Frustrating: Restoring iOS 5.1.1 on iPhone 4?

[iSin]

Hello community, here's my situation: I got the new iPhone and i want to do a OS restore on my old iPhone 4 but i want it to stay with iOS 5.1.1 and not upgrade to iOS 6. I've tried everything, i downloaded the 5.1.1 iOS and tried the Shift-Restore thing to install it but i keep getting error 3194 (tried every possible solution to this i could find on the web and when i finally solved another error (1601, 1602..) appears). Currently im frustrated, i recently switched from BB to iPhone and didn't understood much of the terms used for this platform so i had to read a lot, any help/tip/advice would be highly appreciated.

What i've done:

-Saved the SHSH files for my device with tinyumbrella
-Deleted/Modified/Changed/Moved/Renamed/Everything with the Host files (Managed to solve error 3194 but now im getting error 1602)
-Reinstalled iTunes and tried on another PC
-Re-downloaded iOS 5.1.1 from a "reliable" source

Is there something im missing? i also read i needed to make a custom fw using those saved shsh files and stuff... Thanks in advance anyone who took time to read and reply to this.

PD: Excuse me if this inst the right forum for this, i found it to be the more appropriate section for my question if im wrong please any moderator feel free to move it.

 

[Massie]

So the main issue you need to get around here is that Apple isn't signing 5.1.1 anymore. So to have it go through, you cannot have Apple be the one verifying the restore. When people talk about changing the Hosts file, all it means is that when iTunes asks if it's okay to restore to 5.1.1, it will ask Cydia (which will say OK) instead of Apple (which won't).

So: if you used Tiny Umbrella and then deleted all the hosts file changes, you probably pointed it back to Apple (Tiny Umbrella points it to Cydia) which would explain the errors.

However, the whole TU/Cydia method is outdated for 5.x firmwares at this point anyway. Below is the newer method.

But first let me ask you this: when you say you saved the SHSH for your device, you mean you saved them for the iPhone 4 when it was still on 5.1.1, and while Apple was still signing 5.1.1? And if so, have you done anything with them other than save them? Just saving them isn't enough; you need to tie them to the firmware you want to use: Frequently Asked Questions - JailbreakQA

Hope that helps!

 

[3cit]

Yeah you need to get redsnow, and you need to build custom stitched firmware. You also need to put your phone into pwned dfu mode, using redsnow. Then you need to start tiny umbrella and have the server running box ticked. Then you need to open iTunes, right click restore and select your custom stitched firmware, then restore.
Then your phone will attempt to restore, and it will fail. Then use redsnow to kick your phone out of recovery. Then your phone will reboot. And you will be on 5.1.1 stock.
Source:
That's how I did it

 

[iSin]

Thanks to the Q&A section i managed to get through a lot, now im only getting error 21. Dang, this seem to be harder than i thought... Thak you guys, im going to keep trying.

EDIT: This is awful, no matter what i still get error (21)... dang, Any suggestions? Does anybody managed to restore recently iOS 5.1.1?

 

[iSin]

I give up, if someone finds a way to restore iOS 5.1.1 on an iPhone 4 at this moment (iOS6 official is out), please share the method with me. Thanks a lot again!

 

[Massie]

Just to be sure: you have the 5.1.1 shsh for the device you're trying to restore, and you're using redsn0w to stitch them to the 5.1.1 ipsw?

 

[iSin]

Just to be sure: you have the 5.1.1 shsh for the device you're trying to restore, and you're using redsn0w to stitch them to the 5.1.1 ipsw?

Sorry for the late answer. Yes i saved the 5.1.1 SHSH for my iPhone 4 and stiched them to a 5.1.1 IPSW to make a custom firmware, which is the one im trying to load on my device, managed to get rid of error 3194 and those dreaded 16xx but now im getting error 21. Doing my search on the web i haven't found anyone who has successfully done this by the time iOS 6 became official.

 

[3cit]

did you build a custom firmware? stitched with your 5.1.1 blobs?
then after that was created, did you out your phone into pwned dfu mode using redsnow?
then did you turn on tiny umbrella and turn on the server?
then did you right click and restore and selected your custom stitched firmware??

 

[iSin]

did you build a custom firmware? stitched with your 5.1.1 blobs?
then after that was created, did you out your phone into pwned dfu mode using redsnow?
then did you turn on tiny umbrella and turn on the server?
then did you right click and restore and selected your custom stitched firmware??

Yes, tried this exact method and without turning ON Tiny Umbrella too. None worked, tried on different PCs and different Networks, i just give up...

 

[3cit]

i had the same issue downgrading...
and one time it just worked
im pretty sure it was because i wasnt putting my phone into pwned dfu mode... also it always says the restore failed according to itunes. but when you reboot the phone, it shuld be stock 5.1.1
how does the process usually end???
do you see any activity on your iphone? like the progress bar? and the itunes bar is always just a little further along than the progress on the iphone?
then at the very end itunes progress bar is completed and the iphone progress bar is like 95% then you get an itunes error?
what happens to your phone at that time?
because i had to use red snow to kick it out of recovery
when you are in pwned dfu its VERY HARD to manually get your phone out of recovery
i think that you are doing everything right, but at the end when you need to kick it out of recovery, you are actually shutting the phone down and restarting losing the entire process

 

[Snownation]

I'm having the same problem as the OP.
I'm doing exactly what you're doing 3cit, and near the end of the installation progress, iTunes freaks out and displays an error, (-1).
Then it attempts to reboot, and all I get is the "connect to iTunes" image. I tried TU to exit recovery mode, and it stills goes back to the iTunes image.

 

[iSin]

I've found out on the DEV-TEAM Blog they confirm several times in comments that a restoration is not posible right now check here: Dev-Team Blog - Blob-o-riffic

 

[Snownation]

The first point.

1. A4 devices and 3GS will always be downgradable (and jailbreakable) with saved blobs due to limera1n. The tethered iOS6 jailbreak for those devices (and untethered for old-bootrom 3GS) will be out when Cydia and other important pieces are all working properly.

Does that not apply to us iPhone 4 users. Yet I still can't downgrade...

 

[Snownation]

Ok, finally got it to work.

The only thing I did wrong was use TU to kick out of recovery. Apparently, that's not the proper way in this case.
Must be redsn0w's own kicker.

So, do what 3cit said, then use the option in redsn0w to exit recovery mode, you'll be set.

 

[3cit]

Ok, finally got it to work.

The only thing I did wrong was use TU to kick out of recovery. Apparently, that's not the proper way in this case.
Must be redsn0w's own kicker.

So, do what 3cit said, then use the option in redsn0w to exit recovery mode, you'll be set.

Good lookin out guy, I'll edit my post.

According to iTunes the restore fails right?
Then when you kick it out of recovery, the phone reboots and runs the first time setup right??
And it's a clean, unjailbroken 5.1.1?

 

[Peligro911]

Was it jb ? I would just go to setting and reset

 

[Snownation]

@3cit Yup, the restore will fail with a (-1) error. After using redsn0w to kick out of recovery, it goes through the jailbreaking process, but does not actually jailbreak it, it's applying the exploit to reboot it apparently.
Then you'd need to Absinthe it for the untethered JB.

The TU method actually does work as said by a dev, but he said you must uncheck the "Open iTunes when this phone is connected" option. I didn't have that done, so that's why TU method didn't work.

 

[jm95]

i too have been having terrible problems doing this and still am, i receive a (1) error is this the same as you guys

im then struggling to get it into dfu mode - to run the extras > recovery fix

im so glad to have found an active post

when trying redsn0w recovery fix i get error with shsh blobs

 

[iSin]

Well it's good to know someone could. Keep an eye out, devs are working on making this easier though.

 

[Snownation]

My error is the (-1) one, not the (1) one.

The correct procedure is to stitch your shsh into the corresponding firmware.
Put the phone into pwned DFU.
The above is all done using redsn0w.

Then, start the tss server in TU,
Open itunes, Shift-click restore, and point to the newly created .ipsw file.
Let it restore and encounter the error.

Then kick out of recovery using redsn0w.