HT201210 iphone 3gs ios4.1 ATT upgrade fails, cannot activate, I am travelling in Canada - help

I am travelling in Canada and tried to update the ios from 4.1 on my ATT iphone 3GS. It backed up the data, then it restored to factory settings then the activation fails. I now have an unusable 3GS.
Any suggestions?
Gregg

Generally this is a sign that the iPhone had previously been
hacked/modified/jailbroken and the update relocked it to the
original wireless carrier. If this is the case, only that wireless
carrier can unlock your iPhone. You must contact them to see
if they offer unlocking and if you qualify.
Where did you acquire this iPhone?
Does the app Cydia appear on your iPhone?
What does it say when you look at Settings=>General=>Carrier?

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What shall i do? I've done restoring my iphone 3gs and still stuck on cannot activate and contact customer service.

I've done restoring my iphone 3gs and still stuck on cannot activate and contact customer service. What shall i do? any help please.

99.9% of the time, the cause of this issue is the fact the phone was jailbroken/hacked to unlock it for use on networks other than the network the phone was originally locked to. Apple maintains a database of officially unlocked iPhones, and when Apple's servers detect phones such as yours, activation stops & you get the message you got.
So, either get a sim card from the carrier your phone was originally locked to, or get it officially unlocked, if you want to activate it. Because it appears that it was not officially unlocked.

Iphone 3gs displays no service and cannot activate

I cannot afford a smartphone, so my friend has given me his old iPhone 3GS when he upgraded to a newer model.
the phone has obviously been wiped so that it's as if it just came out the factory.
I enter the language, WiFi network info, etc. have also tried multiple WiFi hotspots, including my home Netgear/AOL, parents Huawei/TalkTalk and a pub's technicolor/plusnet.
whenever i try to activate it, the top bar says "Searching..." and then eventually "no service", and i get a message saying the activation server is unavailable, and have tried again and again to no avail. have tried powering off, removing and re-inserting the SIM, then powering up - same errors. the SIM pins appear all present and not broken/bent etc when I look into the device.
All I can say about the make/model is that it's an iPhone A1303, so it's a 3GS (Identify your iPhone model - Apple Support) . 16GB capacity.
I have no way of knowing the iOS version, IMEI or baseband revision (unless there's a mac/iTunes way of getting it?)
my friend is certain that he has never jailbroken the device, and that it has always been on O2 (the same network as me).
my SIM works in my old Nokia, receives texts/calls etc. my Nokia gets all 4 bars of signal.
I have also been in to visit an O2 shop, and had my tariff upgraded to one for a smartphone. They're certain it's not an O2 problem. I've probably had this SIM at least 8 years.
Have tried activating it by itself, and via iTunes 10.6.3(25) on Mac 10.6.8. iTunes says there is no SIM installed.
is the phone somehow blocked? how would i find out if it was? is it possible that it has been hacked to support O2 instead of another network (by a shop) - and that by scrubbing the data, it has wiped out the hack (in which case, how do i get the phone's ios/baseband/IMEI/original network)? is this a really silly thing like having to deactivate my old phone or having to register the iPhone with O2? is this a problem with the SIM, the phone hardware, the firmware or iOS? what if i got his old SIM - would that activate the phone, and is the phone just not accepting a different SIM than the original one?

Here's what you do
1.Make sure your phone is not plugged into the computer.
2. Put the iPhone into recovery mode (this is NOT DFU mode). Do this by
     a). Hold down both the power/sleep button and the home button until the screen turns black/off
     b). As soon as this happens release the power button but NOT the home button
     c). If done correctly then the Apple logo will appear, KEEP HOLDING THE HOME BUTTON and eventually a connect to itunes graphic will appear. You can release the home button
3. With the connect to itunes graphic on the screen, plug your phone into the computer. iTunes will start up if it is not already on, and then will say the phone needs restoring. Ignore this and COMPLETELY quit iTunes.
4. With iTunes off and the graphic still on the phone screen, hold down both the power/sleep and the home button again for 9 seconds (count 100, 200, 300...) or until the screen goes black
5. When the screen goes black release the home button straight away.
6. It will start up with the iPhone activation screen ignore this. iTunes should have started up, if not do so. Go to the iPhone tab and either resotre from backup or set up as a new phone.
You're welcome

HT201210 Iphone 3gs needs to restore as cannot turn phone on but cannot restore as unknown error 2001 keeps coming up. I have tried several times on different computers. Any help or ideas?

Iphone 3gs needs to restore as I cannot turn phone on but cannot restore as unknown error 2001 keeps coming up.
I have tried several times on different computers. Any help or ideas? Thanks

Hi there Katherine,
I have an article here that addresses this error code and can give you a few more troubleshooting suggestions for this issue:
Resolve specific iTunes update and restore errors
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts3694
Check USB connections
If there’s an issue with the USB port, cable, dock, or hub, or if the device becomes disconnected during restore, try troubleshooting the USB connection, then troubleshooting your security software.
Common errors: 13, 14, 1600-1629, 1643-1650, 2000-2009, 4000, 4005, 4013, 4014, 4016, “invalid response”, and being prompted to restore again after a restore completes.
To narrow down the issue, you can also change up your hardware:
Use another USB cable.
Plug your cable into a different USB port on your computer.
Try a different dock connector (or no dock).
Add (or remove) a USB hub between your device and computer.
Connect your computer directly to your Internet source, with no routers, hubs, or switches.
If you see your error after changing your USB connections, continue to the next section to troubleshoot your hardware.
Thanks for coming to the Apple Support Communities!
Regards,
Braden

HT201210 iphone 3gs un erreur inconnue s'est produite (1015) l'hors de restauration help mee please ?

iphone 3gs :un erreur inconnue s'est produite (1015) l'hors de restauration aidez moi svp?

Cherchez-vous à dowgrade votre iPhone?
iTunes : messages d’erreur spécifiques à la mise à jour et à la restauration, et dépannage avancé
Erreur 1015 : cette erreur se produit généralement lorsque vous tentez de revenir à une version antérieure du logiciel de l’iPhone, de l’iPad ou de l’iPod touch. Ceci peut se produire lorsque vous tentez d’effectuer une restauration à l’aide d’un ancien fichier .ipsw. Le retour à une version antérieure n’est pas pris en charge. Pour résoudre ce problème, essayez d’effectuer une restauration à l’aide de la version la plus récente du logiciel de l’iPhone, de l’iPad ou de l’iPod touch, disponible auprès d’Apple. Cette erreur peut également se produire en cas de modification non autorisée apportée à iOS, et si vous tentez de revenir à un état par défaut, non autorisé.

IPhone 3gs says no service and cannot activate it.

I am trying to activate my iPhone 3gs and it says 'No Service' and when connected to iTunes it says that there is no sim card installed. I think it is on i.o.s 5 but not entirely sure as i bought it off of eBay and fixed it.
When i try to activate it on wi-fi it says the activation server is currently down.
Thanks for any advice you could give me on how to get it working

Here's what you do
1.Make sure your phone is not plugged into the computer.
2. Put the iPhone into recovery mode (this is NOT DFU mode). Do this by
     a). Hold down both the power/sleep button and the home button until the screen turns black/off
     b). As soon as this happens release the power button but NOT the home button
     c). If done correctly then the Apple logo will appear, KEEP HOLDING THE HOME BUTTON and eventually a connect to itunes graphic will appear. You can release the home button
3. With the connect to itunes graphic on the screen, plug your phone into the computer. iTunes will start up if it is not already on, and then will say the phone needs restoring. Ignore this and COMPLETELY quit iTunes.
4. With iTunes off and the graphic still on the phone screen, hold down both the power/sleep and the home button again for 9 seconds (count 100, 200, 300...) or until the screen goes black
5. When the screen goes black release the home button straight away.
6. It will start up with the iPhone activation screen ignore this. iTunes should have started up, if not do so. Go to the iPhone tab and either resotre from backup or set up as a new phone.
You're welcome

Itunes doesnt recognize my iphone 3gs after i upgraded to ios4.1

itunes doesnt recognize my iphone 3gs after i upgraded to ios4.1

When did you upgrade to 4.1? 4.1 is no longer signed by Apple. It's no longer possible to (legitimately) install 4.1.

I upgraded my 3gs to the iOS5 software, but it keeps telling me on my iphone and my itunes that it cannot activate my iphone! Then my iTunes said there is no SIM card installed. HELP!

I upgraded my 3gs to the iOS5 software, but it keeps telling me on my iphone and my itunes that it cannot activate my iphone! Then my iTunes said there is no SIM card installed. HELP! I can't seem to even restore, which is what I was told to do by the Apple Store.

Hi there,
if your phone has ever been replaced by Apple (within or outside of warranty), have Apple check their records to which carrier your iPhone (its IMEI number) is currently locked to.
If it is locked to any other than the carrier you have your SIM-card from, ask the folks at Apple to have your phone's lock adjusted to your carrier. Once that is done, there is a good chance that your phone will work again.
Hope this helps,
Chris

Is it possible to get my old iphone 3gs from att to work on a verizon network?

is it possible to get my old iphone 3gs from att to work on a verizon network?

No - your iPhone is a GSM phone and Verizon uses a CDMA network. Completely incompatible device and technology.

How to get out of recovery mode iphone 3gs ios4.3.5

please can any help on how to get out of recovery mode iphone 3gs ios4.3.5

Reset, hold both Home and Power buttons until the iPhone restarts.
If still in Recovery Mode, Restore in iTunes. If the iPhone Errors, write down the Error Code so you can look up the cause and solution.

I have iphone 3gs. I upgraded its software through itunes but it stopped reading sim. Then I restored but since then iphone is locked with message to insert a carrier compatible sim. I've checked my sim is ok. How to restore the iphone?

I have iphone 3gs. I upgraded its software through itunes but it stopped reading sim. Then I restored but since then iphone is locked with message to insert a carrier compatible sim. I've checked my sim, it is ok. How to restore the iphone?

I'm going to make some guesses here. You bought your phone second hand. In other words, not from Apple and not from your carrier. What you got is a hacked phone that was originally carrier locked, most likely to AT&T in the US. You are NOT in the US. (If I get any of this wrong, please tell me).
What has happened is when you updated the software, it was re-locked to the original carrier. ONLY the carrier can authorize an unlock. If it is locked to AT&T, you're out of luck as they WILL NOT unlock an iPhone for any reason.
If it's locked to another carrier, you will have to find out what carrier that is (you can NOT tell by looking at the model number) and find out if they unlock iPhones. If you can't find out, or if they do not, then your only real option is to sell the phone and purchase one from a LEGITIMATE source.
You can find out who the supported carriers are here: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1937

I'm using iphone 3gs ios4.1 when I leasing 3-5 songs continuously it get restarted. who can I solve this problem

I’m using iphone 3gs ios4.1 when I leasing 3-5 songs continuously it get restarted. who can I solve this problem

Basic troubleshooting from the User's Guide is reset, restart, restore (first from backup then as new). Try each of these steps in order.

HT4623 am update my iphone 3gs ios4.1 to ios 6.0.1 using itunes when update comleted itunes show a message Were sorry, we are unable to continue with your activation at this time. Please try again later, or contact customer care! pls help me pls

am update my iphone 3gs ios4.1 to ios 6.0.1 using itunes when update comleted itunes show a message Were sorry, we are unable to continue with your activation at this time. Please try again later, or contact customer care! pls help me pls

Generally this is a sign that the iPhone had previously been
hacked/modified/jailbroken and the update relocked it to the
original wireless carrier. If this is the case, only that wireless
carrier can unlock your iPhone. You must contact them to see
if they offer unlocking and if you qualify.
Where did you acquire this iPhone?
What wireless carrier did you use before this problem?
Does the app Cydia appear on your iPhone?
What does it say when you look at Settings=>General=>
About=>Carrier?

Sometimes the screen on my iPhone 3GS appears enlarged, so I cannot see or manipulate the touch screen buttons. Anyone know what this is?

Sometimes the screen on my iPhone 3GS randomly enlarges so I cannot see or manipulate the touch screen controls. Anyone know what causes this?

Double tap with THREE fingers to turn zoom off. Then, go into Settings>General>Accessibility and turn it off for good.

I had my iphone 3GS and then upgraded to 6.1.3. Now the phone is in a loop and reboots everytime the Apple logo comes up. I held teh home power and connected to itunes to retore, but it won't restore. any ideas?

I had my iphone 3GS and then upgraded to 6.1.3. Now the phone is in a loop and reboots everytime the Apple logo comes up. I held teh home power and connected to itunes to retore, but it won't restore. any ideas?

Hey harikrishnandhk,
Thanks for the question. I understand you are having issue with your iPhone 3GS. You are definitely taking the correct steps, as you'll want to restore the iPhone in recovery mode. For information on doing so, see this article:
iOS: Unable to update or restore
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1808
If you don't see the "Connect to iTunes" screen, try these steps again. If you see the "Connect to iTunes" screen but the device does not appear in iTunes, see this article and its related links.
Thanks,
Matt M.

HT201210 iphone 3gs ios4.1 ATT upgrade fails, cannot activate, I am travelling in Canada - help

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