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Revamped version of the iPhone 3G with faster processing speeds. Repair of this device is similar to the 3G, and requires simple screwdrivers and prying tools. Model A1303 / 8, 16 or 32 GB capacity / black or white plastic back.

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iPhone Not Booting, Error 21 When Restoring, Not A Battery Problem

I have bought an iPhone 3GS logic board off eBay and have tried to restore it to the latest firmware, 6.0.1, and receives error 21. The iPhone is stuck in DFU mode and I have tried to restore to multiple other software versions apart from 6.0.1. It sometimes shows a white screen.

The rest of the iPhone is fully functional as I have replaced the logic board with a working one and the iPhone is absolutely fine, so I'm pretty certain it is not a problem with the battery.

I have tried many things including redsn0w and others but nothing seems to work. On the latest version of redsn0w, 0.9.13b3, there is an option to restore the iPhone, which I have tried to use (yes I have the SHSH blobs for it) and I can get it to the Apple logo and the restore bar, but the process does not continue.

Please help if you have any suggestions. Thanks in advance.

Answer this question I have this problem too

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I had this same problem just last night trying to restore a customers 3GS. I had to revert the iOS to 5.1.1 first then run the restore and it brought the phone back to life. For some reason, it seems as if the phone has been unlocked or jailbroke in the past, that the new iOS messes up the phone and will not let it update correctly. I've also read that the 3GS phones have had issues updating to the new iOS. You may have tried this already but see if that works. Hope this helps.

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Hi Ken, thanks for the quick reply, I forgot to mention that I have tried other iOS's with the same response, error 21. How did you restore to the 5.1.1 software? I have tried many methods but maybe yours will work. Thanks.

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I think I got lucky because the Cydia servers had saved SHSH blobs for this device. I used Redsn0w and went to the extras and restore. I was able to revert back to an older version from the stored SHSH blobs and it worked great. I've done this in the past on other phones and couldn't get past this part. Maybe I got lucky. Also, I struggled for hours on my Dell laptop and finally grabbed my wife's mackbook air and everything seemed to go smoothly on the restore. Once I reverted back to the older iOS I was able to jailbreak the phone which got me past the "waiting to activate screen". I saved the .ipsw files but I honestly think what saved me was that my device ID had the saved blobs on the Cydia servers. I've never seen that before. Usually the servers have no information on the phone I'm trying to revert. Wish I could be more help.

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