Image via Chris
iOS 6? Please head over here.
Have you ever looked at your carrier name in the status bar of your iPhone? Chances are you have. If you’ve ever wondered where this actually comes from – this is really just an image contained in the carrier’s bundle of settings.
This makes it much easier for this to be customised or changed. Carriers can (naturally) and do change how their network appears – Optus changed from ‘OPTUS’ in firmwares lower than 4.x to ‘YES OPTUS’ in iOS 5. Telstra choose to display ‘3TELSTRA’ as ‘Telstra’, (and likewise for 3 – choosing to appear as ‘3’ instead of 3TELSTRA)
This is also handy for users – carrier bundles are easily edited and tweaked by users and can be deployed semi-officially – the same way carriers can deploy themselves on the side.
While in iOS 5 many of the actual carrier configuration data is signed and will refuse to work if the signature is broken – the images are free rein. You can do whatever you want here.
Inspired by a premade Telstra carrier logo installer for jailbroken phones (courtesy of Kin3tiK on Whirlpool), I decided to take a look and see how far I could get. Turns out if you can get your hands on a carrier bundle, you can throw your own images in.
[box color=green]These will only work on retina devices – the iPhone 4, 4S and iPad+Cellular (third generation). Please see my blog post on carrier bundles for more information.[/box](Note that these will only apply to the one carrier – installing the Optus bundle won’t change your Telstra logo, but will appear if you insert an Optus SIM for example)
[box color=blue]As of iOS 5.1, it seems you cannot overwrite a carrier bundle with one of the same version. Therefore, these bundles have a higher version number than than the official release.
This means when your carrier issues their own update, you won’t get it over the air if it’s not higher than the version you’ve got installed. This also makes it harder to go back to stock. As such, the only guaranteed way to go back to stock settings is to restore your iPhone. I’m not responsible if anything goes awry.[/box]
[box color=orange]iOS 5.1 ships with carrier bundles version 12[/box]
[box color=yellow]Please note I have only tested the Telstra logos – I am unable to test the others.[/box]
[box color=orange]All bundles below are version 12.5 (unless stated otherwise)[/box]
Right click on the logo you want for your carrier below, and save it to your desktop.
Telstra
The following are version 12.5.1
iPad – version 12.5 with tethering enabled.
Vodafone
Optus
Virgin
TPG
Telecom NZ
(TPG and Telecom NZ logos via Chris Simmons.)
To install this on your own iPhone, first you must tell iTunes that you can side load your own carrier bundles. Usually iTunes will not let you point your way to a carrier bundle on your own computer. This is easily fixed;
For both Mac OS X and Windows, make sure iTunes is closed before proceeding.
For Mac OS X; open up Terminal.app and paste in the following
defaults write com.apple.itunes carrier-testing -bool true
For Windows, open up Run (Winkey+R) and paste the following;
"%ProgramFiles%\iTunes\iTunes.exe" /setPrefInt carrier-testing 1
If you’re running Windows x64 bit, do this instead:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\iTunes\iTunes.exe” /setPrefInt carrier-testing 1
Done! Now simply connect your iPhone, open up iTunes, select your iPhone from the sidebar, and hold down option (Windows users, hold down Shift instead) while you click on restore. Now simply point your way to the .ipcc file you wish to load. You may also want to repeat the above, but click on ‘Check for Updates’ instead.
Now once that is finished, reboot your iPhone and you should be good to go.
If your phone blows up or won’t turn on, I’m not responsible. You do this at your own risk. 🙂
Enjoy.
This is great; works very well on my iPhone 4S.
Could you make one for vodafone? Maybe just the Vodafone symbol? or the full word “vodafone” instead of “voda au” ?
Hey James – have added two different versions for you to choose from. Let me know if they work.
The first one that says “vodafone” looks really good. And i love it even mor because it doesn’t require a jailbreak. Thank you! 😀
Also, i’ve noticed that you don’t have a link to revert back to the old Vodafone/Optus Logos like you do for the Telstra one. Could you put that up as well? Thanks for your hard work.
Your original carrier *.ipcc on a mac is located at:
“/Users/XXXX/Library/iTunes/iPhone Carrier Support/XXXX.ipcc”
Hi James – I have added original bundles for Optus and Vodafone now.
Hi,
Can we have version above 13 for ios6 now :O) thanks
Hey, great to see my small Telstra T Logo being used. Hope People find it useful.
i installed it and i get the telstra logo, that’s great. however, the appstore keeps causing the iPhone to reset itself every time i try and open it.
i downloaded the normal telstra carrier file and installed it the same way i installed the carrier file with the logo but the carrier logo and the resetting won’t go away!
Try rebooting it just ooone more time and see how it goes.
Hi, I did this with the Vodafone Symbol, but I need to take my iPhone into the apple store and I want to get the old, generic “voda AU” text back in the corner without restoring. How do I do this? Could you upload an .ipcc file for the original like you have done with Telstra? Thanks
Would love to see this for iPad 😀 lol
Just wanted to let you know that
“%ProgramFiles%\iTunes\iTunes.exe” /setPrefInt carrier-testing 1
didn’t work for me on Windows 7 64bit.
I used instead
“C:\Program Files (x86)\iTunes\iTunes.exe” /setPrefInt carrier-testing 1
I found the path from the iTunes icon properties target directory
Yes, I had this issue also, but solved it the same way you did.
I wasn’t able to find it
This is great! Nice tip!
I would love to put my company logo at the top. How do I save an image a an .ipcc?
Anything in particular that would cause images to only show in grey rather than colour? Thanks! 🙂
Not to worry, all sorted now 🙂
Could you please do one for Optus but substitute the TPG logo in instead. TPG piggybacks on the Optus network and it says YES OPTUS on my iPhone which is really annoying.
the tog logo is here:
http://www.tpg.com.au/res/images_new/logo.gif
or an svg here http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/66/TPG_Telecom_logo.svg
Thankyou soooo much
Hi Beau,
Could you please make a carrier config for 2degreesmobile.co.nz and skinny.co.nz?
Thanks 🙂 🙂
Hi Luke. Do you have high res (preferably transparent) copies of the logos that could be used?
Cheers,
Beau
Hi Beau,
I can make some up tonight, can you let me know of the sizes?
Cheers,
Luke 🙂
3 one doesn’t work
You can save time by just turning airplane mode on/off instead of rebooting phone. 🙂
I TRIED COPYING AND PASTING THE LINK INTO WINDOW+R COMMAND AND IT DIDNT WORK. HOW CAN I GET INTO THE SETTINGS TO ALLOW THIS?
IF YOU HAVE 64 BIT WINDOWS INSTALLED YOU WILL NEED TO USE “%programfiles(x86)%” INSTEAD OF %PROGRAMFILES%. I’D SAY THIS IS YOUR PROBLEM
note that you should type the quotes yourself – the web ‘smart quotes’ are the wrong ones.
Can you make a Vodafone one using this logo.
http://i.imgur.com/aZoSJ.png
Thanks.
yes please do that looks awesome.
I just tried the Vodafone logo and it is too big and doesn’t fit in the bar, any chance of making it a little smaller?
Hey Great work !
I was wondering if anyone could help me make the telecom xt carrier logo full scale , like the one in this link
http://www.unlockit.co.nz/unlockit/?p=84
Cheers 🙂
Do you have a graphic to work with? I could probably whip something up later tonight or tomorrow.
Any change of redoing the Optus logo for the iOS 5.1 release?
Hi Nathan – updated. Please read the blog post for more information.
Thanks!
Hi can you make one for amaysim as it uses the Optus network but YES OPTUS is soooo annoying preferably with a logo like this http://www.epayaust.com.au/Portals/0/NEW%20images/Amaysim-Logo.png and for the black one https://amaysim-media.s3.amazonaws.com/media-centre/amaysim_2D_Blackwhite.jpg the clear one idk but please at least try
Nice – however I’ve noticed with the stock 12.0 carrier settings bundle on iOS 5.1 on Telstra the 4S is frequently dropping the network and going back to “Searching” – much as it did prior to Telstra releasing an updated settings bundle for 5.0.1.
I suspect another updated bundle from Telstra will be forthcoming shortly.
I’ve had no issues with the network dropping on my iPhone 4 since upgrading to iOS 5.1. Might be something specific to the 4S.
On a side note, I’ve also updated my list of logos on my site.
http://smns.me/iphone-carrier-logos/
great work once again, thanks.
May be a silly question, but are the originals available for download, and can they be restored in the same way?
Hi Carl – I’ll try and do this over the next few days. Keep in mind these’ll be a higher version number again than the stock copies that came with your iPhone.
Is it not possible to use say, 12.0.0.1 so that even with a 12.0.1 it’ll still be newer?
Silly question I know, but in versioning, 12.1 and 12.0.1 are newer than 12.0.0.1.
As above, tried this and it seems to work fine. I haven’t tried 1.1.x versions before as none of the official Apple supplied bundles use them. I’ll use them from now on.
I believe when the next carrier updates come out I’ll simply make them 12.1.1 (with or without my logos, as you wish) and then you’ll be set for an official 12.2 (or higher release)
Possible to make these 12.0.1 so as not to clash with official 12.1 carrier releases down the track, or does it not matter?
Thanks guys – I’ve tried this and it seems to work fine. I haven’t tried 1.1.x versions before as none of the official Apple supplied bundles use them. I’ll use them from now on.
I believe when the next carrier updates come out I’ll simply make them 12.1.1 (with or without my logos, as you wish) and then you’ll be set for an official 12.2 (or higher release)
Appreciate the response, and love ya work 😀
I have just tried Vodafone AU, and the logo does not seem to be working on iPhone 4 – iOS 5.0.1
Just tried to use the ipcc file for three, but I noticed my carrier settings are already version 12.1
I have an iPhone 4 with iOS 5.1
I see that max is trying to use vodafone without success so they might already be on version 12.1 as well.
So you may need to bump both of these up to 12.2 for your .ipcc files to work
Installing these on The New iPad will also enable the Personal Hotspot feature!
Hi Starbuck – that’s great news. Any chance you could post any screenshots of it in action? Would love to see. I don’t have a new iPad.
I’ve tried both the Vodafone .ipcc’s on my iPad 3 and while it enables the hotspot feature (which is awesome), it disables the APN changing function under “Settings, Mobile Data” and the APN set in your ipcc is incorrect for my post-paid iPad plan.
I’ve tried upacking the ipcc files and editing the carrier.plist but I’m having no luck getting it to work, any chance of an ipcc with the APN of vfinternet.au?
Thanks for a great post Beau.
I also tried the Optus ipcc file with my Optus Post-paid mobile broadband sim in a New IPad. Although the Hotspot Menu appeared, I was no longer able to get data because the APN was not correct.
For post-paid mobile broadband the pan should be “connectme” instead if “yesinternet”.
Unfortunately the optus bundle also hid the ability to edit the apn, so I have now reverted to 12.0
It would be great if your could create and optus bundle for postpaid mobile-broadband with the correct apn (including for tethering).
Thanks Heaps
Craig
hi starbuck
which did you use to get the new ipad 3 to work for enabling personal hotspot on ios 5.1.1
thanks
Gave it a try with optus, but didn’t check the carrier version beforehand.
It looked like all was well, rebooted the phone and the old YES OPTUS is still there. Tried another hard refresh still the same.
Maybe it’s like Darren where version was already 12.1?
I have also just tried the Optus logo, but still getting the old YES OPTUS. I did check the carrier version beforehand and it was definitely 12.0 so not sure why this won’t work?
For windows 64bit use
“C:\Program Files (x86)\iTunes\iTunes.exe”/setPrefInt carrier-testing 1”
worked for me
iPhone 4S on Telstra here. Tried the blue logo and no go. Does say my carrier is on 12.1 so like others above I agree I think you’d need to update the files to be 12.1.1 or something like that.
If you apply on the iPad 2, the logo appears blown up and clipped. However, if you open up the bundle and halve the sizes of the icon image files, it works perfectly on iPad 2 with iOS 5.1.
Hi,
Australian carriers have already updated the packages to 12.1 in the last few days, I checked and was 12.1 on my iPad 3 already. The hotspot was greyed out. I tried this and it now enables the feature but says to call optus to activate. Can you please update a package to 1.20 for optus and I will try on the IPAD 3 and let you know. Thanks in advance awesome work.
Strange, it updated the carrier to 12.1 but the logo isn’t showing up, even after reboot. Telstra 4S iOS5.1
Mine did the same, said it was 12.1 but still didn’t get the Telstra logo. I even changed mine to 12.1.1 and reapplied it, which still didn’t give it the logo, just the Telstra text.
Hi,
Do you happen to have European carrier ipcc. T-mobile Hungary for example. No hotspots with new iPad here neither. Would love to try the above method.
Regards
Carriers have already updated to 12.1 so these no longer work currently.
Please can you update 1.20 or something
Hello,
can you provide an instruction how to make such ipcc file for another carriers?
I live in Russia and just bought the new iPad 64gb 4G AT&T (GSM) (from USA)… With my local carrier sim-card I have working 3G Internet but there is no Personal Hotspot feature…. Also saw, that a lot of people are looking for solution for Personal hotspot on new iPads with 5.1 and not-jailbroken all over the world….
Please tell the world how to do such files?
Hello.
Thank you for the great time and effort put into this!
As the previous poster implied, a lot of people are looking for a solution to enable personal hotspot on the new iPad, and these ipcc files seem to do it.
I am currently on a network called “Telenor” in Sweden.
Would be great if a custom ipcc file could be generated for my operator, and other international operators, as I know a lot of people would benefit from.
Feel free to e-mail me if you require any information from my iPad, maybe a database can be created.
Thanks again for your time and effort.
Great work first of all, 2 questions. If someone wanted a custom logo for a carrier not listed here, can you make me one? Also if I needed that same ipsw made with a custom prl for that carrier are you able to make it for me? I am willing to pay you for your time if possible. thanks.
Thanks for the great work!
Are you able to re-post the file as 12.0.1 versions? I opened them up and saw that version.plist still says 12.1 or 12.1.0 – is it safe to change this to 12.0.1 on both sections?
Your response seemingly saying you tried it and it works seems to suggest you tried it and it works, but if so, why not change the ipcc files above to reflect that change too?
Just not sure whether changing it myself is going to stuff things up – hope you can give some advice on whether I should change this myself or not, and simply leave the ipcc files as they are…
thanks
I’m based in the US and I would like to update my iPhones carrier bundle so I can customize my phone to its utmost potential. I have a factory unlocked iPhone 4s (iOS 5.1) and my carrier is not an official carrier in the US. Im on T-mobile. My iPhone is currently on unknown.bundle (as seen in commcenter.plist thru ibackupboot). I don’t want to jailbreak my iPhone. Can anyone help me with this? PLEASE!