Jeff Benjamin

Jeff has been with iDownloadBlog since 2010, acting as resident video specialist, and tutorial expert. He earned his degree in Computer Network Systems back in 2001, but decided Cisco routers and the like just weren’t for him. Since then, he’s been heavily involved with online writing. He’s written for numerous tech and video game sites since the late 1990′s, and has a knack for explaining things in a simple, clear, and concise manner. Jeff works primarily from the east coast on his Retina Macbook Pro, and shoots video with a Canon DSLR. During downtime he likes to travel the world, visiting the various Apple Stores across the globe. You can email him at jeff [at] idownloadblog.com and follow him on Twitter @JeffBenjam or on Google+.

Upscale: Change the resolution on your jailbroken iPhone

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Upscale is a new jailbreak tweak that allows you to run higher resolutions on jailbroken iPhones. The tweak, which is currently in beta, features serval presets to choose from via its settings.

This tweak makes it possible to run the iPhone 6 or 6 Plus resolution on older devices like the iPhone 5 or iPhone 5s—devices with substantially less screen real estate. The result is an interface that features less than ideal tap-zones, but much more room to work with on screen.

Upscale is a compelling jailbreak tweak that everyone should at least investigate. First noted and discovered by developers cpdigitaldarkroom and coolstar, this is a tweak that will surely turn a lot of heads. Full details after the jump...

Filippo Bigarella teases Springtomize for iOS 8

Jeff Benjamin ∙ November 6, 2014

Is this enough to get you to take the plunge? I know it will be for Sebastien, and perhaps even Cody. Springtomize for iOS 8 was officially teased by well-known (and well-liked) developer, Filippo Bigarella.

Springtomize is the type of tweak that lets you customize virtually every aspect of your iPhone's SpringBoard, hence the name "Spring" (SpringBoard) and "tomize" (Customize). We've done extensive reviews of this extremely popular tweak in the past, so if you're not familiar with it, I advise you to get up to speed and review our Springtomize coverage.

If you've yet to jailbreak, will this be enough to push you over the edge?

Pangu team: Mac version of the iOS 8 jailbreak due in a couple of days

Jeff Benjamin ∙ November 5, 2014

Good news for Mac users who have been unable to jailbreak due to the lack of a native Mac jailbreak tool for iOS 8.x: The Pangu team has heard your cries, and is gearing up for an OS X release.

In a Twitter post just a few minutes ago, the PanguTeam Twitter account acknowledged the release of Cydia 1.1.16, and followed that acknowledgement up with some insight on the status of the Mac jailbreak. Have a look at the details inside...

Cydia Installer updated to version 1.1.16 to fix bugs with iTunes backup restores and more

Jeff Benjamin ∙ November 5, 2014

Once again, Saurik has pushed an update for Cydia Installer. This update provides several important bug fixes that makes it a must-update for anyone who is currently jailbroken.

In this update, you'll find a bug fix for the previous Cydia releases related to iTunes backup restores, iOS 8 multitasking timeouts, App Store redirects, and more. Check out the full change log after the break.

Let’s Talk Jailbreak 80: You guys have changed

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 17, 2018

Episode 80: Sebastien and Cody explain why they've yet to jailbreak their iPhones. iOS 8.1.1 kills the Pangu jailbreak. Tons of new jailbreak tweaks discussed, including a cool new Apple Watch UI tweak called Aeternum, and a tweak that lets you optimize apps for the iPhone 6 Plus and the iPhone 6's larger screen. Jeff goes gaga over the new Cydia.

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This episode has no sponsor, but you can always support Let’s Talk Jailbreak and iDB by downloading our OS X Yosemite Interactive User Guide in the iBooks Store.

How to add a fifth icon to the dock in iOS 8 and on the iPhone 6

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

betterFiveIconDock is a new jailbreak tweak that brings the ability to add a fifth app icon to the iOS dock on both iOS 8 and the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. The tweak, which is available free of charge on a non-default Cydia repo, even plays nice with the iPhone 6 Plus' Home screen rotation abilities.

Want to see how betterFiveIconDock works in action? Check out our video walkthrough inside.

You should update to iOS 8.1 now if you’re at all interested in jailbreaking

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Perhaps you've been holding out on updating to iOS 8.1 until there's a "stable" jailbreak and a stable version of Cydia. Maybe you're like Sebastien and Cody, and just want to make sure that things run smoothly enough, and that the compelling tweaks are updated for iOS 8 before taking the leap.

Throw all of that logic out of the window. If you're an iOS 7.x jailbreak holdover, it's time to stop holding out and just update. iOS 8.1.1 is now in beta, and it has been confirmed to kill Pangu's iOS 8.x jailbreak. Even if you don't want to jailbreak right now, it's still a good idea to go ahead and upgrade to iOS 8.1, so that when the jailbreak does meet your needs, you can still jailbreak on iOS 8.

Aeternum: the best looking Apple Watch UI SpringBoard replacement for iPhone

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

I just got my hands on the latest jailbreak tweak to take advantage of Lucas Mendes' open source Apple Watch UI for the iPhone. It's called Aeternum, which means eternity in latin, and it's from the developer that brought us iRealSMS and iTouchSecure. In other words, it's from a quality well-known developer.

I've tried a few tweaks that build upon Mendes' code, but Aeternum is far and away the best looking and best functioning one thus far. Not only do you get the Apple Watch UI, but you get smooth animations, a dock, and the ability to rearrange app icons. It still has some ways to go, but it's very promising. Have a look at our full video walkthrough after the jump.

The Pangu team says a 0.4 Untether update is coming soon

Jeff Benjamin ∙ November 2, 2014

It's hard to believe, but it's almost been two weeks since Pangu surprised us all, providing a jailbreak for iOS 8. Since that day, we've seen numerous updates and releases to fix bugs and address other lingering issues.

Many of you, though, are still waiting for an OS X version of the iOS 8 jailbreak. From the looks of things, the OS X jailbreak is still a little ways off. Pangu is currently working on a 0.4 release of its Windows tool, which will drop shortly after the 0.3 update was released to fix overheating issues in 32-bit devices.

MyWi updated for iOS 8 with public beta release

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Intelliborn's MyWi, the landmark tethering tool for jailbroken iOS devices, has been updated for iOS 8 in the form of a public beta. The update, which is now available on Cydia, brings enhanced tethering capability to iOS devices.

Some may argue against using a tool like MyWi since iOS 8 makes it even easier to connect to hotspot-enabled iPhones and iPads. But MyWi has a definite one-up on stock tethering due to the amount of options and stats that it presents to the user. Have a look inside for the full change log and a rundown of some of the tweak's more compelling features.

OS X Yosemite Interactive Starter Guide

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Looking for a a quick way to get up to speed on all of OS X Yosemite's most outstanding features? Our OS X Yosemite Interactive Starter Guide is a visual tool to help you become quickly acclimated with some of Yosemite’s most notable new additions, improvements, and changes.

Each item showcased includes a hand-crafted video walkthrough with guided voice over. More importantly, it’s designed to be easily digestible.

You may have noticed that over the past few weeks, we've posted excerpts from the guide right here on iDB. In fact, you can read all of its excerpts by visiting the guide's tag page. Of course, you also have the option to buy the OS X Yosemite Interactive Starter Guide directly from the iBooks store for only $0.99. Not only do you get a guide that you can take with you and reference while offline, but you also get to support iDB in the process. It's a win-win scenario. Check inside for more details.

Pangu Untether updated to fix overheating issues on 32-bit devices [update: it’s back]

Jeff Benjamin ∙ November 1, 2014

If you've jailbroken your iPhone 5, iPod touch 5th gen, iPhone 4s, iPad 2, or any other 32-bit iOS device, then perhaps you've encountered the problem that this update fixes. The launchd process would "spin" continuously burning CPU and battery, and in some cases, even making the device run extremely hot.

I've seen various reports about iPhone 5s running hot, but never really took them seriously. That probably has something to do with the fact that I've only jailbroken 64-bit devices like the iPhone 5s and 6 Plus. But apparently, this was a real issue affecting more than just a few. For that reason, Pangu has issued an updated version of its Untether package to fix the problem.