New Apple 3Gs

[MHM]

I live in Kanchanaburi, and went into Bangkok MBK to buy a new Apple 3GS on Friday. Now back in Kanchanaburi I started downloading programmes. The phone was working fine until I had problems downloading iTunes. The process was interrupted and iTunes gives the message "Only compatible Sim cards from a supported carrier may be used to activate iPhone. Please insert the SIM card that came with your iPhone or visit a supported carrier store to receive a replacement SIM card." I never received a SIM with the phone and got the store where I bought it to insert my old AIS SIM.

Meanwhile the phone has frozen. The only available display is "Emergency Call" and it wants me to call something called "Notruf" but there is no number available to do so. The display says "No service". Complete stalemate.

I am at a complete loss what to do. Spent a long time on Apple's support pages but useless. They only call people in the US & Canada and there are simply no categories on their site to deal with my problem. I have thought about removing & replacing the SIM & battery (start again from scratch, as it were) but Apple manuals don't even tell you how to get the back off the phone to do this.

I don't want to have to go right back into BKK to resolve this as I am completely unsure if the problem lies with the phone, the SIM or something else. Not sure I can face another wild goose chase around MBK

Has anyone come across this? Is there any non-geek advice out there? I find technojargon imepnetrable, so I would appreciate an idiots guide on how to proceed. Thanks. I really am gutted to run into this brickwall on Day 2 of owning my new baby.

[WorldTraveler]

"Notruf" means "emergency call" in German. It appears that your phone was not completely or properly unlocked so when you went to the Apple web site itunes locked the phone. It is also possible that itunes downloaded the the most current version of the iphone software to your phone then locked it because the sim card was not from an authorized carrier. You really should not update the operating system from the itunes site if you have an unlocked phone. I am not a tech geek but it sounds to me like the phone needs to be unlocked again. You can buy programs online to do this but no real guarantee with them or possibly there is a local phone shop in your area that can unlock the phone for you. Final resort, back to MBK. Good luck.

[mrclough]

As mentioned above, it does sound like the phone is SIM locked. The fact that the message appears in German ought to be of concern also! This would suggest to me that it has been previously used in Germany/with a German sim or had the language set to German - all pointing to the possibility of your shiny new phone being 2nd hand.

As also mentioned you can unlock the phone via downloaded software but I've read mixed reports on this process.

If you did buy from Apple then take it to any apple store with reciept and they will sort it for you. If not, I would suggest back to BKK. Check how long before they will not accept it back though as if it is 2nd hand you may only have a week or 10 days.

Might also be worth phoning the place where you got it from and having a word with them though as they may be able to help you fix it yourself.

If all else fails and you have to go to BKK but don't want to deal with the same people, PM me and I'll give yo uthe name and number of the people who sorted mine in MBK. They are very knowledgable and will advise you with regards to the unlock, jailbreak etc and also using iTunes again after the process.

Good luck mate!

[TheLaughingMan]

Yeesh..... I'll get the scolding out of the way: You really should learn about what you are buying before you buy it. There are countless threads RIGHT HERE (or more up in the APPLE thread) about what iphone to buy so bad things dont happen.

They sell factory unlocked iphones at True in Bangkok, meaning none of this would have happened if you had simply bought one of theirs. You bought from a shady store in MBK that sold you a previously locked phone (meaning it is locked to one country and one of their phone companys), so when you connected to itunes and tried to download the latest software it broke the temporary unlock someone did on your phone (this means your phone was not new in a sealed box right?) and relocked your phone to the country and phone company it originally was locked to, putting it in the exact state you described.

Apple support will have nothing to do with you, you have a locked phone, they dont want you unlocking it. If you actually have the newest firmware now installed on it (4) then it will be locked until the unlock is released on the net by the hackers, then you will need to go to Bangkok and get them to unlock it (you could do it all yourself from your computer but....) No point in going to Bangkok now as no one in the world could help you at this very moment, but that might change tomorrow or next month. Keep checking back in the apple thread to see the announcement that the new unlock hack has been released, then its safe to go to Bangkok and fix your phone, before that would be a waste of time.

You cannot take the battery out of your iphone.... it does not open so dont try to crack it open.

[MHM]

Thanks so far. The emergency message appears in multiple language, not just German, so I don't think that's the issue.

It does seem to be my downloading the latest iTunes that is the root of this. You go to the website and it asks if you want the latest and of course I said yes. But the phone is locked for sure

Bit confused re my AIS Sim - is AIS not an authorised carrier?

There's nowhere in Kanchanaburi to deal with iPhones, being more in the clockwork stage of technological development, so I guess its back to MBK for me (dread) Thanks to all for your sympathetic responses.

[WorldTraveler]

In Thailand, AIS is not an authorized carrier. Only TrueMove has the rights to iphone is Thailand. It probably would not have made a difference even if you were on the True network since the phone was not sold by True, iTunes would lock it any way since it was not unlocked originally.

[MJo]

Close but not really correct.

Only True has rights to sell iPhone in Thailand. Package deal with True sim card and phone. I assume the True ones are locked as well so that they only accept True sim card.

What you have is illegal or could say pirated iPhone that has it's software hacked and cracked to work with Apple services and software and now Apple caught you trying to download new software to your illegally sold phone and locked it. You can get it unlocked again and will likely work for a while if you don't mind running it on old software.

Think of using pirate copy of windows or downloading music and movies from internet illegally without paying for them. Same thing with your phone, it's pirated copy software wise.

[MHM]

Hindsight, wonderful hindsight. If only I'd known all this before. I've committed a colossal boob & I can't see any real way to get the phone I thought I'd bought. Of course I have no chance of a refund. Now my AIS Sim with all my business contacts is locked away in a dead phone, & no-one can call me for business either. I feel sick. But thanks to all the posters who answered my stupid ill-informed question.

[bolt]

As previously said, you will have to wait for the next update of firmware 4.0.?, Apple said they will release one soon, maybe in 1-2 weeks or 1-2 months.

Check this forum for any news, I am waiting on the new update as I am running 3.1.3 just now.

You have now learned about, think before clicking YES!

buy a cheap Phone for now, get your contacts from the SIM

Don’t worry it will come soon

Edited July 11, 2010 by bolt

[regedit]

trueshop unlocked my 3gs when i purchased it and have been using AIS sim ever since. Updated to is4 no problem. Just don't let itunes check for 'carrier' updates.

[TheLaughingMan]

Close but not really correct.

Only True has rights to sell iPhone in Thailand. Package deal with True sim card and phone. I assume the True ones are locked as well so that they only accept True sim card.

What you have is illegal or could say pirated iPhone that has it's software hacked and cracked to work with Apple services and software and now Apple caught you trying to download new software to your illegally sold phone and locked it. You can get it unlocked again and will likely work for a while if you don't mind running it on old software.

Think of using pirate copy of windows or downloading music and movies from internet illegally without paying for them. Same thing with your phone, it's pirated copy software wise.

This is ALL wrong. Please don't spread misinformation. You assumed wrong, the True phones are NOT locked to True. His iphone is neither illegal nor pirated, why would you say this? Apple has the right to relock the locked iphones they sell,that doesnt make it illegal. Many countries do not sell locked iphones at all, there is nothing illegal about an unlocked iphone, they come directly from apple as unlocked in many places. LIKE THAILAND.

Comparing it to pirated windows is so..... WRONG. He is not stealing anything from anybody! He paid for his phone fair and square and broke no laws doing it! WOW

[TheLaughingMan]

Hindsight, wonderful hindsight. If only I'd known all this before. I've committed a colossal boob & I can't see any real way to get the phone I thought I'd bought. Of course I have no chance of a refund. Now my AIS Sim with all my business contacts is locked away in a dead phone, & no-one can call me for business either. I feel sick. But thanks to all the posters who answered my stupid ill-informed question.

There is a tiny hole at the top of your iphone, use a paper clip and take out your sim, then buy a cheapo nokia for 1000 baht and put sim in there, that will cover you for calls until the unlock is made available for 4.0

As previously said, you will have to wait for the next update of firmware 4.0.?, Apple said they will release one soon, maybe in 1-2 weeks or 1-2 months.

Check this forum for any news, I am waiting on the new update as I am running 3.1.3 just now.

You have now learned about, think before clicking YES!

buy a cheap Phone for now, get your contacts from the SIM

Don’t worry it will come soon

What are you talking about? He's not waiting for an update from apple, he's waiting for an unlock from the ANTI APPLE. Hackers take the new firmware and crack it and unlock it, then release it on the net for consumption. Apple has nothing to do with this, this guy is waiting for an unlock, not an update. 4.0 is out right now http://www.apple.com/iphone/softwareupdate/ if you were waiting for an update.

trueshop unlocked my 3gs when i purchased it and have been using AIS sim ever since. Updated to is4 no problem. Just don't let itunes check for 'carrier' updates.

True had to unlock your iphone? Are you sure about that? True sells factory unlocked iphones that work with any sim, they dont need to be unlocked so you can update to your hearts content and never worry.

[MJo]

What are you talking about? He's not waiting for an update from apple, he's waiting for an unlock from the ANTI APPLE. Hackers take the new firmware and crack it and unlock it, then release it on the net for consumption. Apple has nothing to do with this, this guy is waiting for an unlock, not an update. 4.0 is out right now http://www.apple.com...softwareupdate/ if you were waiting for an update.

So let me get this straight, OP has perfectly legal iPhone in his hands and needs now to wait hackers to crack apple firmware Fact is that the phone was purchased outside apple "network" meaning it was manufactured by apple to be sold via one of their operator customers together with sim card as bundle. Instead of it was sold as grey import to Thailand which apple actually considers illegal but have not yet found a way to control this trade.

Apple is very protective and controls their phone resales via operators tight. In thailand you can get legit one from True or second hand phone that was purchased as new from True. Also possible to get one outside Thailand, finish your 12 or 24 months contract, get legit unlock from you operator and then use it where ever you like.

You might be a fanboy but truth is that if you want full apple support, buy legit phones from their authorized resellers.

[HDRIDER]

Hi

I cant believe all this sh!t people try to tell OP,laughingman is right about everything, about the only one beeing telling whats wrong, i think its a US phone.

[MHM]

OK guys, don't stop me, I'm going in.

I don't really see any point in going to the MBK fraudsters who sold me the phone, waste of time.

Plan is:

1. Go to True in BKK, see if they can unlock & switch my service to True

2. Place AIS Sim in cheap Nokia to retain my business contacts

3. Get the hel_l out & back to Kan

Is good or not?

[TheLaughingMan]

MJO that is not what you said before. Nice attempt at back peddling but you straight out said some untruths before.

It is NOT illegal to own an unlocked phone whether factory unlocked or jailbroken. FULL STOP.

Of course it is much better to own a factory unlocked phone, less headaches.

[TheLaughingMan]

OK guys, don't stop me, I'm going in.

I don't really see any point in going to the MBK fraudsters who sold me the phone, waste of time.

Plan is:

1. Go to True in BKK, see if they can unlock & switch my service to True

If you actually did update in itunes to the latest firmware then this is not at all possible. Please describe what you did EXACTLY (click what when where) maybe all you did was screw up the current firmware and never succesfully installed new firmware.

2. Place AIS Sim in cheap Nokia to retain my business contacts

Yup, any phone will do, even a friends

3. Get the hel_l out & back to Kan

I would not travel anywhere yet until you confirm you updated to 4.0, if you did there is nothing anyone can do for you YET. The unlock for 4.o is apparently right around the corner though so you might not have to wait long.

Is good or not?

[nikster]

OK guys, don't stop me, I'm going in.

I don't really see any point in going to the MBK fraudsters who sold me the phone, waste of time.

Plan is:

1. Go to True in BKK, see if they can unlock & switch my service to True

2. Place AIS Sim in cheap Nokia to retain my business contacts

3. Get the hel_l out & back to Kan

Is good or not?

Yeah, you can try. They won't do it.

By the way, you can buy the iPhone 3GS from DTAC or True, both sell them factory unlocked and you can use with any SIM card. If you buy it at MBK you are asking for trouble. Unfortunately, they won't tell you that.

Go to the shop where you bought it, and return it. Sell them the phone back for 1000 or 2000 less to sell to the next fool. If you do it the right way, you may succeed. It won't hurt to try. Selling jailbroken US phones is in no way illegal, so keep that in mind. But just tell them you have too many troubles. At the very least they are obliged to unlock/activate the phone for you, no matter how they do it. You bought a phone. You want to make calls. Even Thai shops will understand that. I usually do the "this damned farang just won't go away" show... high success rate. Just keep smiling and insisting.

They can probably downgrade to 3.1.2 and unlock it again - I have just done this with my friend's phone and it works just fine. It is not easy though, so don't even think about it if you don't know what you are doing. I had to read blogs about the various technicalities involved for 2 hours or so before I tried.

The bizarre misinformation spread above is .... bizarre. Apparently, people are really confused about iPhones. Can't blame them. It's very simple if you get it from the official carrier. It turns into rocket science if you have a jailbroken one.

[nikster]

@TheLaughingMan - everything you said is true except the unlock thing. You can unlock / activate any 3GS iPhone. All you have to do is downgrade to 3.1.2, jailbreak with redsn0w, and then unlock with the new-and-improved unlock-all-basebands ultrasn0w via Cydia. If you know what you're doing it takes about 30 minutes total. I have done it. It works. You need your "SHSH" files backed up on the Cydia servers, but that is true for all iPhones sold at MBK in my experience. They do that for you. I imagine because you might come back with a brick, and then they can fix that for you.

After that, if you like, you can even upgrade to 4.0 with the latest pwnagetool. If you're so inclined. A shop will be able to do all of this for you, for sure.

Edited July 11, 2010 by nikster

[nikster]

@MHM - go back to the shop, hand them the phone, and tell them "fix it".

You don't need to know the technical details. They can fix it for you. All is not lost just yet... If I were you I'd still sell this phone (when it works again) and then buy a proper official one from DTAC or True. You can use with AIS sim cards. You won't ever have any problems like this. I know you will make a loss on this, but it's definitely worth it. 100%.

Edited July 11, 2010 by nikster

[MJo]

MJO that is not what you said before. Nice attempt at back peddling but you straight out said some untruths before.

It is NOT illegal to own an unlocked phone whether factory unlocked or jailbroken. FULL STOP.

Of course it is much better to own a factory unlocked phone, less headaches.

Depends on country. Where i come from it is indeed illegal to own pirated, hacked or stolen property. Even if you didn't know when you purchased. I also suggest you check with apple what they think of their software being hacked, modified and distributed unofficially on internet. Basic intellectual property rights stuff and not any different than running a pc with pirated windows. I'm not going to even start with exclusivity clauses in operators contracts with Apple and how much these grey imports are costing to legit businesses...

You might call this misinformation based on fact that you can find hacked sw from the net free of charge along with music and movies. Not likely anyone will bother with it unless you start to distribute to others. However it does not make it legal if no one is coming after you.

In any case OP got the point and advice how to hack the sw again so i leave it with him to decide what to do with the brick.

[HDRIDER]

http://www.addictivetips.com/mobile/downgrade-iphone-3g-3gs-from-ios-4-to-3-1-2/

http://techie-buzz.com/mobile-news/downgrade-ios-4-to-iphone-3-1-3-on-iphoneipod-touch.html

[TheLaughingMan]

@TheLaughingMan - everything you said is true except the unlock thing. You can unlock / activate any 3GS iPhone. All you have to do is downgrade to 3.1.2, jailbreak with redsn0w, and then unlock with the new-and-improved unlock-all-basebands ultrasn0w via Cydia. If you know what you're doing it takes about 30 minutes total. I have done it. It works. You need your "SHSH" files backed up on the Cydia servers, but that is true for all iPhones sold at MBK in my experience. They do that for you. I imagine because you might come back with a brick, and then they can fix that for you.

After that, if you like, you can even upgrade to 4.0 with the latest pwnagetool. If you're so inclined. A shop will be able to do all of this for you, for sure.

Ya that's right, totally forgot about that.

[TheLaughingMan]

MJO just stop, you were wrong and no amount of wrangling is going to make it look like you were not lol. It is NOT illegal to have a jailbroken, unlocked iphone. THATS IT . Talking about it is indeed illegal to own pirated or stolen property has no relevance to this thread. Nobody is pirating or stealing anything. Stop pretending someone is.

[MHM]

I had no idea I would spark such a lively debate. Don't suppose any of you guys could be around MBK at 11 tomorrow? I'd give my phone number but of course....

[anotheruser]

MJO that is not what you said before. Nice attempt at back peddling but you straight out said some untruths before.

It is NOT illegal to own an unlocked phone whether factory unlocked or jailbroken. FULL STOP.

Of course it is much better to own a factory unlocked phone, less headaches.

Depends on country. Where i come from it is indeed illegal to own pirated, hacked or stolen property. Even if you didn't know when you purchased. I also suggest you check with apple what they think of their software being hacked, modified and distributed unofficially on internet. Basic intellectual property rights stuff and not any different than running a pc with pirated windows. I'm not going to even start with exclusivity clauses in operators contracts with Apple and how much these grey imports are costing to legit businesses...

You might call this misinformation based on fact that you can find hacked sw from the net free of charge along with music and movies. Not likely anyone will bother with it unless you start to distribute to others. However it does not make it legal if no one is coming after you.

In any case OP got the point and advice how to hack the sw again so i leave it with him to decide what to do with the brick.

You should just stop before you come across anymore stupid than you already are. Your points are so flawed there is not even merit in rebutting them.

To the OP from my experience listening to Nikster or Laughingman is usually good for getting the real story. They both follow Apple and are normally quite informed. Another rule of thumb is that if somebody is overly negative in their posts about Apple products they probably don't use them that much. I would prefer to get advice from people who actually own and use the things they are discussing.

[MHM]

A follow-up as a courtesy thank-you to the posters here who guided me through (what I felt was) an inpenetrable maze.

The shop where I bought the phone (Viva - avoid) & True were unwilling and unable to help in fairly equal measure. But the Wave shop recommended here changed the motherboard and upgraped the phone to iPhone 4 and they assure me that I will have no problems upgrading and downloading from now on. Next day and phone works fine but I'm still a bit spooked about testing it. I wonder if my Apple account will show me as a bad boy and slam the lock down again.

Any advice from the cognoscenti here?

[TheLaughingMan]

Changed the motherboard? wow. ok, cool. Apple isnt spying on you and they wont recognise you as a bad boy, as long as you dont UPGRADE the firmware on a jailbroken device. If you click yes to upgrading the firmware on the next firmware update then it will relock your phone. Just dont click yes and make sure auto update is not turned on in your itunes settings. If you have the new ios 4 then it will not ask to update right now, not until the new release.

HOWEVER, if they changed your motherboard?!....... maybe your phone is now factory unlocked? You actually saw them pry open your iphone and switch the internals? Never seen that... This is what they did?

Wait now im more confused, they upgraded you to firmware 4 or to an actual iphone 4? lol.....from what you said it sounds like you have a new iphone 4.

[happy_english_martin]

The simplest thing to do is ...

Use Itunes and restore your iphone. You will need to use iOS3 (not the most recent one for now).

Download a program called 'Spirit' for your computer (google it e.g. 'spirit iphone download')

Run Spirit and your phone will be both unlocked and jailbroken.

Problem solved. No need for all the other comments or advice imho.

[nikster]

HOWEVER, if they changed your motherboard?!....... maybe your phone is now factory unlocked? You actually saw them pry open your iphone and switch the internals? Never seen that... This is what they did?

Wait now im more confused, they upgraded you to firmware 4 or to an actual iphone 4? lol.....from what you said it sounds like you have a new iphone 4.

Well let's be realistic - I am sure he meant he's now on iOS 4.

The motherboard story is interesting - maybe there's a way to factory unlock a phone via hardware? As far as I know factory unlock is determined by a phone's serial number, and unlock and activation also happens through some sort of global unique ID. Perhaps there's now some hardware out there that replaces all those bits that depend on the serial with the serial of an officially factory unlocked phone? Conceivable, but never heard of it.

I'd be very suspicious of this shop except that they said he could now upgrade without problems. The only way that could be true is if he now had a factory unlocked phone.

OP - this is interesting, could you update this thread once you have done another update on your phone? I'd want to know if it survives an update when, say, 4.1 comes out.