When the iPhone Dev Team had released the latest version of anySIM v1.1, their GUI-based tool to unlock the iPhone last week it was only applicable for those you had not unlocked the iPhone, however that had left a large percentage of the 250k iPhone owners who have unlocked their iPhone to wait for the re-virginizer tool which was supposed to revert the iPhone back to factory settings i.e. locked state.
The iPhone Elite Dev Team, the break-away group from the iPhone Dev Team and if you remember the folks who were the first to publish the method to downgrade the baseband of iPhone running on v1.1.1 are at it again, they have just released their own re-virginizer tool for unlocked iPhones running on OS v1.0.2.
When the iPhone Dev Team released the latest version of anySIM v1.1 for iPhone OS v1.1.1 they had promised that they would soon be releasing a re-viriginizer tool for unlocked iPhones running on OS v1.0.2 which is essentially revert your iPhone back to factory settings i.e. locked state after which I guess you should be able to update to the iPhone OS v1.1.1 and use anySIM v1.1 to unlock the iPhone. (Here is the article @ iPhone Hacks, in case you would like to get more details, anySIM v1.1 – Free GUI based SIM unlock tool for (Virgin) iPhone OS v1.1.1 released by iPhone/iTouch Dev Team)
The iPhone Elite Team seems to have beaten them to the race by releasing their own re-virginizer tool which is designed to rebuild your iPhone’s seczone lock table and apparently repair the damage done by the free unlocking methods. After using this tool, the iPhone hackers suggest that your 1.0.2 unlocked iPhone will return to its pre-unlocked state and would be safe to upgrade to 1.1.1.
So who should be using this tool?
This is for all those who have an iPhone still running on OS v1.0.2 and have unlocked their iPhone using any of free unlocking methods such as anySIM & iUnlock which was released by the iPhone Dev Team.
What does this mean for those who fall in the above category?
As mentioned earlier, the re-virginizer tool in essence restores your iPhone back to factory settings i.e. locked state. The team also claims that once the iPhone is back in its virgin-state then you should thus be able to safely update your iPhone to the latest version i.e. iPhone OS v1.1.1.
But as always in case of any new unlocking or in this case re-virginizing method, I would recommend that you wait for sometime to find out how well it has worked from iPhone owners who are courageous enough to try it out or maybe even wait for the iPhone Dev Team to release their own re-virginizer tool as they have promised. We know that they have been working hard to come up with a solution that has been well tested and error free.
However, if you are one of those courageous ones who is not willing to wait then here is the link to iPhone hacker’s website for the details on how to re-virginize your iPhone and don’t forget to let us know how well it worked for you and if you were able to upgrade to iPhone OS v1.1.1 without bricking your iPhone for benefit of your fellow readers here @ iPhone Hacks.
Update:
Alice McGregor one of the readers here @ iPhone Hacks has asked quite a pertinent question in the comments which I missed out in the original post. So here is an update with additional FAQ courtesy the iPhone Elite Dev Team which should be helpful in bringing in more clarity and answering the question.
Q. I got "bricked" when I upgraded to 1.1.1 after using anySIM/iUnlock on 1.0.2. Will this allow me to safely upgrade to 1.1.1 without further problems?
* Yes.
Q. Will this reset the NCK counter?
* Yes.
Q. Can I use this method to re-virginize my iUnlock/anySIM’d phone in either 1.0.2 or 1.1.1 firmwares?
* Yes. However, this process involves reflashing the 3.14 baseband firmware so it is safer to downgrade to 1.0.2 OS firmware prior to proceeding.
Q. Can I use this tool if my phone was unlocked with IPSF?
* No. Only IPSF can restore the baseband seczone to factory-default.
If you are thinking that the process is quite complex looks like someone has already written a script that automates the process provided by the Dev team since the time the post was published. Click here to visit iPhone Elite Dev team’s website to get the latest.
Thanks iPhone Elite Dev Team for the re-virginizer tool and for promptly clarifying some of the doubts.
However, folks do note, the recommendation of caution still holds.
Thanks Alice!
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