Month: July 2009

Jailbreak & Unlock iPhone 3.0.1 With RedSn0w

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated August 19, 2009

The Dev Team reported that it is safe to update your iPhone to OS 3.0.1. After updating your iPhone to the latest 3.0.1 firmware, you can run the latest version of RedSn0w and point it to firmware 3.0.

Since the 3.0.1 doesn't update the baseband, you will also be able to unlock your iPhone using UltraSn0w via Cydia (for iPhone 3G and 3GS), and you will also be able to run RedSn0w on your iPhone 2G to unlock it by following these steps.

My latest tutorial on how to jailbreak your iPhone using RedSn0w still works and I suggest you check it out if you're not sure on how to update and jailbreak your iPhone.

Note that in order to jailbreak, you will have to update to 3.0.1 in iTunes first, which will remove all your jailbreak apps.

For more detailed information about jailbreaking and unlocking, I recommend you check out the jailbreak page and the unlock page of this site. It is updated with the latest info.

iPhone 3.0.1 Firmware is Out. Jailbreakers Beware!

Sébastien Page ∙ July 31, 2009

As I predicted this morning, Apple didn't realease a 3.1 but a 3.0.1 update to the iPhone OS. The firmware update is supposed to fix the SMS vulnerability that we talked about earlier this week.

The firmware 3.0.1 update is available through iTunes. However, as usual when the iPhone OS is updated, jailbreakers (and unlockers) should stay away from it should they want to keep their jailbreak. Updating to 3.0.1 will remove the jailbreak!

In a hypocritical statement about the fix, an Apple rep said:

We appreciate the information provided to us about SMS vulnerabilities which affect several mobile phone platforms. This morning, less than 24 hours after a demonstration of this exploit, we've issued a free software update that eliminates the vulnerability from the iPhone. Contrary to what's been reported, no one has been able to take control of the iPhone to gain access to personal information using this exploit.

I say it's hypocritical because Apple had been warned about this for over a month.

So again, if you want to keep your jailbreak or unlock, do not update. Let's wait to see what the Dev Team has to say about this update.

I will update the iPhone downloads page with the latest firmwares as soon as I get a hold of them.

iPhone OS 3.1 Coming This Weekend?

Sébastien Page ∙ July 31, 2009

Well, the world didn't come to an end after the demo of the SMS bug in the iPhone yesterday by a bunch of hackers. Actually, nothing seems to have happened at all. My guess is that the hackers demoed the bug to a small audience instead of hacking hundreds of iPhones, which would have probably led to legal issues.

The good thing about this is that Apple is said to release a patch for the bug sometimes this weekend, according to the UK network operator 02.

An O2 spokesperson said the patch would be available Saturday through iTunes.

The hackers had tried to warn Apple of the consequences, and as usual, Apple had completely ignored them. Put on the spot, Apple didn't have much choice but react and release a patch...

What's this patch going to be? 3.1 or 3.0.1? If it is true that Apple will release a patch tomorrow, I bet that it's going to be version 3.0.1 as I think it's still a little early for Apple to release version 3.1. But hey, I might be totally way off.

As usual, in the event that a software update would be available this weekend, jailbreakers and unlockers should NOT update as it will remove the jailbreak/unlock.

Thank you Twitter follower @lambsypie for the tip.

How the Jailbreak Community is Kicking the App Store in the Nuts

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated February 5, 2016

As the App Store approval process for applications becomes more and more absurd, developers are looking for new ways to get their apps in front of the general public. In the last few months, a few alternative stores showed up, but one really stands out: Cydia.

Every jailbreaker is familiar with Cydia as it is already the application of choice for downloading third party apps that are not allowed in the App Store. Developers who see their apps rejected from the App Store now turn to Cydia. The latest example is how the Google Voice application was banned from the App Store, only to be available a few hours later in Cydia.

A less known aspect of Cydia is the Cydia Store, which was launched in March of this year. It is a part of Cydia that allows developers to charge for their applications, exactly like the App Store does. Reading this MMI article, it seems that the Cydia Store is doing well as Jay Freeman aka Saurik, the creator of Cydia, reports that "the Cydia Store has had about 53,000 purchases for a grand total of about $210,000 spent".

We are still far from the 1.5 billion downloads from the App Store but we're getting there...

The Cydia Store brings a whole new market as a viable option. Freeman states "In the last day, ~470,000 unique devices reported into my server (when I last checked, months ago, this figure was ~350,000). In the last week, ~1.5 million. In the last month, ~3 million. In the last two months, ~4 million devices. To be honest, this actually surprised me: I thought the jailbreak community had a higher attrition rate: that I'd be seeing a much smaller percentage of 'identifiers of jailbroken devices that were seen in the last two months'".

I think that just like me, people are growing tired of Apple and its dictatorship, and they are looking for ways to maximize their iPhone experience. I know this first hand as the jailbreak page of this blog is one of the most visited. I also get between 5 and 20 people a day thanking me on Twitter for helping them jailbreak their iPhone.

When you pay $300 or more for an iPhone, you don't want anyone telling you what you can and cannot do with it, even though Apple wants to make jailbreaking illegal with some ridiculous claims.

Cydia truly is a real alternative to the App Store. The only downside to Cydia is that you have to jailbreak your iPhone. Many people are still worried about the process, or simply don't have the technical skills to do it. But as jailbreaking becomes more and more popular, I am convinced that Cydia has a bright future ahead and that iPhone owners will finally be able to get the most out of their iPhones.

If you're on the edge about jailbreaking, here are 30 reasons to jailbreak your iPhone.

Hackers Want to Hijack Your iPhone Via SMS

Sébastien Page ∙ July 29, 2009

If you receive a strange looking SMS on your iPhone this Thursday, you'd better turn it off right away as it might enable hackers to infect your iPhone and take control of it. That's what a Forbes article is reporting today anyways.

Using a flaw they've found in the iPhone's handling of text messages, the researchers say they'll demonstrate how to send a series of mostly invisible SMS bursts that can give a hacker complete power over any of the smart phone's functions. That includes dialing the phone, visiting Web sites, turning on the device's camera and microphone and, most importantly, sending more text messages to further propagate a mass-gadget hijacking.

Why would they do that? Simply to show Apple how vulnerable this iPhone bug really is. Apparently, the hackers notified Apple about a month ago, but Apple didn't bother responding to them.

We've known about this SMS bug for a while now and Apple will probably release the patch in the next OS update 3.1, supposed to be available sometimes in September (that's what the rumor says).

I think the chances you receive such a SMS are pretty thin, but you never know...

Apple Unveils New iPhone 3GI

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated November 15, 2017

A little over a month after the launch of the iPhone 3GS, Apple unveiled a newer model called the iPhone 3GI. The "I" stands for Invisible, as it is only visible to Apple's most loyal customers.

The Onion really did a great job at putting up this fake story that I think is absolutely hilarious.

Here are some my favorite excerpts:

In a move expected to revolutionize the mobile device industry, Apple launched its fastest and most powerful iPhone to date Tuesday, an innovative new model that can only be seen by the company's hippest and most dedicated customers.

"The new 3GI is as light as air," said Apple senior vice president Philip Schiller, reaching inside an empty display case, apparently to remove the mobile device. "See how thin that is? It's like it's not even there."

"Those who really understand what we do here at Apple are going to love this new product," Schiller continued. "Unless, you know, they happen to be totally lame."

Retailing for $599, the iPhone 3GI offers only the most special Apple consumers—the ones who believe in the company more than anything else in the world, and who would never, ever dream of questioning it—the ability to open dozens of powerful applications at once. In addition, the new multimedia device will provide true Apple fans with a high-definition video camera, one-tap editing with Final Cut Pro, and cut and paste.

"Daddy isn't talking into anything at all," said 4-year-old Ella Conrad, pointing at her father, Paul, who has been obsessively staring at, playing with, and customizing the invisible phone since purchasing it Monday. "Daddy's pretending to be on hold with an operator."

Check out the Onion for the full story.

Apple Says Jailbreakers Must Be Drug Dealers or Other Criminals

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated July 24, 2016

Apple doesn't want you to jailbreak your iPhone and it's doing everything it can to legally prevent you from doing so. In its latest attempt to make jailbreaking illegal, Apple has argued in a filing with the US Copyright Office that iPhone owners who jailbreak their iPhones and change the ECID can very well be drug dealers.

Each iPhone contains a unique Exclusive Chip Identification (ECID) number that identifies the phone to the cell tower. With access to the BBP via jailbreaking, hackers may be able to change the ECID, which in turn can enable phone calls to be made anonymously (this would be desirable to drug dealers, for example) or charges for the calls to be avoided.

The filing also goes on and on about how evil jailbreaking is. Pure propaganda if you want my opinion.

Come on Apple, with all the money you spend on these legal fees, you could at least make the effort of finding good reasons for not jailbreaking. On my end, I do have as much as 30 reasons to jailbreak ;)

Next thing you know, Apple will tell you that every time you jailbreak an iPhone, a puppy dies somewhere.

Via Slight Paranoia

Enough With Apple Dictatorship

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated October 9, 2018

I am growing tired of Apple's ridiculous app approval process. There is not one day going by without Apple making the headlines of tech blogs for their absurd abuse of power over developers. At first, I covered these nonsensical rejections, but there's been so many that I stopped reporting them.

The latest grotesque rejection from the App Store is GV Mobile, a Google Voice application that was approved last April by Phil Schiller himself, Apple’s senior Vice President of Worldwide Product Marketing... Fast forward 3 months later and the app is rejected because it is "duplicating features that the iPhone comes with (Dialer, SMS, etc)". What a nonsense!

Last month, Apple rejected iLaugh Lite for no reason at all, saying that it reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to reject an application for any reason. If this doesn't sound like a pure dictatorship, I don't know what it is...

What really annoys me is that people don't seem to care much and just deal with it. If it was Microsoft doing the same thing, people would be ranting all over the web. But it's Apple, the great innovative, customer oriented company so that makes it ok... To me it doesn't!

Apple is taking the risk of seeing the most innovative developers jump over to Android or the Palm Pre, but does it really care? It seems to me Apple cares more about money coming in through fart applications than it cares about really pushing the limits of innovation in the App Store.

If you were looking for yet another reason the jailbreak your iPhone, then here you go. This is an opportunity for developers to flip their third finger to Apple and make their apps available on jailbroken iPhones. That's exactly what the developer of GV Mobile is going to do has done as GV Mobile is now available for free on Cydia. I just wish more developers would follow the jailbreak way. No one, including Apple, should dictate what I can and cannot do with my iPhone.

What do you think of the app approval process? Do you think it's ok for Apple to reject whatever it wants, or do you feel that you, the end user, should decide what's good or not for you?

As a side note, you can see that my Photoshop skills are very limited... If any of you guys want to make a better image for this article, feel free to get in touch with me.

Get AT&T Navigator GPS App Free For One Month

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated May 26, 2017

About a month ago, AT&T released its GPS iPhone app called AT&T Navigator. The app is free to download in the App Store but you will be charged $10/month to use it, which will automatically be added to your bill.

If you're not sure about the app and would like to give it a try, iPhone Download Blog reader Jenster sent us a great tip. You can call AT&T at 611 and talk to a representative. Tell them you would like to try AT&T Navigator and ask them if they would mind giving you a free trial.

They will gladly set you up with a free 30-day trial. But be careful because if you don't call them and cancel within 30 days, your trial period will be over and AT&T will start charging you $10/month.

For those of you who are still not sure about this AT&T Navigator, remember that a TomTom app should make it to the App Store soon. If your iPhone is jailbroken, you have the option of using the free xGPS application that basically does the same thing.

Are you gonna give it a try?

Add an Extension to A Contact’s Phone Number

Sébastien Page ∙ July 26, 2009

If you know the extension of the person you're trying to reach, you may enter it anytime or press 1 for more options. Hi, please listen carefully since our menu has changed. For sales and marketing, press 2. For customer support, press 3. For accounting, press 4...

You know how annoying these long messages can be, especially when you know exactly what extension you want to reach. Today, thanks to iPhone Download Blog reader Carn, I'd like to give you a quick tip on how to add an extension to a contact's phone number, so you never have to type this extension ever again.

1. Create or go to an existing contact.

2. Edit his phone number.

3. Make sure the cursor is at the end of the phone number and tap " + * # " at the bottom left of the keyboard.

4. Tap "pause", which will add a space and a coma after the phone number.

5. Enter the extension and click "Save".

That's it. Now every time you call this number, you will be directed to the contact's extension.

iPhone Hacking 101: Removing Passcode and Encryption

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated May 11, 2018

While Apple is struggling to get the iPhone adopted by business users, some more problems come their way as iPhone hacker NerveGas found yet another security hole that can allow anyone with a little technical knowledge to bypass the passcode and access encrypted and protected information on your iPhone 3GS. You can see NerveGas hacking an iPhone 3GS in the video below.

Zdziarski said it’s just as easy to access a user’s private information on an iPhone 3GS as it was on the previous generation iPhone 3G or first generation iPhone, both of which didn’t feature encryption. If a thief got his hands on an iPhone, a little bit of free software is all that’s needed to tap into all of the user’s content. Live data can be extracted in as little as two minutes, and an entire raw disk image can be made in about 45 minutes, Zdziarski said.

If you're an average iPhone user like me, chances are you don't care much about this security hole. However, if you're a business person, that can be a big threat to you.

Hey Apple, why don't you stop worrying about the jailbreakers out there and start working on making the iPhone a more secured device?

Thank you David for sending this in.

Record Videos On Your iPhone 2G/3G With Cycorder

Sébastien Page ∙ July 24, 2009

Are you an iPhone 2G or iPhone 3G owner feeling left out by the lack of video recording on your iDevice? Rejoice because I have good news for you. You don't have to spend $$$ on the new iPhone 3GS to get video recording capability.

This might sound like old news to some of our readers, but for those of you who don't know, it is possible to record videos on your iPhone 2G or iPhone 3G thanks to an application called Cycorder. I wrote about Cycorder in the past but I think this app deserves more attention, especially from all the iPhone noobies (no offense).

Cycorder allows you to record videos on your iPhone at the maximum speed of the iPhone camera (6-15 frames per second). That's not great, but it's better than nothing...

How to record video on your iPhone 2G or iPhone 3G?

First, if you haven't already done so, you'll have to jailbreak your iPhone. If you're hesitant about jailbreaking, understand it's very safe and besides being able to record videos, there are many many other reasons to jailbreak your iPhone.

Then simply launch Cydia and install Cycorder.

One installed, open Cycorder and start recording videos. It's that simple!

When you record a video, it is stored as a .mov movie on your iPhone in /var/mobile/Media/Videos. Use iPhoneBrowser or SSH to get the video from your iPhone to your computer and then you can email it or put it on YouTube.

Here is a video I shot a few weeks ago with Cycorder. It will give you a good idea about the quality of sound and images.