What iTunes Error 3194 Mean & How to Fix it while Downgrading Firmware?

What iTunes Error 3194 Mean & How to Fix it

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Whenever you restore a stock or custom IPSW of any firmware on your iDevice, iTunes request Apple servers to sign the IPSW with the ECID (Exclusive Chip ID) of your iDevice which is called SHSH Blob. As soon as new firmware gets released, Apple stops signing your ECID for old firmwares which result in iTunes 3194 error.

Saurik, who happens to the be creator of Cydia managed to create a workaround which can trick iTunes to get SHSH blobs from Cydia server instead of requesting them from Apple servers. Unlike Apple servers, Cydia or Saurik's server signs the IPSW with ECID of your iDevice even when Apple releases new firmware. Unfortunately, Saurik's server do not saves SHSH blobs for any iDevice until it is requested to do so. If you do not have SHSH blobs saved on Saurik's server and Apple has stopped signing ECID for the firmware to which you want to downgrade, in this case you CAN NOT downgrade firmware on your iDevice EVER.


If you have already saved your shsh blobs and you are still getting ths errors. do not panic, we`ve got the fix
Do the following to fix the issue...

Get SHSH Blobs Using TinyUmbrella:

1. Download TinyUmbrella for Windows or Mac OS X from here
2. Connect your iDevice to your PC or Mac via USB cable
3. Launch TinyUmbrella and click on Save SHSH button. Wait while TinyUmbrella downloads your SHSH blobs from Cydia server to your hard-disk drive. u will need an internet connection for this.
4. Once saved, switch to the LOG tab and click on Start TSS Server button. Make sure iTunes is closed at this time. 
5. Now add the following line to the end of HOSTS file and close the Notepad window. Do not forget to Save the HOSTS file before closing the Notepad window.
5. If you see the following two lines at the end of your LOG, it means TSS server has started successfully.
6. Now open http://gs.apple.com in your default browser and see if it redirects you to Cydia homepage instead of opening Apple website.
7. Thats it. Launch iTunes and restore the stock or custom IPSW using SHIFT+Restore combo on Windows and ALT+Restore combo on Mac.

Get SHSH Blobs by Editing HOSTS File:

Instead of using TinyUmbrella, you can use Windows or Mac HOSTS file to redirect iTunes to Cydia server. To edit HOSTS file on Windows or Mac, you must have full administrator privileges.

Edit HOSTS File on Windows: Open Notepad. Go to File -> Open... or press Ctrl+O. Now navigate to the following location and open HOSTS file in ETC directory.

C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc

1. Open Notepad. Go to File -> Open... or press Ctrl+O. Now navigate to the following location and open HOSTS file in ETC directory.
2. Now add the following line to the end of HOSTS file and close the Notepad window. Do not forget to Save the HOSTS file before closing the Notepad window.

 74.208.10.249 gs.apple.com

Edit HOSTS File on Mac:

1. Click Go -> Go to Folder and then enter path /etc
2. Now open HOSTS file with TextEdit and add the following line with at the end of the file as shown in the screenshot below.