Snowbreeze 2.2 r1 for iOS 4.2.1 Jailbreak | Create Custom 4.2.1 Firmware

Cosmin Coman on February 16, 2011 with 51 Comments

As many of you already know Snowbreeze 2.2 r1 is the Windows Version of PwnageTool 4.2. With Snowbreeze 2.2 r1 you can create custom 4.2.1 firmwares to jailbreak your iDevice and preserve the old baseband for unlock.

Snowbreeze 2.2 r1 only works on Windows, so if you are using a Mac you need to follow the PwnageTool guide posted here.

Snowbreeze uses the same exploit as Greenpoison RC5, but the main difference is that by jailbreaking with Snowbreeze for 4.2.1 you will be able to unlock using ultrasnow 1.2.

Also keep in mind to use “baseband preservation mode” if you want to unlock your iPhone 3G, 3GS, 4 after jailbreaking with Snowbreeze 2.2 r1.

Other great features are the ability to play Pac-Man while jailbreaking and the ability to change boot logos.

Snowbreeze 2.2 r1 for iOS 4.2.1 supports the following iDevices:

iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4
iPad
iPod Touch 2G, iPod Touch 3G, iPod Touch 4G

The tutorial for jailbreaking with Snowbreeze 2.2 r1 for iOS 4.2.1 is similar to the tutorial for jailbreaking iOS 4.1 with snowbreeze 2.0 posted here. You can follow that tutorial and adapt it for your needs. Of course, you have to download all the necessary tools from here.

After you have successfully jailbroken your iPhone 3G, 3GS, 4 while preserving baseband with Snowbreeze 2.2 r1 you can unlock it using Ultrasnow 1.2 ( skip the baseband upgrade stuff)

Download Snowbreeze 2.2 r1 for iOS 4.2.1 here

Download iOS 4.2.1 for your Device here

Download .NET framework 3.5 here

Update: Snowbreeze 4.3.1 was released!

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about the author

Cosmin is a smartphone enthusiast that writes articles for our iPhone and Windows Phone 7 departments and he provides the latest jailbreaks and unlocks releases as well as hot news about Apple or Microsoft. His best friend is his iPhone 4 and he is always comparing smartphones with Adu.

Discussion 51 Comments

Dream February 16, 2011 at 10:14 AM
If this works it will be great!! Is it going to work on my iphone 3GS with 3.1.3 firmware, 5.12.01 baseband? Can i upgrade my device by this tutorial to custom firmware 4.2.1 preserving baseband 5.12.01 to be easly unlocked? Thanx
- Cosmin Coman February 18, 2011 at 10:47 AM
  Of course
  - Help me March 6, 2011 at 1:16 PM
    How so? how can i upgrade to 4.2.1 but preserve my baseband at 05.12.01 or 05.13.04 using snowbreeze 2.2.1 coz i tried and my baseband is 05.14.02 after restoring to the custom built firmware
  - Cosmin Coman March 7, 2011 at 2:46 PM
    if you allready have 5.14.02 you cannot downgrade to 5.13.04. Sorry
Jim February 18, 2011 at 3:44 AM
When will the new ultrasn0w to unlock baseband 05.14??? I need it ASAP.. And btw ive jailbroken my iphone using snowbreeze 2.2 Thanks..
- Cosmin Coman February 18, 2011 at 10:28 AM
  No sorry, you'll have to wait for the next ultrasnow
Ayden February 18, 2011 at 2:37 PM
How to do shift + restore using itunes on windows?
- Cosmin Coman February 19, 2011 at 2:37 AM
  hold left "SHIFT" button and click on restore
Renan February 18, 2011 at 7:13 PM
When the tutorial(how guide) will be ready?? do you know?
- Cosmin Coman February 19, 2011 at 2:36 AM
  You can follow the snowbreeze 2.1 tutorial. It's similar
  - Renan February 19, 2011 at 9:03 AM
    but there is this different option: baseband preservation mode. And I dont have the sim card to activate, and if I choose baseband mode I cant choose if I want to active like in expert mode... By the way... Why did the created Baseband preservation mode? Because before at snowbreezev2.1 in expert mode the baseband was already preserved... or Am I wrong? ths
  - Cosmin Coman February 20, 2011 at 3:30 AM
    That is correct. If you need hacktivation you should use expert mode
Luis February 19, 2011 at 6:56 AM
Is there any way of unlocking a 3gs with baseband 5.15.04 without upgrading the baseband? It is a borrowed phone and I do not want to mess with it too much. Thanks a lot for your help!
- Cosmin Coman February 20, 2011 at 3:28 AM
  no yet Luis, sorry
michael February 20, 2011 at 10:05 AM
after i do ultrasnow and go to itunes to restore the ispw, it says the iphone is not compatible with the firmware plz tell me what im doin wrong
- Cosmin Coman February 21, 2011 at 1:21 AM
  Which firmware did you download?
Jon February 21, 2011 at 2:58 AM
Base-3.1.3, modem 5.12 will it work easily, also why isnt anything ever linux friendly
Mannav February 22, 2011 at 2:10 AM
hey gr8 job bt u wanted to ask u ......i hve an iphone 3G wih version 4.0 previously jailbroken with RedsnOw Modem firmware 5.13.04 .... can i use snOwbeeze n shud i clik preserve baseband or expert mode? i m a litle confused .... willll i b able to unlock using UltrasnOw 1.2 ? need the answer asap nywayz thx mn
- Cosmin Coman February 22, 2011 at 2:25 AM
  use preserve baseband only if you don't need hacktivation. If you don't own a original SIM, you should use expert mode. You will also be able to unlock your device with ultrasnow 1.2
  - Mannav February 22, 2011 at 2:48 AM
    thanx soo much i hve an unofficial carrier so i shud use expert mode ryt ? snowbreeze will jailbreak the device n i shud go to cydia to install untrasnow repo ? nytwayz thx 4 da help n sry m trublin u
  - Cosmin Coman February 22, 2011 at 2:53 AM
    you got it!
Mannav February 22, 2011 at 3:00 AM
thk u soo mch m gonna try n do it ryt away will post my feedback
JJ February 23, 2011 at 1:17 PM
Hi, read all comments but still a little confused. I have an iphone 3gs, mc model with 4.2.1 and baseband 5.15.04. It has been unlocked by the carrier but all I want to do is JB but preserve the baseband. Am I right in thinking that I can run snowbreeze 2.2 r1 to JB but then do I need to install unltrasnow 1.2 even though I do not need to unlock ?Many thanks...JJ
- Cosmin Coman February 24, 2011 at 3:18 AM
  If you allready have an official sim you don't need to use Ultrasnow.Just use snowbreeze. As a matter of fact you could also use Greenpoison if you don't require an unlock. Bb preservation is usually used by unlockers
  - Bleed March 2, 2011 at 3:07 AM
    But if I use the current bug from iBook will be there. Snowbreeze does not include this issue and it has been fixed for it. Or did greenpoison fixed it up, because I cant find any news on the web stating they did. Thanks for the heads up.
  - Cosmin Coman March 4, 2011 at 2:18 AM
    Search 2-soft for updated versions of greenposion or snowbreeze, because it is included in both.
Prometeo March 6, 2011 at 5:01 AM
hey I manage to jailbreak it and access cydia.. however I can't seem to unlock it at all.. I got baseband 05.14.05.. How can I unlock it? Do I need to upgrade the baseband? thanks mate
- Cosmin Coman March 7, 2011 at 2:51 PM
  you need to upgrade to 6.15.00 if you have 3GS or 3G
Helpless March 6, 2011 at 1:09 PM
Hi there,I just downloaded snowbreeze 2.2.1 i created a custom firmware using expert mode as i require hacktivation. Heres the pickle, my understanding is that this snowbreeze will preserve baseband for firmware 4.2.1 at a baseband which is unlock-able by ultrasnow 1.2. After creating using expert mode i checked hacktivation. I restored using the custom firmware i just built and everything went well its it was activated, jailbroken with cydia BUT my baseband was 05.14.02 which also through my understanding that its not unlock-able Why is that? i thought it would preserve baseband at and unlock-able version?say 05.13.04)Also jsut thought this is related to my problem : one of the earlier post ur replied to i believe username dream. He asked if he could upgrade to 4.2.1 on his 3gs while preserving his 05.12.01 baseband and u replied "of course"
- Cosmin Coman March 7, 2011 at 2:48 PM
  Snowbreeze is meant for unlockers just because it preserves the baseband. If you allready had 5.14.02 it won't downgrade it.
Diana March 7, 2011 at 1:42 PM
pllllleeeassseeee help. I have an iphone 3g on baseband 6.15 4.2.1 and bootloader 5.8. I installed snowbreeze and followed all the instructions, but am stuck on the snowbreeze logo
- Cosmin Coman March 7, 2011 at 2:43 PM
  Why don't you try whited00r? It works great, better than iOS 4.2.1 on 3G
karlo March 8, 2011 at 5:05 AM
Hi,I have a stock Iphone 3g MB500x with BB 05.15.04 which is already unlocked by default, Can I use Snow Breeze 2.2.1 to jailbreak only? I am afraid that if I use this software it, will my phone stay unlocked? Do I have to use Ultrasnow after?Regards, Karlo
- Cosmin Coman March 8, 2011 at 11:49 AM
  if it is factory unlocked it should stay unlocked
  - karlo March 11, 2011 at 12:54 PM
    I have created a custom firmware with snow breeze and uncheck hacktivation since my cell phone is factory unlocked but im getting en error 17 in itunes. My phone is stuck in apple logo when booting. please advise what to do?
Great March 10, 2011 at 1:55 PM
Hi.. ios 4.3 has been released by apple! Can i use this tool snowbreez 2.2r1 to upgrade my iphone 3GS from firmware 3.1.3 to custom firmware 4.2.1 even though new firmware 4.3 has been released??
- Cosmin Coman March 10, 2011 at 2:27 PM
  Of course you can
flobabah March 14, 2011 at 3:03 AM
Hey man,grt job posting this stuff...i'm rocking an iphone 3GS iOS 3.1.3 and baseband 05.12.01 already unlocked..would my unlock and baseband be retained if i upgrade to iOS 4.2.1 using sn0wbreeze???
- Cosmin Coman March 14, 2011 at 8:44 AM
  baseband yes, unlock no. You'll need to install ultrasnow again
Graffix March 15, 2011 at 4:25 PM
Ok....so i'm not extremely technicaly minded when it comes to iphone and unlocking and JB.Previously had a X1 which i was capable (with the help of many blogs and hours of reading) to upgrade and change the ROM on the phone.With regards to my iphone which is V4.2.1 05.15.04.I have been wanting to do much more than what is available on the phone and the consensus is that it needs to be jailbroken in order to do this.I just completed downloading Snowbreeze 2.2 r1 and just need a run down (in simple layman terms) of what to do next and how to go about JB.Please do assist.......
- Cosmin Coman March 16, 2011 at 2:12 AM
  follow the guide step by step. That is as comprehensive as possible
Fredrik Ellefsen March 16, 2011 at 1:41 PM
Hello, I was on my way to download SnowBreeze 2.2 but i get an error saying that the file is removed : /Please share the file again, I would really appreciate that =)
- Cosmin Coman March 16, 2011 at 3:55 PM
  i'll find a link for you asap
kris dela cruz March 17, 2011 at 10:27 AM
i can't update my itouch 3rd gen to 4.2.1.. itunes telling me error 3914.. can someone help me how can i update my firmware?
- Cosmin Coman March 17, 2011 at 12:51 PM
  was it previously jailbroken?
  - kris dela cruz March 17, 2011 at 2:23 PM
    yes it was.. it's previous version was 3.1.3 then i would want to update it to 4.2.1 but unfortunately itunes's telling me there's an error 3914.. i've done it before with my itouch 3rd gen last 3weeks but ever since apple released 4.3 ios i can't may it work with my friends itouch 3rd gen.. it would be very helpful if i could just update the itouch to 4.2.1..
  - Cosmin Coman March 18, 2011 at 2:57 AM
    If snowbreeze doesn't work, try using tinyumbrella, maby that can help you. When do you get the error? At the beginning of the process or at the end?
  - kris dela cruz March 18, 2011 at 2:21 PM
    at the beginning..
naveed March 18, 2011 at 3:52 PM
dude i tired doin everythin tats written....but when i get to restore my custom ipsw frm iphone ot validates my resotration my gives an error tat ur iphone cudnt be restored....wat now....ive tried switchng ports...restartin...no use!
- Cosmin Coman March 19, 2011 at 7:22 AM
  16xx error?
Colin March 19, 2011 at 1:32 PM
When I tried to do a restore on my Iphone 3g after using sn0wbreeze and all that, I get the unknown 37 error. How do I get pass this?