You can easily passcode protect your iPhone by going to Settings > General > Passcode Lock. However, this only gives you the ability to set up a 4-digit code. If you're a security freak and want to add an extra layer of protection to your iPhone, there is a simple hack that will let you create an alphanumeric password of as many characters as you want.
Month: July 2009
TwitVid Sends Videos to Twitter Directly From Your iPhone
TwitVid is a new application that allows you to send videos from your iPhone 3GS to your Twitter account.
TwitVid is very simple to use. Launch the app, select a video to upload or record a new one, tap "choose", add your tweet's text and that's it. It will send the tweet with a short link to your video.
When people click on the link, they are taken to TwitVid's website where they can watch the video, and even chat about it. The video and the chatroom can be embedded in any website, which I think is a really neat feature.
If people click on the video link from an iPhone (ie Tweetie), it will launch the video directly from the app and return to it at the end of the video.
I tried to upload the same video over wifi and over 3G. It took about 1 minute to upload a 1 minute video over wifi, while it took about 3 minutes to upload the same video over 3G. All in all, I think the upload time is very reasonable.
Below is the video embedded.
You can download TwitVid for free from the App Store.
Let me know what you think.
How to enable MMS on iPhone 3G 3.0 With T-Mobile
iPhone Download Blog reader Charlie sent me this simple hack to enable free MMS on the iPhone 3G running 3.0 with T-Mobile. Note that this hack only works for T-Mobile on the iPhone 3G.
First, go to Settings > General > Network > Cellular Data Network.
Add the following in MMS field:
APN: wap.voicestream.com Username: leave blank Password: leave blank MMSC: 216.155.174.84/servlets/mms MMS Proxy: 216.155.165.50:8080 MMS Max Message Size: leave blank MMS UA Prof URL: leave blankAgain, this only works if you have T-Mobile. It does not work with other carriers.
Feel free to contact me should you have iPhone tips and tricks you want to share.
The Difference Between Jailbreaking and Unlocking
There is a lot of confusion among noobies about jailbreaking and unlocking. One of our readers recently asked for a clear "non geeky" definition of both terms.
If you already know the difference between jailbreaking and unlocking, this article might not be very helpful to you but you may still be able to give us some insights or maybe add your comments and suggestions. If you don't know what jailbreaking or unlocking means, then read on because you're just about to get a crash course on iPhone hacking.
Tutorial: Unlock iPhone 3GS With UltraSn0w
This short tutorial will show you how to unlock your iPhone 3GS using UltraSn0w. Unlocking your iPhone 3GS will allow you to use your iphone with any cellphone carrier in the US and in the world, assuming they use SIM cards.
Before starting, make sure this is the latest tutorial on unlocking the iPhone 3GS by visiting this page.
Unlock iPhone 3GS Guide:
First you have to jailbreak your iPhone 3GS. Read my RedSn0w tutorial on how to do that first. It should take about 10 minutes and it is a necessary step to be able to unlock your iPhone.
After jailbreaking your iPhone 3GS, follow these simple steps to install UltraSn0w:
Launch Cydia. Add the following source to Cydia repo666.ultrasn0w.com (note there is a “0″ in sn0w, not an “o”). After installing this source in Cydia, search for “UltraSn0w”. Install UltraSn0w and reboot your iPhone.That's it :)
Tutorial: Jailbreak iPhone 3GS Using RedSn0w
This guide and tutorial will show you how to jailbreak your iPhone 3GS using RedSn0w. After jailbreaking your iPhone 3GS, you will be able to unlock it using UltraSn0w should you want to.
Note that this tutorial is for the iPhone 3GS but the steps are the same for the iPhone 2G, iPhone 3G and iPod Touch 2G. Read this for more information about the jailbreak that best fits your needs. This was done on a PC but I assume the steps are the same for Mac and Linux.
Jailbreak iPhone 3GS Guide:
1. First, make sure you have the latest version of iTunes installed on your computer. If you have to update iTunes, make sure you restart your computer after installing the latest iTunes.
2. On your desktop, create a folder called "jailbreak iPhone 3GS" or whatever you want to call it. In this folder, download firmware 3.0 for your iPhone 3GS and RedSn0w 0.8 from here. Unzip the RedSn0w folder.
3. Launch RedSn0w and browse for the 3.0 firmware you downloaded in the previous step. RedSn0w should be processing the chosen firmware and tell you that the IPSW was "successfully identified". Click Next.
4. RedSn0w will start working for a few seconds and then will ask you what you would like to install. You can install Cydia and Icy. I highly suggest you only install Cydia. Choose Cydia and click Next.
5. We'll now have to connect the iPhone 3GS in recovery mode. To do so, unplug it from your computer, turn it off and wait a few seconds. Then hold the home button while plugin your iPhone to the USB cable. Keep holding the home button until the "Connect to iTunes" image appears.
6. Your iPhone will then go into recovery mode and that's when the magic happens... RedSn0w will install the jailbreak, which may take a few minutes.
7. Your iPhone will restart and install a bunch of stuff. . Even though RedSn0w says "Done!", wait until the very end to click "Finish".
8. After a few minutes, your iPhone will restart. Then click "Finish".
9. Go to your iPhone springboard and you should see the Cydia icon. Note that the icon may be on the second or third page on your springboard.
10. Done!
It took me about 10 minutes to jailbreak my iPhone 3GS, including time to take screenshots and write this tutorial. It was from far the quickest and most painless jailbreak.
RedSn0w Jailbreak For iPhone 3GS Is Out
The Dev Team quietly updated RedSn0w to version 0.8, which allows you to jailbreak the iPhone 2G, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS and the iPod Touch 2G.
The main features of RedSn0w 0.8 are:
a stable jailbreak (unlike PurpleRa1n) Cydia and Icy are now fully compatible UltraSn0w compatible Mobile Substrate and WinterBoard working wellThat's interesting that the Dev Team decided to finally release their iPhone 3GS jailbreak when they said just about a week ago that they wanted to wait for Apple to release 3.1 before making RedSn0w public. I guess they were emulated by the release of PurpleRa1n and needed to prove the iPhone world that they are the original iPhone hackers.
You can get RedSn0w 0.8 from our downloads page and read the RedSn0w iPhone 3GS jailbreak tutorial I wrote.
PurpleRa1n iPhone 3GS Jailbreak For Mac
PurpleRa1n, the iPhone 3GS jailbreak developed by young hacker GeoHot, has finally been released for Mac users too.
You asked for it, and we delivered. I'm not a mac coder, so AriX and westbaer stepped up to do it. Also, some more payload stability improvements were made, and the windows version was updated to RC2a. There is no reason to run RC2a if you already have RC2 installed.
I updated the PurpleRa1n tutorial.
Note that PurpleRa1n is not a perfect jailbreak and that many apps won't work (ie. WinterBoard). Jailbreak at your own risks...
iPhone to Get Micro Projector?
DigiTimes reports that Foxlink, a subsidiary of Apple's iPhone manufacturer Foxconn, is currently developing its own micro projector technology that should start showing up on devices as soon as next year.
International brand vendors, including Nokia, Samsung Electronics and Apple, reportedly all plan to launch handsets with built-in micro projectors by the end of this year, indicated the sources, adding that Foxlink is likely to benefit from the emerging trend due to its strong business relationships with Nokia and Apple.
Such a projector would allow you to project videos from your iPhone to an external surface. While that's a lovely rumor we'd like to be confirmed, I think it's very unlikely that we'll see a micro projector on the iPhone for a few years. It's still a very "bulky technology" that wouldn't physically fit on an iPhone without altering its neat design.
iPhone Jailbreaking and Unlocking Guides
I just added 2 new pages to the blog's navigation bar: jailbreak and unlock. I will make sure to keep these pages up to date with the latest tutorials on how to jailbreak and/or unlock your iPhone.
If you have a look at these pages, you will see that it's pretty straightforward: look for the firmware you want to jailbreak/unlock, then choose your device (2G, 3G, or 3GS) and click on the appropriate guide.
I decided to create these 2 pages because it might be a little hard for newbies to figure out what they're supposed to do or even how to search for information on this blog. This way, I make it dead simple for everyone to find relevant and clear information on both jailbreaking and unlocking the iPhone.
Note that I am starting this page with the latest 3.0 firmware. By now, most people have updated their iPhone to 3.0 and it wouldn't make much sense to list previous tutorials I wrote.
Unlock Your iPhone 3GS With PurpleRa1n And UltraSn0w
Since the release of PurpleRa1n, the first iPhone 3GS jailbreak, you are now able to unlock your iPhone 3GS.
To do so, you first have to jailbreak your iPhone with PurpleRa1n (see PurpleRa1n tutorial), and then, simply install UltraSn0w from Cydia.
It's that simple! Note that even though PurpleRa1n got an update, it's still a little buggy.
iPhone 3GS Jailbreak PurpleRa1n Gets An Update
GeoHot, the hacker behind the first iPhone 3GS jailbreak, posted the RC2 version of PurpleRa1n. When it first came out yesterday, PurpleRa1n only supported Windows XP SP2 32 Bit. It's now been updated and along with other improvements, it supports Vista and Windows 7.
Vista, Windows 7, International, 64-bit support Less flakiness in the payload Cydia tar cleaned up Improved logging with slightly more useful errors New kernel patches, codesign errors gone. Props posixninja Added vm_map +x, passed vm_check No winterboard yet, but now that ball is in Saurik's court :-) Still in beta, use caution
As you can see, WinterBoard still won't work but there is some major improvements. You may download PurpleRa1n from our iPhone downloads page (read PurpleRa1n tutorial). Use at your own risks though...