Downgrade iPhone 3G 3.0 back to 2.2.1
Previously we have wrote a bit about upgrading and downgrading your Apple products. Today we wanted to run through the steps of downgrading your iPhone 3.0 firmware to 2.2.1.
Connect your iPhone to your Mac or PC and select your iPhone from the list of devices in iTunes. If iTunes does not detect your iPhone then you will need to put it in DFU (Device Firmware Upgrade) mode.
You can follow these steps to put your iPhone in DFU mode (this is required only if iTunes does not recognize your iPhone):
* Connect your iPhone to your computer.
* Turn iPhone off.
* Hold power and home together for 10 seconds (exactly).
* Release power but keep holding home until the computers beeps (observed on a PC) as a USB device is recognized.
* A few seconds later iTunes should detect your iPhone.
Browse the Summary Tab, For Mac user Hold down Option and press the “Restore” button. For Windows user hold down Shift and press the Restore button. Now you will be able to browse the folder where you have the iPhone firmware.Select the firmware & hit the restore button and cross your fingers for 5 minutes.
If you get error message like 1011, 1013, 1015, just ignore them(Actually the firmware 2.2 is already successfully installed). Fire Quickpwn 2.2.1 and jailbreak your iPhone use this guide
But if you encountered with error message like 1601, 1602, 1600 or anything else then try putting the iPhone into DFU mode and try again.
If you have an Unlocked iPhone then use pwnage tool to make a custom firmware then enter DFU and restore / downgrade to 2.2.1 if not works in first time done it again n again.
76 Comments
i try Zend’s way these two days and still didn’t work and got error code “13″ everytime!!! what should i do???? please help!! thanks
ZEND YOU’RE AWESOME!!!!! IT WORKED!!!! BACK TO 2.2.1 !!! WOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
Thaaaaaaaanx alot Zend you saved me after 3 days of trying to downgrade from 3.0 my Iphone didn’t stop crashing on me i nearly restored it 8 times nothing worked. V 3.0 sucks
But your method really worked your a GENIUS
Thaaaaaaanx again
ZEND OR ANYONE HELP ME
I got iPhone 3G 2.28.00 jailbreaked with yellowsnowed to put the firmware 2.20, then I Pwnaged a 3.0 firmware and restored with iTunes 8.2, later tried to unlock with ultrasnow, but still no carrier. I tried like 8 times to redo all but no success, then I tried to downgrade to 2.2.1 following your instructions, and Luis1’s as well:
- Used itunes 8.1
- Couldn’t get DFU white screen with any of the tools you say, but I could get it with RedSnow, and STILL, always get Error 20 from Any Itunes version, so I reasonably think I got an iBrick please could anyone tell me what is wrong, or if there is a solution for Error 20 from itunes? I think my big mistake was trying to see how 3.0 works in the first place, it sucks, its slow, drain battery, and it’s nothing amazing at all. Desperately Help!!
Cheers
hey zend thank u so much …..
you rockk..
if you want to downgrade you must uninstall itunes and Apple Mobile Device Support, restart and instal itunes 7.43, 7.7 or other older versions; now:
-Download the 2.2.1 (or 2.2) ipsw file for your phone.
Launch iTunes, connect to USB, and enter DFU mode (see below).
iTunes will mention restore mode. Click OK and then Shift-click “Restore”
-Choose the ipsw file you downloaded. Wait for restore.
If this completes successfully, congratulations! You’re done! If you get Error 1013 (as I did), ignore and continue.
-Hold the Power and Home button for 15 seconds, then press Power for 2 seconds to reset your phone.
-You should now have the “Emergency Call” screen. If your phone has service, it should activate itself.
-If you’ve switched phones (to a 3GS for instance), you will need to either purchase phone service for it, or activate it via jailbreak.
-Once activated, you’re ready to start testing!
ZEND are you married ??? cause you rock and i want you all to myself…lol….
thanks for the awesome work………you are a life saver…….
& apple…thanks for nothing….your customer service sucks and your 3.0 sucks even more……..
A very big thanks to ZEND,this is the only method for downgrading that works!
Keep doin wat you doin man! you have a great mind!
i’m a big fan!
cheers!^_^
When I downloading ispw 2.2.1 or 3.0 I get restore files.
How can I put this file in to my Iphone 3G. I have now 3.0.1 but will back to 2.2.1 or 3.0. Itune do not see that files.
ZEND, you are the man, thanks a bunch. But now, i only have one problem. The iphone gave me an error 1010 or something close to that, but that was after restoring the firmware back to 2.2 from 3.0. When i use QuickPwn 2.5.5 it wont detect my phone, what should i do. My phone is stuck with the itunes logo and a USB pointing to it!
Hey, my phone was recently jailbroken and now it won’t work with itunes 8.2. I am looking on the internet for itunes 8.1 on mac but cannot find it. Does anyone know where to find it?
Zend
After been stuck for hour trying to fifure it out finall find your solution, works great thanx
Hi, i have a iphone 2g 3.0 8GB Phone. i want to downgrade to any older version like 2.2.1 or 1.4 but i am constantly getting the Error (20) . I am using vista,itune 8.2.
please suggest how i can solve this problem.
tnnx man alottttttttttttttttttt
MY VERSION: (basically a refined version of everyone else’s)
1. Install/downgrade itunes to version 8.2 (for the necessary drivers to recognize iPhone 3.0 firmware)
2. White screen the phone with quickpwnrc3 on fw 2.0.2 (2G/3G users pls use your respective 2.0.2 firmware versions)
3. Shift-restore iPhone in white screen mode using itunes 8.2 with fw 2.2.1 (process will complete without a hitch and any error pop-ups)
4. Uninstall itunes 8.2 and install itunes 8.1 (because Quickpwn 2.2.5 will not work anymore with itunes 8.2 and the firmware that’s in your iphone, apparantely)
5. With itunes 8.1 installed, use quickpwn 2.2.5 to jailbreak and unlock (2G) on the 2.2.1 firmware
6. [For 3G] Use wifi & Cydia to unlock iPhone 3G the usual way
DONE!!!!
PS: Downgrading the iphone is a bitch….Apple needs to allow its users more freedom…
New method for 3G iPhone downgrading (3.0 & 3.0.1 to 2.x.x.):
1. Downgrade iTunes to 7.4.3
2. Put iPhone 3G with 3.x.x fw in DFU mode
3. Shift-restore iPhone 3G in 7.4.3 to firmware 2.2.1
4. An error code (1013 or something else, but not 6xxx) should pop up
5. iPhone 3G will be stuck in recovery mode
6. Upgrade iTunes to 8.1.1
7. Put iPhone 3G in DFU mode (again)
8. Shift-restore iPhone 3G in 8.1.1 to firmware 2.2.1 (again)
9. An error code (1013 or something else, but not 6xxx) should pop up (again)
10. Get iPhone 3G out of recovery mode using QuickPwn 2.2.5’s opening screen’s instructions
11. Jailbreak with QuickPwn 2.2.5 using iPhone firmware 2.2.1
12. DOWNGRADED & JAILBROKEN!!!
I have both a 2G and 3G iPhone. While the method in my last post worked for the 2G, it didn’t for the 3G. This worked for my 3G.
I meant you shouldn’t see error codes in the vein of 16xx, not 6xxx…
si se puede downgradear siempre y cuando tengas el bootloader 5.11 para abajo ya con la 6.04 es imposible hasta el momento de cualquier manera para que irse a la 2.2.1 si la 3.1.2 es mucho mejor que todas =)
Baam! ^^ I don’t know how but i did it
Thanks ^^
Hey, Zend, I have Ipod Touch 1st Gen using 3.1.2 and my Itunes is 9.0.2.25 My wifi no longer working and i want to go back to 2.2.1 but im using a different computer so i cant fine the 2.2.1 when i do the (shift+restore). Pls if you or anyone has any advice i really could use it. Im deployed to Iraq right now, and i use my wifi a lot being all we have is wireless internet here. THanks
Tried to download the two older versions of itunes as MattSG suggested, but:
1. They are only for PC – so mac users would have to borrow one.
2. Even after removing iTunes 9, the computer won’t let it open up the older versions.
Any additional advice from MattSG on this matter?
@ Mattsg i tryed the version with itunes 7.4.3 but it keeps saying that i have a ipod plugin into my windows computer well i gonna try the other way u writin down here thx