Guide on flashing your iPhone 4 (CDMA) to metroPCS

[hellojustinr]

Hi, this is awesome! I've gotten data successfully working, but I don't think it's 3G speeds. It shows the circle instead of 3G at the top left corner of my screen T_T Could it be that I'm not in a 3G zone?? I'm in the DFW area, and I have the standard untld talk, txt, data plan from MetroPCS.

Got ~700kbps with the mobile speed test, just in between 3G (EVDO/HSDPA) and Broadband.

Also, just to be safe, all of Metro's data is unlimited, no matter where you are in the country (circle or 3G area), right???

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Here are the steps I took to get functioning data.

Materials:
1. iPhoneBrowser (Windows program)
2. DFS 4.0.0.4 (Windows, from CDMAtool.com; must purchase 1 credit to activate 1 iPhone in DFS)
3. 30xx.prl (saved to PC, 3027 works for me, found on a metropcs blogspot website, google "3027 prl metropcs blogspot")
3. Jailbroken iPhone with the following installed: OpenSSH, iFile, TetherMe APN Editing (used Developer's mode in Cydia; iPhone 4 CDMA with iOS 5.1.1)

Procedure:
Pt. I - Prep of PRL
1. Connect iPhone to PC by USB, exit out of iTunes if it opens automatically.
2. Rename 3027.prl to carrier.prl.
3. Open iPhoneBrowser, navigate to System/Library/Carrier Bundles/iPhone, then in Sprint_US.bundle, Zeppelin_US.bundle, and ZeppelinDAS_US.bundle, rename the carrier.prl files to carrier.prlbackup, and drag and drop your new carrier.prl into each of these 3 folders.
4. In iFile (iPhone) open each carrier.plist in Property List Viewer and set PrlPushFlag to the ON position. Hit DONE each time and navigate back to the top most directory and exit out. Then hard reset iPhone. Once back on, go into iFile again and set each PrlPushFlag to the OFF position. Hit DONE each time and go back to the top directory and exit. Reset iPhone again. Confirmation: Settings>General>About, scroll to Carrier and tap until you see '3027.' If '2004' try again.

Pt. II - DFS
1. Connect iPhone to PC by USB.
2. Make sure PC and iPhone are on same wifi network.
3. Disable all other unused network adaptors on PC (e.g. Hamachi, bridges, etc.).
4. Open DFS & login with the email you used for the credit payment.
5. In the Ports window, select your iPhone, which appears as an Apple port with a Device id.
6. In the Account window, click 'Get ID' then 'Activate.' If all is good, you should see your iPhone under Activated Devices. Exit the Account window.
7. Switch to the 'Programming' main tab.
8. In 'General' in the SPC & ESN section, click 'Read' one at a time, this will give you your SPC (6dig MSL password). To double-check you can go to the whiterabbit site and enter your MEID to get the corresponding MSL code.
9. In 'NAM' hit 'Read' and make sure MDN and PCS show your phone number, then change the SID to your city's SID. (e.g. Dallas is 6503) and hit enter. Then 'Write.'
10. In 'Data' hit 'Read' and change all the UIDs to your phone number xxxxxxxxxx at mymetropcs dot com (aka MDN) and use your SPC number as the Pwds. Then 'Write.'
11. In 'Mobile IP' hit 'Read' and make sure 'PrefMobileIP' appears in the DS QcMIP dropdown menu. Enter your same MDN into NAI and enter your SPC into AAA & HA Shared Secret boxes (uncheck 'Enter value in HEX' for both). Then 'Write current profile settings' and 'Write.' Confirmation: turn off wifi on iPhone (don't worry about losing port connection to DFS), turn Data ON in Settings>General>Network. Not sure if it it makes a difference, but I also typed 'metropcs' into Cellular Data APN in the 'Cellular Data Network' submenu. Then see if you can browse the web.

Note A: Keep an eye on the log to see when various DFS processes are complete, or if you've run into an error.
Note B: If your iPhone suddenly loses port connection to DFS you can just close out and try again.

Thanks to roketteere (DFS & setup videos), hellojustinr (updated info on data process), bacguy808 (extra info on PRL install), DFS team (DFS CDMA tool & live support).

Note: Procedures outlined above are for educational purposes only. I am not advertising for anyone or selling this information.

700kbps is 3G speeds. I recommend installing a new MetroPCS PRL to get the icon up and running.

As far as I can tell its just a cosmetic thig though

[hellojustinr]

Hello people, I've managed to get everything working including MMS by using marley183rd's MMS fix from his/her myrepospace (Google it!)

So pretty much all you need now is

•Verizon or Sprint iPhone 4 or 4S (bad ESN preferably as they're much cheaper)

•3029 PRL for MetroPCS to get 3G (use iFile to install, or just use the tools below, they can install PRL directly as well)

•DFS Tool with 1 license (confirmed working by me) or Rich Hathaway's iPhone Tool (confirmed working by others here)

•Marley183rd's MMS fix for MetroPCS

I have everything working, except using my personal number for FaceTime and iMessage, but I use my Apple ID for that instead. I have Siri set up and running on my iPhone 4 and for a time I even used the iPhone 4 to tether data for long periods of time and play PSN sessions although it did lag a bit (my internet got cut-off, no home Internet even till now, no 40Mbps connection :/)

[markusaurileus]

700kbps is 3G speeds. I recommend installing a new MetroPCS PRL to get the icon up and running.

As far as I can tell its just a cosmetic thig though

Sry, I meant to type out ~500kbs speeds. But either way, whats the latest PRL works for sure? Or what are you using?

[ChaoticMayhem65]

Hello people, I've managed to get everything working including MMS by using marley183rd's MMS fix from his/her myrepospace (Google it!)

So pretty much all you need now is

•Verizon or Sprint iPhone 4 or 4S (bad ESN preferably as they're much cheaper)

•3029 PRL for MetroPCS to get 3G (use iFile to install, or just use the tools below, they can install PRL directly as well)

•DFS Tool with 1 license (confirmed working by me) or Rich Hathaway's iPhone Tool (confirmed working by others here)

•Marley183rd's MMS fix for MetroPCS

I have everything working, except using my personal number for FaceTime and iMessage, but I use my Apple ID for that instead. I have Siri set up and running on my iPhone 4 and for a time I even used the iPhone 4 to tether data for long periods of time and play PSN sessions although it did lag a bit (my internet got cut-off, no home Internet even till now, no 40Mbps connection :/)

You might already know this but Rich Hathaways latest version of iPhone CDMA Tool (version 1.1.6.1)
already does all this for you. It now has carrier bundle support and works like a charm. I highly recommend it for its ease of use.

[hellojustinr]

Sry, I meant to type out ~500kbs speeds. But either way, whats the latest PRL works for sure? Or what are you using?

For me, I always use the latest PRL which at the moment is PRL 3029. For other users though, other PRLs are preferable like 3026 and such, it depends on the area, but having the latest roaming list wouldn't hurt so that's where I have it at.

Another thing, when I used the DFS Tool to flash my PRL (and make modifications to the NAM settings) it made my Phone Number formatting look weird, wouldn't display the dashes anymore, I just used a iOS 5.x Called ID Fix from ModMyi to fix it (I think it's some sort of bug DFS has when flashing and modifying the PRL and NAM settings). I reflashed my PRL a couple times through the file system method (to update to PRL 3029)since then and don't know if I still need the fix or not but I've just left it on just in case (and since it works as it is already).

[hellojustinr]

You might already know this but Rich Hathaways latest version of iPhone CDMA Tool (version 1.1.6.1)
already does all this for you. It now has carrier bundle support and works like a charm. I highly recommend it for its ease of use.

That's perfect then, guess you only need two things if you plan on using Rich's tool. The iPhone and Rich's tool!

I couldn't recommend it personally however as I haven't tested it but seems to be working great for many of you!

[ChaoticMayhem65]

For me, I always use the latest PRL which at the moment is PRL 3029.

The latest prl is actually 3030. Thats what im currently using.

[hellojustinr]

Oh I didn't know lol at the moment I'm using 3029 and it works good but I'll update soon, thanks for letting me know lol

[ChaoticMayhem65]

Oh I didn't know lol at the moment I'm using 3029 and it works good but I'll update soon, thanks for letting me know lol

Not a prob. Ive tried em both and didn't really notice any difference though.

[markusaurileus]

Awesome! 3030 it will be, then. So is the MMS fix simple? Do I need to buy something again? -.- lol Haven't heard much about this yet.

[starwarsfan]

I'm curious to know, can we apply these same steps to a 4S?

[capocrypha]

Not a prob. Ive tried em both and didn't really notice any difference though.

Once you get 3g working its a very simple fix, just download tether me, and go to network settings.

MMSC:http/:mms.metorpcs.net:3128/mmsc
MMS Max Message Size: 228800

LEAVE EVRYHTING ELSE BLANK!

[capocrypha]

Anyone have any luck on how to get 3g in the Los Angles Area, I get 3g in the bay area?
I have the 3030 PRL.

[ChaoticMayhem65]

Once you get 3g working its a very simple fix, just download tether me, and go to network settings.

MMSC:http/:mms.metorpcs.net:3128/mmsc
MMS Max Message Size: 228800

LEAVE EVRYHTING ELSE BLANK!

Ive had MMS working for a long time already. And Rich Hathaways tool does this automatically with its carrier bundle support.

[eddied316]

Thanks for the thread!

I was wondering, is there a way to backup all these settings in case something happens to my iphone and i have to do a factory reset or something? (not saying that'll happen, but i'd hate to do this all over again)

Can I transfer all the SSH files from my iPhone to my computer, then transfer them all back if something goes wrong?