How To Create Signed Custom IPSW Using shsh Blobs and Restore Without Error 11 ~ Blog O'Nerd

Hello everyone. In this tutorial today, I will describe the method to create a "signed" IPSW using redsn0w and iFaith. A signed IPSW is used to restore to an iOS version Apple has stopped signing. As you may know, once Apple releases a new iOS update, it stops signing previous version. It means you can no longer restore to the version Apple has stopped signing and you must restore to the latest iOS version which will make you lose your jailbreak and unlock. Those who wish to restore to that version must have saved shsh so that they can restore.

Starting from iOS 5.0, Apple has implemented a new method to stop users from restoring to a version no longer being signed. So if Apple has released iOS 5.1 and stopped signing iOS 5.0.1, you can no longer restore to iOS 5.0.1, even using TinyUmbrella and you must restore to iOS 5.1. When you try to restore to iOS 5.0 or 5.0.1, you get "Unknown error has occurred. Error code (11)" message on iTunes and cannot restore.

For those who rely on jailbreaks, this is inconvenient. Because restoring to a version for which untethered jailbreak is released is not a good idea. To overcome this restriction, you can use a "signed" IPSW. Signed IPSW has shsh blobs stitched to it and you no longer need TinyUmbrella to bypass Apple proxy. When you feed this "Signed" IPSW to iTunes, it will accept it and you can restore without any error like error 11.

What this process will do?
After successfully completing this process, you will create a Signed Custom IPSW which will help you restore to a version Apple is no longer signing. This IPSW will preserve your baseband too.

Requirements:

You must have saved shsh for the iOS version you want to restore to. Example - iOS 5.0 or 5.0.1 (which are not being signed currently as iOS 5.1 is out). They are supposed to be locally stored on your computer.
You must have proper IPSW for the desired iOS for your iPhone model.
Download iFaith from here or redn0w from here
Make sure TinyUmbrella TSS Server is not running.
Go to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc and open the hosts file with notepad. If any of these lines are there, remove them.

74.208.10.249 gs.apple.com
127.0.0.1 gs.apple.com

Note: In this tutorial, I will mention only iOS 5.0.1 hereafter. This tutorial will work with 5.0 and later versions too.

Note: This method does not support A5 or later devices.

Step 1 : Creating Signed IPSW.

There are two methods of creating a Signed IPSW. Using iFaith and using redsn0w. Both tools are great. I will describe both methods below.

Note : If you have already created a custom IPSW but can't restore to iOS 5.0.1, follow method B and provide your custom IPSW. It will not make any changes to your IPSW except stitching shsh blobs to it. It will retain any options you selected (hactivation for example).

A) How to create a Signed IPSW using iFaith by iH8sn0w

Run iFaith.
The screen looks like this:

Click Build *Signed* IPSW w/Blobs button.
Now browse to the saved shsh and select the shsh blob for iOS 5.0.1. If you saved shsh using TinyUmbrella, they are saved in C:\Users\User Name\.shsh directory. Blobs saved by iFaith have .ifaith extension while TinyUmbrella saves shsh in .shsh extension. You can use any of these.

After you select the shsh blob, iFaith will verify it and show you the iOS version and build and ask you to browse to the IPSW of that iOS IPSW file.

Now browse for the stock IPSW. Note that iFaith does not support custom IPSW (redsn0w does).
After selecting the IPSW, it will show credits and is ready to build the signed IPSW for you.
Click Build IPSW button and it will start building signed IPSW.

Once iFaith finishes building signed IPSW, it can guide you to enter Pwned DFU mode so you can restore using this signed IPSW. If you want to restore right now, click Proceed button, and follow the instructions to enter Pwned DFU mode. After you enter Pwned DFU mode, you can restore using the signed IPSW, so follow Step 2.2. If you prefer using redsn0w to enter Pwned DFU, or want to restore at a later time, follow Step 2.1 and later.

B) How to create a Signed IPSW using redsn0w

Run redsn0w. The home screen looks like this :

Old version screen shot used to save bandwidth

Click Extras button. Click SHSH Blobs button. Click Stitch button.

Now click IPSW button and browse to the IPSW you want to create "Signed" IPSW from. Note that redsn0w accepts custom IPSWs (iFaith doesn't). So you can sign a custom IPSW you created using sn0wbreeze to preserve baseband, jailbreak and/or hactivation.
Tip : If you want to learn how to create a custom IPSW for iOS 5.0.1 using sn0wbreeze, click here Follow Step 2 there to create a custom IPSW. If you need to hactivate, follow Step 2.b.
After providing IPSW, click Local button and browse to the shsh folder. By default TinyUmbrella saves shsh in C:\Users\User Name\.shsh directory. If you copied shsh somewhere else, browse to that directory and select shsh file.

After you provide the shsh blob, redsn0w will start building signed IPSW for you.

After building signed IPSW, redsn0w will show you the location where the signed IPSW is created. It will be in the same directory from where you provided the IPSW earlier.

Step 2 : Restoring To iOS 5.0.1 Using Signed IPSW.

Once you create a signed IPSW, you can restore to iOS 5.0.1.

Step 2.1 : Entering Pwned DFU mode.

In order to use the signed IPSW (or any custom IPSW for tha matter), you need to enter Pwned DFU mode. We will use redsn0w here.
Run redsn0w and click Extras. Then click Pwned DFU button.
Now connect your iphone to your computer and Power it off.
Click Next button and follow steps shown in redsn0w to enter Pwned DFU mode.
Once in Pwned DFU mode, you are ready to restore using signed IPSW.

Step 2.2 : Doing a restore.

Open iTunes. It will say it has detected iPhone in Recovery mode. Click OK.
Now press and hold the Shift key on your keyboard and click restore in iTunes. Release Shift and browse to the signed IPSW. If you used iFaith, it will be on your desktop and if you used redsn0w, it will be in the same folder from where you provided the IPSW to redsn0w.

After providing IPSW, iTunes should restore to iOS 5.0.1 without any errors.
If you used iFaith method or provided stock IPSW in redsn0w, you will need to jailbreak your iPhone. Click here and follow Step 4 there. After jailbreaking, you can follow Unlocking your device steps to unlock your iPhone.
If you provided a custom IPSW in redsn0w, created using sn0wbreeze to jailbreak, you just need to follow Unlocking your device steps.

Okay so this is it. It was the tutorial on How to create a signed custom IPSW with shsh blobs stitched to it. If you liked this tutorial, if it helped you in any way, kindly share it anywhere you can.