I found a way to restore Carrier TFW 15.6 to my iPhone. I don’t have the speed issue so I can’t say doing this will fix the problem. I also cannot promise doing this won’t cause you further problems. I can only tell you I did this to my iPhone 5. My carrier now shows TFW 15.6. My iPhone asks me to update. I presume to TFW 15.7 again. I still see the 3G when I MMS or go to voice mail, places I used to see a 4G. My phone shows LTE the rest of the time. I don’t notice or measure any difference in my speeds with or without 15.7. Try this at your own risk.
NOTE: This currently only works for iOS 7.0.x, not iOS 7.1. I am looking to see if I can find a way to do it. If or when I find a way, I’ll update this post. Please don’t leave a comment asking about it.
I recommend running a few speed tests before and after. Also after installing the profile, do a reset all settings on your iPhone.
Please leave a comment and let me know how it went.
Regards
Bob
Download Carrier Update TFW 15.6 to your Mac or PC
- From your computer browser, load http://appldnld.apple.com/iOS7/CarrierBundles/031-0815.20131022.815mb/ATT_TFW_US_iPhone.ipcc
- Your browser should download a file ATT_TFW_US_iPhone.ipcc to your computer
NOTE: It seems Internet Explorer changes ATT_TFW_US_iPhone.ipcc to ATT_TFW_US_iPhone.zip. You will need to remane the file back to ATT_TFW_US_iPhone.ipcc.
Modify iTunes
By default, you cannot install a carrier update file with iTunes. You need to enable the feature from your computers Terminal or Command Prompt. See the appropriate instructions for your Mac or Windows PC below.
Mac Users
- Open a Terminal Window
- Copy / Paste the line below in the Terminal and press enter
defaults write com.apple.iTunes carrier-testing -bool true
Windows (32 Bit) Users
- Open a Command Prompt
- Copy and paste the first line below on to the Command Prompt and press enter
- Copy and paste the second line below on to the Command Prompt and press enter
cd "C:Program FilesiTunes"
iTunes.exe /setPrefInt carrier-testing 1
Windows (64 Bit) Users
- Open a Command Prompt
- Copy and paste the first line below on to the Command Prompt and press enter
- Copy and paste the second line below on to the Command Prompt and press enter
cd "C:Program Files (x86)iTunes"
iTunes.exe /setPrefInt carrier-testing 1
Install TFW 15.6
- Launch iTunes
- Hold the Option (ALT) (Mac)
- Hold the Shift key (Windows)
- Click the Check for Update button
- Select and install ATT_TFW_US_iPhone.ipcc
After I installed TFW 15.6, I needed to go to Settings->General->Reset->Reset All Settings before the 3G indicator would change back to 4G.
References:
http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php/1816504-Current-Status-of-AT-amp-T-SIM-Cards-from-ST
Hello Bob et all,
So I posted a fix that was used by many which I’m glad for.
1) 20 months later I’m still on 15.6 and would like to test ride a new carrier update if available but I can’t seem to find any info whatsoever on an update past 15.7 (maybe it doesn’t exist?) I know the iPhone 5 is on 18.0, but that’s all I know.
2) I thought I’d just download a new update from Apple like the link for ATT_TFW_US_iPhone.ipcc but oddly, I can find no solution using google to browse the Apple FTP/download links.
Help?
Hey cravit8,
What version of iOS are you using? If your using 15.6 does your phone prompt you to download a carrier update when you go into settings general about? My iPhone 6 with iOS 9.2 is using TFW 23.0.
I don’t know if you could install the newest carrier update on older versions of iOS. Apple doesn’t publicly post these files so there is no consumer website to download them from.
You can find some urls to newer updates in the xml file returned from http://itunes.com/version. Use chrome on a computer to read that file and search for TFW.
Let me know if you can figure that out. Most people have updated to newer versions of iOS. I still do hear occasionally about people’s phones getting slow. And since you generally can’t hack the carrier updates anymore I don’t have a solution for them.
I’ll have to go back to look at your comment. Do you have a solution that works with iOS 9?
Woops, meant to mention I was one of the remaining dinosaurs on iPhone 4S iOS 7.1.2 as I’m waiting for a jailbreak to be available for 9.2.
I do not have a solution to iOS 9.
I apologize for the length of this text. Unlike 20 months ago, when I click ‘yes’ at the prompt now, nothing happens. I had to repeat the bundle copy/paste bundle ‘hack’ back then because I accidentally clicked ‘yes’ at the update prompt.
I did a lot of undocumented finagling back then and wonder if I could have deleted some necessary bundle file or made an edit that disabled the new carrier update from actually downloading.
It is because my phone will no longer update at the prompt that I thought to just manually download the carrier udpate to try it out.
Most interesting…I just perused that link you replied (THANK YOU!) and it shows iOS 7 latest is 15.7, iOS 8 is 18.1, and iOS 9 is 21.1
So if you’re on 23.0 with TFW why isn’t it showing here I wonder.
Seems like most of the carrier updates I’ve seen over the last year or so have come with iOS updates. And those never seem to be listed in file returned by the link I gave you. Once the iTunes feature to change carrier updates broke, I haven’t spent much more time messing with them.
The http://www.itweakios.com used to have a bunch of information about carrier tweaking. Joe might me able to give you a pointer.
https://twitter.com/joe012594, he is a t-mobile guy though, ask nicely he might be able to give you a pointer on restoring carrier bundles.
Can i do this if i have a TFW 19.0
No, this doesn’t work anymore. Apple considered it a security issue and now users can’t install their own carrier files
anyone know if this carrier bundle will work on ios8? or have the bundles changed?
I haven’t tried it with iOS 8. With iOS 7.1, apple removed the functionality that let you update the carrier bundle.
what problem are you having?
Regards
Bob
when I originally asked the question I was on 7 but I went and updated to 8.
With 7.x I had to use ifile to get it on and then edit the version so that it didn’t get overwritten and after reseting network settings I would have 4g.Now with 8 I used ifile and the version shows as 15.6 but I don’t get the 4g indicator only 3g. Im thinking it because theres no commcenter patch for 8.
The funny thing that’s different is although its saying 3g I get 5mb where in 7.x with 3g I had much slower speed.
Hi Ryan,
I didn’t realize you were jailbroken. You might find if your do a Reset Network Settings, you’ll see the 4G. I doubt you’ll see a speed improvement. A number of people saw the same 3G with 15.6 until doing the reset. I think the text for the indicator was just cached somewhere.
I don’t keep up with jailbreaks, is there an untethered jailbreak for iOS 8 already?
No I know wht common patch is but can it be my Itunes because I tried not to long ago and I was waiting like 25 to 30 mins then I disconnected my phone and it said error ??
I tried 3 times and it was taking more than seconds any idea I’m on ios 7.0.4 JAILBROKEn ? It just keep saying updating carrier settings
Hi Sekai,
Hmm. I don’t know what the issue is. I never did it on a jailbroken phone. If your iPhone is jailbroken I think you can use CommCenterPatch from Cydia.
See this article http://www.itweakios.com/apps/blog/show/40716202-carrier-update-hack-for-ios-7-0-x
How long does it take and do I keep the phone on or dfu mode ???
Hi Sekai,
This only works with iOS 7, not iOS 7.1. Installing the file takes a couple of seconds. The phone needs to be on. You don’t need DFU mode.
I used crav’s instructions and it worked perfectly on an AT&T iPhone 4s running a straight talk sim. but I just put the .ipcc file in my dropbox and opened it in ifile from there. im jailbroken with pangu on iOS 7.1.2, btw. thanks, man.
Hi John,
The is awesome. We are lucky he took the time to share them.
Regards
Bob
15.7 and 16.0 are atrociously slow for Net10 users in my area.
I successfully got 15.6 on my iPhone 4S 7.1.2
.5Mbps before, then 5Mbps after the change from 16.0 to 15.6
It required JAILBREAKING (which is currently possible on 7.1.1 & 7.1.2 using Pangu, download iFile from Cydia.
1) Download .ipcc to Mac/PC
2) Duplicate file, then change .ipcc to .zip
3) Open iFile, tap globe to open ‘Web Server’ which is a IP (like 192.168.1.180:10000)
4) Open a browser and go to the IP address listed above
5) On Browser to /mobile/Documents
6) On browser Upload the zip file
7) On iPhone, open iFile and navigate to /mobile/Documents (or where you uploaded to)
8) Tap the .zip
9) Tap ‘Unarchiver’, Wait, then ‘Done’
10) Tap ‘Payload’, Tap ‘Edit’, Tap ‘YOUR BUNDLE’, Tap the clipboard then copy
11) Navigate to these 2 places then Tap’Edit’, Tap the clipboard and paste, tap ‘overwrite all’
/System/Library/Carrier Bundles/iPhone
/var/mobile/Library/Carrier Bundles/iPhone
12) Reboot and Profit
Hi Crav,
First, thanks for taking the time to share this. I have a lot of Straight Talk readers with the same problem.
I was wondering whether or not this would work. I asked Joe,(http://www.itweakios.com/) to look at 15.6 and 15.7 he told me they where identical with the exception of the 4G indicator being changed to 3G. If they really are the same, I wonder what is causing the issue.
Regards
Bob
Regards
Bob
Regards
Bob
Thanks Crav and Bob,
I’m sure AT&T has their hand in the 15.6 and 15.7 update. In fact, I WAS successfully able to jailbreak 7.1.2 but I really dislike jailbroken devices (as they are prone to more malware than already)(Apple devices have malware, its just you don’t know and Apple – doesn’t consider it malware/spyware). How might I know this? I work as a malware analyst and in cyber security / network analysis.
It appears that AT&T convinced Apple in iOS 7.0.2 that they could essentially pull a magicians trick to make all the BYOP users happy. In this case, they could finally get the devices all on the same APN and carrier settings with a QR code to easy URL profile update (created by the Apple Configuration Manager BTW) – making customer service and satisfaction for the average user much better. Additionally, this would also ensure that users see TFW instead of HOME vs T-Mobile and help with branding. Additionally, it would ensure that TFW users who did not have an LTE device could be forced off of the HSPA networks that are only permitted for use by their own postpaid subscribers. This is why you see 3G on both AT&T (TFW aka HOME) and T-Mobile now TFW and your speeds have been slowed. StraightTalk only promises Unlimited Data, they didn’t say it had to be quick silly! They do promise LTE however and have arranged this as an MVMO from their carriers, but you are throttled (usually early) and furthermore, if you read the terms – when your phone call (a data packet session that I can see on the network after it leaves its analog form in a radio wave) travels through the MVMO network carrier (AT&T or T-Mobile), you are rerouted through different network equipment and or ‘specialized network paths’ (in geek terms we call these a VLAN) where your data packets then are either ‘throttled’ or generally take a longer route and use a different RIP (routing information protocol) table to get to wherever your making your call or data session.
Long story made short, ‘what the right hand gives – the left hand takes away’ – everyone who uses TracFone Wireless has been fooled over the past year and as long as we remain subscribers (or crawl back to AT&T as Bob has mentioned) we will be in the same situation. My suggestion for ALL Straight Talk or Net10 users is to DOWNGRADE your carrier to 15.6 so that you may get access to use the HSPA aka 3G+ better known as early 4G or jailbreak your iPhone (or with Android root the device) so that you may downgrade your carrier and get access to the HSPA networks again. They do exist, as postpaid customers of AT&T/T-Mobile still have devices from a year or two ago (before LTE) and expect to use those methods of radio packet communications.
So, with that said – I now have an iPhone 4S 32GB GSM model that’s carrier unlocked with iOS 7.0.2 again and it has carrier 15.7 – Still no 4G and data is clearly within 3G specifications. Time to give Straight Talk the switch. I hope this information helps everyone out and thank you Bob for keeping this blog and allowing us to share our experiences and help each other. Take care all and happy mobile usage! 😀
Hi Brian,
Thank you for your well written comment. I appreciate it when people take the time to share information with other readers. I am not sure I agree with everything you said, but I wanted to respond.
I agree with your assessment on jailbreaks. It’s one of the reason’s I’ve held off on writing a guide about it. You simply don’t know what other exploits you are opening yourself up to. It’s ironic because the key feature of the iPhone is ease of use. If you have hack your phone to set up your APN or fix and issue with the like the TFW 15.6 / 15.7 carrier bundle, then why not just use an Android phone. Don’t get me wrong, I like Android, and I have been tweaking computers all my life, but I just don’t want have to tweak my phone.
I think you may have mixed up the APN Profile and the Carrier Bundle. The QR code on BYOP package takes you to a website where you can download an APN profile. That APN profile can set your data APN but not your MMS APN settings. Apple disabled that feature because the wireless companies did not want users changing those settings. And, as far as I know, iOS doesn’t include a QR code reader, so do they expect people to download an app to read that code.
With 7.0.2, Straight Talk and ATT release a carrier update and bundle for Straight Talk att SIMs. Wit this update, you phone could detect it was using a Straight Talk att SIM and would program the APN settings for the tfdata APN, even though many customers still use the wap.tracfone and att.mvno APNs. The TFW 15.6 carrier bundle made like good for a lot of people.
The TFW 15.7 carrier bundle was step backwards for many people. I know for a fact that they removed the 4G indicator and replaced it with a 3G indicator. But I don’t know that they changed the bundle to disable HPSA+ connections. I unpacked both 15.6 and 15.7 and diffed the files. The only change I found was the version number and the 3G / 4G indicator. I asked Joe from iTweakiOS if he could tell me what was different about the two carrier bundles. He said only the 3G / 4G indicator. Straight Talk Wireless, Slow Data, and the TFW 15.6, TFW 15.7, and TFW 16.0 Mystery. This doesn’t mean he is correct, and you might be right. You can’t rely on the 3G or 4G indicator to know if you have a HSPA+ connection. I wonder if there is a 3rd party app that can report what type of data connection you have. I have been meaning to look. The other strange things about this profile issue are that not all iPhone 4s users are affected and customers with the problem are reporting data speeds slower than 2G!.
It’s possible that Straight Talk and / or ATT did this on purpose. It’s possible they changed something in the profile accidently. It’s also possible that all these iOS, carrier bundle, and networks have not been tested together properly. It’s hard to say, and no one from any of those companies are sharing with me. Case in point, I had a Straight Talk T-Mobile SIM. I got 4G LTE on my Nexus 5. was faster than the Straight Talk ATT SIM, but the SIM in my iPhone 5. The carrier bundle changed to Carrier 16.0 or whatever, and I got a 3G indicator with terrible data speeds. I don’t understand why Straight Talk doesn’t fix that.
All this is a pain in the butt for iPhone 4s users. I’ve tried H20 wireless with my iPhone 5s. It get’s 4G or HSPA+, but you can’t set the APN setting so you won’t get picture messaging. They phone uses the ATT carrier bundle and the Cellular Data Network settings are hidden. I have a red pocket SIM somewhere on my desk, I have been meaning to review that to see how well it works. AT&T pay N Go is an option. As is Cricket Wireless (which is owned by ATT).
I enjoyed your comment. If you switch, please let us know what you try and how well it works.
Regards,
Bob
I now cannot recall the effects of the 15.7 update, but 15.6 performed the best for the 3 iPhones I performed this on using Net10. This was tested using the speedtest.net iOS app and was not a subjective feel of speed.
I wouldn’t have been able to do it without your blog and for that I’m greatly appreciative. I hold your same opinions on the bear of jailbreaking a device designed for ease of use, but I think a jailbroken iPhone trumps most rooted and rommed androids.
Brian T. had some useful information, though I also disagreed with some of the opinions which I think could be based on mixing APN profiles into talk about the carrier settings.
Switching to Straight Talk from Net10 does not seem like a fix. I firmly believe using the method or similar I described to replace the 15.7+ carrier bundle with 15.6 is the ONLY method for getting 3G+ speeds.
Hi Cravit8,
You might be right about the speeds. I myself have found so much variation in speed test results from run to run. Did I mention switching to Net10? Did Brian mention it? I use both Net10 and Straight Talk. It’s essentially the same company and service. I agree with you about that.
Regards
Bob
Thanks Crav and Bob! I’m bib!!!
When i open and hold ALT it does not do anything any other options ? I’m using mac
Hi Lily,
Your iPhone needs to be using iOS 7.0.x for this to work. It does not work on 7.1.x. Did you correctly activate carrier testing mode by typing in the commandss in terminal?
Regards
Bob
i currently have a factory unlocked iphone 5 with IOS 7.1, my question to you is, if a buy a ST 4G LTE SIM card will i have this problem getting only 3G speeds?, and if the NET10 4G LTE sim card has the same issue?
Hi Rolph,
If you have a GSM model iPhone 5, the Straight Talk ATT SIM, and the ATT network supports LTE in your area, you should get LTE. If you have a Verizon model iPhone 5, you won’t get LTE. If you have a Verizon model iPhone 5s or 5c, you might get LTE (some reader say they are getting LTE with these phones)
All the iPhone 5 phones in my family using the Straight Talk ATT SIM get LTE.
If you use an iPhone with ATT, sometimes you will see a 4G indicator in the status bar. It means you have an HPSA+ connection. ATT “branded” this as 4G. Straight Talk changed that 4G logo back to 3G so even if you have the same HSPA+ connection you’ll see a 3G
Hope that helps. Oh, and net10 works the same way.
Regards
Bob
Do you know where I can get tmobile IPCC file?
For tmobile or straight talk tmobile?
If you are running ios 7.1 or higher you can’t install a different ipcc anymore
Are you using a jailbroken iphone?
Regards
Bob
This worked for me the first time no problem, I just had to keep saying no to the pop-up carrier setting update available, then I did a iTunes update after my cell rebooted the carrier updated itself to TFW 16.0 and I have tried downgrading over and over and no deal, still 3g , my iTunes version is 11.1.5.5, if you please find a solution to this please contact me… Thanks
Hi Mitch,
Are running iOS 7.0.x or iOS 7.1? There currently isn’t a way to move back to TFW 15.6 on iOS 7.1.
Keep an eye on the web site for updates or follow us on Twitter. follow us
Regards
Bob
I use 7.01 , yes I can’t seem to stop updating after everything works perfect. I must have a brain tumor! Lol if we ever get this downgrade to work on 7.01 I’m never updating again! In the mean time I’ll just creep along at 3G … Did you ever hear why the original 4G to 3G carrier update Bull happened? P.s I will follow you on twitter if I ever get a account, I’m not big on the whole Facebook Twitter thing.
LOL, neither am I. I add the social media to help the site in search rankings.
We know why AT&T originally changed the indicator from 3G to 4G
We don’t know why Straight Talk changed it back.
We also don’t know some people’s phones get slower and other don’t
and we don’t know if it due to some actual change in the carrier file, or a weird side effect.
Regards
Bob
when i hit the shift key and try to look for my download the document att_tfw… etc etc it dosnt show up on itunes but i have de document dounloaded on my pc.. what can i do
if you are on windows make sure Internet explorer didn’t download it as a zip file. Also on windows, I think there is a file type selector on the dialog box. make sure you choose all files or ipcc.
oh, and this doesn’t seem to work on iOS 7.1. We need to figure out how to hack the ipcc file to install on the later OS.
Regards
Bob
thankz bob work perfectly, now im helping a friend of mine.. the problem wassent interbet explorer bcuz i whas using chrome, te problem whats when the box on itunes open, i had to put it on configuration carrier on the phone something like that dont remember and i had it on other , fix the problem, work perfectrly no more than 5 min 😉 DONE BACK TO 4G
Hi Joey,
That is great news. Can you share with up waht version of iTunes you are using? I am not sure if this will work on the latest version of iTunes on Windows, so think twice before updating.
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Regards
Bob
Hey guys, I just updated to ios 7.1. yesterday on my iphone 5c and my carrier updated also to TFW 16.0 I tried the guide that’s posted here, but nothing changed. Does anyone know how to roll back from TFW 16.0 on ios 7.1? The 3G indicator is back on instead of 4G, and that really urks me. Thanks
Hi Ephier,
I am looking into it. Remember its about your actual data speed not the indicator.
Regards
Bob
Thanks bob for replying so quickly. After the ios 7 update and the TFW update though, my data speed went done as well as the data indicator change. I ran the ookla speedtest and it went down considerably.
down as well*
Hi Bob,
Will this procedure give me back the ability to share my connection with my IPad? When I updated to 15.7, the tethering feature disappeared from my IPhone 4S.
Thanks,
Martin
Hi Martin,
I dont know. If your phone used to display HOME in the status bar, you’d need to go back to AT&T 15.5 or AT&T 15.6. I think the tethering option disappeared with TFW 15.6. tethering is agains Straight Talk’s terms of service, i read somewhere that they actively monitor for tethering.
It least it worked for you. I got tethering to work for about 30 seconds with my iPad. It never worked after that.
Regards
Bob
Can you please show how u share your connection?
Thanks,
McKurd
Hi McKurd,
Do you mean hotspot or tethering? I don’t know. The option for it disappeared some time ago. It’s also against Straight Talk’s service.
Or did I misunderstand and you mean something else.
Regards
Bob
Does this work with tmobile? I’m been searching the web to find the stock 15.7 ipcc file.
Hi
It is for straight talk iPhones using the att sim.
Regards
Bob
Thank you so much!
Thanks for taking the time to comment. If you use social media, please consider following us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and YouTube. In addition to keeping up with latest updates at smartphonematters you would be helping us launch social media efforts. click here
Regards
Bob
I have an iPhone 5 on Net10 and it says LTE at the top of my screen.
Do I not have 4G?
David,
You have 4G LTE, and thats what you want. To understand the difference see
I Updated My iPhone to Net10 & Straight Talk Carrier Update TFW 15.7 and Now My 4G Is Only 3G!
Regards
Bob
Hi bob I tried your advice as the same thing happened to me, but when I tried opening the file with iTunes (I did the thing with command prompt like you said) it said “unknown error. cannot be completed” please get back to me if possible
Thanks
I assume you are running windows. Did you hold the SHIFT key when you clicked check for update. Did you download the file using internet explorer and if so did you make sure you the file has a .ipcc extension?
Regards
Bob
I recently switched to straight talk from an AT&T GoPhone plan. Can anyone explain why my carrier says AT&T even though I am using my straight talk sim? I have had this for 2 days now.
Akshith,
That happens sometimes. Which sim are you using? The straight talk att to straight talk tmobile? What carrier version is on your phone?
Regards
Bob
Thank you so much. I had just set up my new 4s and had it working flawlessly and I updated the carrier settings. I was furious when I lost 4g due to living on a rural farm with poor service. I have doubled my signal now that I have 4G service. Thanks for saving me a stroke lol.
You are welcome
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Regards
Bob
Ok, I did the following:
1 ran the two command lines in windows 64
2. open iTunes 11.1.4
3. shift left click on the update button and found the file and itunes said updating carrier settings.
I had my phone plugged in checking settings/general/about showed carrier 15.5
did a home+power and checked again with same result
just powered off/on and still same result.
how do I get the carrier update on to the phone? what did I not do correctly?
Thank you your time and work is appreciated.
Hi this worked very well for me once I followed all the directions and used the proper update button. I tried several times using the wrong screen and checking iTunes for updates. Once I went to the iphone home screen(where you back it up and sync options are, just like it shows) and changed to ipcc file type in the window that opens while you hold the shift key. I am using windows 8 and it installed in a flash. After reset it came back to 4g on my 4s and lte on the 5. Thanks and hope this helps the people who had problems
Hi Larryf,
Glad you got it working. Thanks for the comment and leaving a tip for others.
Regards
Bob
I was trying to follow your instructions, I downloaded the ATT_TFW_US_iPhone.ipcc, but it says that “Safari can’t open the file. Safari can’t hopen the file att_tfw_us_iPhone.ipcc because no available application can open it.” I’m getting really frustrated because I just want my 4G back, not stupid 3G. 3G is sooo slow. Any help??
Hi Megan,
You can’t open the file with Safari, you just need to download it. You need it install the file using iTunes. The file should be in your downloads folder. check for it there.
Regards
Bob
It works! Thank you
Glad to hear it
ok was messing around with carrier settings because I was trying to mess around with getting myself unthrottled by straight talk, I was going to update and downgrade again, but when I updated, I installed the downgraded carrier, even reset network setting and all, but its still on 3G >_< did this suddenly get patched or something? (SN: I still have LTE)
Try the reset all settings option. Make sure TFW 15.6 is installed afterwards.
Where are you getting the carrier settings files from?
That is the link to the file on Apple’s website
When I click on the “Check for Update” holding down Shift key only shows .ipsw files. I don’t see any .ipcc files even though I renamed it.
On windows isnt there a file type picker?
Nope, it only shows “.ipsw”. Do I need older itunes?
I just ported my number over to ST from AT&T. I use an iPhone 5 and the AT&T compatible nano SIM that came with the BYOP package. I’ve tried forcing the carrier update using these instructions, but nada. My phone still indicates “HOME” as the network with 3G service.
This is incredibly frustrating. Any suggestions on getting the carrier to update? I am currently using a profile in order to have data access. Without the profile, I have no data service.
Hi,
Go into Settings General Reset and do a Reset All Settings. Check your carrier in Setting General About. If it’s TFW 15.6 you should be good. If it’s att 15.5 or att 15.x, try installing the profile again. Sometimes the install gets corrupted.
If your carrier is Att 15.x,bayou phone may prompt you to update the carrier. You’ll get tfw 15.7. You can check smartphonematers to see read about the issues with 15.7 and whether you want to revert to 15.6
Regards,
Bob
man you are awesome 🙂 it worked perfectly bro with a big difference.
it changed
ping : 126ms went up to 1787ms
download: 3.29 mbps went up to 4.00
this is soooo good you made my day
Great news. Glad it helped.
Regards
Bob
Bob,
Great instructions, I’m back on 4G after following your guide. Data speeds aren’t too different but they did increase about 1 Mbps download which was expected. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
Hi brad,
I am glad it helped.
Regards
Bob
Thank you! Worked perfect I am back to 15.6. I followed your other guide early Dec and everything worked including to be able to send/receive mms to iphone or android (without swapping sims) when I updated to TFW. NOW since the carrier update and back to 15.6 I can not do any MMS or group messaging. Any suggestions? THANKS!
Hi,
Follow the instructions under “try this”. Sometimes a couple of resets fixes the problem.
I Can’t Receive MMS Picture Messages Using Straight Talk or Net10 on My iPhone Using iOS 7.0.4
Let me know how it goes.
Regards
Bob
I decided to just call Net10 and tell them since they had to fix my phone over the weekend (somehow when I paid my acct some other sim # and phone # showed up) they fixed it -I did freak a little bc that’s been my # for yrs…Anyways told them the story, the girl had me delete the APN and was “updating her system” for about a half hour, power cycled and it works! No profile shows now for apn. Hope that helps.
The steps worked perfectly for me, I reset all of my settings, and my phone shows that the carrier is 15.6, yet I STILL don’t have any 3g! (I live in the middle of nowhere. I’ve been on S talk for about 2 months and up until the carrier update I got perfectly fine 3g speeds.)Any other suggestions? I don’t get any data whatsoever since the update, which sucks since I’m paying so much money for unlimited everything.
Hi Tori,
If you have no data, you may just need to set up your APN again.
See How to Setup Straight Talk Wireless Data and MMS for your iPhone running iOS 7
I applied your instructions for reverting to version 15.6 on my iPhone 4s. There was a dramatic increase in data speed. The “3G” changed to “4G”. Speed testing showed an increase in download speed from 0.9 – 1.2 Mbps before to download speeds of 5.4- 6+ Mbps afterwards! Quite dramatic.
John
Hi John,
Thanks for sharing your results. I am glad it helped.
Regards
Bob
Will you be testing version 15.8 or whatever it may be called when it is released? Will you post an update here when you do? How will we know when it is “safe to go back into the water”?
Hi John,
I check one or twice a week to see if TFW 15.8 has been released. When its out, I’ll try it and I’ll put up a post. Of course, if some else wants to go first … 🙂
Thx alot
havent noticed much of a speed difference
but just feels better to see the 4g sign then the 3g
also a quick question if you could email me this
i have a verizon 5 on straight talk
i notice everyone else also getting lte
is that not possible with the verizon 5
plz let me know if you know a fix to that
thank you
Hi,
If you are using a Verizon iphone 5 on Straight Talk with the att or tmobile sim you will get 4G HSPA speeds but not LTE. Your phone only supports the LTE radio frequencies used by Verizon, not ATT and TMobile.
Supposedly, the iphone 5s will support LTE with the ATT sim. Apple added support for more radio frequencies in the 5s.
If you are using an iphone 5 that you bought directly from straight talk, it’s using the Verizon network and only get 3G speeds because Verizon does not let Straight Talk use their 4G LTE network. I assume this is not the case for you because you would not have ended up with TFW 15.7 if that was the case.
Regards
Bob
i keep getting ‘unknown’ and no such file or directory with both links. Is there an alternative way?
If you can’t copy and paste. type each line in. Hit enter after each line
i tried the copy and paste but i just keep getting ‘unknown0016cbb1976c:’ with a squiggly line at the end.
Followed instructions and the file updated in a matter of seconds through iTunes. Everything is working and restored on my jailbroken 4S, and I definitely see speed increases. My download increased by nearly 2 Mbps and my upload speed doubled. Thanks! No additional configuration was even required for text or picture messaging.
Hey kidsampson,
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. I am glad to hear you were able to follow the guide and that your phone is faster!
Regards
Bob
Thank you bro!!! i got $G again, my mms and everything its working fine…
Gil,
Great news. Glad your phone is working!
Regards
Bob
I did all the steps… seems to have worked as the Carrier indicates TFW 15.6. However, I still have the TFW 3G on the upper left corner of my screen. What did I do wrong?
Hi Bea,
Did you do the reset?
Hi Bob,
I’m pretty experienced when it comes to iPhones but I’ve never had to revert a carrier update until now. I update to 15.7 from 15.6 (was bad decision everything worked great until 15.7 update) then 4G reverted to 3G and data is slow. So I followed you guide word for word and did everything right but Everytime I hold shift update the ipcc file does not show up..I did the command prompt code an tried on 32bit and 64bit laptop..
I recently found out that iTunes 11 and up does not offer manual carrier updating is this my problem?? And I can’t jus use an older version of iTunes because they do not support ios 7.0.4.
Right now I backed up and restored to att 15.5 and it says HOME 4G but mms does not work and APN settings are all correct with new sim and tf data.
I would really like 15.6 back a lot of people have been successful doing this I don’t know what I did wrong. I don’t imagine you would want to email me your thoughts?
Also I am jailbroken untethered 7.0.4 iPhone 4S if this helps.
I even tried using iFile, com center patch, and doing it straight through the phone no luck. Var/mobile/library/carrier bundle or somethin like that.
Hi Joey,
I had iTunes 11 on my mac and PC and it worked for me. 11.0, I think. I have 7.0.4 as well. If you used internet explorer to download the ipcc file make sure it didn’t change the file extension to .zip.
You should be able to downgrade iTunes. I am not using the latest. Let me now if the .zip was the issue. Try downloading the ipcc with Firefox or chrom if you have one of those browsers.
Regards
Bob
Hello Bob,
I know that you give a link to the ipcc file, but how did you personally find the *.ipcc file on the Apple website? Is there a site that you can browse for other *.ipcc files? Thank you in advance
Hi victor,
There isn’t a website that lists all the old .ipcc files or anything like that. I found the link to that file by connecting my phone to my home wifi network, then I ran a network trace, went settings general about. I captured the trace until I my iphone prompted me to update. I looked at the trace and found that the iphone loads an XML file from iTunes.com/version. I found the link in that file. Do I know how to have at good time or what.
Regards
Bob
Wow that is pretty amazing. Great job on the tutorials. Keep up the good work! Although it doesn’t have much to do with your site, a tutorial on network trace would be awesome.
Hi victor,
Maybe I will. I occasionally get some technical people come to the site looking for help but most readers hear are just consumers looking to fix their phones. Might be interesting to see how many people read and article like that.
Regards
Bob
Your instructions were very clear and easy to follow. Thanks.
I made several speed tests before reverting to 15.6 and then after doing so. Oddly, I got pretty consistently HIGHER speeds before reverting. Yup, despite the phone displaying 4G now, the speed test results are slower. Thoughts?
Hey Larry,
Did you feel like your phone was faster on 15.6, got slower on 15.7, and then even slower after reverting to TFW 15.6?
It’s hard for me to say. I didn’t really notice a speed difference myself. My speed vary a lot based on the time of the day and my location around town. Even a few blocks makes a difference. I had one other reader say that his phone got slow with 15.7, and going back to 15.6 didn’t fix it.
If you haven’t done so. Try:
a hard reset (hold home and lock buttons)
Settings->General->Reset->Reset Network Settings
Settings->General->Reset->Reset All Settings
Do a speed test between each step. If you think your phone is still slow. Consider doing an iPhone Restore in iTunes.
Back up first, restore the phone, install TFW 15.6, test data, and then restore from your backup.
That’s what I would do.
Regards
Bob
Hi Bob,
I’m totally computer illiterate i have downloaded the file but not sure how to change the name to ippc. In addition when you say put the lines at a command prompt……..I have a Windows where is the command prompt? Am I selecting the start icon and putting it in there? Is it possible for you to make a video of how to change it back or take pictures of each step if possible.
Thanks………… please help desperately in need…this new change over is also affecting the speed of my phone when i’m at home with wifi on…………this 15.7 really sucks.
Hi,
I won’t have time to update the guide or make a video right now, or use kik.
Use google to search for how to rename a file in windows.
use google to search for how to run the windows command prompt
I seriously doubt the 15.7 carrier update has any effect on your Wi-Fi speed. You may have other problem. Try a hard reset on your phone. hold the home and lock buttons until the phone restarts.
Regards
Bob
Bob,
You are doing a great job by instructing folks how to fix this issue… Its really appreciated.
Regards,
McKurd
Hi McKurd,
Thanks!
Regards
Bob
No.
cd “C:\Program Files\iTunes”
cd iTunes.exe /setPrefInt carrier-testing 1
If the file ends in .zip you need to rename it to .ipcc or use Firefox or chrome to download it
iTunes.
Read the web page
Hi Joey,
I am not sure I can help you. You need to have downloaded the file. Typed to commands into the command prompt correctly. And then install the .ipcc file from the location you are trying to install it from. Your version of iTunes may not be compatible.
Regards
Bob
Hi Bob,
Thank you for the instructions, they worked perfectly!
I now have my 4G indicator back and my data speeds are up to 6Mb dl / 1 MB ul. Now if only my phone would stop glitching out every time I open the Camera!!
Happy New Year!!
Hi Jay B.
Great news. I am glad the guide helped you.
Regards
Bob
you click the link in the guide.
Hi,
can you tell me what the issue you have having with the directions in the Guide?
Download the ipcc file
On the mac, run terminal
On the PC, run command prompt
Paste the lines from the web page into terminal / command prompt
Paste each line in and type enter
Run iTunes and install the file
Regards
Bob
Thanks for this! I am a new ST user (iPhone 4s, locked by AT&T) and I updated the carrier settings last week after being prompted, which I will not do again. Like most others my 4G switched to 3G after installing TFW 15.7, and I lost data speed.
I downloaded the file you provided for TFW 15.6, using iTunes 11.1.3 (8) 64-bit on my Mac as the application to open the file, and then checked for an update on iTunes and found the correct file to update with. After resetting all settings it came back on as 4G. My downloading speeds jumped about a bit from 3.96mbps to 4.96mbps, and uploading went from .58 to close to 1mbps. Stoked!!
On a side note, I requested an unlock request from AT&T because I was out of my contract and they provided that via email. All I need to do is restore on iTunes and it will be unlocked… if I restore and backup do you/or anyone know if I will run into any issues with ST service? Currently my phone is locked, and working fine, but the option to have it unlocked is very enticing, but not worth doing if I will encounter more reprogramming issues. Any help would be appreciated!
Hi Hersh,
I am happy to hear you were able to follow my guide and revert to TFW 15.6. Your phone will occasionally prompt you to install the carrier update again. Check smartphonematters.com occasionally to see when TFW 15.8 comes out and whether it is safe to install.
I am also glad to hear you requested the unlock. If your phone is working with Straight Talk there is always the chance that something will go wrong when you make changes or restore it. But, I would complete the unlock now anyway to make sure it went through. You iPhone is simply worth more money unlocked should you ever decide to sell, trade, or give it to someone. After you do the restore on iTunes you may automatically get updated to TFW 15.7 again. That isn’t a big issue, because you know how to revert to TFW 15.6. It’s your choice, obviously.
You will back up your phone. Do the iPhone reset to factory settings and then reload your backup. You should see a message afterwards that your iPhone is unlocked. I have done it many times without an issue. On the off chance you have a problem you can come back and ask for help.
You didn’t mention if you use MMS picture messaging. IF yours isn’t working. it is a easier to set up on an unlocked phone. Your data might be a little faster afterwards not becuse the phone is unlocked, but just because of the restore.
You download the ipcc file
type the commands into the command prompt or terminal
use itunes to install the file
Did you download the ipcc file yet?
Regards
Bob
Ok we made some progress. You downloaded the file. Find it on your computer. If the file name ends with .zip rename it to .ipcc
Can you do that?
Hi,
I don’t provide individual phone or online support. I don’t use kik. I’d like to help you.
I am not sure why you are having trouble following the web page.
Did you download the file? Do you see the file on your computer? Does the file are end with .ipcc or .zip?
Can you answer the three questions above.
Regards
Bob