BlackRa1n is Now Available

by Sebastien on Oct 11, 2009

Waiting time is over! The long-awaited BlackRa1n jailbreak by GeoHot is now available for download.

So, what is blackra1n? blackra1n is a 30 second ALL device 3.1.2 jailbreak. Even the ipt3, but the ipt3 is tethered. In order to boot it, just rerun blackra1n. As far as donations go, they are much appreciated, but not until after blackra1n works for you. I never ask for donations before the tool is released.

Warning 3g and 3gs unlockers, do not upgrade to 3.1.2 using iTunes if you want to keep your unlock. Baseband cannot be downgraded. Check out the dev team’s offerings. Also blackra1n doesn’t hacktivate.

UPDATE: This post is outdated. There is now an easier way to jailbreak the iPhone. Click here for more info.

There are a few important things to note about BlackRa1n:

  • BlackRa1n can jailbreak OS 3.1 and 3.1.2
  • BlackRa1n is for Windows only so far. If you’re using Windows 7 , run BlackRa1n as an admin with “Windows XP Compatibility” mode by enabling it from the “Properties” tab
  • BlackRa1n does not hacktivate your iPhone, which means you must be using an official carrier
  • BlackRa1n does not unlock the iPhone
  • iPhone 3G and 3GS users should not upgrade to 3.1.2 if they want to keep their unlock. You will have to wait for an updated version of PwnageTool if you want to unlock the latest OS.
  • the iPod Touch 3G is supported but it is a tethered jailbreak which means you’ll have to use BlackRa1n everytime you want to boot your iTouch

This is the RC1 of BlackRa1n and it is still a little buggy so be careful.

I think it’s worth highlighting again that if you want to keep your unlock, you should NOT update to 3.1.2. Simply wait for the Dev Team to update PwnageTool.

You can download BlackRa1n from the website or from our downloads section. I will be writing wrote a BlackRa1n tutorial. Check it out for more information on how to use BlackRa1n: BlackRa1n jailbreak guide & tutorial.

 

How to Fake Your iPhone Firmware for Apps That Require A Newer Firmware

by Sebastien on Oct 10, 2009

If like me you are still running on OS 3.0, you sometimes probably encounter an issue when trying to download an application from the App Store. The issue in question is that “this application requires the iPhone 3.1 firmware update”, which comes under the form of a popup saying “Application Not Compatible”.

There is a quick and dirty fix for that: simply install the FWchanger app from Cydia.

Firmware Changer is an app that lets you change the plist file that contains the version of firmware you are running. This is useful for things that refuse to install or run on one firmware version even though they can. Note this only changes the reported firmware, not the actual firmware.

After installing FWchanger, launch the app and enter a fake firmware and build.

Hit “Set Custom Firmware”, and voila! Go to Settings > General > About and you should see your fake firmware there.

Now you can trick these applications that require you to be on 3.1 into thinking you are running OS 3.1 even though you are not. This works for older 2.X firmwares as well. Note that it doesn’t always work as advertised but in most cases, it was spot on for me.

Pretty slick, huh?

 

BlackRa1n Release Now Imminent

by Sebastien on Oct 9, 2009

Some good news for everyone waiting for the release of BlackRa1n, the latest tool that will jailbreak all iDevices. GeoHot, the genius developer behind BlackRa1n posted this picture on Twitter a few minutes ago, swearing it was no Photoshop job.

This image shows the RC1 (Release Candidate) of BlackRa1n running on a PC. So that’s an extra good news for everyone out there who doesn’t have access to a Mac to run PwnageTool.

GeoHot had given himself an ETA of 2 days which got delayed by the release of iPhone OS 3.1.2. Even though BlackRa1n was confirmed to work on 3.1.2, GeoHot still had to make a few tweaks to it.

The jailbreak community has been eagerly waiting for BlackRa1n for days now and we’re all hoping for a full release of this “miracle jailbreak” sometimes today or later this weekend.

UPDATE: BlackRain has been released. You may want to read my BlackRa1n guide & tutorial to learn how to jailbreak your iPhone or iPod Touch.

 

The Blog Has A Facebook Page. Join Us and Get Free Stuff

by Sebastien on Oct 9, 2009

I wanted to let everyone know that we created a Facebook page for the blog. I resisted as long as I could but more and more people were actually asking for it so I jumped on the FB bandwagon and put up a page together.

Our Facebook page will aggregate articles from the blog but we’ll also be using it to share other news and information that didn’t make it to the blog. It will be a great way for you to post your news, links, videos, etc, too.

From time to time, we’ll also do some freebie giveaways, mostly promo codes for applications. We’re actually going to start today. I have 6 promo codes for Speednote, a slick application that helps you create notes more quickly.

How to enter the contest for a chance to win free apps? Well, you just have to become a fan (note that I really dislike the term “fan”). You were already following us on Twitter, now you can follow us on Facebook as well :)

 

BlackRa1n Confirmed to Work On OS 3.1.2

by Sebastien on Oct 8, 2009

GeoHot confirmed on Twitter that BlackRa1n still works on the new 3.1.2 firmware as he successfully jailbroke his iPhone 3GS running the latest OS 3.1.2.

That is a big relief for many of us but that doesn’t mean you should rush to update. As we wrote a few minutes ago, jailbreakers and unlockers should stay away from 3.1.2, at least for the time being.

There is obviously some more work for GeoHot and he notified us that there will be a delay in the release of BlackRa1n, which was initially expected to be available today.

More to come, so stay tuned!

UPDATE: BlackRain has been released. You may want to read my BlackRa1n guide & tutorial to learn how to jailbreak your iPhone or iPod Touch.

 

iPhone OS 3.1.2 is Out. Jailbreakers Beware!

by Sebastien on Oct 8, 2009

Not even a month after 3.1 was released, Apple has just released an update to the iPhone OS firmware  by upgrading it to 3.1.2.

According to TUAW (see image above):

This update fixes the widely reported issue where the iPhone would not wake from sleep, and also fixes an issue involving video playback and cellular service. This update is available for the original iPhone, iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS, and the iPod touch.

As usual when there is a firmware update, jailbreakers and unlockers should stay away from it!

Damn you, Apple! GeoHot was very close to releasing his new BlackRa1n jailbreak for iPhone and iPod Touch. I guess GeoHot will be back to the drawing board.

More info will be added to the site as we learn more about this situation.

 

BlackRa1n is the New iPhone and iPod Touch Jailbreak

by Sebastien on Oct 8, 2009

We already knew that GeoHot was up to something but we now have confirmation that he is this close to release a new jailbreaking tool called BlackRa1n.

First, he wrote a short blog post titled “I’m just going to leave this here“. The post has no text besides the title and shows what could be mistaken for an iPhone running a bunch of codes that most of us wouldn’t understand. Well, it’s not an iPhone. It’s an iPod Touch 3G. You can tell by simply looking at the location of the image, which reveals its name: ipt3_jailbroken.JPG. You can also tell by zooming in the image.

What does this mean? Well, this is a teaser to tell us that he has successfully jailbroken the iPod Touch 3G, which could be considered as the hardest device to jailbreak these days. And from what I understand, he’s using the same exploit on both the iTouch 3G and the iPhone 3GS. According to this tweet, he’s pretty much done with these 2 devices and will now get to work on the 4 others, which shouldn’t take too long.

GeoHot also gave us 2 interesting clues about the name of his new jailbreak. First, he said his new website was up, asking who could find it. Then he gave it all away by saying that “black is the new purple”. Have you connected the dots yet? His last jailbreak was called PurpleRa1n. If black is the new purple, then his new jailbreak is BlackRa1n (see BlackRa1n.com).

We still don’t know exactly when to expect BlackRa1n to be available but according to GeoHot’s own ETA, it should be sometimes today. One thing is sure though, I will be refreshing GeoHot’s Twitter page like a maniac for the next 12 hours.

This BlackRa1n jailbreak will be a huge release for many of us jailbreakers, especially those stuck at 3.1. Are you one of them?

UPDATE: BlackRain has been released. Refer to the following tutorials:

 

Action Menu Considerably Improves Your iPhone Copy/Paste Experience

by Sebastien on Oct 7, 2009

Action Menu is one of those mods that once you try it, you simply can’t live without it anymore. I’ve had the opportunity to use Action Menu for about a month now, and it has quickly become my favorite Cydia app. So what does Action Menu does?

Action Menu takes a stab at enhancing the copy/paste function of your iPhone by adding a bunch of add-ons to it. The lite version is free but for $2.99, you can get the full-featured app, which I think is well worth the money (even though I have to admit I didn’t pay for it since the dev gave me a promo code).

In addition to the stock cut/copy/paste functionality, the app has many features that are very useful, such as:

  • Select all – select all the text at once
  • Dial – dials any number that you select
  • To top – scroll all the way up the page
  • To bottom – scroll all the way down the page

Very helpful but not “ground breaking” features, right? Well, this is just the tip of the iceberg because Action Menu also comes with some very useful features that I use every day:

  • History – all your copied or cut text is saved to a clipboard for easy access. You can edit the clipboard to delete them and move them up and down the list, just like hClipBoard and Clippy used to do.
  • Favorites – this is my top fav of them all. If there is text that you have to paste on a regular basis, just add it to your favorites for quick and easy access. That favorite text could be an email signature for example, a phone number, a website URL, etc… I currently have 6 favorites. I use this all the time.
  • Lookup – don’t know what this word means? Want to know how to translate this word in French? Just select a word or sentence and hit the “lookup” button. You will have the ability to search this word in Google, Wikipedia, dictionary, or even translate it in the language of your choice. Very handy, especially for a Frenchman like me…
  • Tweet – Select some text and hit the “Tweet” button. It will open your favorite Twitter app and copy the text into it.

Action Menu is available from Cydia and if your iPhone is jailbroken, I really suggest you at least try the free version. I bet you won’t be able to live without it anymore after trying it.

I also bet you that Apple noticed this application and they will implement these features in the next 4.0 OS next year. Take that as a prediction.

What are you still doing here reading this? Launch Cydia and download Action Menu now! Then come back here and tell us what you think about this application :)

 

New Tool by GeoHot to Jailbreak All iDevices

by Sebastien on Oct 6, 2009

You remember GeoHot? He was the 18 y/o kid who was the first to unlock the first gen iPhone back in 2007. More recently, GeoHot released PurpleRa1n, which was the first jailbreak method for the iPhone 3GS running OS 3.0. In other words, the kid is a little genius…

Lucky for us, GeoHot is back at it and this time, he decided that just jailbreaking the iPhone 3GS was not challenging enough so he took on the task to release a tool that will jailbreak all iDevices: iPhone 2G, 3G, 3GS, iPod Touch 1G, 2G, and 3G.

In a blog post called “Meet the Family”  (see picture above), GeoHot says it all in just a few words: “And prepare to meet the program that will jailbreak them all.”

This great new comes just a few days after the Dev Team released its own jailbreak for the iPhone 3GS 3.1 and iPod Touch 2G 3.1.1; a jailbreak which still prevents iPhone 3GS users to jailbreak if they updated their iPhones to 3.1 without pwning it first. This is obviously a big problem for many users who had updated to 3.1 and are now stuck there without being able to jailbreak (even though there are some tricky workarounds).

GeoHot doesn’t have a name for the tool yet. We actually don’t know much about what it will do besides that we know it will “jailbreak them all”. Will it work on both Mac and PC? We don’t know but I do think it will.

The big question is “when”. When will this tool be released? GeoHot said on Twitter he’s got an ETA of 2 days. I really can’t wait to see what he’s got up his sleeves and I’m sure I’m not the only one.

As usual, I will keep you updated as the news come. You can always refer to our jailbreak section for the most up-to-date info on jailbreaking.

Isn’t that some good news?

 

How to Jailbreak iPod Touch 2G 3.1.1

by Guest Author on Oct 5, 2009

A few days ago was the release of the iPod Touch 2G jailbreak for 3.1.1 (as well as other devices). There is a bit of confusion because the Dev Team’s blog post says you must be pwned before jailbreaking. I’m sure a lot of people (like me) demonstrated the sad smiley to perfection when they read this. Luckily, there is a way to jailbreak it.

You’ll need the 3.0 firmware, RedSn0w, 3.1.1 firmware, and the latest PwnageTool. All these are available from the download page.

Here is a step-by-step guide/tutorial on how to jailbreak your iPod Touch 2G 3.1.1: Read More

 
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