Jailbreaking your iDevice: Common questions and misconceptions cleared up.
Personal Thoughts - I remember back some time back when I bought my first iPod touch 2G. When I bought it, the guy asked me "Do you want me to jailbreak it first?"
Me, not having a lot of Apple iDevice knowledge looked at him and responded "Why would I want it jailbroken? I can't make phone calls on it, so why do I need it jailbroken?"
Me, not having a lot of Apple iDevice knowledge looked at him and responded "Why would I want it jailbroken? I can't make phone calls on it, so why do I need it jailbroken?"
It didn't take me long at all to figure out that I had no clue what I was talking about. After doing this for a while, I figured I'd throw this together to help others where I didn't know.
Now on to the article
Apple has had a stronghold on making devices that are fun to use, easy to figure out, and that can totally consume one's day. The available applications, games, and productivity suites available for the iDevice are seemingly endless.
Between iTunes, iBooks and the App Store, you can find ways to increase productivity, find your way around a strange town, or find games that are totally addicting (Doodle Jump....).
But, with all that great stuff available, a user still runs into the same limitations of every other Apple product and operating system. You're stuck with it the way Apple wants it to be, not the way you want it. Notification Pop-ups for everything, boring lock screen, only the Apple Theme for everything, and no memory management.
Apple is good for making stable operating systems for years; but personal customization to make your iDevice yours just isn't available for out of the box iDevices. Most of these programs add themselves into the OS, which can cause the OS crash and Apple doesn't want that.
This is where Jailbreaking comes in. You can take over a phone and make it 100% yours. Themes, lock screen add-ons (LockInfo), Call Blocking software, everything.I'll cover some of the most common problems, gains, and misconceptions on Jail-breaking here. But, I am not going to give information out on how to actually jailbreak it. That's for you to find. I don't want to be held responsible if your iDevice gets screwed up.
Basics -
What is a Jailbreak? As simple as it can be explained, a jailbreak is a piece of software that's added to your device that unlocks the stock operating system, allowing you to control every aspect of the iDevice.
It modifies (changes) parts of the iDevice's OS, usually done while the phone is
booting, to allow you full access and control of the iDevice. The biggest reason people jailbreak their iDevice's are:
- Install Non-Approved Apple software
- SIM Unlock their iPhone to be used on any GSM Carrier
- Install cracked/illegal software on their iDevice (although I don't approve of this, it's the truth)
A jailbreak is way more complicated and involved than listed above, but that's the basic explanation.
And there are two different types of Jailbreaks. Tethered and Untethered. See below for more information about this.
And there are two different types of Jailbreaks. Tethered and Untethered. See below for more information about this.
Is it Illegal? Per Apple and their EULA, it's illegal. Per the US Government, it it legal. (See
U.S. Declares iPhone...). There are a lot of little details included, such as it's only legal if you jailbreak your own device; but you cannot provide the jailbreak services for others and other fun things.
But the plain and simple answer: It legal in the United States to Jailbreak your iDevice.
Will it void my warranty? Yes, by jailbreaking your device, it will void any warranty offered by Apple and your cellular phone carrier (Right now, it's probably AT&T). If you have problems with your iDevice and either ship it back to Apple, bring it into an Apple Store, or bring it back to AT&T for service; and they discover your iDevice is Jailbroken, they won't fix any problems. Even if the problem is the screen, and it's jailbroken, the warranty is void.
Can I "un-jailbreak" my iDevice? Yes. It's really as simple as backing up your phone using iTunes (if you want), then reload the Operating System in iTunes. After the restore is done (anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour, depending on what iOS you're loading, and the device you're loading it on), it will be back to factory stock settings. And the best news, without it being jailbroken anymore, Mr. Warranty is back (provided you haven't tried to get any warranty work done on the iDevice while it was jailbroken).
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| (Image from addictivetips.com) |
Tethered Jailbreak vs Untethered Jailbreak? Ahh, this is always a fun one to explain. Depending on what type of iDevice you have (iPhone3G, 3GS, iPhone 4) will depend on what type of Jailbreak you can do.
Untethered: One the iDevice is Jailbroken, you can use it as normal. If you require a reboot or power the unit off, it will boot normally on the next power-on and run all Jailbroken apps without a PC. (Most iPhone/iPod 2Gs and3G's support Untethered Jailbreaks, and a lot of 3GS's as well. Not all 3GS's can be Jailbroken Unteathered, as well as iPhone 4's as of yet. It all depends on the baseband that the iDevice is running.)
Tethered: As of the time of this posting, iPhone 4's, iPads with IOS 4.2 and newer 3GS's with updated basebands (the backend software, found in the Settings / General / About / Model & Modem Firmware) have to be Jailbroken Tethered.
A tethered Jailbreak means that if you ever have to power down your iDevice, reboot, or the battery goes dead at any time, you will need to hook that iDevice into your computer and use a program such as RedSn0w to boot the device back into a Jailbroken state.
Sometimes the device won't fully boot if it is Jailbroken Tethered and tried to boot normally (Gets stuck at the Apple Logo). People who use iPhones should probably stay away from a Tethered Jailbreak, unless you travel with your laptop everywhere you go.
So if a Tethered Jailbreak requires a PC to boot into a Jailbroken state, why do it? Until Apple released iOS 4.1, most iOS versions could be Jailbroken Untethered. But, in iOS 4.1, and more importantly in iOS4.2.1, Apple will upgrade your Baseband during the iOS install. This is usually done without you ever even knowing what happened.
But, if you're like me, and live on your iDevice and love it Jailbroken, you have to live with some of the limits as well. I have 3 iDevices, an original iPhone 3G with iOS 3.1.3 Jailbroken Untethered, an iPhone 3GS with iOS 4.1 Jailbroken Untethered and an iPad with iOS 4.2.1 Jailbroken Tethered.
My two iPhones are Untethered so I can reboot at any time. As for my iPad, it really never leaves the house, and I reboot it maybe once every two or three weeks, so it doesn't both me if it needs to be rebooted while plugged into my computer.
But, if I had my iPhone Jailbroken Tethered, and it crashed, battery went dead or anything like that, I'd be stuck if I didn't have my laptop. Research everything before doing anything. I do know at the time of this
posting that the Dev-Team is hard at work making a new version of redsn0w that will allow an Untethered Jailbreak on iOS 4.2.1. But, until it gets out of the beta stage, just know your options.
iPhone / iPod Touch / iPad Jailbreaking Pros / Cons List | |
| Jailbreaking Pros | Jailbreaking Cons |
| SIM Carrier Unlock (iPhone devices) | Reduced Battery Life Between Charges (only on some models) |
| Custom Theme Support | Jailbroken iPhone loose internet APN Settings |
| System Addon Programs | Voids Warranty |
| Enhanced Security of iDevice | Some Programs cause iDevice to become less reliable, making the unit crash more often |
| Enhanced Privacy of iDevice | If the iOS has to be reinstalled for any reason, you will have to Jailbreak your iDevice again, and then download all your Cydia Packages one by one. They aren't backed up like they are in iTunes |
| Programs to enhance productivity | Personal Thought - If Apple is as serious about not supporting Jailbroken iDevice's, they may program something into either iTunes or the App Store preventing your iDevice from using these programs. |
| OS Customization fixes & enhancements to make the OS more user friendly | |
iPhone Basics
A lot of Trial and Error, Research and personal experience went into this part. Having used my personal iPhone 3G and 3GS on T-Mobile and AT&T, I'll try to provide a few tidbits of info.
SIM Unlocking your iPhone, get an AT&T SIM: This is the first and foremost thing you should do before you even THINK of Jailbreaking then SIM Unlocking your iPhone. If you ever have to reload the OS on the iPhone, the phone needs to be "Activated" before it can be used. To activate the iPhone, you need an AT&T SIM card. Even if it's a SIM card that isn't active anymore, you sill need one. So if you want to use your iPhone with T-Mobile, you still need an AT&T SIM to get the phone working after the reload.If I Jailbreak my iPhone, Can I use it on other Cell Phone Carriers other than AT&T? Jailbreaking your phone is the first step needed to unlock the SIM carrier. Until the iPhone comes out to Verizon Wireless in 2011, AT&T is the only "Official" Carrier for the iPhone.
Once you Jailbreak your iPhone, you need to then remove the SIM Carrier Lock. Most are software options, which I have tried. Personally, I've had good experience with a Cydia package called ultrasn0w. It changes something during the boot to remove the SIM Carrier block that the iPhone is programmed with.
There are other software packages available, either iPhone based or PC Based. I would suggest
Google to find which works best for you.
How do I get my internet / MMS working on my iPhone? When you jailbreak your phone, the chances that you will loose your APN (internet)settings are pretty high. If you are going to use T-Mobile, the APN
settings need to be changed no matter what for you to get e-mail or data when not on WiFi.There's a ton of sites out there that tell you how to setup your APN, MMS, and all other settings. But the one that I like that has served me well is unlockit. It creates a new Profile (like your e-mail) to allow your phone's data to work when not on AT&T.
Open your Safari broswer on your iPhone and go to www.unlockit.co.nz and follow the instructions. It really takes about 2 minutes to do, and they have a HUGE selection of cell carriers from all over the world. Once you click on "Create Profile", a new one will pop up asking to install this profile.
Install it, reboot the phone and you now have internet!
T-Mobile + iPhone + 3G Data = NO SERVICE: If you SIM unlock your iPhone and use another carrier besides AT&T, keep in mind that you may not get 3G coverage. The AT&T 3G frequency and the T-Mobile 3G frequency are totally different; and because the iPhone was designed for AT&T's network, it doesn't know what the frequency of the T-Mobile 3G is. Think of trying to get an FM radio station with an AM radio.
Ok, all this info, but is it worth it? I guess it's all up to you. It's your device, and there's a ton more information out there than just what I wrote above. In my honest opinion, is it worth Jailbreaking your device? Absolutely! With all the software I have on my phone, half from Cydia, I couldn't live without it being jailbroken!
Here are some pictures from my iPhone.
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| My Lockscreen with LockInfo I can see my Calender, Missed Calls, Text Messages, E-Mail, Notifications and Weather right from my LockScreen! |
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| My Homescreen. Using Winterboard with Glass Orb Color Theme, 5 Icon Dock |
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| One of my folders with one of the best addons I've found. It's called FolderEnhancer. It allows you to create Folders in Folders, and have multiple pages of apps inside of one folder! |
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| This is the Folder in the Folder part of Folder Enhancer! |
(All information listed in above article is written by Skelly's Blog. Unless otherwise stated or noted; the writings above are from Skelly's mind and are based on personal opinions, research completed, and technical knowledge of said article. This information is provided on an As-IS basis, and Skelly's Blog cannot be held responsible for any problems caused by following or otherwise using this information.)
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