iOS 5.1 Jailbreak: How To Unlock Any Jailbroken iPhone On Any Baseband (iOS 5.0 To 5.1) With SAM

iPhone Dev Team's MuscleNerd has confirmed that a Chinese researcher named Loktar_Sun has discovered a method that allows unlocking any model of the iPhone on any baseband with the help of the Subscriber Artificial Module (SAM) by Sam Bingner. MuscleNerd took to his Twitter account and said that he was able to unlock his T-Mobile iPhone 4S with the method.

That method worked for T-Mobile on my 4S. Probably expect an update to SAM from @sbingner to incorporate that trick from Loktar_Sun, MuscleNerd tweeted.

Before going ahead with the unlocking process, users must be aware of some of the details:

Users need to have a jailbroken iPhone, which is not listed on any IMEI blacklists.

Users need to ensure that the latest version of iTunes is installed. They should also know which carrier their iPhone is locked into.

The method produces a ticket that is valid to the SIM card used during the process, which means that if anyone wants to use some other SIM card in the unlocked iPhone, the process needs to be repeated with the new card.

Step 1: Open up Cydia on the jailbroken iPhone and add the official repository for the SAM package. The repo URL is http://repo.bingner.com and contains the official up to date SAM package and the required dependencies.

Step 2: Once the repo is added, go to the sources page by simply tapping on it from the list of installed source. Now find the SAM package and install it to your iPhone. Make sure that the SIM card you would like to use on your unlocked iPhone is inserted in the iPhone.

Step 3: Now launch the SAM interface by tapping the SAMPrefs icon on your Springboard, or by finding the SAM preferences bundle through the Settings.app.

Step 4: After SAM has been launched, go into the Utilities tab and then tap on the De-Activate iPhone option. To double check that the iPhone is truly de-activated, return to the main settings menu and go into the More Information tab. Look at the ActivationState label and it should display as Unactivated.

Step 5: Go back to the main settings pane and then into the Method tab where you will need to select the By Country and Carrier option. Now select the Country you are going to be using your iPhone in and then your actual Carrier.

Be aware that some networks work with more than one network ID. In such cases, you need to select the SIM ID option.

Step 6: Go to More Information and make a copy of the IMSI number that is present in the SAM Details section.

Step 7: Tap on the Spoof Real SIM to SAM and go back to the main SAM screen and change Method to manual. After selecting the manual option and returning to the main screen, you will notice an IMSI input field. Paste the IMSI number you copied in the previous step.

Step 8: Connect the iPhone to the computer using the USB cable and use iTunes to re-activate the phone. After iTunes re-activates the iPhone, double click the Phone Number label found in the details pane and ensure the displayed ICCID matches that are found on the SIM card. If the strings do not match, you'll have to repeat the process from the beginning.

Step 9: If the strings match, you will need to unplug your iPhone, go back into SAMPrefs and disable SAM by sliding the Enabled button to the off position. Now, re-connect the iPhone to iTunes and don't panic if error messages pop-up saying that the device cannot be activated. This error is normal and requires iTunes to be shut down and then restarted.

Step 10: After a few minutes you should notice signal bars on your iPhone, meaning the process has been successful.

In case the push notifications don't work, you can fix the issue by selecting the Clear Push option found in SAM and then re-connecting the iPhone to iTunes.

After successfully unlocking the iPhone using this method, users are also recommended to save the activation ticket generated due to the fact that it could prove crucial in the future to preserve your unlock. Here's the process to manually save activation ticket.

Step 1: An unlock ticket will be generated after you successfully follow steps 1-10 outlined above.

Step 2: Use an SSH program to access your iPhone's filesystem (WinSCP Windows or Cyberduck Mac OS X). You can also use something like iFile on your actual iPhone.

Step 3: Navigate to /var/Root/ibrary/Lockdown and make a copy of everything that is found in that directory for each SIM card you unlock your iPhone with.

[Source: Redmond Pie, iJailbreak]

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