iPhone OS 3.1.3

Regardless of some unscrupulous websites out there, Dev-Team reminds us that jailbreak solutions for iPhone firmware version 3.1.3 on new devices like the iPod Touch 3G don't exist! Unlock solutions for baseband version 05.12 do not exist! Scam sites will take your money and give you older software that was already released for free.

Unlocking and jailbreaking software is always released free of charge. Currently baseband 05.11 can't even be unlocked on iPhone OS 3.1.3. If you upgraded your firmware using the official Apple 3.1.3 software you'll just have to be patient while the Dev-Team finds a way.

The Dev-Team could be working on an unlock for iPhone users who have already updated to official firmware 3.1.3 and find themselves stuck with no unlock options at the moment. Sherif Hashim has discovered an exploit that could be used to unlock the current iPhone baseband so the iPhone can be used with carriers other than AT&T.

This exploit was verified by Dev-Team's own MuscleNerd as a legitimate and working exploit. It's possible the Dev-Team would wait until the release of iPhone OS 4.0 on the next generation iPhone before revealing the exploit to Apple with a new unlock, however the new iPhone isn't expected to ship until later this summer.

Well it didn't take long to hear from iPhone owners who tried the 3.1.3 firmware update to fix their existing battery problems. Some people are reporting the same problems, if not worse after updating to 3.1.3 from 3.1.2 or earlier iPhone OS versions.

Previously, many users updated to 3.1 software so they could take advantage of MMS functionality on AT&T and found that an unwelcome side effect was shortened battery life on the iPhone 3GS. (Learn how to turn on MMS without updating your 3.0 firmware here. Some have speculated this has something to do with the iPhone losing and acquiring the 3G signal repeatedly which drains the battery.

Five days after Apple released the 3.1.3 iPhone OS update the Dev-Team has countered with PwnageTool version 3.1.5, making a jailbreak of the latest firmware possible. This software currently only runs on Mac OS X, and works by updating your firmware to 3.1.3 with a custom IPSW file.

If you are already running the official 3.1.3 firmware on your device the jailbreak will not work. Dev-Team also reports that unless you have a problem with the reporting of your battery percentage, there's probably no good reason to update. If you're already jailbroken/unlocked with 3.1.2 you can use PwnageTool to safely update to 3.1.3.

Apple has made the iPhone OS 3.1.3 update (7E18) available and as usual users can update their iPhones and iPod Touch devices via iTunes. The list of bug fixes and security improvements includes this item: Improves accuracy of reported battery level on iPhone 3GS.

Could this mean that users plagued with widely reported battery problems have finally received a fix from Apple? Ever since the 3.1 update, some users have complained of drastically shortened battery life on iPhone 3GS models. Maybe the meter is the problem- we will keep you posted.