Install iOS 5 on iPhone 3G & 2G or iPod Touch 1G/2G with Whited00r 5

Jan 19, 2012 - 70 Comments

Whited00r 5.1 brings iOS 5 to iPhone 3G

Have an older generation iPhone 3G or 2G? If so, you’re stuck on older legacy iOS versions with limited features and sluggish speeds. But not anymore with Whited00r, which installs a custom iOS build on the device to help bring it into the modern age.

Whited00r 5.1 is basically an unofficial custom made iOS build that includes many of the iOS 5 features and has been optimized to run on the older hardware. With Whited00r, you’ll get multitasking, wallpapers, folders, and variations of Reminders and Newsstand, and it’s claimed to be much faster than the default iOS 4 installations that drag the iPhone 3G down. Unfortunately there’s no Notification Center, and you will also lose the native App Store, meaning to install apps you’ll have to use iTunes or Safari. If the trade offs are worth it to you, installing Whited00r is very easy for anyone familiar with using IPSW files.

Installing Whited00r 5.1 on iPhone 3G/2G & iPod touch 1G/2G

This works for iPhone 3G, iPhone 2G, iPod touch 1g and 2g. Backup the iOS device beforehand, and proceed at your own risk:

  • Download the appropriate version of Whited00r from here
  • Unzip the custom IPSW package to somewhere easy to find
  • Launch iTunes and hold down Option (Mac) or Shift (Windows) and click on “Restore”, now select the Whited00r IPSW you just downloaded
  • Let the process continue and the iPhone will reboot on it’s own

After the iPhone has rebooted, do not restore from a backup, instead select to set up a new device. This is recommended to avoid any conflicts.

This video demonstrates the speed of an iPhone 3G running Whited00r 5.1 compared to an iPhone 3GS running iOS 5:

The speeds are fairly close, an impressive feat considering the 3GS has significantly faster hardware, a faster CPU, and more RAM.

If you’re having trouble with the installation or just have questions, check out Whited00r’s forums.

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Related articles:

Posted by: Matt Chan in iPhone, Tips & Tricks

70 Comments

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  1. Aravind mj says:

    After finishing the installation my iPod touch 2g went to a black screen and no key combination turned it on.
    When connected to iTunes it says its in recovery mod and shows an error when restoring whiteDoor . error 1600

  2. Wadoodbashir says:

    Off old 4.2.1 version

  3. drew says:

    will this work extracting it on a windows based pc

  4. Joe says:

    can i know if i installed Whited00r on my iphone 3g can i install games which i cant install on ios 4.2.1 ?

  5. Mark455 says:

    I installed Whited00r on my iPhone 3g but although it really is fast, way faster than before, it doesn’t have all iOS 5 features as you said. No real iCloud or anything like that, and firmware is 3.1.3. Wouldn’t be any problem for me, but the apps I used on my iOS 4 do not work on this one as they need iOS 4+. Not a waste of time, but not a 100% solution either. If you just wanna make your device faster and use ios 3 apps on it, go ahead and download this, but if you use iOS 4+ apps, you won’t be able to do that anymore.

  6. Alex says:

    I read all comments and many people say it’s iOS 3 firmware. Can I run iOS 4 and 5 apps on it, or will I have to say goodbye to all my iOS 4 apps?

  7. shravan says:

    I install whitedoor to my iPhone 2g
    And after finishing installation
    A message show
    Insert a valid sim with no lock to activate your phone
    I use all of sim crad like airtel ,bsnl ,aircel,idea,reliance,and vodafone but I all sim card failed to activate phone
    So what I do….??
    Help me

  8. mawin says:

    how to i update my iphone 3g to 4.3.3.anyone can tell me

  9. Wesley says:

    this software is rubbish i reccomed you do not download it!!!!
    For your own good plzzzz do not download it

  10. Remon says:

    Question:
    I have an iphone 3G with iOS 4.2.1
    When i now download from AppStore i sometimes get the message that the selected app needs iOS 4.3.
    Now i read here that the iOS with whited00r is 3.1.3. but modified to 5.
    Will i be able to download the Apps now without any error saying i need an update?
    Thanks

    • Gaurav says:

      The only reason I tried this that I was unable to install apps from App Store as it requires ios 4.3 or higher. Now its 3.1.3 and app store doesnt work any more… Why the hell it was published as ios 5 then ?? Waste of time and efforts apart from the fact that its faster. but that is because of older version with so many missing features.

      • Remon says:

        Hi Gaurav

        it says above that the app store app does not work anymore that’s correct
        have you tried through itunes?
        R

        • ali says:

          it has app market “app store”, when you open app market slide across and you will see Time Machine and Cydia – WD ios 6

          time machine allows you to install apps i.e. skype, whatsapp etc if you did this on a ios 4.2.1 you get an error but not any more when you use time machine in app market

  11. Mk says:

    Hello! First of all, I downloaded it and it worked very well but then the notification came in Itunes and it wanted me to update newer version orsm and as I did it the update didn’t finished and it sent me an error like 16** and also 15** and after that my Itunes always said that my Iphone is in recovery mode and I have to restore that but when I restore it then my Iphone don’t finish it and the error comes again and now my phone won’t work anymore, every time when I turn it on it says that I have to connect my phone with Itunes and restore it…what should I do?

    (also, sorry about my bad english..I hope you understand)

  12. kelrich23 says:

    will push notification work on this whited00r 5?

  13. ScuZZy says:

    I finally got it working, After an excruciating 5 hrs of ipsw downloading, trying out different apps and researching..

    for people thats having 16xx errors, you’ll need to download ireb

    Run that first and click on your desired device, that would get it into DFU mode the way it’s suppose to, and then you can proceed with the whited00r ipsw. works like a charm. Gud Luck

  14. Emmanuel says:

    Please I installes Whited00r 5 (both normal and unlocked versions) on my iphone 3g and my iphone lost all of its sounds. No sound at all. Please help me out

  15. kmil says:

    Works perfect for me! Thanks for this!!

  16. solmn says:

    Is it possible to download & use apps from app. Store with out any problem after upgrading iPhone 2g to ios 4.1…. & over. Cuz some says it does download but not opening it.

  17. Chris Buckmaster says:

    One question: if I install this s/w will it support Airplay on iPod 2G as a player?

    Thanks in advance, Chris

  18. NIPUN says:

    will the iphone 3g be in the need to be unlocked after updating?

  19. russel says:

    thanks for your beautyful work..im using ipodtouch 1g and thanks for giving us an update..good job!!

  20. Maria says:

    Same here.

  21. Talha says:

    i updated my iphone 3g to whited00r 5 but it shows firmware 3.1.3…can u tell me why that happened

  22. vividcode says:

    I need my ipod touch 2g (model mb528zp) for testing of my iOS 5.1 compatible app.
    [this app doesn’t use any 5.1 features, but I have to compile it against latest to get it submitted, what else can I do?]

    Will this work?
    [currently, this app and many other apps doesn’t even sync with this model from itunes. Is it purely because its 2g, right?]

  23. r4z says:

    will ios4 required apps work with it?

  24. michael says:

    do i have to jailbreak my iphone to put this on there .?

  25. Ansem says:

    So if I install this with their guide, I lose all files on my iPod and it runs on an inferior version even though it says iOS 5 ?
    Because reading it all around I doubt I’ll be able to use it, only reason I want iOS 5 is because I want pocket planes, which doesn’t work on lower versions ( with 4 being the latest for the iPods ).
    Anyone can clarify on this ?

  26. zhbdaa says:

    Hello mod,

    One question, since there’s a misunderstanding between Whitedoor 5.1 to be iOS 3.1.3, will this version have data toggle? I do not want this device to shoot my data bill up?

  27. OldIosPT says:

    Hey! Thanks very much for this! I really appreciate it because I can’t afford the new iphone and this way I don’t need 5 minutes to open any app… Thanks!

  28. Jim(whited00r member) says:

    It is pre jailbroken firmware. So it comes with cydia already. IF YOU HAVE 16XX errors, USE ireb.exe. (google is your friend). The point of this firmware is to make your old device fast again, with some nice extra features. Use redd00r if you want ios 4 app compatibility. Porting ios 5 (armv7) to iphone 3g (armv6) is nearly impossible without source code, so if you keep saying ” it’s not realy ios 5, this is a waste of my time” I advise you to stfu and read the article. Feel free to email questions to jimmiles33@gmail.com and I will get back to you in a timely manner. :)

  29. mad says:

    hey, i was just wondering if this is jailbreaking?

    • AVInter says:

      You can’t modify an .IPSW file and do all of this tweaking without jailbreaking. Its useless without jailbreaking. -_-

  30. mason says:

    will it have gamecenter because i have a game on my ipod 4 that requires gamecenter so ill need it

  31. dave says:

    Does iMessage (free message) work on whitedoor?

  32. geoff says:

    if i will use whitedoor can i activate the assitive touch function on my iphone 3g.. i badly need this since my home button is broken..
    thanks in advance

  33. breandan says:

    its showing an error 1611!! what can i do to resolve this?

  34. Farrokh says:

    Why there’s no link to install it on iPod Touch 2G ??

  35. Kent Leal says:

    does whited00r consumes battery life faster on an iphone 3g?

  36. louis says:

    can someone give me instuctions on how to find the software download.

  37. Shoaib says:

    I have tried to restore to white door 5.1 for iPhone 2g unlocked but it gives an error says its not compatible with ur iphone anyone can help?

  38. sifuvortex says:

    I totally agree spent so much time downloading and loading whitedoor and come to find out it is 3.1.3 i need ios 5 or 4 apps – app store will not download in ios 3.

    this sucks giant waste if my da time

  39. Awesome. Thank you so much whited00r worked after all else failed.

    iphone 3g, 6.15 baseband, with t-mobile.

    I was stuck in the “no service” loop for the past two days, having tried pretty much every combination of pwnage, redsnow, blackrain, etc…

    whitedoor gave me back my phone!

    follow instructions exactly, including using recboot if you encounter errors in iTunes.

    yes, it’s a modified version of 3.1.3 or whatever, but it works and for an older model iphone, that’s all I can ask.

    thanks a million.

  40. Mr 2G says:

    LOL…get a Droid. Google gives you all you need for free. #Stevejobsgotlastlaugh

  41. Lincoln says:

    getting error 1604 for my ipod 2g i’m doing exactly what the download tells me to do no luck. what can i do???

  42. LionBoy says:

    Sorry! why i can’t install ios 5(iPhone1,1_whited00r51_U) on my iPhone 3G. How can I do?thanks :D

  43. aIRA says:

    After I follow the instruction on how to update to iOS5
    iTUnes now throw an error that my sim card is no longer supported….:( I can’t recover the backup coz iTunes will not give me the option anymore

  44. StanTek says:

    You guys are idiots. Well some of you are. Whited00r 5.1 is the best upgrade for your 2G & 3G phones since Apple closed the door on those devices and they want you to buy the new 4G. So what if it still use your old firmware version. Big freak’n deal. For those of you who are into jailbreaking, this is where it’s at! For the rest of you that want to spend their money in the Apple Store (Big joke) go right ahead suckers.

    • asskikr says:

      ur also an idiot… its not 4g its 4s… genius… no such thing as iPhone 4g…

      • swag says:

        and you’re just an apple blinded head, all 4g means is 4th generation. so yes, there is such a thing as iPhone 4G. and the iphone 4s, since that’s what you’re sticking up for, is the 5th generation. and all the S stands for is Siri, because it’s the only phone to support her.

  45. Dennis says:

    does whitedoor 5.1 drain battery on iphone 3g or some idevices ?? this really really a must know for me, i must know if it drain the battery a little bit extra ?

  46. malik says:

    will this work on the ipod 2g?

  47. Velox says:

    I don’t recommend it! It is really fast, much more than normal 3G, but it doesn’t work for many of the new apps! It’s like getting an old/fast iPhone!

  48. alphine says:

    ipod touch 2g’s download link is having problem. ):

  49. matt says:

    no iMessage.

    Whited00r is really just ios3/4 with some custom mods to make it behave like ios5. it doesn’t really do true app multitasking, or real iCloud sync, or send/receive messages with other iMessage users. basically if you already know how to jailbreak, you don’t really need Whited00r.

  50. Atom Bass says:

    How come i cant find a whited00r download for my iPhone 3G? just links for ads. I’ve tried 3 browsers as well.. any mirrors would be alot of help!

  51. Burak says:

    Everytime I try, I get 1604 error. Tried with different macs. Nothing changed. Anyone has an idea about 2nd generation Ipod?

    • EHF says:

      I have exactly the same problem:

      – Mac OS X 10.7.1
      – iTune 10.5.2
      – iPhone 3G
      – iTunes/iPhone Software Updates is empty
      – I press Option key and click on restore button in iTune
      – iPhone goes into recovery mode, iTune extracts the update but hangs display “Preparing iPhone for restore”
      – Finally error 1604 window pops up. Apple documentation explains the error to be related to USB timing. Following Apple solution does not work neither: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3694#error1604

      Any idea?

      Thanks!

      • Matt says:

        Error 1604 can be resolved with Recboot

        • EHF says:

          I used it to get out of recovery or to get into recovery mode. It does not help.

          The forum of the White firmware hints at some tools but they do not solve the problem.

          In conclusion, I am sticking with Apple firmware.

    • noor says:

      put your ipod into dfu mode and then with the help of redsnow put it into pwned dfu mode then restore it to a custom firmware

    • Rudra Patel says:

      use a windows 7 computer

  52. […] これを解消すべく、iPhone3GにiOS5の機能の一部を使わせるソフトが、OSXDailyに掲載されています。 […]

  53. MOHABB says:

    Hey
    This is not IOS 5 !! it’s 3.1.3 modified ? i just installed it on my iPhone 3g and you can see in cydia down in the bottom 3.1.3 ! , NO iCloud ! it’s Dropbox with iCloud icon hehe ! no wallpapers , yes it fast coz it’s 3.1.3, No App Store it’s crab http://www.whited00r.com/3store.html and list goes on. Stay away

    going back to 4.2.1 :(

  54. Mike says:

    I’ve been trying this now for about 12 hours and it just won’t install. Tried the unlocked version, the locked version. Tried to downgrade to 3.1.2… nothing works.

    Finally giving up and restoring from Apple!

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