How to Capture Your iPhone 3GS iBEC and iBSS (Mac) [Updated]

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Posted July 2, 2009 at 10:59am by iClarified

These are instructions on how to capture your iPhone 3GS iBEC and iBSS which will be required to jailbreak in the near future. The windows version of this tutorial can be found here

Step One
Create a new folder on your desktop called Pwnage and place the 3.0 firmware in the folder. You can download the firmware from here. Leave this window open.

How to Capture Your iPhone 3GS iBEC and iBSS (Mac) [Updated]

Step Two
Launch iTunes by clicking its icon in your dock

Step Three
We will need to do an iPhone restore from DFU mode to get our iBEC and iBSS.

Follow these instructions to put your iPhone into DFU mode.

iTunes will popup a message saying it has detected an iPhone in recovery mode.
Click okay to this message then Hold down the Option key and click the Restore button

Select the iPhone2,1_3.0_7A341_Restore.ipsw file from the Pwnage folder on your desktop and click the Open button.

Your iPhone will now begin restoring to the 3.0 firmware. You will be warned that this will erase your phone. DO NOT CLICK THE RESTORE BUTTON YET.

Step Four
Open a new Terminal window by click its icon in the dock or by launching it from Applications:Utilties.

Input the following command into the Terminal window then press the Enter key.

while x=1; do nohup cp -vr /tmp/PersonalizedRestoreBundle.*/Firmware/dfu/* ~/Desktop/Pwnage/ 2>/dev/null; sleep .1s; done

Step Five
Back in iTunes you may now click the Restore button from the popup message to continue.

Step Six
As the DFU mode restore is progressing watch the Pwnage folder we have open in Finder. You will notice two files appear that look like this: iBEC.n88ap.RELEASE.dfu and iBSS.n88ap.RELEASE.dfu

Step Seven
Once the two files appear in your Pwnage folder you can switch back to the Terminal window and press Control+c to stop the running script.

Step Eight
Once the DFU restore has completed iTunes will ask you to restore from backup or set up as a new phone. To keep your settings as before select Restore from the backup of: then click the Continue button to finalize the restore.

Step Ten
That's it. We now have captured our iBEC and iBSS. You can move these to a safe place to be used for a future jailbreak of your iPhone 3GS.

***Thanks to c0ns0le for posting the script to make it easier for those not fast with copy/paste.

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nerv - October 10, 2009 at 5:15pm

hmm, i think it would be great big hint for everyone, that this move isn't possible anymore, since apple only let us restore with 3.1, right?!!!!!!! or can we extract the ibec/ibss from a custom made 3.1 made with pwnage 313? i love the guides from iclarified, but it's much to unclearly with all the non actual guides......

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quajo373 - October 18, 2009 at 4:00am

hi guys i tried to use this method for 30gb iphone 3gs on 3.0.1 but it keeps saying firmware is not eligible for this device. any ideas, iC pls help

Ivan Kolev - September 14, 2009 at 5:03pm

I have just followed the steps but i don't get these 2 files. Anyway when the extracting is finished it appears an alert massage which says restoration cannot be completed. I've got iphone 3gs which had been unlocked and jailbroken before i accidentely updated it to 3.1. I use itunes 9 on snow leopard 10.6.1. Beside this if i try to generate these files using purplera1n , nothing again ... it appears a massage "something went wrong..." Does anyone have any suggestions why is that?

Khal - September 10, 2009 at 2:19pm

Is there any chance to capture the iBEC and iBSS if I have my iPhone updated to 3.0.1 firmware?

RtheDuke - August 22, 2009 at 11:11am

Thanks. It worked perfectly with my 3Gs on 3.0.1 directly. iClarified is my Number ONE, always :sharp and clean instructions . Thanks a lot to all TEAM !

mulek - September 12, 2009 at 12:24pm

by 'worked well on my 3GS w/ 3.0.1' did you use the 3.0 or 3.0.1 ipsw while restoring? I also have a 3GS with 3.0.1 in it

Ryuuga - August 9, 2009 at 10:39am

Thanks a lot pal, I didn't even know that the DFU mode existed, that's why I couldn't get the IBSS file right away (was doing it in Recovery mode...). Very nice tutorial, keep the good work! =)

james - August 8, 2009 at 2:22pm

Is it OK to then update to 3.1?.. or will the two files become useless?

phoney - August 5, 2009 at 3:51pm

I could only retrieve the ibec file and couldn't get the ibss file using the terminal script. Running the script as root fixed the problem and I got both files straight away (don't forget to replace the ~ with a path to your home directory)

dosan - August 25, 2009 at 11:52pm

Thanks, this really helps, i did it several times but never quite get the ibss file... i was pulling my hair until I saw your post.. did it as root and replaced the ~ with /Users//Desktop/Pwnage works....

TUK - August 2, 2009 at 4:00pm

My 3GS phone recently died, and I have had to replace it. When I tried to DFU to get the iBEC and iBSS files, using a Mac running itunes 8.2.1 and the terminal script method, I succeeded in getting the files but when the phone tried to authorise with Apple's activation servers it failed with the message "Unsupported Carrier/SIM" etc. I have (had!) a legitimately purchased and activated account, and I have now tried this procedure with several replacement phones. Each of these phones was obtained from the Apple Store, and was successfully activated with my SIM, in the store. Each time I got it home and tried to DFU it to get the iBEC and iBSS files off it, it was totally bricked at the end of the restore process because iTunes refuses to re-activate it. The same result, every time. The phone restores, and when it does, it won't recognise the legitimate SIM card, or indeed any iPhone SIM card. DFU-ing and restoring it again doesn't help. It won't re-activate. Period! Even after a factory reset. I have tried going back to iTunes 8.2 instead of 8.2.1, with a fresh phone from the Apple Store, which WAS activated in-store successfully (as were each of them - I've tried 5 replacements now!) and got the same result. Can anyone shed any light on WTF is going on??

mz - August 23, 2009 at 2:04pm

FUD

Branko - July 21, 2009 at 3:54am

I've followed the instructions provided, all worked well as far as the files are concerned, however I only got one file; iBEC.n88ap.RELEASE.dfu. Should I redo the process or something else I can do to get the iBESS file? Also this only captures the iBEC and iBSS files, it doesn't actually unlock the phone right? Do I still need to use ultrasn0w or whichever one to unlock the phone using MacBook Pro? Thanks

Jon - July 13, 2009 at 5:40pm

Guys, just tried to capture the required files using the terminal method. I followed the instructions, the phone was in DFU mode (black screen) and monitored the pawnage folder, the files did not appear at all??? I'm using a powerbook 1.5GHz, running Tiger with iTunes 8.2. I'm not a terminal guru, but i notice on the tutorial, after the command has been entered, the top bar of the terminal windows displays -CP-, but when I paste the command into terminal and hit enter, it says -SLEEP- Does this seem right?? A response will be much appreciated :)

JK - July 10, 2009 at 1:00am

The downloaded firmware update 'iPhone2,1_3.0_7A341_Restore.ipsw' shows up as a folder when unzipped, rather than as a device update package. So, in iTunes I can't select the whole package after Option-Restore. Has anyone encountered this, or what should I do differently?

JK - July 10, 2009 at 1:09am

Forget it. I found it under the Jailbreak: Likno1uvevacen wrote at 2009-07-09 11:31:26 In safari click Safari preferences then general tab. UNCHECK open safe files after downloading. Then REDOWNLOAD THE IPSW FILE. DO NOT UNZIP IT! Change the extension on file from .zip to ipsw. It will ask you for confirmation tell it yes. Then you should be all set.

BonesSK - July 10, 2009 at 12:40am

Found my problem thanks to Spliff on xsellize's irc channel - I had been running a beta 3.0 on my old 3G - so my iTunes was a beta - reinstalled a normal itunes and it worked like a charm1

anaq8i - July 9, 2009 at 4:57am

Hi, Is this required for officially unlocked 3GS iPhones? or only for locked 3GS ones?

cayman - July 8, 2009 at 3:42pm

Can this be done a purplera1n jailbroken phone? I've got a bunch of apps. If I follow this tut and get the files, and I restore from backup, will it restore my apps when synced?

Matteo - July 8, 2009 at 1:48pm

Thanks for the tutorial, that was straightforward

jflex - July 6, 2009 at 10:30pm

where is step two?

DistortedLoop - July 6, 2009 at 10:07pm

How large should the captured IBEC and IBSS files be? Mine are 104kb. Sound about right...?

M - July 7, 2009 at 8:45pm

Yeah, mine are also 104kb. Guessing that's right then.

DistortedLoop - July 8, 2009 at 10:12am

I figured the same after a bit of googling for the answer, but no one's outright said it. Funny thing is every demo of the process I watched on Youtube, the user running the demo didn't have the Finder/Explorer window set to show file sizes, or it was hidden off screen. Anyways, the script runs great and did just what it was supposed to. Only hassle for me was the very long time it took to resync 32gb of songs and stuff back after the restore. A low price to pay to be able to re-jailbreak in the future, though.

DistortedLoop - July 8, 2009 at 10:29am

I figured the same after a bit of googling for the answer, but no one's outright said it. Would be nice if iClarified clarified that in the how-to. Funny thing is every demo of the process I watched on Youtube, the user running the demo didn't have the Finder/Explorer window set to show file sizes, or it was hidden off screen. Anyways, the script runs great and did just what it was supposed to. Only hassle for me was the very long time it took to resync 32gb of songs and stuff back after the restore. A low price to pay to be able to re-jailbreak in the future, though.

Frank - June 26, 2012 at 11:04pm

It obviously makes things easier for the user. One place keeps track of all your purchases and helps you easily find an app for whatever u need to do...

Bob Johnson - July 6, 2009 at 12:47pm

Doesn't give me the option to choose a file. "Are you sure you want to restore the iPhone "iPhone" to its factory settings? All of your media and other data will be erased, and the newest version of the iPhone software will be installed. Then there is a Cancel and a Restore and Update button What am I doing wrong?

Jeffrey - July 6, 2009 at 3:43pm

You have to first put the phone in DFU mode, then, when you see the Restore button, you have to Option-Click it to get the Open dialog.

Roy - July 8, 2009 at 2:20pm

Heeey i have the same problem i dont have idea whats wrong!!! because itunes wants to update the iphone and i think this is not good because maybe update to firmware 3.1 ...

Awayze - July 5, 2009 at 7:19am

Thank you, it worked :-)

RICK - July 4, 2009 at 1:45pm

why we need this files for? how are they going to be used in a future jailbreak?

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