Upgrade ios 4.2.1 (iPhone 3GS ) to 4.3.3 or above

Forums › Apple iOS and devices › Upgrade ios 4.2.1 (iPhone 3GS ) to 4.3.3 or above

gbe7211

11 posts

Geek

#113312 13-Jan-2013 16:16

Hi , I have an iPhone 3GS , jailbroken with redsnoOw_MAC_O.9.15b3 (I can see the Cydia app ) and have downloaded iPhone 2,1_4.3.3_8J2_Restore , and the ios 5.0 version and tried to do an IOS upgrade thru iTunes , but always get the error message "firmware is incompatible"

I think there is something I am missing /doing wrong , as a relative newbee......

Several APPS I want to use have a minimum Requirement of 4.3 or greater ....otherwise I am a rather low end user !
Any Help gratefully received ,
Thanks

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#744095 13-Jan-2013 16:23

Do you want to keep the jailbreak or are you happy to get rid of it? (Some people don't find it so important to JB newer iOS versions).

The easiest way forward is to go to non-JB iOS 6 however you can go to 4 or 5 if you wish [Edit: No you can't; I was thinking of 3G, not 3GS. Can only go to iOS 6 with 3GS]. Post back with what you actually want to accomplish and we'll go from there.

1eStar

1604 posts

Uber Geek

#744120 13-Jan-2013 17:09

Apple is no longer signing older versions. So of you haven't saved shsh blobs and then use tinyumbrella to authenticate the firmware you will be restricted to upgrading to the latest firmware. Ios6 has most features you will want and probably more than ios4 jailbroken.

gbe7211

11 posts

Geek

#744124 13-Jan-2013 17:24

Thankyou both for replies .
I only jailbroke 4.2.1 because I thought it was necessary as part of the upgrade . I think co incidentally that Cydia saves the shsh ? .... anyway I will be happy to end up , jailbroken or not with an IOS that will run the occassional app that demands more than I have now .ie NZ Fishing Rules , and a Navico "chartPlotting" app that uses the 3GS GPS . As I said I am a fairly low end user really . and a small Postscript ...... I was recently introduced to "Personal Hot Spot " which availability may be good . I don't even have the old "tethering" at the moment . The 3GS is pretty slow anyway but it does interest me a little .
thanks

Behodar

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#744127 13-Jan-2013 17:33

Cydia does save the SHSH but I *think* it only does it for the version that you're running. In other words, as far as I know, you won't have the SHSH for 4.3 or 5. However, I'm not an expert so it might be best to see whether anyone else knows.

gbe7211

11 posts

Geek

#744157 13-Jan-2013 18:25

I think that SHSH saving is likely , and would make sense . The reason I have a problem is that indeed I DO have the SHSH for 4.2.1 but not for the "no longer Apple signed off" ios 4.3.3 or 5.xx , and what it is saying to me is that I am trying to "update" or restore a version whose SHSH is " incompatible" . I did wonder about that so at least if that is so I am wiser ... even if not completely satisfied . I think there is an discussion /itunes tutorial about how to do that outside iTunes (which I found thru'Google . I did not understand it however , and I think it was for a Windows based Computer ( I'm on an iMac )
thanks

gbe7211

11 posts

Geek

#744215 13-Jan-2013 20:43

Sorry , it has occurred to me that the reply I made at 17.54 , after another "reply to mine" post may not have reached you . It was intended to answer your question about what it is I hope to acheive .
Thanks .

clicknz

467 posts

Ultimate Geek

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#744524 14-Jan-2013 13:49

Hi - just a thought - I guess it's possible that your iPhone may have been locked to another carrier and required the Jailbreak to unlock it... but since you performed the JB I guess that is probably not the case. Still, worth mentioning in case you forgot about the circumstances.

Cheers,
Mike

Photographer/Videographer clickmedia.nz

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gbe7211

11 posts

Geek

#744528 14-Jan-2013 13:56

thanks .
The phone was with 021 before me on Vodafone , but accepted (2 yrs ago ) a 0274 telecom SIM and has been working fine so I think the problem is in the VAST complexity that causes such "firmware is not compatible " errors as outlined on a Google search for those words . I am not alone , it seems . Frustrating !!
cheers

1eStar

1604 posts

Uber Geek

#744823 14-Jan-2013 23:30

Ios6 will be good for all you want, except wifi tethering will not be available. Bluetooth or usb tethering will be available tho.

gbe7211

11 posts

Geek

#745217 15-Jan-2013 17:06

I have some experiences in learning that I would like further advice about .
1. Is an ios version ( eg 4.3.3) linked to a base ? I ask because I gather from the internet researches that I can do an upgrade to 4.3.3 from a download I have , by nominating a standard downloaded ipsw file but in the table on the internet source of that file it says I must update the base to do so .Certainly I have seen LOTS of reference to the use of TinyUmbrella with the permission to update the base to avoid error messages .
I also gather that I will lose the GPS functionality if I do that but I can then downgrade the base again (?? will that recover the GPS functionality ??) ..all seems a bit strange to me .
2. When I attempted an upgrade yesterday I was advised from RedsnOw that the ipsw file in 4.3.3 was only available to an iPhone 2,1, and mine , (connected to the iMac USB a la iTunes synch ) is a 1,2, iPhone . Maybe I have a hardware that WON"T do it !! ??

GPS is probably more important to me than a more modern system , or tethering (3G or otherwise) . I am wondering if I am pursuing an impossible dream .

Why is there so much comm. about downgrading after various upgrades ??
cheers

1eStar

1604 posts

Uber Geek

#745281 15-Jan-2013 19:36

The base you mention is probably baseband, which is the modem for cellular connectivity, not gps as I understand it. If your phone is a nz new unlocked phone then you'd best upgrade to ios6 and forget all the jail break stuff. If you want to change to an older firmware version you will have to download the correct ipsw. Ensure you have the correct corresponding shsh blobs available in tinyumbrella then upgrade thru itunes, you might have to play with your hosts file. Ive done it on windows most recently, have done once on a mac but was a while back.

nitrotech

1285 posts

Uber Geek

#745314 15-Jan-2013 20:36

Trying to undestand what you're trying to do - we jailbreak and unlock phones every day but I can't quite understand the issue you're having.

If you've got 4.1 installed and you want to upgrade then there are only a couple of options open to you.

1) Have you got SHSH blobs saved? - open Cydia and right at the top it says SHSH and some numbers beside eg. 4.1, 4.21 etc. these are the only non official versions of iOS you can install.

Check which baseband you have installed - if it's 6.15 then the only option you've got is to use the current 4.1 (or any other that you have SHSH blobs for)

2) Network unlock your phone - get an operator check done then if it's cheap enough then get it offically unlocked - then you can upgrade your phone without fear.

(you can't do this with 6.15 iPad baseband installed without downgradning - downgrading can brick your radio)

If none of this makes sense then post back which OS you have blobs for and your baseband

gbe7211

11 posts

Geek

#745329 15-Jan-2013 21:22

I can answer specifically .....
Cydia says I have saved blobs 4.1 and 4.2.1 (after JB )
iTunes (MAC v 10.6.3 .... current version , it says ) ) says 4.2.1 is current ios max . on this iPhone 1,2
baseband ( modem firmware) is said to be 05.15.04

At the risk of repeating what I think I have found from the Google .......
I have downloaded 4.3.3 ios ipsw , and can use it if I use TinyUmbrella/redsnOw if I upgrade to baseband to 6.xx.xx as part of the action and point the software to the downloaded 4.3.3 ipsw file , BUT in the process will lose the GPS functionality of the iPhone , which , it is said, can be restored if I then downgrade the baseband again . Really . ??

The reason for electing an ios of lower power is that it wiil suffice for the apps I want , and I want to know WHY there is so much chat about downgrade by folks who have been to 5.1.1 or 6 ios

The phone IS a NZ new iPhone , once on Vodafone , and with SIM change >> Telecom , but is , seemingly a 1,2 version, serial number 82829V....... and model number MB......... all of which I think is relevant
cheers , thanks

nitrotech

1285 posts

Uber Geek

#745336 15-Jan-2013 21:30

So sounds like you've got at 3G rather than 3GS so you're stuck on 4.2.1 as max

nitrotech

1285 posts

Uber Geek

#745340 15-Jan-2013 21:36

Just thinking too you're getting confused between the iOS firmware and the baseband

So firmware is the software that runs your phone and apps - baseband controls how the phone connects to the network eg. It's sometimes called the modem.

The reason people upgrade their baseband to 6.15 is because its an unlock able baseband for 'locked' iPhones but it has no relationship to iOS 6 whatsoever

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