Well, there you have it, folks. It took the iPhone Dev Team no more than a few days to crack the new iPhone 2.2.1 OS. Apple went official with their new iPhone 2.2.1 OS firmware update for iPhone and iPhone 3G users just a few days ago, and The Team has already managed to jailbreak the new iPhone 2.2.1 OS!
The iPhone Dev Team has released an updated version of their iPhone jailbreak application, dubbed Pwnage Tool. With PwnageTool 2.2.5, just about any tech-savvy (and even not-so tech-savvy) iPhone owner can break their precious handset out of file-system “jail.” Quick recap for those of you still wondering what the “jailbreak” does – (1) it is NOT an unlock solution, a jailbroken iPhone cannot be used on foreign GSM networks by virtue of the jailbreak alone, (2) it IS a way for you to interact with your iPhone’s filesystem, which allows you to install unofficial software such as the iPhone unlock software called “yellowsn0w.” (more on that here)
iPhone 3G owners looking forward to one day unlocking the handset for use with foreign GSM carriers should take note – the new iPhone 2.2.1 OS bundles with it a new baseband firmware (modem firmware). The new v.02.30.03 baseband firmware is wholly incompatible with the “yellowsn0w” unlock utility that was recently released by the iPhone Dev Team. Updating your iPhone 3G to a non-jailbroken iPhone 2.2.1 OS will flash your iPhone 3G’s baseband with the new firmware, essentially killing any hope of unlocking the GSM radio for use elsewhere.
If you could care less about unlocking your iPhone 3G, you’re more than welcome to update to iPhone 2.2.1 OS anyway you see fit (iTunes, QuickPWN, PwnageTool). But, if you have even the slightest urge to free (unlock) your iPhone 3G’s GSM radio to surf any GSM network in the world, you’ll want to heed the iPhone Dev Team’s warning and update to iPhone 2.2.1 OS using ONLY Pwnage Tool 2.2.5. — (PwnageTool creates a custom iPhone 2.2.1 OS restore file (the .ipsw file) by opening up the firmware package and replacing the newer 02.30.03 baseband code with the older 02.28.00 baseband code that works with the “yellowsn0w” unlock utility)
Head on over to our iPhone and iPhone 3G jailbreak guide with updated instructions on how to break your iPhone out of file-system jail. If you’re looking to unlock your iPhone 3G, you can follow the directions at the end of the jailbreak guide, or simply check out our iPhone 3G unlock guide here.
Grab PwnageTool 2.2.5 (Mac OS X only) here, here, here, or here (torrent).
Grab QuickPWN 2.2.5 (Mac OS X only) here, here, here, or here (torrent). (Remember, since QuickPWN doesn’t create a custom .ipsw payload, using this method to jailbreak iPhone 2.2.1 OS will kill your iPhone 3G unlocking dreams!)