Bought used jailbroken 3GS, won't activate after restore

Just bought a used 3GS that was jailbroken by the seller. We tested the SIM card in the phone and the AT&T network showed right up no problem. We didn't care to have it jailbroke, so I brought it home and did a restore on the phone. The phone rebooted and behaved like a new phone. Asking language, location, WiFi network, etc. I noticed that during this process the top showed that it was searching for the phone network.... it stayed in that mode. I went to the activation screen and it sits there forever and then comes back with a message saying the activation server is unavailable.
So... I connected this to iTunes to activate.... and iTunes says that the SIM card is not in the phone (it is).....
Anyone have this problem? And better yet... a solution

OK... so this was apparently jailbroke with Absinthe. So... I went to their site and followed their instructions in their YouTube video on how to restore this phone back to original state. I followed the instructions exactly. Which is what I had done previously. However... here's what happens.
It starts with the 'Connect to iTunes' screen. Which I did.... it downloaded and restores 5.1.1 to the iPhone. The iPhone reboots and now comes up with the screen like it's a new phone. Asking for language, location, location services off/on, WiFi network (which it sees and logs into just fine)... and then it gets to the authentication screen and just sits until it gets to a screen that says the server is down. If I try to authenticate it through iTunes it says the iPhone is missing a SIM card (it's in there and been reseated a few dozen times... and was working prior with the jailbreak). The phone shows it's in constant search for the AT&T network and never connects.
So I'm stuck in this position of not being able to authenticate.
I've not dealt with jailbreaks before, though I'm a fairly technical sort of guy. I've done a good couple hours of research to find an answer and have tried a few different things with the same result.

Similar Messages

  • Iphone 3gs will not activate after restore and update

    my sons iphone 3gs will not activate after restore and ios update.
    phone keeps saying no service but worked fine before restore and update any ideas ? thanks

    Sorry. The jailbreak is undoubtedly the root cause of your problem.
    It is not always possible to repair the damage done by jailbreaking.
    Try searching google for an answer, but be prepared to just buy a new phone.

  • HT201263 iphone 3gs will not activate after restore and update?

    Please help my iphone 3 gs will not activate after restore and update.

    If it is locked to any carrier, insert SIM from the carrier. If it is unlocked insert any SIM to activate.

  • How can i fix my iphone 3gs, could not activate after restore

    how can i fix my iphone 3gs, always appear, could not activate after restore

    When you say activate what do you see?

  • IPhone won't activate after restore

    Can't activate my iPhone 4S after restoring it to factory settings on iOS 6. It's been 12 hours now. I tried restoring it several times through iTunes and so far no luck. Feel very frustrated. What do I do?
    This is the message that gets displayed when I try to activate the phone:
    "Your iPhone could not be activated because the activation server is temporarily unavailable."

    I had the same issue, and just took took it to the Apple Store.  They had the same problem and ended up replacing my phone.

  • IPhone 3gs will not activate after restore, NEVER HACKED/JAILBROKEN! Help!

    I've recently tried to update to the newest firmware, And my iPhone 3gs, Which has, and I will add emphasis, Never Been Hacked or Jailbroken! , Messed up and I had to factory reset the device. All wen't well with the restore, until I attempted to Activate said device, to which it stated it could not connect to the server to activate the phone! So, I attempted to do it the iTunes way, and yet again, It could not connect to the server.
    I have the latest version of iTunes, Tried it on multiple computers on the home network, also tried it on a completely different network, every time, the same answer.
    And to top it all off, My "backup" on iTunes that I did every week to save my pictures/music/videos, in case of this type of event, Has also been completley erased.
    I am at a huge loss, I have no idea what to do! I hope someone can help.

    Sorry. The jailbreak is undoubtedly the root cause of your problem.
    It is not always possible to repair the damage done by jailbreaking.
    Try searching google for an answer, but be prepared to just buy a new phone.

  • Iphone 3GS won't activate after update - asks for itunes, which just quits unexpectedly every time!

    I updated my iphone 3GS and now when I turn it on it just asks to be connected to itunes. Problem is when I do this, itunes unexpectedly quits every time. I've updated the laptop and it makes no difference, and I am left without a phone...really not impressed and can't wait for my upgrade to get rid of it.

    Try this:
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1808
    This put's an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch in recovery mode.  Should solve the problem if it is phone related.  If not, you may want to post in iTunes support as well.  I had a similar problem recently with an iPod touch and this fixed it.

  • My 3GS won't activate after i updated to 5.1.1 firmware....it keeps on saying that the activation server is unavailaible

    Y is this so...???

    Apple server is unavailaible now ,you can skip this step by tap " skip button"

  • IPhone 3GS Will Not Activate After Restore

    Hello,
    Full story:
    I purchased an iPhone 3GS 3 years ago locked to the O2 network UK.
    Throughout the years this phone has been jailbroke and unlocked on numerous ios versions.
    I have decided to fully restore my phone so I can take advantage of the 6.1.3 update and realise that the phone will be locked back to O2.
    I have bought an O2 pay and go sim in preperation and have fully restored the iphone.
    I progress through the configuration menus at the beginning and the phone is picked up by itunes but after a while of trying to activate the screen says:
    [quote]Your iPhone could not be activated because the activation server is temporarily unavailable.  Try connecting your iPhone to iTunes to activate it, or try again in a few minutes.
    If this problem persists, contact Apple Support at apple.com/support[/quote]
    As stated the phone is connected to iTunes already, aswell as WiFi, and the O2 sim card is in the phone.
    Can anyone please assist as to why this is happening as an hour ago the phone was working fine (pre restore) and now this.
    Many thanks in advance
    D4

    The hack used to unlock it has rendered it unable to activate at all. Apple's servers can detect the hack and have disabled activation. Even on the carrier it was originally locked to. You will have to contact O2 and see if they will authorize a legitimate unlock.
    There is no other advice we can offer. You have forfeited all rights to support by hacking and jailbreaking the phone.

  • Iphone 4s won't activate after restore

    The software on my phone  4s (ios 7.1, Verizon carrier) was acting buggy, so I decided to restore it. After doing so and restoring it from a backup, the phone started telling me it wasn't activated. I tried setting it up as a new phone, but the same problem continued. I've done this before (pre-ios 7) and haven't had the same problem.

    Hi Katherine,
    Welcome to Apple Support Communities.
    Take a look at the article linked below, it provides tips that should help you resolve the activation issue.
    Get help activating your iPhone
    http://support.apple.com/kb/ts3424
    Check the system status for iOS Device Activation. If the iOS Device Activation status isn't green, try activating your iPhone later.
    Restart the iPhone.
    Try to reach the activation server another way, then try to activate.
    Try connecting to a known-good Wi-Fi network if you can't activate using a cellular data connection.
    Try connecting to iTunes if you can't activate using Wi-Fi.
    Restore the iPhone.
    If you receive an alert message when you try to activate your iPhone, place the iPhone in recovery mode and perform a restore. If you still can't complete the setup assistant due to an activation error, contact Apple for assistance.
    If you're asked to enter a password to proceed with activating the iPhone, Activation Lock might be enabled as part of Find my iPhone.
    Cheers!
    -Jason

  • IPhone won't activate after restore - says wrong apple ID/password

    Hi everyone,
    I recently attempted to upgrade to the latest iOS on my iPhone 4. However there was an error, so my phone had to be restored. I did this, and was then prompted to activate my iPhone.
    However it is claiming that I am using the wrong apple ID/password when I am not. I am able to log into My Apple ID online and have done so, and have changed PWs and fiddled around with it but it won't let me sign in!
    Can anyone help?

    Hey dalbruel!
    Here is an article that can help you troubleshoot this issue with iMessage:
    iOS: Troubleshooting Messages
    http://support.apple.com/kb/ts2755
    Thanks for coming to the Apple Support Communities!
    Cheers,
    Braden

  • IPhone 4s won't activate after restore and update

    After trying to update my iPhone 4s to iOS7 and it crashing halfway through I had to restore the phone. Now the phone seems to have iOS 7 but while trying to set it up it comes up with 'Could Not Activate iPhone'. It's something to do with the activation sever not being able to be reached. I have no idea what any of this means and every other discussion confuses me so if someone could explain how on earth I get my bloody phone back in simple language that would be marvellous

    I have the same problem.  Have you figured it out?

  • IPhone won't activate after restore. Activation server unavailable

    I restored my iPhone 4 through iTunes and it keeps saying "unable to activate phone, activation server unavailable".

    There are two common causes for this problem:
    1. Your antivirus or firewall is blocking access to gs.apple.com. Disable them and try again.
    2. You once, at some time in the past, used your computer to hack or jailbreak some iOS device (not necessarily the iPhone with the problem). If you did your network database on your computer is corrupted, and you will have to edit your hosts file and delete any lines that contain gs.apple.com.

  • IPhone 4 won't activate after restore

    I see others have asked tis question and got nowhere as someone implied the phone had been hacked. I don't understand all that but this is what just happened. My phone was with Telstra but unlocked so I could  take it away instead of my iphone 5. I had all apps etc updated then last week did restore as I'm going to sell it. I then thought I better write down IMEI number so did the language setting then connected to my wi fi but did not put my SIM in. And I got a message saying contact customer care.
    Very perplexing. The phone has not been with anyone else only in my bedside drawer and last week before restore all was fine. I'm going to put SIM in as I'm still with Telstra and try again.  Any other suggestions.

    I had to go online with Telstra and unlock. At the end it said YOUR PHONE IS UNLOCKED.  I then reinstalled all my apps etc so that I could take it away which was in APRIL. It was performing same as my iphone 5 with all apps and email coming to phone but obviously no SIM.
    Should I call Telstra. I realised I can't put SIM in as the new one is smaller.
    Very annoying as I have followed what they said.

  • My iphone won`t activate after updating to ios 5.1 plz help

    my iphone 3gs won`t activate after updating to ios 5.1 plz help

    I got mine sorted. Turns out because i got it unlocked the first time getting updates via itunes causes it to restart again. Had to get it unlocked at managed to get eveything back after restoring it from itunes. Very happy cause the guy in the apple shop told me i had to call apple and pay 35euro just to talk to them! I manged to get it unlocked for only 20 and its just like it was.
    hope you're able to get yours sorted

Maybe you are looking for