iPhone Firmware 2.2 Now Available - Don’t Update via iTunes Yet - New PWNAGE Tool Coming Soon

By Aaron Besson at 21 November, 2008, 10:26 am

Apple rolled out iTunes 8.0.2 and iPhone Firmware 2.2 between Thursday afternoon and Friday Morning. As usual the iPhone Dev Team were quick to alert users to the downsides of updating via iTunes and the latest info on the iPhone 3G unlock. In short, If you have a 3G wait, if you have an unlocked 2G you can update, but will loose the jailbreak, if you restore, you’ll loose the activation.. In other words, if you are confused about updating to 2.2, wait.

Sir, step away from the keyboard.

So, as anticipated our friends the misfits have recently released the long awaited 2.2 update. We can confirm that this update SHOULD NOT be applied using iTunes if you want the chance of a soft-unlock in the near future.

If you want to keep that option of a ‘soft-unlock in the near

future’ available but you want the new features of 2.2, you will be

able to update to 2.2 using a PwnageTool created custom ipsw file that

disables the baseband update. You will be able to do this using an

updated version of PwnageTool that will be released sometime soon.

Some facts -

The 2.2 firmware for 3G contains a baseband update for the 3G iPhone

The 2.2 firmware for 2G (1st gen iPhones) doesn’t contain a baseband update and the baseband is still at 04.05.04

We believe that our Pwnage technique (and therefore the Jailbreak) isn’t affected, but PwnageTool and QuickPwn do not support this release as yet, so DO NOT install 2.2using iTunes as you will lose your jailbreak

If you apply this update and you previously relied on PwnageTool or QuickPwn to activate your phone, it may become temporarily deactivated and unusable (until we release the new version of PwnageTool or QuickPwn).

PwnageTool and QuickPwn updates will be released as soon as possible that will allow a safe update path to 2.2 the release of these updates is inevitable but not imminent, we are creating the modifications right now and we need to put the new software through the usual testing process.

If you apply this update and you have third-party (non AppStore) applications that you rely on they will stop working.

2G (1st gen) iPhone users who cannot
wait for the new PwnageTool or QuickPwn can safely “Update” to 2.2

using iTunes, this will preserve the existing activation. However

“restoring” to 2.2 using iTunes will return the iPhone to the

unactivated state. If you are in any doubt just wait. NB: This works for 2G ONLY.

The use of SIM-Proxies (small circuit boards/chips that sit
underneath the SIM card) to provide GSM/UMTS service on your locked

iPhone 3G is a method that we have always advised against.

Early reports suggest that the 2.2 update disables the functionality of

these devices. The techniques used were always unreliable and we are

surprised that they have lasted this long.

We are not working on the 2nd generation iPod touch
at the moment, so we cannot comment on what the the 2.2 software update

may do to this specific model

So, as always, if you are in any doubt whatsoever please delay the install of this firmware on any of your devices until we have investigated the release in more detail. Watch this space