Submitted by Anders Batten on
Before it officially rolled out the iPhone, T-Mobile enabled LTE for customers using unlocked iPhones on its network, but according to TmoNews, the update also "negatively affected the signal and speeds achieved on the company’s refarmed PCS 1900MHz" spectrum. Luckily for T-Mobile subscribers, two TmoNews users "hacked" the carrier update to boost the data speeds of the T-Mobile iPhone. The hack does not require a jailbroken device, and it works on both the iPhone 5 and the AT&T/unlocked model. This means most T-Mobile customers will see increased data speeds by following the instructions below.
As always, make sure you backup your device before doing anything to your phone. You can also get the original carrier update from TmoNews if anything goes wrong. Be sure to thank @joe012594 and @cooldayr2 via Twitter, or ask them any questions if you need help.
Non-jailbroken users:1. Plug your iPhone 5 into iTunes and backup the device so you won’t lose anything, just in case. ;)
64 bit: cd “C:\Program Files (x86)\iTunes” then type: iTunes.exe/setPrefInt carrier-testing 1
2. In the device itself, tap the “Settings” app and navigate to “General >Reset > Reset Network Settings”
3. Once you have done that, the iPhone will auto reboot.
4. Download the hacked carrier update here:http://www.4shared.com/file/WF0uqJL-/TMobile_US_iPhone_Hack.html
5. Once downloaded, your iPhone will boot up into iTunes. Before you do ANYTHING, make sure to decline any and all prompts to update carrier settings. Now you’ll to go ahead and enable iTunes to except custom carrier bundles, if it’s not already.
7. Windows users, you will need to open command prompt and type the following and enter it in:32 bit: cd “C:\Program Files\iTunes” then type: iTunes.exe /setPrefInt carrier-testing 1
Mac users you will need to open terminal and type the following and enter it in:
Mac: defaults write com.apple.iTunes carrier-testing -bool true
8. After this has successfully been entered in, click on the tab for your iPhone 5 and click “Update” or “Check For Update” while holding down the Alt / Option key for Mac users and the Shift key for Windows users. Navigate to where you downloaded the hacked carrier update file named “TMobile_US_iPhone.ipcc,” and select it then click Open.
9. The carrier update should now successfully be installed. Restart your iPhone 5 for any changes to take effect.
10. If you encounter any problems or wish to revert back just download the file below and repeat the above steps only with the default file instead.
Default File:http://www.4shared.com/file/M3vMO7Pe/TMobile_US_iPhone_Default.htmlNewest iPhone FAQs
Jailbroken Users:
1. Download the file to your device through iFile here:
http://www.4shared.com/zip/OF1KKmyt/TMobile_US_iPhone_Hack.html
2. Unarchive the files and copy the file name “overrides_N41_N42.pri” then navigate to var/mobile/Library/Carrier Bundles/TMobile_US.bundle and paste it into the folder replacing the original .pri file.
3. Reboot your device for changes to take effect.
4. If you encounter any problems or wish to revert back just download the file below and repeat the above steps only with the default file instead.
Default File:http://www.4shared.com/zip/zoXpN_ce/TMobile_US_iPhone_Default.html
You can also visit TmoNews for TechTalk (at the bottom of the post after the instructions) for an explanation of what was done and why.