iOS 5.1 was released as a major iOS update on March 7th along with new iPad aka iPad 3. Apple fixed some major bugs and introduced couple of new features which also included Japanese language support for Siri and a new lock screen for iPhones. Apple also managed to fix battery drainage issue in iOS 5.1 for iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S but it turns out not all bugs which were reported in iOS 5.0 and iOS 5.0.1 were fixed in iOS 5.1. We played around with our locked iPhone 4S and found an activation screen bug which allows you to bypass any iPhone's activation screen.
Every iPhone needs to be activated before you can actually use it for the first time, you need an official SIM card in order to activate your iPhone and start using it. In our case, this iPhone 4S is locked to AT&T and naturally we need a SIM card to activate this iPhone but you can bypass this activation screen and go straight to your SpringBoard (home screen) without any SIM card. Though there are other ways to bypass your activation screen but this one is a little different because it's a glitch in iOS.
If an iPhone is stuck on activation screen you will get either SIM not valid or Activation Failed Error while activating your iPhone without official SIM card. Press Home button once and you will get several options, tap on "Emergency Call" and dial any Emergency number like 911 or 112. Now quickly press and hold the power button and when you see "slide to power off" tap "Cancel". Your iPhone will go back to Invalid SIM card or Activation Failed error screen now tap on "Touch to return to call" on the top and End the call. That's it! your iPhone activation screen will be bypassed and you will get to iPhone's Home screen. Now it is important to note here that your actions are limited on this screen. You cannot use Siri, you cannot get to app switcher/Multitasking try but you can perform some usual tasks like browsing App Store or internet. If you already have a jailbroken iPhone 4S and somehow it got stuck on Activation screen (by deleting SAM in most cases) you can go to Cydia and fix it by installing SAM again.
Here's a video demo:
This bug exists in iOS 5.0, iOS 5.0.1 and iOS 5.1 as well. It is still unclear why Apple didn't fix it.
We will keep you updated on this, stay tuned!
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Tagged as: apple, iOS, iOS Bugs, iPhone
