iPhone 4 Jailbreak: What, Why, and When?

by Cody on Jun 29, 2010

What

The act of “jailbreaking” your iOS device simply means enabling otherwise disabled features and gives you the ability to add applications that aren’t in Apple’s notorious App Store.  For example jailbreaking your device prior to iOS 4 was the only way to run multiple applications, like Pandora, at a time.

The jailbreaking community is the largest phone/hacking network on the net with 100s of blogs receiving millions of hits from users looking for the latest news in customizing their iPhone iPod Touch, and now iPad. Saurik, author of Cydia, the most popular alternative to Apple’s App Store, reports that Cydia receives over 2 million unique hits per month.

Why

So now that you know what jailbreaking is, let me tell you why the heck you’d want to do it! I know what you’re thinking. “Cody I just got the new iPhone 4, it already comes with multitasking, and I have access to 250,000 sweet apps in the App Store, why would I wanna jailbreak my iPhone?” Easy.

Those of us who are still hungry to free our iDevices have many reasons. I myself, as written before, am crazy about SBSettings. It’s an application that gives you an unobtrusive, drop down widget menu that enables you to turn airplane/bluetooth/wifi on and off with 1 touch. And because it’s only available in Cydia, your device must be jailbroken in order to obtain it.

Other popular applications include Winterboard, an app that enables you to completely customize the look of your iDevice, emulator to play NES games, and MyWi that turns your iPhone into a wireless hotspot.

Unlocking is also a common reason people jailbreak their devices. Unlocking means removing the carrier lock on the phone to enable it to work with a different network. For example, unlocking your iPhone and activating it on T-mobile’s network due to coverage or cost reasons.

Of course an iPhone can only be unlocked to a network with the same chip technology, in the States it’s GSM. Anyways if you haven’t picked up on the theme of the article, your iPhone has to be jailbroken to be unlocked.

There are some cool reasons to jailbreak, but it sounds really complicated. Wrong again! What started off as a complicated, combination of software/hardware hacks, has become almost as easy as plugging your iDevice into your computer, and running a simple application.

Thanks to hackers like The Dev Team and GeoHot, the jailbreaking process has become extremely easy. Although you always run the risk of causing damage to your device, and possibly voiding your warranty, most people jailbreak without problems.

When

Ok, so your sold on jailbreaking your shiny new iPhone 4 like a drunk man on another drink, what do you do now? Well, nothing for the moment. If you are looking to really customize your new iPhone 4 icons and lock screen, and get access to all of the above-mentioned apps, stay tuned.

There is a jailbreak for the iPhone 4 but it hasn’t been released to the public yet because it contains some of Apple’s proprietary code. But we should not have to wait too long, The Dev Team is usually pretty quick to respond to Apple updates.

If that doesn’t satisfy you, George Hotz aka GeoHot was heard talking about an exploitable bootrom that will enable an iPhone 4 jailbreak at a French underground hackers conference. So check back here frequently as we will obviously have full coverage including tutorials and how to guides.

Who out there has an iPhone 4 and can’t wait to jailbreak that sucka?

 

How to Downgrade Your iPhone From iOS 4 to 3.1.3

by Sebastien on Jun 28, 2010

Every time Apple releases a new firmware, they stop signing the older one, which means you technically can’t downgrade to a previous firmware by restoring. Fortunately, if you have your ECID SHSH on file on Saurik’s servers, then you might be able to downgrade your iPhone from iOS 4 to 3.1.3 or earlier.

The trick is to make iTunes believe it is requesting a signature from Apple’s servers while it will actually be talking to Saurik’s servers.

Downgrading from iOS 4 to 3.1.3 does require you saved your SHSH on Saurik’s servers. If you haven’t, then you can’t downgrade.

Downgrade from iPhone iOS 4 to firmware 3.1.3

Step 1 for Windows: Make sure you are logged in with administrator privileges. Launch Notepad and navigate to C:/Windows/System32/drivers/etc. Add the following at the very bottom of the file: 74.208.10.249    gs.apple.com

Now save the file back where you found it.

Step 1 for Mac: In Finder, select Go To Folder, and enter /etc. Search the hosts file and right click on it to open with TextEdit. Add the following at the very bottom of the file: 74.208.10.249    gs.apple.com

Click Save As to save the edited file on your desktop. Name the file hosts, and make sure to uncheck the box that says “if no extension is provide, use .txt”.

Now drag and drop this edited file to /etc.

Step 2: Download the firmware you want to downgrade to from here.

Step 3: Put your iPhone in DFU mode. Launch iTunes and plug your iPhone in. Press and hold the home and and sleep button together for 10 seconds. After exactly 10 seconds, release the sleep button while still holding the home button. Keep holding the home button until iTunes tells you it has found an iPhone in recovery mode.

Step 4: Now hold the Option key (Mac only) or Shift key (Windows only) while clicking the Restore button in iTunes. A dialog box will pop up and you’ll be able to choose the firmware you downloaded in step 2.

Step 5: At this point, some of you will be fine. The iPhone will restore without any problem. However, some of you might end up in recovery mode again. It’s ok. We just need to kick the iPhone out of recovery mode. To do so, download and launch iReb for Windows or iRecovery (both Mac and Windows).

Welcome back to 3.1.3!

[image Life Hacker]

 

Tutorial: How to Jailbreak iPhone iOS 4 With PwnageTool

by Sebastien on Jun 22, 2010

The Dev Team just released the latest version of PwnageTool to jailbreak iOS 4. There are many requirements that your iPhone must fulfill in order to be jailbreakable with PwnageTool and you should make sure to read this before going ahead with the jailbreak process.

Let me make this clear, READ THIS before going any further in the jailbreak process. Your iPhone might not be eligible for a jailbreak.

Now that we have the “warning” out of the way, jailbreaking your iPhone iOS 4 with PwnageTool is fairly easy and straightforward. PwnageTool is a Mac only tool that is used to jailbreak while preserving the baseband to make sure you can unlock if necessary at a further date.

This step by step guide and tutorial will show you how to jailbreak your iPhone iOS 4 using PwnageTool.

Step 1: Download the latest version of PwnageTool from our iPhone downloads section. You will need a torrent downloader (ie. uTorrent) to download the file.

Step 2: Make sure iTunes is up to date (currently version 9.2). If not, update iTunes and reboot your computer.

Step 3: Sync and backup your iPhone in iTunes.

Step 4: Download the latest iOS 4 firmware from here for your specific device.

Step 5: Launch PwnageTool and select your iPhone.

Step 6: PwnageTool will automatically detect your firmware. Click on the blue arrow to continue.

Step 7: PwnageTool will now ask if you have an iPhone contract that you would normally activate with iTunes. Choose YES if you have a contract with an official carrier (ie. AT&T in the US) and you don’t care about unlocking your device. Click NO if you don’t have a contract with an official carrier and want to unlock your iPhone.

Step 8: PwnageTool will now create the custom IPSW.

Step 9: When done, you will see the “iHaz success” message.

Step 10: Now that you have your custom cooked firmware, you need to install this firmware on your iPhone. To do so, plug your iPhone in iTunes. Once iTunes has recognized your iPhone, hold the “Alt/Option” key and click “Restore” at the same time. DO NOT click “Restore” without holding the “Alt/Option” key! A dialog box will pop up and you’ll be able to choose the custom IPSW file you created.

Step 11: PwnageTool will now install your cooked iOS 4 firmware on your iPhone. This process might take a few minutes so be patient. When done, your iPhone will reboot.

You’re done!

Additionally, make sure to check out these instructions if you need to unlock your iPhone.

UPDATE: This post is slightly outdated. Check out this page for the latest jailbreak information.

 

PwnageTool Jailbreak for iOS 4 Now Available

by Sebastien on Jun 22, 2010

The Dev Team just updated PwnageTool to be compatible with iOS 4. PwnageTool is a Mac only solution for jailbreaking your iPhone while preserving your baseband, making the unlock process possible, or at least easier.

Now there are a lot of information to digest. PwnageTool will not work with all firmwares for every device. There are many restriction.

I invite you to carefully read this information provided by the Dev Team. Read it over and over again and see if PwnageTool will work for you or not.

Each supported device has few different scenarios that users need to consider when performing the upgrades, you need to check below and perform the upgrade in the particular way that matches your current device state.

NB: With PwnageTool 4.0 certain devices are not supported this is because they are not supported in iOS 4.0 or they are not supported by our software.  We’re working on ways to get past these restrictions.

  • iPhone 2G  - not supported
  • iPod Touch – not supported
  • iPod Touch 3G – not supported

iPhone 3GS

Summary: Currently, PwnageTool only works on previously jailbroken 3GS devices with the old bootrom.

  • If you have a Jailbroken iPhone 3GS with the OLD BOOTROM and you DID NOT use Spirit to jailbreak then you can create the ipsw with PwnageTool 4.0 and restore with your jailbroken recovery mode.
  • If you have an iPhone 3GS with the NEW BOOTROM this is NOT supported by PwnageTool 4.0

iPhone 3G

  • If you have a Jailbroken iPhone 3G at 3.1.2 (but not jailbroken with Spirit) then you should create the ipsw with PwnageTool 4.0 and restore from recovery mode or DFU mode.
  • If you have an out of the box iPhone 3G you should restore using a PwnageTool 4.0 ipsw using DFU mode.
  • If you have a Jailbroken 3.1.3 iPhone 3G it is very possible that this can fail from recovery mode, if this failure happens you will need to restore using DFU mode.
  • As an alternative to PwnageTool, you can use redsn0w on iPhone 3G (on both Windows and Mac) as mentioned in our last post.

IMPORTANT! Whenever you need to enter DFU mode, you will need to do so using PwnageTool.

iPod touch 2G

  • If you have an iPod touch 2G (non-MC model) that is jailbroken (but not with Spirit) then you can restore using recovery mode.
  • As an alternative to PwnageTool, you can use redsn0w on non-MC iPod Touch 2G (on both Windows and Mac) as mentioned in our last post.

Baseband Unlock

  • iPhone 3G and 3GS baseband unlockers (those who rely on ultrasn0w to make phone calls) should always be very wary to update their firmware, however our Ultrasn0w application will unlock all recent (including the current) 3GS and 3G baseband firmware versions.  Once you are jailbroken using PwnageTool 4.0, install ultrasn0w from Cydia and you’ll be unlocked.
  • Remember! This baseband unlock situation is rare, should you upgrade your iPhone blindly at the next iOS release please don’t expect an unlock – but for now you are OK (whatever state your baseband is in).

    • Let me remind you that if you have an iPhone 3G, you can jailbreak using RedSn0w.

    If you have any question, please feel free to leave a comment.

    [via Dev Team blog]

     

    Poll: Did You Update Your iPhone to iOS 4?

    by Sebastien on Jun 22, 2010

    So, did you update your iPhone to the latest iOS 4? I have and you know what? I already miss my jailbreak!

    Please take a few seconds to take this poll and make sure to share your thoughts in the comments.


     

    The Ultimate Guides to iOS 4

    by Sebastien on Jun 22, 2010

    iOS 4 was released yesterday and comes with over 100 new features. If you haven’t updated your iPhone yet, you may want to consider it so you can take advantage of all these new features.

    I started writing a guide of all these new features, shortcuts and settings but I quickly realized that many other blogs before me had already created such comprehensive guides. Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, I figured it’d be easier to direct you to these guides.

    So I found two good guides that I want to recommend you to check out:

    These 2 websites will show you the most exciting features of iOS 4.

     

    iOS 4 Now Available for Download

    by Sebastien on Jun 21, 2010

    The long-expected iOS 4 is now out and available for download. Depending on where you are in the world, it might not be available in iTunes yet. For those of you who can’t update via iTunes, here are the direct download links (also available in our iPhone downloads section):

    Before upgrading to iOS 4, make sure you weight the pros and cons of iOS 4, but most importantly, make sure your iPhone is ready for iOS 4. As usual when a new firmware comes out, jailbreakers should beware.

     

    List of Jailbreak Apps Compatible With iOS 4

    by Sebastien on Jun 21, 2010

    With iOS 4 coming up, jailbreakers might wonder what Cydia apps will or will not be compatible with their iPhone. iDB reader Ed left a comment in my article about how to make sure your iPhone is ready for iOS 4 in which he linked to a spreadsheet of apps that are compatible with iOS 4.

    Check out the list and contribute to it if you can. The more the merrier.

     

    The Pros and Cons of iOS 4

    by Sebastien on Jun 21, 2010

    Many people have been sending emails or tweets asking me whether or not they should update their iPhone to iOS 4. The short answer is there is no right answer. It all depends on your needs and the state of your iPhone (ie. is it jailbroken?).

    iOS 4 will now be released in a few minutes and before hitting the “update” button in iTunes, I will try to weight the pros and the cons of updating to iOS 4.

    Pros of updating to iOS 4

    • Multitasking – although not a full multitasking solution, Apple is now allowing certain apps to run in the background.
    • Wallpapers – You will now have the ability to add custom wallpapers to your springboard.
    • Folders – iOS 4 will allow you to create folders to organize your apps better
    • Improved email – iOS 4 enhances the email experience by bringing unified inbox and threaded conversations to the iPhone.

    The cons of updating to iOS 4

    Clearly there aren’t many cons to updating your iPhone. I heavily rely on my favorite  jailbreak apps on a daily basis for work and making the decision to update was not an easy one.

    What motivated my decision is the fact that I will get my iPhone 4 in a few days and there won’t be a jailbreak for it right away, so no matter what, I will be jailbreakless. At the end of the day, only you can make this decision.

    Can you think of more pros or cons to add to the list? Will you update to iOS 4?

     

    Jailbreakers Should Stay Away From iOS 4 for the Time Being

    by Sebastien on Jun 21, 2010

    iOS 4 is supposed to ship out sometimes today. This new iPhone OS will bring many new features to the iPhone, including multitasking, folders, and more.

    Although the Dev Team has confirmed that a jailbreak and an unlock will be released for iOS 4, it is safe to hold off on the update for a few days if you really rely on your jailbreak/unlock.

    iOS 4 will be compatible with the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, and iPhone 3G. Not all features will be compatible with all devices. For example, multitasking is available only with iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS.

     
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