Jailbreaking: The Complete Guide for Newbies.
In this guide I will share with you everything that is crucial to know about jailbreaking, and what can be achieved by jailbreaking your Apple device. Most of this guide comes straight out of my knowledge, which I received from actively browsing Apple-related forums like Multi-Touch Fans and Mac-Themes, I suggest you check those out if you need further help or guidance, beyond the topic of this guide.
What is jailbreaking?
Jailbreaking is a process which removes boundaries set by apple on your device, and allows root access to your device once process is completed. This opens up a whole new dimension of custom applications and widgets.
Facts about Jailbreaking
- Jailbreaking is NOT Illegal, and only breaks Apple's TOS.
- Jailbreaking does NOT void your warranty. If you are experiencing problems with your apple device, you can restore it through iTunes. After this process Apple will not be able to tell whether your device was ever jailbroken, and will repair/send you a new one.
- A Jailbreak will slow your device down just a small bit - a few mb of ram will be required to run daemons associated with the jailbreak.
- You will still be able to use your iPod as normal, syncing with iTunes, buying music and apps will still function properly. You will use a completely different App-Store to download jailbroken apps, this will be discussed later.
Types of Jailbreak
Jailbreaking can be split into 2 types: tethered, and untethered.
Tethered - Jailbroken through an application which is run while iPod is connected. Once jailbroked, the application will have to be run every time you want to switch your iPod back on.
Un-Tethered - Jailbroken either from an application, or straight from the device. Once jailbroken, the jailbreak stays on - and rebooting works as normal.
Updating and Restoring
Once you update, or restore your Device, the jailbreak will be lifted - and all of your jailbroken apps will disappear.
Advantages
- Once jailbroken you will have full access and control of your ipod. You will be able to:
- SSH into your iPod for file transfer
- Connect to your iPod via VNC
- Run terminal from your iPod
- Manage Tasks and RAM manually, if you choose
- Tether your iPhone/3g iPad and create a WiFi hotspot.
- Unlock WiFi only applications to run on 3g
- Install Icon Themes
and much, much more...
Disadvantages
- If you install too many background applications/widgets - you will experience dramatic decrease in the frame-rate of the springboard/ speed at which apps load/run.
- If you are unable to restore your jailbroken iPod, your warranty will truly expire.
- Battery life may suffer from installed widgets.
Guide to Jailbreaking
Allright, so you've made your mind up and want to jailbreak, that's great! What you'll need to do first is to make sure your software version is below 4.0.2 - otherwise, i'm afraid you can't jailbreak just yet (guide will be updated once a new JB comes out). Open up safari, and visit "www.jailbreakme.com". You will see a slider at the bottom - swipe your finger across it to begin the process, and agree to the window that pops up. A file should start downloading, and you will be jailbroken automatically. Once your iPod restarts - you should see the "Cydia" icon appear if the jailbreak was successful.
Cydia
Cydia is one of the 3 popular "Package Managers". This application will allow you to download "Packages" (Apps/Widgets/Themes/Modifications) from "Sources" (Special servers that host packages). Cydia is notorious for being fully featured, but a downside is that it takes forever to load and refresh the long list of sources that it holds. But i recommend you stick with Cydia for a while - it's beginner friendly.
There are, however, other Package managers out there. These are:
- Rock: a more complex manager, but slightly faster with loading times
- Icy: a blazing fast manager designed just for the purpose of installing packages.
Installing Jailbroken Apps Using Cydia
This is rather easy and works a lot like using the Appstore. Cydia comes pre-loaded with a list of many sources, which host most of the jailbroken apps you may want. When you load Cydia for the first time, you will be asked whether you are a developer, hacker or user. Pick user. After that, installing apps is easy - just hit search and search for whatever you'd like to install. The next section of the guide will cover various must-have applications that you can install from cydia.
Great Jailbreak Applications
SBSettings
SBSettings allows you to have quick access to a scaled down settings app. Once installed, simply swipe the status bar at the top to reveal a menu where you can:
- Change the brightness
- Toggle WiFi, Bluetooth and 3G
- A handy Notepad
- A Task Manager (which is pretty awesome)
It will also tell you how much memory you have, and allow you to shutdown, restart and put your iPod into Safe Mode.
Poof
Poof lets you hide icons which you don't want to have on your springboard. While hiding the application, you can still access it by searching for it from your search screen. I usually "poof" my voice memos and stocks (because I use neither)
iFile
A file manager for your device. This will let you cheat in games like doodle jump and get mental hi-scores. It will also let you manage your filesystem and edit a lot of the configuration files.
Mobile Terminal
(src)
It's terminal. For your iDevice - useful as hell for checking your IP. Gives nerds the full control they deserve
.
Playing With Themes
You might be happy with your new features, but you might still be wanting to spice up the way your UI looks. Great idea - let's try some themes!
(src)
- Go to Cydia and install Winterboard. This is a themes manager, which can be used to apply and remove graphical modifications to your device's UI.
- Find some themes. I suggest browsing sites like:
Multi-Touch Fans and Mac-Themes.
- Once you have a theme name, find it on Cydia and install it.
- Open up Winterboard, and check the box with your theme's name on it.
- Respring your device and Voila!
Examples of themed iDevices:
Other Small Things To Know About Jailbroken Firmwares
- Once you have installed an app from cydia, your iPod will have to respring. This is a process under which your springboard will restart - so your new app appears on the springboard.
- Safe Mode - an option in SBSettings which turns off every jailbroken utility you currently have running. This will let you play RAM intensive games which run slower while backgrounded utilities are running on jailbroken devices. Restart your iPod to exit out of safe mode.
I hope you enjoyed my 1st guide on sythe , and learned from it (took me well over 1h to write xD). If you would like to have anything added to the guide, or anything explained - please reply to this post or PM me. Feedback is appreciated
In this guide I will share with you everything that is crucial to know about jailbreaking, and what can be achieved by jailbreaking your Apple device. Most of this guide comes straight out of my knowledge, which I received from actively browsing Apple-related forums like Multi-Touch Fans and Mac-Themes, I suggest you check those out if you need further help or guidance, beyond the topic of this guide.
What is jailbreaking?
Jailbreaking is a process which removes boundaries set by apple on your device, and allows root access to your device once process is completed. This opens up a whole new dimension of custom applications and widgets.
Facts about Jailbreaking
- Jailbreaking is NOT Illegal, and only breaks Apple's TOS.
- Jailbreaking does NOT void your warranty. If you are experiencing problems with your apple device, you can restore it through iTunes. After this process Apple will not be able to tell whether your device was ever jailbroken, and will repair/send you a new one.
- A Jailbreak will slow your device down just a small bit - a few mb of ram will be required to run daemons associated with the jailbreak.
- You will still be able to use your iPod as normal, syncing with iTunes, buying music and apps will still function properly. You will use a completely different App-Store to download jailbroken apps, this will be discussed later.
Types of Jailbreak
Jailbreaking can be split into 2 types: tethered, and untethered.
Tethered - Jailbroken through an application which is run while iPod is connected. Once jailbroked, the application will have to be run every time you want to switch your iPod back on.
Un-Tethered - Jailbroken either from an application, or straight from the device. Once jailbroken, the jailbreak stays on - and rebooting works as normal.
Updating and Restoring
Once you update, or restore your Device, the jailbreak will be lifted - and all of your jailbroken apps will disappear.
Advantages
- Once jailbroken you will have full access and control of your ipod. You will be able to:
- SSH into your iPod for file transfer
- Connect to your iPod via VNC
- Run terminal from your iPod
- Manage Tasks and RAM manually, if you choose
- Tether your iPhone/3g iPad and create a WiFi hotspot.
- Unlock WiFi only applications to run on 3g
- Install Icon Themes
and much, much more...
Disadvantages
- If you install too many background applications/widgets - you will experience dramatic decrease in the frame-rate of the springboard/ speed at which apps load/run.
- If you are unable to restore your jailbroken iPod, your warranty will truly expire.
- Battery life may suffer from installed widgets.
Guide to Jailbreaking
Allright, so you've made your mind up and want to jailbreak, that's great! What you'll need to do first is to make sure your software version is below 4.0.2 - otherwise, i'm afraid you can't jailbreak just yet (guide will be updated once a new JB comes out). Open up safari, and visit "www.jailbreakme.com". You will see a slider at the bottom - swipe your finger across it to begin the process, and agree to the window that pops up. A file should start downloading, and you will be jailbroken automatically. Once your iPod restarts - you should see the "Cydia" icon appear if the jailbreak was successful.
Cydia
Cydia is one of the 3 popular "Package Managers". This application will allow you to download "Packages" (Apps/Widgets/Themes/Modifications) from "Sources" (Special servers that host packages). Cydia is notorious for being fully featured, but a downside is that it takes forever to load and refresh the long list of sources that it holds. But i recommend you stick with Cydia for a while - it's beginner friendly.
There are, however, other Package managers out there. These are:
- Rock: a more complex manager, but slightly faster with loading times
- Icy: a blazing fast manager designed just for the purpose of installing packages.
Installing Jailbroken Apps Using Cydia
This is rather easy and works a lot like using the Appstore. Cydia comes pre-loaded with a list of many sources, which host most of the jailbroken apps you may want. When you load Cydia for the first time, you will be asked whether you are a developer, hacker or user. Pick user. After that, installing apps is easy - just hit search and search for whatever you'd like to install. The next section of the guide will cover various must-have applications that you can install from cydia.
Great Jailbreak Applications
SBSettings
SBSettings allows you to have quick access to a scaled down settings app. Once installed, simply swipe the status bar at the top to reveal a menu where you can:
- Change the brightness
- Toggle WiFi, Bluetooth and 3G
- A handy Notepad
- A Task Manager (which is pretty awesome)
It will also tell you how much memory you have, and allow you to shutdown, restart and put your iPod into Safe Mode.
Poof
Poof lets you hide icons which you don't want to have on your springboard. While hiding the application, you can still access it by searching for it from your search screen. I usually "poof" my voice memos and stocks (because I use neither)
iFile
A file manager for your device. This will let you cheat in games like doodle jump and get mental hi-scores. It will also let you manage your filesystem and edit a lot of the configuration files.
Mobile Terminal
(src)
It's terminal. For your iDevice - useful as hell for checking your IP. Gives nerds the full control they deserve
.Playing With Themes
You might be happy with your new features, but you might still be wanting to spice up the way your UI looks. Great idea - let's try some themes!
(src)
- Go to Cydia and install Winterboard. This is a themes manager, which can be used to apply and remove graphical modifications to your device's UI.
- Find some themes. I suggest browsing sites like:
Multi-Touch Fans and Mac-Themes.
- Once you have a theme name, find it on Cydia and install it.
- Open up Winterboard, and check the box with your theme's name on it.
- Respring your device and Voila!
Examples of themed iDevices:
Other Small Things To Know About Jailbroken Firmwares
- Once you have installed an app from cydia, your iPod will have to respring. This is a process under which your springboard will restart - so your new app appears on the springboard.
- Safe Mode - an option in SBSettings which turns off every jailbroken utility you currently have running. This will let you play RAM intensive games which run slower while backgrounded utilities are running on jailbroken devices. Restart your iPod to exit out of safe mode.
I hope you enjoyed my 1st guide on sythe , and learned from it (took me well over 1h to write xD). If you would like to have anything added to the guide, or anything explained - please reply to this post or PM me. Feedback is appreciated
