My iPhone 3GS purchased from Canada this summer while we were in America was jailbroken with blackra1n, so it is tethered (forget the software used for the unlock).

The new iOS 4.0.1 is able to be jailbroken with jailbreakme.com without a tether; plus the 4.0.x software enables multi-tasking. So Friday I upgraded from 3.1.2 to 4.0.1 using firmware umbrella.

I had another iPhone 3G that I gave to a Chinese friend in Kunming, but kept the old AT&T SIM card that came with it (it is an AT&T phone).

I was told that AT&T SIM would activate the iPhone once the new firmware was installed; however, it won't work because this phone is not an AT&T phone (it is Telus or Rogers), which no one knew in advance.

To activate the phone and get it out of emergency call mode I need to buy a phonebook SIM card. Two friends in Kunming tell me they can't find them there ... so I'm asking this community. This card:

www.phonebookcard.com/

is known to work. Does anyone know where I can buy this card, or another one that will work to activate iPhone 4.0.1?

mingdao
instead of beg/borrow/steal a sim card - use pawnage (search here for info, tutorials, download links - iclarified.com).

This is a tethered jailbreak but doesn't require the OEM sim card. It will jailbreak 4.0, but presumably NOT 4.01. Just wait for the 4.1 upgrade instead as I doubt they'll put out an interim jb since 4.1 is on the horizon (already in dev hands).

Enjoy.

laotou,

Perhaps you are a Chinese person who has slipped into GoKunming, and can't understand written English?

I did not ask to beg/borrow/steal a SIM card. You are in error.

Also, I have already upgraded to 4.0.1 and the ideas you suggest are worthless. And the reason I upgraded my firmware with software from iTunes (that's Apple btw) is because I do NOT want my iPhone tethered.

The phonebook SIM card is recommended by sherif_hashim. He told me personally "you'll find more than 50 types of phonebook sims in China." (You might need to Google to find out who that is, but a clue is that he is a famous iPhone baseband hacker.)

The phonebook SIM in the link I posted is the one he uses in his video. And, yes, the method used to upgrade my iPhone's firmware is the best way in the long run.

MD
Didn't mean to offend - beg/borrow/steal is ye olde English slang loosely meaning "to locate something of great importance" - but perhaps I'm really old and the expression is obsolete these days.

As for the advice - I recommended pawnage and downgrading to OS 4.0 which is free and you can do it now - and it doesn't need an OEM sim card - thought I'd try to save you some time and money, if you were interested, as your post implies the phones are currently bricked (unusable) at the moment.

Again - didn't intend offense or to imply anything negative.

Perhaps we're of the same generation (born in the 50s), but "beg, borrow, or steal" means to obtain something by any means possible. Which is not what I'm doing ... there are plenty of Chinese guys who can "crack" the phone, and two of those are friends of mine who can't understand why I want to use legal methods when it can be cracked.

Downgrading the firmware to iOS 4.0 will not solve the need for activation. It's not a brick ... just needs activation. Since it's not an AT&T phone, the AT&T SIM card which came with the other phone that I gave to one of those friends will not work.

Nice to see you can clean up your grammar when you so desire. ;)

If you want to help, what I need is to know if a phonebook SIM card can be purchased in Kunming, and where.

Thanks, mate!

You can try this....

Download ifunbox software :
www.pars-gsm.com/downloads/ifunbox_en.zip

run software and sync with phone

go to /private/var/root/library/ and delete orginal lockdown folder and put attached lockdown folder

restart phone

Thanks for the reply bucko.

First, no file at that link.

Second, just want to keep it on the level and continue the path I've started with guys who do this daily.

Anyone know where to buy a PHONEBOOK SIM CARD?

I found this phonebook card on Taobao:

item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=6359318139

The seller looks reputable. It claims to work on iPhone 4G although personally I'd want to clarify that with the seller.

I can also assist you in purchasing it if you want but can't vouch for if it will work or not, this is the first time I heard of phonebook cards.

Thanks, rbusch. My Chinese friends will order for me from Taobao for no charge. For years they tell me not to use Taobao myself, because it is too easy to get "ripped off". They have ordered minor things up to > 8,000元 Lenovo laptops.

One friend said this one:
item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=6977169135

Sure sounds correct after reading it.

Looks promising, so long as it's a micro-sim and not a normal one. Best of luck! :-)