iPhone 3G

Why Do People Think Jailbreaking Can Brick Your iPhone? [Rant]

This week has gone by faster than usual. Perhaps the Apple event made the days come and go quicker but nevertheless it's Friday. This is the day I've been known to spout off about a topic that I feel needs further attention. This week I go after those who feel the need to warn people that jailbreaking your iPhone can "brick" it.

I recently posted an article announcing the recent jailbreak of my iPhone 4. Having been away from the dark side since my iPhone 3G, I wasn't sure what to expect from the process.

This is For Those Who Are Scared to Jailbreak Their iPhone

After weeks of self debate and bugging Sebastien about the possibilities of jailbreaking my iPhone 4, I took the leap of faith Wednesday night and cracked opened my device. I must say that the whole process was unbelievably painless and took no more than 5 minutes to perform the hack and update the Cydia packages.

I used JailbreakMe to perform the procedure and I will vouch for the website any day. After 2 or 3 minutes of loading, the device was jailbroken and ready to be used. Perhaps it was the Apple aroma in the air after their event, but nevertheless having jailbroken my iPhone 4 makes it feel like launch day all over again...

Movies Rented on The iPhone 4 Can’t Be Transferred Back to iTunes

iLounge reveals a bit of discerning information that took a mysterious amount of time to surface. It turns out that the iPhone 4 shares the same limitations as the iPad and the Apple TV in regards to being unable to transfer rented movies back to your iTunes library.

The ability to move rentals had never been a problem before when renting on previous iPhone models. An excerpt from the iPhone iOS 4 User Guide briefly mentions the limitation on page 99, and it reads as such:

Slow iPhone 3G? Apple Will Release a Software Update Soon

Some of you with iPhone 3G who updated to iOS 4 and up have noticed how performances have been degraded. The most common symptom is how slow you iPhone 3G becomes. Apple recently said they are looking into it, and in the meanwhile, we provided you with a quick fix that works for many of you.

A frustrated iPhone 3G user asked Steve Jobs about it:

How to Install Android on Your iPhone 2G or 3G with iPhoDroid

Android on the iPhone is more of a "project" than anything else. It's buggy, unstable, and doesn't even bring all the features needed to fully use the iPhone. So why in the hell would you install Android on your iPhone? Just for the heck of it, of course! Thanks to Sergio McFly, this is now easily possible.

iPhoDroid 1shot is probably the easiest way to install Android on your iPhone 2G or iPhone 3G. It doesn't require any file editing or anything that might scared the least technically advanced of us. Without further ado, here are the instructions to set up Android on your iPhone. As usual, proceed at your own risks...

Step 1: Make sure your iPhone is jailbroken and Cydia is up to date. If it's not jailbroken, do so by using JailbreakMe.

Step 2: Download the latest version of iPhoDroid 1 shot from here. The download link is at the very bottom left of the page.

Step 3: Make sure your iPhone is connected to your computer via the USB cable. Launch iPhoDroid and click "shoot".

Step 4: iPhoDroid will extract the touch driver and transfer the cache/system/data folders to your iPhone.

Step 5: iPhoDroid will now place your iPhone in recovery mode.

Step 6: After that, you will get the OpeniBoot splash page with different options (Apple, Android, Install, Uninstall). Use the volume buttons to highlight the "Install" option, then tap the Home button to select it.

Step 7: Some code will then be running on your screen. Once done, your iPhone will reboot in the Android OS.

Done! You can now enjoy your crippled iPhone running Android.

If you're one of the few courageous men out there to try this hack, please let us know how it's working for you by leaving a comment below.

[iClarified]

Unofficial PwnageTool Jailbreak for iPhone 3GS iOS 4.0.2

PwnageTool, the famous jailbreak that helps cook custom firmwares, hasn't been updated by the Dev Team in a few weeks. Some hackers decided it was time to revive PwnageTool and released an unofficial version of it.

Since this is unofficial, I do not endorse or even recommend it. I'm just sharing the news with you. Now if you want to use it, do so at your own risks.

The steps to jailbreak your iPhone using PwnageTool remain the same but keep in mind this will only work for the iPhone 3GS (old bootrom only).

If my words haven't killed your motivation to use this unofficial version of PwnageTool, you can download it here. Please let us know what your impressions are by leaving a comment should you decide to give it a try.

[RP]

Apple Has Already Tested Their LiquidMetal Alloy

More and more is being revealed regarding a story we brought you last week concerning Apple's new purchase of Liquidmetal Technologies. Ars Technica reports that the futuristic sounding material isn't so bizarre after all. Remember those hand SIM ejector tools that came with the iPhone 3G? You guessed it, those were composed of the very morphing material that they recently acquired. We should have known that Apple wouldn't have spent a bunch of cash on an item they hadn't tried out.

The co-inventor of Liquidmetal's materials, Atakan Peker, had no doubts about the tool's composition when he unveiled his very own iPhone 3G. Peker said "I recognized it immediately" and "Take it from an expert, that's Liquidmetal". The mind behind the mastery predicts Apple could use the alloy to design a new and improved antenna than the current iPhone 4 sports. The light and rigid material could also be used to make some very creative cases he says, however I don't see Apple going that route.

I'm just glad that the facts behind Liquidmetal's abilities are having some light shed on them. Why you ask? I saw today that the company's stock is trading just under $1 which makes it a potentially lucrative investment. Perhaps there are many exciting plans for the new material and perhaps not. I see the alloy having a behind-the-scenes type use, based on the initial use in the SIM ejector. So now that you have seen it in action, where do you suppose we'll see it next?

How to Unlock iPhone 3G iOS 4.0.2 with UltraSn0w

This step by step guide and tutorial will show you how to unlock your iPhone 3G iOS 4.0.2 using UltraSn0w 1.1-1. At the time I am writing this, it will only work with the iPhone 3G since there is no jailbreak for other devices.

Step 1: Jailbreak your iPhone 3G using RedSn0w.

Step 2: Go to Cydia and search for UltraSn0w. If it’s not there, you might have to add the following repo: repo666.ultrasn0w.com

Step 3: Install UltraSn0w.

Step 4: Reboot your iPhone.

You're done. You should now be able to use your iPhone 3G with any carrier.

Jailbreak & Unlock iOS 4.0.2 on iPhone 3G

Those of you who own an iPhone 3G or an iPod Touch 2G (non-MC model) can jailbreak/unlock iOS 4.0.2. To jailbreak your iPhone 3G 4.0.2, you will have to use RedSn0w 0.9.5b5-5.

How to Jailbreak iPhone 3G iOS 4.0.2

Step 1: Make sure you have the latest version of iTunes installed (iTunes 9.2).

Step 2: Download iOS 4 (not iOS 4.0.2) for iPhone 3G to your desktop from our iPhone downloads section.

Step 3: Update your iPhone to iOS 4.0.2 via iTunes.

Step 4: Download the latest version of RedSn0w from here.

Step 5: Point RedSn0w to the iOS 4 (not 4.0.2) you downloaded in step 2.

Step 6: Select “Install Cydia”.

Step 7: Follow the onscreen instructions.

Step 8: Let RedSn0w do the hard work for you. Once jailbroken, your iPhone will reboot.

How to Unlock iPhone 3G iOS 4.0.2

Since iOS 4.0.2 didn't update the iPhone baseband, you can still use UltraSn0w to unlock your iPhone.

Step 1: Jailbreak your iPhone using the method described above.

Step 2: Go to Cydia and search for UltraSn0w. If it’s not there, you might have to add the following repo: repo666.ultrasn0w.com

Step 3: Install UltraSn0w.

Step 4: Reboot your iPhone.

Tell us how it goes for you by leaving a comment below.

[Thanks Bruce for the tip]

How to Unlock Your iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS iOS 4 with UltraSn0w

Now that the iOS 4 jailbreak has been released, those of you who were waiting for an unlock can unlock their iPhones with UltraSn0w. Before getting into the details, let me tell you more about who this is for and who this is not for.

The latest version of ultrasn0w will unlock the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS running iOS 3.1.2 or higher. As long as you are running iOS 3.1.2 or up to 4.0.1, you're good.

This being said, ultrasn0w will not unlock the iPhone 4 at the time being. The Dev Team needs a little bit more of time to test out the iPhone 4 unlock before releasing it. I believe they will release the iPhone 4 unlock in the next few days, so stay tuned.

This guide and tutorial will show you how to unlock your iPhone 3GS or iPhone 3G running iOS 4 using ultrasn0w.

Step 1: Make sure your iPhone is backed up in iTunes.

Step 2: Jailbreak your iPhone using JailbreakMe (see instructions here).

Step 3: After the jailbreak process is done, go to Cydia and search for ultrasn0w.

Step 4: Install ultrasn0w and reboot your iPhone.

Step 5: Done!

You now have an unlocked iPhone 3G or 3GS.

Slow iPhone 3G? Apple is Looking Into it

Is your iPhone 3G slow after upgrading to iOS 4? You're not the only one. Apple's forums and tech blogs are filled with reports from 3G owners who are desperate for fixing the issues iOS 4 brought.

The most common criticism is that the phone is slow after an upgrade. There are also many complaints that the phone drains the battery quickly and becomes excessively hot. Concern about general problems such as slowness and battery life on gadgets isn’t unusual, but using iOS 4 on the iPhone 3G seems to make the problems so bad that the phone is nearly unusable for some people.

The WSJ was told by Apple they are looking into this matter and they might be already working on a possible fix.

In the meantime, if your iPhone 3G is running slow after installing iOS 4, here is a tip to make it faster.