Can’t wait till next week, neither could I, which is why I installed the iOS 5 GM (Gold Master) last night on my iPhone 4 with absolutely no problems. It’s not quite as easy as it sounds, but it’s pretty easy if you know where to get the files. And as the title states, and like all other GM releases have been in the past, you do not need a developers account to install it and it is most likely the final build of iOS 5 as this has been the case in the past.
Essentially to install iOS 5 right now all you need to do is hunt down the firmware file that is specific to your phone and a copy of the latest iTunes beta. Make sure when you’re downloading the firmware for the phone you get the version that is specific for your phone. There is a different firmware for the GSM iPhone 4 than there is for the CDMA (Verizon) iPhone 4, so make sure you grab the right one. And as for iTunes, I used iTunes 10.5 Beta 9, but apparently anything beta 7 and over will work.
So of course I’m not going to make you run all over the place looking for the firmware files, cydiahelp.com has links on their page (which I’ve posted below), but as far as iTunes goes they only have links to beta 7. Technically it should work, but like I said, I used beta 9 and had no problems so it’s not my fault if you use 7 and have issues.
Make sure to backup your phone completely before attempting to install iOS 5 and remember it will kill any jailbreak or unlock that you may have done to your phone. Cydiahelp claims that redsn0w can be used to jailbreak the GM release, but I haven’t tried it so I can’t be sure. If you have any questions regarding the procedure you can leave a comment and I’ll try to help.
If you want to test iMessage you can add AC Slater as a contact with the email acslaterx@gmail.com and send us a message, it should work…
How To Install:
- Download the correct files below
- Backup your phone
- Install iTunes 10.5 Beta 7-9 (I used 9, but they say 7 should work)
- Backup your phone (seriously)
- On a Mac, double click the .dmg firmware file, it’ll mount a disk on your desktop, open that and drag the .ipsw file out of it.
- On a PC, you’re going to need to find something to convert the .dmg to something else so you can open it, .iso or something (I don’t have a PC, sorry)
- Open the beta iTunes and let it find your phone.
- Make sure your phone is backed up
- Click on your phone on the left, then in the right side hold option(shift on the PC) and click “Restore”.
- A dialogue box should pop up asking you to find the firmware file, find the one you dragged out of the mounted drive
- That’s it, let it run through the process and when it asks make sure you restore from a backup and don’t setup as a new phone.
- Enjoy iOS 5 a week before everyone else.
Download iOS 5 GM for iPhone 4 (GSM)
Download iOS 5 GM for iPhone 4 (CDMA)
Download iOS 5 GM for iPhone 3GS
Download iOS 5 GM for iPad 2 (Wi-Fi)
Download iOS 5 GM for iPad Wi-Fi + 3G (GSM)
Download iOS 5 GM for iPad Wi-Fi + 3G (CDMA)
Download iOS 5 GM for iPad 1
Download iOS 5 GM for iPod touch 4G
Download iOS 5 GM for iPod touch 3G
Head to Cydiahelp.com for iTunes 10.5 beta 7
