troyerbe.com

just wanted to let everyone know that troyerbe.com is now up and running! stop by and visit sometime!

great new blog!

hey everybody! make sure you check out asiah's new blog! it's really great! i admit... i'm a little biased but it really is good. she really has a knack for writing.

check it out here or go to theerbefamily.blogspot.com

the iphone lives!

ok so i recently got my iphone working again. i am terribly happy about this to say the least. i replaced the home button on it (a pretty intensive process) and shortly after had no signal whatsoever. after literally months of trying everything i could think of, the problem has finally been resolved. it turns out that the no service issue i had was not a result of something i did while repairing the phone. i'm putting this here just so i can possibly save someone the trouble that i went through to solve the dreaded "NO SERVICE" error.
i will start by saying that this may not be a fix for everyone but it worked for me. i have an iphone 3g on 3.1.2 firmware and have not upgraded to 3.1.3 yet. my firmware is hacktivated as i am not on the at&t network. i found out the other day that the ultrasn0w jailbreak was only good up to the 04.26.08 baseband. when i checked the baseband of my iphone, i was somehow up to 05.1.07, which is unlockable only using blacksn0w.
in my several-month process, i actually tried using blacksn0w to unlock my phone, thinking perhaps it was a software issue holding me back. but there are two little things i discovered recently.
first, i had only tried using blacksn0w after ultrasn0w failed. i tried using it on top of ultrasn0w and i also tried uninstalling ultrasn0w and then installing blacksn0w. neither worked. for me, i had to do a fresh restore and start from scratch using a custom .ipsw file and only using blacksn0w.
second, i found a comment that someone had left on one of the sites i was looking at (i can't for the life of me femember where it was. i will post it as soon as i find it). they suggested turning on the airplane mode (shutting off the phone feature), reinserting the SIM card, and then turning off the airplane mode. they claimed that if you keep doing it, you will eventually get service. i had tried this a hundred times but it figured i would try once again. amazingly, it actually worked! i tried twice and suddenly, after months, there was a full signal!
i will say it again: this may not be your answer. even though i was skeptical, it actually worked and i am now up and running on my iphone again.
let me know if this worked for you!

a sincere thank-you

i know its been about a month since it happened but i wanted to take a moment and say thanks to everyone that helped in making my birthday so amazing. i have never had or even been a part of a surprise party before. it was really great. my little wife did a fantastic job with putting it all together. i really had no idea whatsoever. i was having a hard time with turning 30 (it's still a little difficult to say) but it meant a lot to be able to celebrate it with so many people that i care about. thank you so much for the gifts, i have been meaning to send out individual emails to say thanks but i keep spacing it. thanks to my family for the studio time, i will try to make you all proud of your investment. it's heart-warming to know you have that many people that believe in you. i thought i was going to get away with turning 30 without anyone noticing but now i'm glad you all did.

thanks again. t