this should be tried at your own risk only.