Potential fix for iPhone 3G No Service problem
Dislcaimer: I'm NOT responsible in ANY way if you damage your iPhone. This will require you to open up the iPhone to verify the SIM slot which will void Apple Warranty. So DON'T do it if you are unsure.
If you are among the unlucky ones who happen to jailbreak and unlock your iPhone 3G to get cellular network access, you might have come across this annoying problem. For most, installing ultrasn0w and a simple reboot works. But for many, it just doesn't! No matter what you do, you will be facing the dreaded "No Service" or "No SIM card installed" problem.
I have been playing with my iPhone 3G for about a month now, and was suffering the same fate. No matter what I tried, it JUST WOULDN"T WORK! I knew I was following the jailbreak and unlock steps correctly, so I decided to give it to a service center and get it checked. And voila! A piggyback unlock chip i-Smartphone was soldered to the SIM slot inside the phone! To complicated the matter, it was done in the sloppiest way possible with wires hanging all around (apparently some old technique). This seems to be the issue with many phones originating from Australia and the middle east (as mine did), so if you got your iPhone through the Grey channel and are facing problems, this might be it.
How do you fix it? Simple - After removing the soldered chip, I restored my iPhone with a custom OS 3.1 firmware using pwnage tool, installed ultrasn0w, and it just works! The problem is the conflict between software and hardware unlock techniques. Hardware unlock is buggy, troublesome and not recommended especially because ultrasn0w works perfectly now!
So there you have it. If you are sure that you are doing the jailbreak/unlock right but still aren't able to get into your network, try this. If this helps anyone, leave your comments and experiences please.
P.S: If you take it to an Apple store to get it fixed, they will reject it outright as any hardware/software modding on the iPhone violates the warranty. So my advice is to avoid Apple, and get your friendly neighborhood mobile service guy to check it.
Update 1: If after doing all this you still get "No Service", goto Settings -> General -> About and check the field "Carrier". If it shows your service provider (ex: Airtel 5.0) then there maybe some problem with automatically selecting your network. To do it manually, Goto Settings -> Carrier and let the list populate with the service providers in your area. Then select your network from that list. To verify, reboot the phone and see if it sets automatically.
Update 2: If you use pwnage tool to jailbreak and install custom OS 3.1 (which you should, if you don't want to lose your unlock) the name of the carrier will not show up at the top left, right next to the signal indicator. It is a known bug and you can simply set your custom carrier label using a tool called "MakeItMine" which you can install through Cydia.
Enjoy this article?
October 4th, 2009 - 02:57
What do you mean exactly with “after removing the unlock sim” ?
Do you mean to remove the current sim card that I would like to you in the future?
And did you do a downgrade to your baseband to 04.26.08 before installing ultrasn0w?
October 4th, 2009 - 06:34
I meant you have to remove the piggyback chip that was soldered to the SIM slot. A mobile service person should be able to do it. And I didn’t have to downgrade my baseband as I’ve never installed the software updates directly through iTunes. I use pwnage tool for Mac which creates custom firmware by updating the OS but preserving the older version of the baseband. More info – http://blog.iphone-dev.org/post/202796266/all-aboard-the-update-train
October 7th, 2009 - 17:33
Hey!!
I have Iphone 1gen IPHONE wid me somehow since yesterday night i am facing NO SERVICE problem (No idea, how it creep up suddenly). I am currently using 3.0 firmware. I was using this firware from quite some time but suddenly without knowing suddenly i am facing this problem.
Can any body suggest how to rectify this problem:
1. I have rebooted my iphone several times, NO LUCK
2. I have reset the network setting, STILL NO LUCK
3. I can see under SETTING>Carrier>list of carriers but not able register to any one of them. It give me a popup NETWORK LOST with Dismiss and Setting button.
No, Idea how to fix it..
Please help
October 7th, 2009 - 18:09
When you select the carrier manually, and it shows the network lost popup, just give dismiss. Wait for sometime and it should work. That’s what I did anyway.
October 7th, 2009 - 19:15
I did that also but unfortunately NO LUCK…
October 8th, 2009 - 08:43
Did you try toggling airplane mode on and off a few times. That seems to work for most. If that also doesn’t work better take it to a service engineer. He should be able to identify the mistake
December 26th, 2009 - 14:17
NO SERVICE – if all software method failed.. open you iphone 3g.. find the copper pin from logic board to the body on the lower part. I solder the pin to the body frame. Whola.. solve the problem
April 8th, 2010 - 22:24
Hey,
Could you post some pictures.
Or send me an email to hernansananes@hotmail.com
Thanks
hernan
pS: If it works i can donate u money.
April 10th, 2010 - 09:36
Sorry, no pics as I didn’t have my camera that day.
March 19th, 2010 - 23:12
I have had an unlocked and jailbroken Iphone 3G OS 3.1.2 purchased in the UK for almost 1 year now. After about 3 weeks, I started having problems with signal. Basically it drops in and out and mainly lives with a No Service message. This is the case on 4 different continents with 4 different SIM Cards, but the wireless works fine. Any suggestions?
March 20th, 2010 - 11:57
@adam, can you give more details? Like baseband version, which s/w you are using for unlock (ultrasn0w/blacksn0w)
April 5th, 2010 - 19:00
The baseband version I have on there right now is 3.0.1, and modem firmwhere is 04.26.08. I bought the phone unlocked, so I’m not sure which s/w was used. I wanted to see if it was perhaps a hardware problem before I started the restore and re-unlock/jailbreak process again. Do you think resetting everything and then starting from scratch would help this issue?
April 9th, 2010 - 10:44
Hi Adam. Do try reinstalling and jailbreaking again. Use pwnage tool to preserve your baseband and create a custom firmware with OS 3.1.3. Then you can use ultrasn0w to unlock and get cellular access. Use the info in this post as the last option if all else fails!
April 17th, 2010 - 09:26
heyy srinath i kinda have the same problem. I just bought an iphone 3g firmware 3.1.2 (7D11) and it has blackra1n and cydia. and i just put the sim card in and then i go to blackra1n and click on snow to unlock so it could recognize my sim or something and when it says on the right top corner (Searching..) for a couple of seconds it goes back to no bars and then it says (No Service) but the wifi works perfect. I really need help i dont know what to do.
April 23rd, 2010 - 19:34
It’s always better to start from scratch. After jailbreaking, install the appropriate unlock software depending on the baseband version (ultrasn0w if its 4.26.08 and blacksn0w if its 05.11.07). If you have a more recent baseband, I’m afraid there isn’t an unlock for those yet. If all that doesn’t work, you might want to get it checked for an unlock chip
June 3rd, 2010 - 01:08
Dear Srinath. I have read this whole thread and i think that u have given amazing detail on the no service problem. thank u so much.
im rumesh and i live in sri lanka. i bought an iphone 3g (used) with a 3.1.2 on it. the phone was jailbroken. it had blakra1n and cydia.
for one week my phone worked fine. but now im gettting a no service msg most of the day. im missing so much calls and things like that. im suffering as i collected money for almost a yr to get this and finally when i have it i cant use it.
i tried
3g turning off and on
turning airplane mode on (i get back the signals but lose it soon)
resetting all settings
resetting network setting
holding home and sleep button till apple appeared.
and after all i have done i still face these problems. im feeling so helpless and im desperate to use my iphone.
any help would be very appreciated. please break it down and tell me what i should do.
i sync it with itunes alot. so does that mean the jailbreak is no more?
how do i know wat my prob is and if mine is jailbroken,
pls write to me. thanking u in advance
June 3rd, 2010 - 06:52
@Rumesh, firstly check which version of baseband your phone is running. Like I’ve pointed out, if your bb is 04.26.08, ultrasn0w works best and blackra1n is for baseband 05.11.07. It would be best to flash a custom firmware using pwnagetool and preserve the baseband version. That way, you can get the latest fixes without losing your phone functionality.
If you accidentally upgraded directly through iTunes, and have a higher baseband version than 05.11.07, then you cannot get it unlocked now as no unlocking tool has yet been released for those basebands.
That being said, even if you face the same problems after reflashing your iPhone a couple of times, then you can get your phone checked for the hardware unlock chip as I mentioned.
June 26th, 2010 - 23:53
Dear Srinath
I managed to open my Iphone 3G n found that same kind of chip soldered with many thin copper wires of which one connected to Sim Slot on the upperside,,,,, i unsoldered the wire connecting the sim slot n got the error NO SIM den i soldered that thin copper wire back as normal n i still have this NO SERVICE problem,,,,, Should i remove this chip with all thin copper wires connecting it? it would be very kind of you if u can post some pics of that exact chip n how u removed it,,,, ur work is really appriciated…… Pls guide me….. i have the latest firmware 4.0 jailbreaked n unlocked (details)…… Thanks
June 28th, 2010 - 09:35
If you are having problems, I’d recommend you remove the solder chip AND the wires completely. Leaving any exposed wire will probably short some circuit and that will be undesirable. Also, it will lead to higher noise levels which is not good at all.
Since you can now jailbreak AND unlock iOS 4 on the iPhone 3G, its safer if you do it the software way. Hardware unlock chips are not mostly compatible with newer versions of baseband, and if you installed a higher version of OS than what it supports, it will simply not work!
June 26th, 2010 - 23:58
PS- I live in africa n the place i am dont have any mobile service guy reliable so have to do it on my own… thanks
June 30th, 2010 - 19:06
Hurray!!! Thanks Srinath,,, my iphone is working perfectly n i dont evn hv to reset network settings anymore,,, this was the only post i found on the net n dis was the only solution to no service error on my phone,,, ur a genius,,, thanks alot.
August 3rd, 2010 - 13:25
Hi I got an AT&T jailbroken phone and installed ultrasnow and unlocked it since the unlock is out now and I still have no service even after messing with the 3g and airplane mode I have a 3g on 3.1.3 and it’s on 5.12.1 so I restored it and jailbroke it and unlocked it again but still no luck, did this process 2 more times still no luck. Once or twice under settings it showed carriers tmobile and AT&T for about a couple of seconds than it disappeared before I could connect. Please help me out it seems like you know what you are talking about, thanks alot!
August 3rd, 2010 - 19:12
Try doing the whole thing from scratch. Use pwnagetool to create a custom 3.1.3 firmware, and then flash it on your device. Ultrasn0w now supports ALL basebands for the iPhone 3G, so unlocking will not be a problem. Remember to DISABLE 3G MODE before you install ultrasn0w and then restart. Should work if you followed all steps properly. If this doesn’t work, you may have to check for the unlock chip as I mentioned.
August 4th, 2010 - 07:23
okay i will try all this, my friend said that it might be an actual problem with the antenna so if all this doesnt work i might just get that replaced but thanks alot for your help! if i find a solution ill be sure to post it on here as well!
August 25th, 2010 - 00:50
Hello Srinath. I have a 3G which has been working the past six months no problem. Just recently started having problems when i had to be in the basement for long period of time. I have tried to restore it both with custom firmware 3.1.2 as well as the orignal apple 3.1.2 firmware but still same issue. I have one time unlocked with cydia(ultrasnow) and with Blackra1n and same issue. I have also tried the airplane mode trick and it did not work. I then opened up my iphone and i did not see any unlock chips soldered to the SIM slot. Is the chip soldered behind the motherboard or in the front after i lift the screen. Please advise. I am using a tmobile chip.
August 25th, 2010 - 14:43
The chip will usually be soldered directly to the SIM slot for ease of access, although it can also be placed at the back of the board. But looking at your problem, it doesn’t seem to be a hardware unlock chip as the phone was working sometime back. Maybe you are doing something wrong when flashing?
August 25th, 2010 - 21:24
Hey Srinath thanks for replying back to me. Well i forgot to mention a little detail of the problem. What happens is after i flashed it two times i get the network signals for a little bit. Then it says searching and gives NO service. If i am not wrong, if there was a problem with flashing i would not have got the signals recognized for even a couple of moments. I am wondering if the antenna connection has gotten loose or something. Just to give you an idea of how i flashed it. I put the phone in recovery mode, used the latest iTunes, restored the phone with custom as well as the original firmware. Then i used Bkara1n(snow) to unlock it. I get the Tmobile network showing up and then it drops to 1 bar. Then finally says no service after searching.
August 25th, 2010 - 21:46
Have you tried ultrasn0w instead? It works for all basebands now and is tried and tested. Don’t install it over blackra1n though. Flash the firmware again, and then try ultrasn0w instead. It should work if done right.
August 25th, 2010 - 23:16
I did try using ultrasn0w through cydia to unlock it. This is the link i used to get the custom 3.1.2 firmware http://www.iphoneheat.com/2009/10/download-iphone-os-3-1-2-custom-firmware-ipsw-files-for-iphone-3gs-3g-2g/
Followed this link to unlock the phone using ultrasn0w http://www.iphoneheat.com/2009/07/how-to-unlock-iphone-3gs-os-30-using-ultrasn0w/
August 26th, 2010 - 10:33
@gafoor, instead of trying a custom firmware, try getting the official 3.1.2 firmware from Apple. Then flash it with iTunes, and use redsn0w over it. I really can’t figure out what else you are doing wrong. Maybe you can also try using SIM cards from a different provider.
Firmware links here – http://theiphonewiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Firmware
All the best!
August 31st, 2010 - 03:45
I have the problem with “no service” trying to use the phone as a goPhone. It worked fine in my 2g, so i bought a 3g so I could use GPS. Weird enough, it only works when a program is trying to connect to the att data network and the GPS is on. I will get no service unless I use Navigon GPS or Google Maps. Navigon works better.