To anyone new here, a jailbreak or jailbreaking is the process of gaining root access to your iPhone, iPod Touch, iPod Touch 2G, IPhone 3G, or iPhone 3GS. With root access you can install additional applications including Cydia, Icy, and apps that are not approved in the App Store.
Why are people jailbreaking?
We all know that Apple has a very strict App Store approval system, and they’ve rejected many apps from the App Store for strange reasons. There are also certain apps that Apple will never approve in the App Store. Thankfully developers who worked hard on their apps and had their apps rejected from the App Store can release it to jailbroken devices. People who jailbreak have access to cool apps that allow them to modify their device and do what they want with it. Apple should have allowed us to fully modify our own devices but they don’t like doing this.
What can I get by jailbreaking my device?
You can modify your Springboard/iPhone theme with the Winterboard app, you can mult-task with the Backgrounder app, you can unlock your iPhones, and a lot more interesting things.
Does jailbreaking void my warranty?
Yes, jailbreaking voids your warranty.
Apple’s recent post on Jailbreaking
Apple recently made an article making negative points about jailbreaking. They’re against it, why wouldn’t they? I’m going to list some of the points that they made below and also post my own arguments.
- Apple says that jailbreaking causes device and application instability: This is only true if you install certain applications from Cydia. I’ve never had any problems with my apps. If any app causes problems you can simply uninstall it.
- According to Apple jailbreaking causes unreliable voice and data: Apple is saying you get dropped calls, slow or unreliable connections, and delayed or inaccurate location data. This is not true, I have yet to experience this.
- Your battery life is less due to jailbreaking: Your battery life can’t decrease just because of jailbreaking. It can however decrease depending on the apps you install, and the processes that you have enabled. If you installed SSH you must remember to turn it off whenever you’re not using it. If you’re using Backgrounder, it obviously uses more battery because it keeps the other apps enabled in the background.
- Jailbreaking can make your device not work with future iPhone OS firmware: That’s not true. You can always factory restore your device to the original iPhone OS firmware if this happens.
Have anything to add? Leave a comment below, and let Apple know how you feel about jailbreaking!
[via Apple]
iPhone jailbreaking doubles (UPDATED)
iPhone jailbreaking increases from 8.00% to 8.43%
Apple adds an App Store Resource Center for developers
Apple Bans iPhone Developer
It all comes down to choice at the end of the day.
I paid for my first Iphone (2G) and jailbroke it. I still use the phone company I had then (O2 here in England) and have had no call drops / bad errors. O2 still get my £30 per month contract fee and I still only use about 5 Mins of my 1000 call time and average 200 txt’s a month from my 600 txt’s a month allowance. So, have Apple lost out because I jailbroke? have O2 lost out because I jailbroke? The answer is NO to both.
I will be upgrading to the new Iphone 3GS soon and yes I will be jailbreaking that too!
Why? Because I like to have different sounds and a different look than other Iphone users. It’s MY choice. If it all goes wrong do I cry? No I simply restore thru iTunes.
And as far as apps go I try an app and if I like it I buy it. Simples!
Apple could of made a good phone great by allowing custom sound / themes etc but they decided not to. I personally think they could of made a killing by allowing people to sell their theme creations on the app store (hell, they sell enough other shite apps at silly money)
And if all goes pete tong (wrong) at the end of the day and your iPhone is bricked Apple get another sale. So it’s win win all the way for Apple.
I decided to jailbreak my iPhone after the whole debacle with Google Voice. Jailbreaking allowed me to ad an app for that, and since having my phone open to apps that Apple wouldn’t approve, I’ve installed Backgrounder (allows multiple apps to run concurrently) VoipOver3g (allows Slingplayer and SIP Voip apps to run over 3G instead of wi-fi only) PDAnet (allows tethering of my laptop to the 3G network) and Cycorder (3rd party video recorder that Apple has disabled in the iPhone 3G running 3.0 firmware) and SBSettings (allows quick and easy access to certain configuration options).
After jailbreaking, I’ve found that all other iPhone functions continue working as before. There is no downside to this, and my iPhone has a lot more functionality and usefulness now. Funny thing is, had Apple not rejected the apps for Google Voice, I would not have been tempted to try this.
apple just full of bs. they’re trying to scare ppl into a state of complacency so that they can do what ever they want with the iPhones later on. My theory is that they are probably trying to find a way to make ppl believe that if they jailbreak their iphones, they will feel like they’ve committed some horrible crime. The way i look at it, the more ppl that jailbreak; the harder it’s going to be for apple to try and beat us. They would have to find a way to implement some sort of virus into the firmware that would cause the comp of someone trying to break the code to crash. But that would be illegal so they are just going to release update after update in hopes that we’ll just say: “the hell with it.” But that’s never gonna happen…. I hope
Hi,,,
Im thinking bout jailbreaking my Iphone 3g…Not sure how, Im spending hours and hours trying find away where i understand and feel comfortable with any recommendations?
you can get the firmware for iphone 3g on blog.iphone-dev.org/ and download redsn0w …….first open redsn0w and tell u to browse the firmware then they will tell you what to do in steps….also you can find the firmware on google…..redsn0w you can find it in google 2….
Bottom line, and for the most part I’m sure we all agree that what’s the point of owning an iPhone if we can’t personalize it to our preferences. Jailbreaking ROCKS!
I have upgraded my iPhone 2G from version 1.x to 3.0.1.
After using redsn0w with options (Cydia and Unlock), my iPhone stucks on bootloading. I see only the Apple logo.
The install process worked fine but now I’m stucked with it!
What should I do?
This problem has happened to a lot of my friends as well. The best thing i can suggest is to rejailbreak your iphone and try again. But this time dont unlock from redsn0w do it from cydia by adding the source.
I don’t understand why apple just doesn’t hire someone from the jailbreakibg community and allow for us to have more options with the device! Heck if they’d just allow us to have a background and video recording on the 3g I think sales for them would skyrocket! But noooo, they just want to be negative and Steve jobs just wants to be a hard ass and not admit that he couldn’t have thought of such a cool thing! Me, I will never unjailbreak my 3g cause I like not paying $9.99 for metal gear solid touch, and dtunes is the shisnit!
I tried jailbreaking my iPod Touch for a while when it was V2.2.1. I then found the battery would be flat after just over 24 hours from each recharge, so it was useless to me. You say to turn SSH off or something? What’s that anyway, I don’t remember installing that or know how to turn it off or that I even should turn it off. I gave up after a while and installed iPhone 3.0 software from Apple, now my battery lasts over a week. Think I’ll stay with the official apps. Ans who needs GV apps on an iPod touch anyway!
I jailbroke 1st to have Russian Lang support in SMS and video capture. Now foreign language support is included but still no video cap.
2nd I have to migrate from
windows to Linux coz M$ hates me and the only way to have access to the iPhone is via ssh. Awaiting a real alternative to iTunes.
I had a problem with my iPhone it kept muting my mic during calls I simpley restored it in safe mode, the genius bar connected it up to there mac and guess what the didn’t detect a thing and replaced my iPhone, 30 mobs later it was jailbroken again and no problems since. Touch wood!!!!
Jailbreakimg voids warranty, yes. But if you do a full system restore, is there any evidence of your phone being jailbroke? Email me on this romeosback03@yahoo.com
@Randy – there should be no way for them to tell if you do a full restore prior to any service being done at the Apple Store.
Do u not think it’s as easy for dev or pwn to turn and round say.. Yeh jailbreaking doesn’t cause those things to happen.. After I jailbroke my phone I have experianced a dramatic drop on the performance of my iPhone.. After going bk to original FW works perfect.. Is apple word against pwn and dev
I had a problem with one of my iPhone 3g’s where I wasn’t able to restore to the original firmware due to a short in the bottom of my phone. Point being, I sent my jailbroken phone to apple under warranty and they replaced it, no questions asked, free of charge. That was my 2nd phone, they sent me a third and the wifi didn’t work. So I am now on my 4th iPhone this year and I still have 2 months warranty left. I event talk to an apple rep over the phone when I was getting my 4th and I asked him why they didn’t like it. All he really had to say was that it messes up the phone and that apple had been cracking down on the dev team of jailbreaking. What a dumbass. Anyways, off to redsn0w this *****! Woo Hoo!! Hip Hip Hooray for Jailbreaking!!!!!!
um can u tell me if this is true or not i herd that in six months apple has found a way to stop all jailbreaking there will be a itunes update that locks ur iphone up 4 ever and u cant make it back to restore mode or dfu and that
I’ve had a 3g and jb it. Yes I did do restores to it coz of incompatible issues from apps, but by learning I ssh’d into the device and deleted the problems. Also I know ppl who had problems after updates from apples updates that messed up their iPod touches. I have a 3gs now jb and always will be. I believe in being able to do whatever u want with ure phone. And if things go haywire w/your device u can always restore to new. Yes to jb always.
You know I have to say I fell really sorry for any one who bought the 500$ iPhone. Imean no app and now jailbreak and it was really a iPod nano with touch screen. Well before 2.1 and jb now 3.0 the iPhone /itouch is the best I have an itouch I’m on it right now and I like to comparit with the g1. My friend has one and we conpare each other like “oh i have cp and ps ,so I have really awsome games so… So ya iPhone/itouch best invention ever
I think JB ing has ups and downs, I JB my iTouch and I got a better WiFi connection 100
percent of the time.