I finally got my phone up and running correctly albeit without group SMS/MMS messaging which is not much of deal breaker and a feature I don't see usefulness in.
I am going to attempt to document my process including the symptoms I had in as much detail as possible so others who may encounter these may hopefully find this thread, follow my steps, and find a remedy. Be mindful as results may vary.
Culprit: I feel the issue driving my problem were the iCloud back-up images and physical back-up images on my computer. When syncing during the restoration process, no matter which back-up method or back-up date I used, I believe something was not clean in its installation or conflicting, and corrupting iOS.
I could be wrong as these images continue to work wth nor problem on my other device.
Various Errors & Problems Encountered:
- Cellular Data Network (APN) option does not appear in Settings > General> Network.
The option to set my Cellular Data Network (in this case represented by "X") at one point during a method I tried dissappeared leaving only Cellular Data > X > Data Roaming. I had no ability to set or change my APN, MMS, MMSC, etc. which meant no Data, HotSpot, or MMS. Talk about having a "What the f**k" moment!
- iMessage Activated, but Fails to Send or Receive although the Iphone reports the User ID is activated.
- iMessage Activated, but Fails to Send or Receive to anyone outside of your own phone number.
- iMessage Activated, but Fails to verify or display your mobile number although the phone number is verified with your Apple ID on:
Apple - My Apple ID. iMessage only recognizes and displays the email address associated with your Apple ID.
- Facetime does not connect. An almost immediate "Call Failed" prompt screen is display when you attempt to place a call.
- Personal Hotspot option in Settings is missing.
- MMS option is missing in Settings > Message / Camera Icon is greyed out in SMS text field.
- Twitter will not send tweets if you attach a photo from directly inside the Camera Roll or Camera.
Solution:
- Back the phone's data up if you have not already done so.
- Hard Reset the phone. Full wipe: Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Content & Settings
- Time to restore your phone via one of two methods: iTunes Standard or J*ailbr)ken
NOTE: As of the date of this guide, the following only applies to 5.1.1 and below, and Iphone 4S and below. If you do not care about upgrading to the latest iOS (at the moment iOS6), the following italicized paragraph can be skipped in its entirety, instead just do an Itunes Standard Restore by putting your phone into DFU mode.
J*B method:
- Download and install a program named R*edsn*ow. Open it and do the following:
- Follow the steps to extract your SHSH Blobs & activation ticket in the Extras menu.
- Save a copy of the .plist it generates on your machines (Go ahead and tell it to save a copy to C*ydia as well.)
- Download a clean stock iOS file that matches your current firmware (iDownload Blog) and then select stitch and it will "cook" a custom IPSW for you.
- Put your phone into P*NWDFU mode under the Extras menu selection.
- Open Itunes, Hold Shift + Click Restore > Point to the Custom IPSW and let it run.
- When complete, put phone back into P*NWFDU mode and run J*ailb*reak
- Check Add C*ydia and check Deactivate Phone
- Once complete the phone will be set to fresh out he box set-up & activation process. If you did a standard Itunes Restore you should be here as well.
- Begin the set-up process but after the Wifi network set-up screen, DO NOT select restore phone from iCloud or Itunes! Activate as a New iPhone.
- Complete the activation process and set-up process. If asked for your Apple ID at this point you can enter it.
- iMessage and Facetime should activate provided you have SMS service and you are running over the Wifi network.
- If not already connected, connect your phone to the computer and start iTunes.
- iTunes should recognize the phone and then set-up a prompt screen asking if you want to restore the phone based on an old back-up image or add this phone as an entirely new phone. Your choice at this point but as I understand it as a new phone will not have access to any Apps you have saved.
- I selected restore phone. As soon as the restore process started scanning I IMMEDIATELY DISCONNECTED THE PHONE. Then I reconnected the phone which allowed me to circumvent the iTunes "new or restore" screen putting me back in the standard screen.
- After this, you can resync your apps
- Back to the phone: Settings > iCloud (or Itunes): Now you can resync your contacts, calendar, etc.
Yes, it's a PITA but you will have to rearrange all your apps and reset all your preferences, tweaks, music, tones, etc. etc. No way around this unfortunately. Be prepared to spend an hour or two getting things back to just the way you like them.
T-Mobile (USA) Specific Setup Items:
You can either set your MMS services manually via Settings > General > Cellular Data Network or with a few tweaks found on C*ydia
Manual APN, MMS, and Tethering Settings can be found here:
Cellular Data
APN = epc.tmobile.com
Username = (blank)
Password = (blank)
MMS Settings
APN = epc.tmobile.com
Username = (blank)
Password = (blank)
MMSC =
http://mms.msg.eng.t-mobile.com/mms/wapenc
MMS Proxy: 216.155.165.50:8080
MMS Max Message Size: 1048576
MMS UA Prof URL:
http://www.apple.com/mms/uaprof.rdf
-OR-
APN = epc.tmobile.com
Username = (blank)
Password = (blank)
MMSC = 216.155.174.84/servlets/mms
MMS Proxy = 216.155.165.50:8080
MMS Max Message Size = 2400000
MMS UA Prof URL =
http://www.apple.com/mms/uaprof.rdf
Internet Tethering
APN = epc.tmobile.com
Username = (blank)
Password = (blank)
- Finally, if you still find that you are having issues and have chosen the J*ailbeark method, search for LEIMobile's tweak or i5MMS on Google and follow the directions.
i5MMS was one method I tried eariler which gave me partial functionality until I discovered it was the back-up image profile conflict/corruption. I would presume this would work perfectly for someone whose issue may not be related to conflicts.
Good luck. Hope any or all this helps.
