What is Jailbreaking?

What Does Jailbreaking Mean?

Jailbreaking, or “hacking” is giving a user read/write access to otherwise locked OS files on your iPhone.
It allows you to “unlock” your iPhone and activate it on another GSM carrier that doesn’t have bad Luke Wilson commercials. It gives you access to app stores like Cydia that offer programs that you won’t see in Apple’s popular counterpart. It’ll even give you the ability to customize the background of your home screen and change the look of your icons and menu colors.
Starting in early fall after the summer 2007 release of the original iPhone, jailbreaking began as a fairly complicated multi-step process. Things have definitely evolved over the last few years and the online jailbreaking community for iPhones is estimated in the millions (if you’re reading this article on this site, that number shouldn’t surprise you) with hundreds of blogs and forums scattered throughout the web dedicated to this crazy thing called jailbreaking.

What Are the Benefits of Jailbreaking?

Up until recently, if you wanted to shoot video with your iPhone, you had to jailbreak and download an app called Cycorder from Cydia that would let you shoot and save video, because your iPhone out of box couldn’t do it. Same with cut/copy/paste, MMS, all only available if you had jailbroken your iPhone.
Your probably wondering well then what in the heck do I need to do it for now? Well I jailbreak mine so I can have the application Backgrounder from Cydia, it allows you to multitask and do things like listen to Pandora while writing emails, something you can’t do with your run-of-the-mill iPhone and iPod Touch.
I also have apps like Winterboard from Cydia that allow me to customize my home screen, change the look of my lock screen, and change the overall theme of my iPhone. I can make my iPhone look completely different than the way it does when you open the box for the first time. So much to the point where people will ask me what kind of phone I’ve got when it’s in an unmarked silicon case.
Another good reason I would say to go for it is that it is easier than ever to jailbreak. In fact, programs such as BlackRa1n by GeoHot make jailbreaking as easy as plug and click.

What Are the Risks of Jailbreaking?

Now, although jailbreaking has become increasingly easier, there are still very complicated risks that go with it. If you have a newer iPod Touch or iPhone 3GS, or if you plan on unlocking your new device, remember what I am about to tell you…
An underground group of programmers known as the Dev Team, for the most part, spearheads all this jailbreak technology more or less without Apple’s permission. Think of the Dev Team as the LA SWAT team with huge awesome guns trying to get into a barricaded building, which is the jailbroken iPhone software.
Every time they find a way in, Apple comes along and puts another barricade up with a software update that closes the entrance they had. Then they have to find another way in. They are currently working on jailbreaks for 3GS and iPod Touch software version 3.1.3, so if you upgrade to the newest version of the firmware, you will lose the ability to jailbreak at this time.
So it’s just a best practice to check the latest firmware version jailbroken (see the Dev Team blog) versus your own (go to Settings > General > Status). Aside from the above mentioned risks, there’s always the chance of your iPhone “bricking” or getting stuck in a non working state.
Several times during jailbreaks, mine would be stuck in phone purgatory for hours. Take just a few moments to browse any iPhone forum with jailbreaking topics and you’re sure to find several comments along the lines of “help! I tried to jailbreak my iPhone and now it’s been stuck on the Apple logo for hours, help!” or “Please help me, after jailbreaking my iPhone my GPS won’t work.”
So things definitely can go wrong, but generally it’s user error. Usually plugging in your iPhone to your computer, starting iTunes, and holding power for 5 seconds, power and menu button for 10 seconds, and then just menu for 20 seconds, tells iTunes your phones fried and it will do a fresh install of your most recent iPhone software. For more information on getting your iPhone out of the constant reboot cycle, read this article.

Is Jailbreaking Legal?

Now you’re probably wondering if it’s legal. Um… yes and no! The fact of the matter is that Apple has verbally announced that they believed jailbreaking to be illegal and an infringement on their copyrights by way of complaint to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, or EFF last January.
But, the EFF sided with the consumer and stated that the “reverse engineering is a fair use when done for purposes of fostering interoperability with independently created software,” saying that yes, even though jailbreakers are using Apple’s copyrighted code, they are doing so in a way that allows them functionality that Apple doesn’t provide access to on their own.
On top of that, Apple’s legal team is probably too busy dealing with Nokia, Fujitsu, and Psystar to chase after people who are trying to customize their home screens.
To be honest with you I’m sure Steve Jobs and company have sat down and gone over the risk/threat of jailbreakers and have discovered how much it really fuels iPhone/iPod touch sales. Don’t believe me? Run a 24 hour poll on your blog and ask if users would still purchase iPhones if they couldn’t be jailbroken in any way.

What to Keep in Mind

But the cat and mouse game with Apple shows no sign of stopping as the Dev Team is furiously at work to break into the latest iPhone software to release to the public. Jailbreaking gives you complete control over your iPhone from customizing to 3rd party apps that didn’t for one reason or another end up on Apple’s App Store.
In fact the Cydia store is home to a lot of misfit apps that fell victim to Apple’s ever popular App screening process. Well, now that you’ve heard some background on jailbreaking, you’ve learned some of the benefits and risks, you may now make the choice, to jailbreak or not to jailbreak, that is the question.
If you decide to jailbreak, generally any app by the Dev Team such as PwnageTool or RedSnow is a safe bet, as long as the versions are compatible with your iPhone or iPod Touch firmware.
Lately BlackRa1n has been working well for me. It was literally a plug into usb port, launch program, click the button. I know Sebastien’s got some great tutorials on how to jailbreak as well as BlackRa1n and other downloads that will get you started.

How to Save Your SHSH Blob

How to Save Your SHSH Blob

With the release of Spirit now imminent, it would be a good thing to save your SHSH blob, in case you need to downgrade in the future. Saving your iPhone SHSH is very simple.
Step 1: Download Firmware Umbrella
Step 2: Launch Firmware Umbrella and plug your iPhone in.
Step 3: Click “Save My SHSH” and wait for Firmware Umbrella to do the job.
Done! A copy will be saved to your computer and it will also send a request to Cydia to save your SHSH on Saurik’s server.

What Is Unlocking?

Unlocking is an extremely easy concept to explain, sort of . Unless stated otherwise, cell phones purchased from carrier retail stores are “locked” to that specific carrier. For instance, a Blackberry storm from Verizon won’t work on an AT&T calling plan. The Sprint Palm Pre won’t work on T-mobile. Even your iPhone from AT&T is “locked” to that infamous blue-mapped carrier.
So what do you do if you want to purchase a phone you like but use it with a different carrier, perhaps one that costs less or gets better reception in your area? For most folks I’d say ” eh fa-gettaboutit ! ” (in a pretty sweet Brooklyn/Italian accent might I add). But for those of you lucky enough to have apples on the back of your phones, there are ways to relieve your beloved iPhone from AT&T’s struggling network.

Hardware Unlock Vs. Software Unlock

Technically, there are 2 ways to go about unlocking your iPhone. There is a hardware unlock, which is invasive (you have to open the phone), that I don’t recommend that anyone tries unless they’ve got a pretty extensive background in some kind of electrical engineering.
The 2nd, much easier way, the software unlock, could be done on your lunch break by your 6th grader. Just like jailbreaking, this can be as easy as hooking your iPhone up to the computer and clicking ‘start’. However the requirements for unlocking and the rules you must follow are very different.

Things to Consider Before Unlocking

There are guidelines to follow when thinking about unlocking your iPhone.
First off you need to make sure that the carrier you are wishing to go to supports the iPhones technology. I’ll save everyone here stateside some time and just let the cat out of the bag. If you unlock, really your best option is T-Mobile, the other major wireless GSM carrier. Other, smaller CDMA carriers (any centennial wireless users out here??) have had users confirm the unlock to work, but chances are if your reading an article on unlocking, they are referring to T-Mobile (at least here in the states).
Secondly, you need to know your firmware version and modem firmware version (or baseband as its often referred to). This is easily discovered by popping into your iPhone settings and opening the ‘about’ window. Now if you can’t seem to find it, I’m scared for you, but I’m here for you, I’ve provided some pictures below to help you out.

These 2 things are important to know, as they determine whether you can unlock your iPhone or not. If you are even thinking of jailbreaking or unlocking, best practice is to stay away from updating your iTunes or iPhone software, as the war between the Dev Team and Apple rages on, each new update could disable or prevent future unlocks.
I always check http://blog.iphone-dev.org/ to see the latest unlock available. As you can see right now, they have one working for firmware version 3.1.3 and baseband 05.11, but if you have updated your iPhone recently and have the 05.12 baseband, you’re out of luck for the time being. An unlock is in the works but the ETA field is empty so, don’t hold your breath.

Who Comes Up With Unlocks?

The last part of our segment today on unlocking is software, pioneered by the great Dev Team and the prodigy kid from New Jersey GeoHot. GeoHot, who recently announced hacking the PS3, actually received media attention for his iPhone unlock and was given a new Nissan 350z by the co founder of Certicell, not bad eh.
But the backbone of the jailbreak/unlock community, the Dev Team, have been the steady frontrunners ever since. Their software QuickPwn, RedSn0w, and PwnageTool have been staples in the iPhone hacking community for years.
Generally when you’re using these programs to jailbreak they ask you if you’d like to unlock in one of the steps it takes you through. Here lately though, 1 task programs like UltraSnow have been relevant, also done by the Dev Team, also available in our Downloads section.

Conclusion

Well that’s unlocking in 10 minutes or less, the key really is what version your firmware/modem firmware you’re running, and understanding there’s no unlock for 3.1.3 firmware if you have 05.12 modem firmware (baseband).
The model of your iPhone matters as well, whether it is the iPhone 3G , 3GS, or original version. Model compatibility for any unlock software is generally noted in the description of the download. And if I haven’t completely crushed your dreams yet, there’s no way to downgrade your baseband (let us know if you get Fuzzyband to work, we hear the bootloader’s to high). What am I talking about bootloaders, basebands, you guys should probably get out of here before things get really crazy.

How to Downgrade Your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch

Important Note: This process won’t work if you haven’t saved your SHSH blobs.

This page is our ultimate guide to downgrading your iPhone, iPad or iPod. Whether you upgraded to a version of iOS that is giving you problems or you’re a developer and you just want to see how your app works with older versions, you’re in the right place.
Here you’ll find the definition of downgrading, answers to some frequently asked questions, and of course tutorials on how to do it.

What is Downgrading?

Downgrading is the process of installing a previous version of iOS, the software on your iDevice. In order to fight fragmentation (and other things), Apple does not allow users to downgrade their iDevice software. So the jailbreak community had to come up with their own solution.
If you’ve ever updated your iPhone’s software through iTunes before, you’ve probably noticed the “verifying restore with Apple” message before. That’s iTunes, talking with Apple’s servers, to make sure you are installing the newest version of iOS.

Then How is Downgrading Possible?
With a little bit of text editing and the use of applications like TinyUmbrella, we can actually trick iTunes into thinking it’s talking to Apple’s servers. When in actuality, the sync-software is redirected to Saurik’s servers which gives the thumbs up to proceed with the restore of the older firmware.
Why Would I Need to Downgrade?
As mentioned earlier, app developers who want to make sure their applications are compatible with earlier versions of firmware would want to downgrade. The most common reason you’ll see on this site however, is to save a jailbreak.
Although it only takes us a click of a button for us, the work behind jailbreaking can sometimes take months. If you update to a version of iOS that hasn’t been jailbroken yet, downgrading will allow you to revert to a version that has.

What Are SHSH Blobs and How Important are They?
We won’t get too much into what SHSH blobs are, but they are important. Like you typically-can’t-downgrade without-previously-saving-your-SHSH-blobs important.
The blobs contain your iDevice’s ECID (digital fingerprint) and play an important role in the communication between iTunes and “Apple.” This is why before you upgrade your iOS firmware, we ALWAYS recommend you save your SHSH blobs from the current version.
This can be done with programs like TinyUmbrella or iFaith. Both are free to download and fairly simple to use. We recommend saving your SHSH blobs on every jailbroken firmware you land on, so even if your iDevice gets accidentally updated in the future, you can always go back.

What if I Didn’t Save Them, is There any Hope?
As we mentioned before, SHSH blobs contain your iDevice’s digital fingerprint, so it’s not something that can be replicated or downloaded. Typically, there isn’t anything you can do if you’ve upgraded and your blobs from the previous firmware weren’t saved.
However, Apple doesn’t always stop signing the previous version of iOS the moment it releases a new one. For instance, if you upgrade to a beta version of iOS and want to downgrade, chances are Apple is still signing the old software.
Step 1. Download the version of iOS you wish to downgrade to . I recommend saving it to your desktop to keep things simple.

Step 2. Windows users navigate to C:/Windows/System32/drivers/etc.
Mac users open your Terminal app and enter:
sudo /Applications/TextEdit.app/Contents/MacOS/TextEdit /etc/hosts
A text pad should open if you did it correctly. If you’re having troubles, make sure you have inserted a space after sudo and before /etc/.

Step 3. Add 74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com to the bottom of the notepad, under the last line that reads #127.0.0.1 gs.apple.com, and save it.

Step 4. Connect your iDevice to your computer and put it into DFU mode: hold home button + power button for 10 seconds, then let go of the power button and continue holding the home button for another 10 seconds). iTunes should auto-launch and give you the option to restore the device.

Step 5. Hold down the SHIFT key (OPTION key for Mac users) and click restore. A browser window should pop open allowing you to choose a firmware to restore to. Locate the the iOS file you downloaded earlier and select it.

Step 6: During the restore process, iTunes may give you error message 1004, 1015 ,or 1013 (etc), don’t panic! This is normal. Simply click OK. Your iPhone should be stuck in Recovery Mode. Download Fix Recovery or Windows and run the .exe file. Some code will go through your iPhone or iPad, then your device will reboot.

And that’s it. Let iTunes take it from here, and within minutes you should be fully restored.

Important Note: This process won’t work if you haven’t saved your SHSH blobs.

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Hello !

My first post of second blog . will update the site ASAP .