Sébastien Page

Sebastien is the Founder and Editor in Chief of iDB. Once a BlackBerry user, Sebastien instantly fell in love with the iPhone when it was first announced in 2007. Shortly after, he decided to start sharing his knowledge of the iPhone and its nascent ecosystem, which led to the creation of this blog. Sebastien currently owns 14 iPhones, 4 iPads, a MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, a MacBook Air, 2 Apple Watches, 3 Apple TVs, countless HomePods and AirTags as well as a few pairs of AirPods.

Everything You Need to Know About iPhone OS 3.1

Sébastien Page ∙ September 9, 2009

As I predicted, Apple unveiled today iPhone OS 3.1, and you know what? There is not much to it! It seems to me all this event was actually kinda disappointing but that's what happens when you expect too much...

If you're a jailbreaker, do not update your iPhone to 3.1 as it will wipe out everything and worst of all, you may not be able to jailbreak or unlock in the future.

Apple also announced the release of iTunes 9 and it is nice to notice that it is safe to update iTunes to 9.0. It won't affect jailbreakers or unlockers in any way.

Now if you used the tethering hack to tether your iPhone for free, you may not want to update your iPhone to 3.1 as we've seen mixed results. Some people report that the tethering hack is working fine after updating to 3.1. Some other report that it breaks the hack. Let's wait and see.

Here is the list of features that come with iPhone OS 3.1:

Improved syncing for music, movies, TV shows, podcasts, and photos iTunes U content organization Redeem iTunes Gift Cards, codes, and certificates in the App Store Display available iTunes account credits in the App Store and iTunes Store Save video from Mail and MMS into Camera Roll Option to Save as new clip when trimming a video on iPhone 3GS Better iPhone 3G Wi-Fi performance when Bluetooth is turned on Remotely lock iPhone with passcode via MobileMe Use Voice COntrol on iPhone 3GS with Bluetooth headsets Paste phone numbers into the keypad Option to use Home button to turn on accessibility features on iPhone 3GS Warn when visiting fraudulent websites in Safari (anti-phishing) Improved Exchange calendar syncing and invitation handling Fixes issue that cause some app icons to display incorrectly

As you can see, there is no word about battery improvement. I guess Apple didn't deem consider this as an issue.

All the 3.1 firmwares as well as iTunes 9 are available from our downloads page.

Needless to say that there is no jailbreak yet for iPhone 3.1. I will keep you updated and write tutorials on how to jailbreak iPhone 3.1 as it becomes available.

If you have noticed anything new in 3.1, please feel free to report it by leaving a comment below.

iPhone OS 3.1 Available Today. Jailbreakers Should Not Update

Sébastien Page ∙ September 9, 2009

Looks like I was right when I said that Apple would unveil the new 3.1 software today. It was unfair as I knew it from a pretty reliable source, if you know what I mean. So 3.1 will be available for download later today from iTunes.

As usual in such events, jailbreakers and unlockers should not update right away. Let me repeat to be clear to everyone. If your iPhone is jailbroken, you should not update to OS 3.1. Doing so will just wipe out your jailbreak and may make it impossible to jailbreak or unlock in the future.

I suggest you wait a bit. The Dev Team is going to get a hold of 3.1 and figure out if it's safe to update or not. Either way, I will let you know as soon as we know more about it.

Photo Engadget

Fixed: iPhone Stuck On Apple Logo

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated January 9, 2020

Sometimes when jailbreaking an iPhone or after installing a jailbreak app, your iPhone will get stuck on reboot, or will hang on the Apple logo. This problem happened to me before and it was kind of a nightmare. In order to get your iPhone back on track, you will have to put it in DFU mode (Device Firmware Update mode). This will help you restore your iPhone without loading the OS first.

mQuickDo Brings App Switching to the iPhone (+10 Promo Codes)

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

When I first heard and tried mQuickDo, I wasn't really impressed at all. First, the description didn't highlight the real benefits of this application because the developers sell it as a "virtual home and power buttons for the iPhone". What the hell does that mean? Exactly! I tried mQuickDo and was very confused about what it did and how it worked. I quickly gave up on this app without giving it much more thoughts.

Then last week I read an article by fellow iPhone blogger Patrick Jordan at JAIB. Patrick's article described mQuickDo as what it really is: an app switcher for the iPhone. This is what really made me think twice about this app, and ultimately led me to give it another shot.

Originally, mQuickDo lets you set up gestures to perform predefined actions (ie. slide left to right to close an opened application; or slide right to left to shut off the phone, etc...) but to be honest with you, I think this is kinda useless.

The real power and most exciting feature about mQuickDo is the App Switcher. As its name suggests, the app switcher allows you to quickly switch between apps. You have to tweak the settings to customize the gestures to trigger the app switching, but once you got it to work properly, this is a real time-saver.

I have to admit that it takes time to get used to some of the gestures. To make it easier, I set up mQuickDo to launch the app switcher for all the predefined gestures, which means I am not using any of the other features of mQuickDo, but as I said above, I find them useless anyways.

The app switcher feature is pretty awesome. Add Backgrounder to this and you actually get a productivity booster that will allow you to multi-task and really get the most out of your iPhone.

mQuickDo is available from Cydia and comes with a 3-day trial period. After that, it will cost you $7.99 if you want to keep it. Although a little pricey, I still think mQuickDo is a must-have application and it undoubtedly makes it in my Top 10 list of favorite applications.

The developers of mQuickDo were kind enough to provide us with 10 promo codes for our loyal blog readers.

How to Win

You have to do 2 things to win one of the 10 promo codes:

Follow me on Twitter and Retweet this post by clicking here Leave a comment at the bottom of this page with your Twitter ID Download the mQuickDo free trial from Cydia

10 winners will be randomly selected and will be notified on Twitter sometimes next week.

Good luck :)

Tweetie’s “Secure Connection Failed” Is Driving Me Nuts

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

I am a big Twitter user and I do most of my tweeting using Tweetie, which is my favorite Twitter app for iPhone. Recently I've been getting the same error more and more often and it's getting very annoying: Secure Connection Failed.

I dug a bit into the problem and found out that I am not the only one having this Secure Connection Failed issue. Tweetie's account on Twitter says that "it's a problem on Twitter's end, they're tracking it down now" and they suggest that anyone who gets this error sends their IP address to contact@atebits.com.

First, I don't believe the problem is on Twitter's end. If it was, other iPhone Twitter app would have the same issue. Second, how am I supposed to email them my IP address when the problem mostly appears over 3G, which means I have a different IP address every time I make a data connection?

This problem has been going on for the past few weeks and it seems it's getting worse. It's really disappointing that Ate Bits, the developers of Tweetie, are not taking a more proactive role in this matter. I don't expect much from a free app, but when I pay $3 for an application, I expect it to work flawlessly.

Have you guys encountered this issue as well? If you don't use Tweetie, what Twitter application do you use? Is your iPhone jailbroken?

Update: Looking a the reactions on Twitter, it is clear that this problem also appears on other Twitter apps. My apologies to Ate Bits for thinking they were not doing their best. The problems does seem to come from Twitter itself after all.

Weekly Wrapup: Apple, MMS, Cool Themes, and More…

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated October 9, 2018

If you missed any of the articles we posted this week, here is a quick wrapup for you.

Apple taking crap from everyone

It seems that I’m not the only one getting tired of Apple. I recommend you read the full article and watch the video.

New iPod coming up

Apple has finally confirmed the long-rumored event to be held on September 9, in San Francisco.

10 original and beautiful iPhone themes

Within the past few weeks, I have been selecting several beautiful and original iPhone themes that I’d like to share with you today.

How to rob and Apple Store in 31 seconds

23 MacBook Pro, 14 iPhones and 9 iPod Touch stolen in 31 seconds. You think you can do better?

It's official, MMS coming to the iPhone on September 25

According to a press release, we should get MMS on September 25.

Too much iPhone is hurting me (and others)

For the last few months, I’ve noticed a slight pain in my right hand (the hand I use to hold my iPhone).

https://www.idownloadblog.com/2009/08/31/apple-under-fire/

My iPhone is Crippling Me

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

I use my iPhone all day. From the time I wake up to the time I go to sleep, I probably have my iPhone in my hand for at least 3-4 hours. That includes reading the news several times throughout the day, replying to urgent emails, Twittering, etc... I guess it's worth noting that I rarely use my iPhone as a phone. I am not much of a phone guy.

For the last few months, I've noticed a slight pain in my right hand (the hand I use to hold my iPhone). It's getting to the point where I had to buy a wrist brace, which helps a lot but doesn't solve the problem.

This will sound a little intense to the casual iPhone user but I'm sure (I hope) some of you will have the same problem. If so, what are you doing about it?

MMS Finally Coming to the iPhone On September 25

Sébastien Page ∙ September 4, 2009

Ladies and gentleman, after months of waiting and bitching, AT&T is finally bringing MMS to the iPhone masses. According to a press release, we should get MMS on September 25.

We know many of our iPhone customers are eager for an update on our rollout schedule for Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS). We’ve been working for the past several months to prepare our systems and network to ensure the best possible experience with MMS when it launches – and that launch date is: September 25 for iPhone 3G and 3GS customers. MMS will be enabled through a software update on that day.

Ok, so I was half right in my prediction. I said MMS would come via a firmware update around September 10. Well, close enough...

Now as you notice MMS will be only available for iPhone 3G and 3GS. If you have an iPhone 2G, then screw you! No seriously, if you have a first generation iPhone, you can still use this hack to enable MMS.

As for tethering... What tethering? AT&T didn't deem it necessary to make any announcement and I guess it still plans to make this feature available "at a later date" which may be anytime between now and the end of times...

How do you feel about that?

10 Beautiful and Original iPhone Themes

Sébastien Page ∙ September 2, 2009

One of the main reasons to jailbreak your iPhone is that it allows you to add custom themes and make it stand out from the crowd of blend and boring iPhones out there. Using WinterBoard you can customize the look of your iPhone, including icons, wallpaper, dock, etc… You can literally spend hours creating and tweaking themes to make them unique, and original.

Within the past few weeks, I have been selecting several beautiful and original iPhone themes that I'd like to share with you today. More after the break...

New iPod to be Unveiled Next Week?

Sébastien Page ∙ September 1, 2009

Apple has finally confirmed the long-rumored event to be held on September 9, in San Francisco. The image above is the "official" image used on the invitations sent out by Apple. For some reason, I haven't received my invite yet. I assume it was lost in the mail ;)

Last week, I predicted that a new iPod will be unveiled at this event and that Apple will make firmware 3.1 available. I also predicted that MMS will be available around that time.

I'd like to hear what YOU would like Apple to announce at this event? A new iPhone? A tablet? A spaceship?

Apple Under Fire

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated May 11, 2018

If you're a regular reader of this blog, by now you may have figured out that I'm not a big fan of Apple. I love my iPhone and I honestly couldn't live without it anymore but I strongly dislike Apple. Ok, I hate Apple!

I hate the way they do business. I hate the way they treat their suppliers. I hate the way they treat their employees. I hate Steve Jobs for being such an egomaniac. I hate the way fan boys would die for a sneak peek at a beta version of a new Mac OS. I hate how Apple is controlling what apps I can install on my iPhone. Worst of all, I hate Apple for being such a close ecosystem and forcing its users to stick to Apple, and Apple only.

It seems that I'm not the only one getting tired of Apple. Last week, Jon Fortt of Brainstorm Tech wrote an interesting article comparing Apple to Microsoft's earlier behavior. Jon Fortt actually goes as far as apologizing to Microsoft:

I'm sorry, Microsoft. On behalf of Silicon Valley, I’m sorry.

We cursed you, mocked you, labeled you the Evil Empire. Your crime: trying to control the technology world. Sure, we had reason to be upset. During the dawning of the PC era, the Windows operating system made you the most powerful company in tech, and it went to your head.

Your detractors say you intimidated PC makers, crushed Netscape, and tried to turn the web into an extension of the Windows platform. As it turns out, local darling Apple (AAPL) probably would have done the same thing.

Just look at how Apple is behaving today with a fraction of the power you had.

Better and more insightful is Jason Calacanis' message to Apple Fanboys and girls. While the video might sound a little too much and insulting at some points, I think the general idea is true. It's interesting to note that Jason Calacanis was a long time Apple lover and recently decided to go back to PC.

Weekly Wrapup: Gpush, PrivaCy, MMS, Tethering, and More…

Sébastien Page ∙ August 30, 2009

Sunday is my lazy day where I tend to be not creative at all, hence the wrapup most. If you missed anything on the blog this, here is a quick summary of everything we talked about.

Gpush brings Gmail push notifications to Gmail

All in all, Gpush is a good and cheap application that does exactly what it’s supposed to. However, it can become very annoying if like me, you receive a couple hundred emails a day.

Stop apps from spying on you

Thanks to the collaboration of Saurik, BigBoss, and the major companies tracking your apps stats, it is now possible to opt out of being spied on via an application appropriately named PricaCy.

I predict MMS will be coming to the iPhone in the next few days

I predict that a soon to be announced 3.1 firmware will come with some type of carrier update that will allow AT&T users to finally be able to send and receive MMS through their iPhones.

On iPhone 3GS tethering

It was the first time I actually tethered my iPhone 3GS and I have to admit that I am incredibly impressed with the speed.

iPhone goes into safe mode

I had heard about the iPhone safe mode before but I had never experienced it until a few days ago.

Fix for the "couldn't activate cellular data network" error

This error often appears after jailbreaking and/or unlocking and it is mostly characterized by the fact that your iPhone can’t connect to the internet using the cellular data network, and you can’t send text messages anymore. Here is a quick fix.