How to Upgrade Your iPhone to iOS 5.1 Without Updating Your Baseband (Mac)

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Posted March 8, 2012 at 8:19pm by iClarified

These are instructions on how to upgrade your iPhone 4 GSM or iPhone 3GS to iOS 5.1 without updating your baseband. This will maintain the potential to unlock if you are on a supported baseband.

Step One
Download the latest version of RedSn0w from here and place it in a Pwnage folder on your Desktop.

How to Upgrade Your iPhone to iOS 5.1 Without Updating Your Baseband (Mac)

Step Two
Download the iOS 5.1 firmware for your device from here and place it in the same Pwnage folder.

Step Three
Double click the RedSn0w archive to extract it then double click the RedSn0w icon to launch the application.

Step Four
Click Extras from the RedSn0w main menu.

Step Five
Click Custom IPSW from the Extras menu.

Step Six
Select your iOS 5.1 firmware from the Pwnage folder on your Desktop and click Open.

Step Seven
RedSn0w will now customize an IPSW file for you.

Step Eight
RedSn0w will inform you once your IPSW has been created successfully. Click the OK button.

Step Nine
Click Pwned DFU from the Extras menu.

Step Ten
Connect your device to the computer via USB and power it off. Then click the Next button to continue.

Step Eleven
Hold down the Power button for 3 seconds.

Step Twelve
Without releasing the Power button, also hold down the Home button for 10 seconds.

Step Thirteen
Without releasing the Home button, release the Power button BUT KEEP holding the Home button until your device is detect in DFU mode.

Step Fourteen
You device will now be exploited with LimeRa1n.

Step Fifteen
Once its done you will be in Pwned DFU mode.

Step Sixteen
Launch iTunes by clicking its icon in the dock.

Step Seventeen
Select your device from the list on the left, then hold down the Option key and click Restore.

Step Eighteen
Select the NO_BB custom IPSW from the Pwnage folder on your desktop and click Open.

Step Nineteen
You iPhone will now be upgraded to iOS 5.1 without updating the baseband.

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Okinvo - January 22, 2013 at 3:30pm

At step nineteen iTunes says The iPhone could not be restored. This device is not eligible for the requested build. I tried to restore using the correct NO BB etc.ipsw Might this be a iTunes version problem ?

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0di3 - January 7, 2013 at 3:01am

does this work for 6.0 or 6.0.1?

Tony - June 21, 2012 at 7:08am

Followed this procedure and now my phone says 'No SIM' all the time. Tried restoring trough iTunes (non-jailbreak) and even that now says the same! iPhone 4, using 5.1.1. No idea what my baseband is now - how do I find out? Thanks for your help!

Tony - June 21, 2012 at 7:26am

Found my baseband: 4.12.01

cloves - April 11, 2012 at 3:12pm

is there any chance to this work on bb 03.10.01 with gevey? i'm already on iOS 5.0.1.

AnyahM - June 11, 2012 at 8:41pm

Did you ever get through with upgrading to iOS5 with you GeveySim? I'm too scared of turning my phone into an iBrick to try.

elale - March 18, 2012 at 12:13am

i´m trying to upgrade but error 29 come out at the end

Tom Seely - March 16, 2012 at 5:10pm

When I do these steps, it upgrades to 5.1 and it doesn't touch my baseband, but it doesn't seem to be jailbroken anymore. There is no Cydia app. I've tried it multiple times. How can I get it jailbroken without updating my baseband?

budsal - March 18, 2012 at 2:41am

You've probably learned by now but if not... Your jailbreak is gone. Never ever upgrade a jailbroken idevice if the new firmware doesn't have a released jailbreak preferably of the untethered variety. It's really too bad however your jailbreak will be back, hopefully soon seems possible, so don't fret.

mb - March 24, 2012 at 6:41am

All you need to do is go back to redsnow and click Jailbreak. It will then take you through that process (don't worry, if you've already done the custom IPSW part it won't update your baseband). Once the jailbreak is finished go back to redsnow again and click Extras and click Just Boot. Cydia should be there now.

bucknasty - March 25, 2012 at 7:24am

Sorry, that was meant for Budsal...

budsal - March 25, 2012 at 7:36am

really dude? he upgraded to 5.1 and was curious his jailbreak was gone. if a week later a jailbreak was released it doesn't change what initially happened, and that's what happened. I was just trying to be informative. take it or leave it. or go to the dev team blog and ask questions there.

Tom Seely - March 25, 2012 at 4:42pm

Thanks MB. Your instructions worked. I did the jailbreak and it worked and I have my jailbreak back. Wish I would have known this a week earlier, but glad to have it back. And my baseband is still safe and sound at a really old version. On another note, if the instructions in this post don't jailbreak the phone, then they shouldn't be listed under Tutorials . . . Jailbreak.

MB - March 25, 2012 at 6:27pm

Agreed. I went back to the tutorial that would have upgraded the baseband to get the rest of the steps. Luckily if you've already installed the custom IPSW, you're fine.

RadaFix - March 15, 2012 at 2:29am

I'm on 01.59.00 and I end out with no service with t-mobile and only one bar with AT

Ian - March 13, 2012 at 3:13am

My iPhone ended with the upgrade but it couldn't recover from the DFU state. Help!!!

budsal - March 13, 2012 at 7:08pm

Did you try tiny umbrellas exit recovery?

Thembi - April 17, 2012 at 1:20pm

Its a Tethered JB so use the "Just Boot" option.

Babu - March 9, 2012 at 4:39am

What if I have iPhone 4 with baseband 4.11.08 :( :( Even 5.0.1 there is no unlock.

budsal - March 10, 2012 at 12:21am

What do you mean? If you know how to upgrade firmware without upgrading baseband you should probably just do it. Resale value possibly increased if there's ever an unlock.

budsal - March 8, 2012 at 8:28pm

what? no jailbreak? jk