Apple released the Firmware 3.1 for iPhone and iPod touch to change the UI and also lock the phone if it was unlocked. Now, the iPhone dev team has released the Pwnagetool 3.1 for mac which can jailbreak the iPhone 3G phone running on 3.1 firmware so that you can install apps that are not accepted officially by Apple.

Here is a tutorial of how to Unlock an iPhone 3G running 3.1 firmware (unlock firmware 2.1 and unlock firmware 3.0, both in Apple iPhone 3G) –

Requirements –

1. Apple iPhone 3G
2. iPhone 3.1 Firmware
3. Pwnagetool 3.1 [Download Link]
4. Ultrasn0w
5. Apple iTunes 9 software

Here are the steps you need to follow to first jailbreak the phone, and then proceed with the unlocking process –

• Download the Pwnagetool 3.1 for Mac, and install it
• Open iTunes 9 software, or upgrade to it if you have the previous version. Connect the iPhone and download the firmware file to your computer
• Open Pwnagetool 3.1 and then select the device as iPhone 3G and the firmware file location. Go with the further steps which will carry out the entire jailbreak process.
• Now after the IPSW building process is done, you need to restore the firmware which you download by holding down the option key(in your mac, this is a tutorial for mac users!)

By the following above steps, you jailbroke the iPhone 3G and upgraded it to 3.1 firmware, still the baseband is protected, which we wanted.

Now you can install the 3rd party apps to the iPhone to carry out the unlocking process. See the following steps(you might have already seen the Cydia or Icy app in your iPhone after the jailbreak process) –

• Run Cydia or Icy
• Please add the repo repo666.ultrasn0w.com to Cydia or Icy. That last “o” is actually the number zero “0”! If you use the letter “o” you’ll get an error.
• Search for ‘ultrasn0w’ in cydia or icy and install ultrasn0w
• Reboot your iPhone 3G

After installing the Ultrasn0w, restart the iPhone. Then go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings and the phone restarts.
Then go to Airplane mode, switch it on and off once. Then go to the main screen and wait for a couple of minutes and the signals would appear with your network name on the right to it.

Notes:
> This tutorial is strictly for IPHONE 3G and no other device like iPhone 3GS etc. so don’t experiment using any other model of the phone other than 3G.
> Check this tutorial to Unlock iPhone 3G 3.0 firmware using redsn0w and ultrasn0w, if you are still searching to unlock 3.0 firmware device.
> Don’t keep on trying and end up locking your phone permanently, please comment with any questions so that either me or some other reader can help you out.