My iPhone 3GS will not activate following update to iOS 6.0.1

Question

My iPhone 3GS will not activate following update to iOS 6.0.1

Hi guys,

My mate has just been given a new iPhone 3GS, which is locked to the Vodafone network. He has bought a $2 Vodafone SIM to ensure a smooth transition.

The issue we are having is that following an update of the iPhone to iOS 6, the iPhone would reach a screen where the following error message appears:

"Your iPhone could not be actived because the activation server is temporarily unavailable. Try connecting your iPhone to iTunes to activate it, or try again in a couple of minutes. If the problem persists, contact Apple Support at apple.com/support"

I plugged in the phone to iTunes, and received the following error message

"We are unable to continue with your activation at this time. Please try again later, or contact customer care."

I contacted the carrier, Vodafone, and was sent through various stages of the support team who confirmed what I though: I have to restore the iPhone. I completed the restore, and even upgraded the iPhone to iOS 6.0.1 in the process.

Upon the iPhone restoring itself, the exact same problem reoccurred. My mate is pretty confident that the iPhone has not been jailbroken, so I am seeking the support of someone here in Apple who may have some idea.

Can anybody please offer their assistance regarding this issue? From what I've read of the forums, it would appear that this is not an uncommon occurence, so hopefully somebody knows what the issue is.

Looking forward to hearing a response.

Kris.

iPhone 3GS, iOS 6.0.1

Posted on Dec 21, 2012 2:02 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Ognyan

Level 1

0 points

Dec 21, 2012 6:11 AM in response to krisisagemini

Could someone please post a real solution to this issue, it looks like recoveries and updates are not helping.

COME ON APPLE SORT IT OUT PLEASE

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Answer 2

Dec 21, 2012 4:43 PM in response to Ognyan

I agree. I am going to attempt to speak to Apple today about it.

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Answer 3

razmee209

Level 10

191,286 points

Dec 21, 2012 4:46 PM in response to krisisagemini

IF you get that message it is a good indication that the phone has been hacked or modified.

Was that phone ever locked to a different carrier than Vodafone?

Where exactly did your mate buy this phone?

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Answer 4

razmee209

Level 10

191,286 points

Dec 21, 2012 4:49 PM in response to krisisagemini

see this link http://discussions.apple.com/thread/4614334?tstart=180

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Answer 5

Dec 21, 2012 4:58 PM in response to razmee209

Hi razmee209,

He received the iPhone from a friend for free, as his friend had upgraded to a newer model of the iPhone. I am currently on Google trying to find out how to remove a jailbreak, as I'm starting to think it indeed has been.

I am also currently on hold with AppleCare to see if they have any idea, though I doubt they will help because I am almost certain the phone has gone well out of warranty...

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Answer 6

Dec 21, 2012 5:13 PM in response to krisisagemini

Sometimes when you upgrade to newer software and the sim your using is

not a contract sim you need to change settings, I have non contract sim in my iphone 5 and the settings I change is, settings>general>mobile data > mobile data network and under mobile data I have to change the APN from idata to mobile and so on, hope this helps

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Answer 7

Ognyan

Level 1

0 points

Dec 22, 2012 5:12 PM in response to krisisagemini

I went to an Apple store today and spent hours there, while a couple of the staff made different attempts at resolving it. They were really positive that it will activate, by restoring it even though I had already done that. They also got some details through its serial number in the hope of finding something wrong there, but in the end they said it was bricked and offered an identical replacement for £195 as the only solution. Fantastic 😁

If anyone manages to get over this potentially not so serious issue please let everybody on here know!

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Answer 8

Dec 22, 2012 6:46 PM in response to Ognyan

LOL! - you poor bugger, Ognyan!

I'm starting to serihously think this phone has been jailbroken... I've got a senior technical support advisor at Apple who is working on the case. He has gone through everything he can possibly think of, but won't take "no" for an answer.

At the moment, he has logged everything with the Engineering Department, who is going to look into it further using the IMEI number and see what they come up with. If worse comes to worse, Apple will apparently replace the phone for a fee. The problem is that it is 800+ days out of warranty...

Anyway, we'll see how we go. If anybody has got any ideas about this, please continue to provide answers. I appreciate all responses 🙂

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Answer 9

Apr 2, 2013 1:50 PM in response to krisisagemini

has anyone the solution to fix this problem ???????

all i see is comments of useless information!!

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Answer 10

razmee209

Level 10

191,286 points

Apr 2, 2013 1:50 PM in response to PaschalBuckley

YOu have a hacked or jailbroken phone that's why you can't activate it.

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Answer 11

Apr 2, 2013 1:53 PM in response to razmee209

yes but when i got it

it wasnt hacked or jailbroken

i had it unlocked or so i thought i did as i needed to change country and use other sim carrier's

it worked fine until i updated it and now i have this problem..

is it fixable

that is the question??

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Answer 12

razmee209

Level 10

191,286 points

Apr 2, 2013 1:54 PM in response to PaschalBuckley

You got it hacked to unlock it from the carrier. ONly the carrier that the phone is locked to can unlock it.

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Answer 13

KiltedTim

Level 10

195,159 points

Apr 2, 2013 1:58 PM in response to PaschalBuckley

You had it hacked. Not legitimately unlocked. Hacking the phone voids any warranty or AppleCare agreement and forfeits your ability to get help here or from Apple.

It can not be discussed per the terms of service.

You're on your own.

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Answer 14

Apr 2, 2013 2:00 PM in response to krisisagemini

ok

so far

everyone has had the discussion of the same problem

congratulations everyone on the same problem

now can someone with some **** knowledge of fixing this problem please post the solution process to fixing the problem!!!

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Answer 15

Apr 2, 2013 2:02 PM in response to PaschalBuckley

See KiltedTim' advice above.

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