Tutorials

How to Copy Your iTunes Library to A New Computer

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated December 15, 2017

If you recently bought a new computer, you may have faced the issue of moving your data from your old computer to your new one. In most cases, it's pretty easy, simply put your documents (ie. photos, videos, folders, etc...) on an external hard drive and move it to the new computer.

However, it's a bit more tricky if you want to move your iTunes music library while preserving your ratings, play counts, and playlists. Fortunately, Apple made it pretty easy for us to copy our iTunes library to a new computer.

This article will show you how to move your iTunes music library to a new computer in just a few simple steps. It's simple, but it does take some time though. Kudos go to Simon for this trick.

This method will work with every item you can get from iTunes. You will be able to backup the following files:

Applications Music and Podcasts Movies, Videos and TV Shows Ringtones

In order to copy the iTunes library to a new computer we will use iTunes' backup feature.

Step 1: In iTunes, go to File > Library > Backup to Disc.

Step 2: Choose Back up entire iTunes library and playlists.

Step 3: Insert a DVD or CD and start the backup process. Depending on the size of your library, this process could take hours, maybe days... If your DVD or CD is not enough to backup all the data, iTunes will offer you the option to backup to several discs.

Step 4: Once the backup process is over, open iTunes on your new computer and insert the first disc.

Step 5: iTunes will be smart enough to recognize the backup and will ask you if you want to restore from this disc. Click restore and let the magic happen.

This works pretty well if you don't have much data to backup. However, if you have tens of thousands of songs and movies like I do, this will take you days to just copy the data.

How to Turn Your iPad Into An iPad 3G

Sébastien Page ∙ April 12, 2010

If you don't want to cough an extra $130 (+ $15 to $30/month) to get the 3G version of the iPad but still want to enjoy the freedom of 3G technology on the go, I have a quick and easy tip for you to turn your iPad into an iPad 3G.

In order to get your iPad work on 3G, you will need an iPad (duh!) and a jailbroken iPhone 3G or 3GS. The trick is pretty simple. You just need to download the MyWi app from Cydia. MyWi is a tethering app that allows you to turn your iPhone into a wireless hotspot.

I wrote about MyWi a couple of months ago here so I won't go too much into details but basically it creates a wifi hotspot so you can share your 3G with devices around you, including your iPad. My Twitter friend @LappyGirl tried it and confirms it's working great.

So here you go, you just got yourself an iPad 3G for the price of a standard iPad.

How to Save Your iPhone ECID SHSH

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated March 27, 2018

Every time a new iPhone firmware comes out, many of us accidentally update their device to the latest OS, making it impossible to jailbreak/unlock, or even downgrade to an earlier version.

In order to have a shot at downgrading your iPhone, you must have your ECID SHSH on file on Saurik's server, just in case Apple stops signing the older firmware version, just like it did a few weeks ago with 3.1.2.

How to Save Your ECID SHSH

Note that this is only valid for iPhone 3GS and iPod Touch 2G/3G. iPhone 3G owners are not concerned as they can downgrade the firmware (not the baseband).

The Easy Way

If like me you are lucky and you launch Cydia and see that "this device has SHSHs on file for iPhone OS: 3.0, 3.1, 3.1.2, 3.1.3", then you don't have anything to do. I have these 4 SHSHs on file but it's ok if you only have the latest SHSH on file. At the time I am writing this, the latest firmware is 3.1.3 so to date, you should make sure you have at least the SHSH for 3.1.3.

The Other Easy Way

If you don't see this message then don't worry, just scroll down a bit on Cydia's homepage and look for the "make my life easier" button. Simply tap on it and your ECID SHSH will be automatically saved on Saurik's server. Close Cydia and launch it again. You should now have a message at the top saying your SHSH is on file.

You're good to go now! But remember that anytime a new firmware is available, do not update right away. Just wait until a new jailbreak is available.

BlackBreeze: How to Fix iTunes 9.1 and BlackRa1n Issues on Windows

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated January 23, 2016

With the release of iTunes 9.1, those of you on a Windows machine and an iPhone jailbroken with BlackRa1n RC3 might experience syncing issues. Fortunately, iH8Sn0w, the developer of Sn0wBreeze and F0recast has released a tool called BlackBreeze to fix this.

How to fix syncing issues between iTunes 9.1 and iPhone jailbroken with BlackRa1n RC3:

Step 1: Create a new folder on your desktop and download BlackRa1n.exe and BlackBreeze to it.

Step 2: Launch BlackBreeze and click on Fix my Ra1n! and select the BlackRa1n.exe file you downloaded in step 1.

Step 3: BlackBreeze will patch BlackRa1n and place a file called blackra1n-fixed.exe on your desktop.

Step 4: Execute blackra1n-fixed.exe to boot your tethered iPhone. Once done, you should be able to sync your jailbroken iPhone with iTunes 9.1 on Windows without any problem.

Thanks PhilT for the tip and the tutorial!

How to Fix Push Notifications On Hacktivated iPhone

Sébastien Page ∙ March 10, 2010

If you have recently "hacktivated" your iPhone, which means activating it to work with carriers other than the official ones, you may have encountered push notification issues. In most cases, push notifications don't work properly or even don't work at all.

There is a simple fix for this and it's called Push Doctor. Simply add the following source to Cydia then look for Push Doctor: http://www.cmdshft.ipwn.me/apt/

After installing Push Doctor, reboot your iPhone.

Push Doctor works very well with 3.1.3 and 3.1.2. It is free and has the support of the Dev Team, so you can go with it safely.

What Is Unlocking?

Cody Lee ∙ February 23, 2010

Unlocking is an extremely easy concept to explain, sort of . Unless stated otherwise, cell phones purchased from carrier retail stores are "locked" to that specific carrier. For instance, a Blackberry storm from Verizon won't work on an AT&T calling plan. The Sprint Palm Pre won't work on T-mobile. Even your iPhone from AT&T is "locked" to that infamous blue-mapped carrier.

So what do you do if you want to purchase a phone you like but use it with a different carrier, perhaps one that costs less or gets better reception in your area? For most folks I'd say " eh fa-gettaboutit ! " (in a pretty sweet Brooklyn/Italian accent might I add). But for those of you lucky enough to have apples on the back of your phones, there are ways to relieve your beloved iPhone from AT&T's struggling network.

Hardware Unlock Vs. Software Unlock

Technically, there are 2 ways to go about unlocking your iPhone. There is a hardware unlock, which is invasive (you have to open the phone), that I don't recommend that anyone tries unless they've got a pretty extensive background in some kind of electrical engineering.

The 2nd, much easier way, the software unlock, could be done on your lunch break by your 6th grader. Just like jailbreaking, this can be as easy as hooking your iPhone up to the computer and clicking 'start'. However the requirements for unlocking and the rules you must follow are very different.

Things to Consider Before Unlocking

There are guidelines to follow when thinking about unlocking your iPhone.

First off you need to make sure that the carrier you are wishing to go to supports the iPhones technology. I'll save everyone here stateside some time and just let the cat out of the bag. If you unlock, really your best option is T-Mobile, the other major wireless GSM carrier. Other, smaller CDMA carriers (any centennial wireless users out here??) have had users confirm the unlock to work, but chances are if your reading an article on unlocking, they are referring to T-Mobile (at least here in the states).

Secondly, you need to know your firmware version and modem firmware version (or baseband as its often referred to). This is easily discovered by popping into your iPhone settings and opening the 'about' window. Now if you can't seem to find it, I'm scared for you, but I'm here for you, I've provided some pictures below to help you out.

These 2 things are important to know, as they determine whether you can unlock your iPhone or not. If you are even thinking of jailbreaking or unlocking, best practice is to stay away from updating your iTunes or iPhone software, as the war between the Dev Team and Apple rages on, each new update could disable or prevent future unlocks.

I always check http://blog.iphone-dev.org/ to see the latest unlock available. As you can see right now, they have one working for firmware version 3.1.3 and baseband 05.11, but if you have updated your iPhone recently and have the 05.12 baseband, you're out of luck for the time being. An unlock is in the works but the ETA field is empty so, don't hold your breath.

Finally if you meet the above requirements and are ready to unlock, you must first jailbreak. Now as you can see from all the hyperlinks in this article, I wrote an article on jailbreaking, and I know Sebastien's got great tutorials in the blog's 'tutorials' section, so if you haven't done that, check that stuff out, meet me back here in 5.

Who Comes Up With Unlocks?

The last part of our segment today on unlocking is software, pioneered by the great Dev Team and the prodigy kid from New Jersey GeoHot. GeoHot, who recently announced hacking the PS3, actually received media attention for his iPhone unlock and was given a new Nissan 350z by the co founder of Certicell, not bad eh.

But the backbone of the jailbreak/unlock community, the Dev Team, have been the steady frontrunners ever since. Their software QuickPwn, RedSn0w, and PwnageTool have been staples in the iPhone hacking community for years.

Generally when you're using these programs to jailbreak they ask you if you'd like to unlock in one of the steps it takes you through. Here lately though, 1 task programs like UltraSnow have been relevant, also done by the Dev Team, also available in our downloads section.

Conclusion

Well that's unlocking in 10 minutes or less, the key really is what version your firmware/modem firmware you're running, and understanding there's no unlock for 3.1.3 firmware if you have 05.12 modem firmware (baseband).

The model of your iPhone matters as well, whether it is the iPhone 3G , 3GS, or original version. Model compatibility for any unlock software is generally noted in the description of the download. And if I haven't completely crushed your dreams yet, there's no way to downgrade your baseband (let us know if you get Fuzzyband to work, we hear the bootloader's to high). What am I talking about bootloaders, basebands, you guys should probably get out of here before things get really crazy.

Make sure to hit us up with any questions or comments.

How to Disable Automatic iPhone Backup in iTunes

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

If you're like me, you must sometimes get annoyed at how long syncing your iPhone with iTunes can take. Turns out that the syncing process doesn't take that long at all. However, the automatic backup of your iPhone is what takes the longest.

I found out thanks to JAiB about a tool called BackOff, which easily allows you to turn on and off the automatic backup of your iPhone in iTunes.

BackOff is a free PC and Mac utility enabling you to speed up the sync of your iPhone or iPod Touch by turning off the automatic backup in iTunes. Storage of large amounts of data can seriously lenghten iTunes sync. Disable iTunes Auto-Backup feature with BackOff and speed up your syncs!

BackOff is a free tool (download here) that work for both Mac and PC and is compatible with all iPhones and iPod Touch.

Patrick was able to try it out and here is what he has to say about it:

Just to give an idea of the impact this app can have, when I tested it this afternoon, a sync with backup turned on had taken over 20 minutes before I canceled it. Sync with backup turned off took under two minutes!

Looks like a winner to me. What do you think about BackOff?

How to Fix iPhone Errors 1600, 1601, 1602, 1603, 1604

Sébastien Page ∙ February 16, 2010

Many of you have been asking me about those annoying iTunes errors while trying to restore your iPhone using a custom firmware with PwnageTool or SnowBreeze. Usually, the error you get says:

The iPhone "iPhone" could not be restored. An unknown error occurred (1600 - 1601 - 1602 - 1603 - 1604)

There is an easy and quick fix for this. The downside is that it is Windows only (Mac version is in the work), and that it only works for iPhone 2G, iPhone 3G, iTouch 1G and iTouch 2G. In other words, no iPhone 3GS and iPod Touch 3G support.

iREB (iTunes Restore Error Bypasser) is a neat little tool that will help you fix these errors.

Step 1: Download iREB from here.

Step 2: Launch iTunes and put your iPhone in DFU mode (hold power and home button together for 10 seconds; release the power button and keep holding the home button until iTunes tells you it has detected an iPhone in recovery mode.

Step 3: Once iTunes has detected your iPhone in recovery mode, close iTunes and launch iREB.

Step 4: Select your device and wait for the screen to go red or white.

Step 5: Launch iTunes and hold the SHIFT key while clicking on restore. A window will open. From there just browse for the custom firmware you want to restore to.

You should be good to go. iTunes should restore your iPhone to the desired firmware without giving you any error.

How to Backup & Restore Your Jailbreak Apps

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated December 15, 2017

When jailbreaking your iPhone, you always take the chance of messing up with the settings and losing all your Cydia apps. If you "experiment" a lot with your iPhone, I'm sure you've had to restore your iPhone on many occasions.

The problem when restoring your iPhone is that you have to resintall all your Cydia apps, which can take quite some time, depending on howm many you have.

Thankfully, there are a few options available out there that will allow you to easily backup and restore your Cydia applications.

Backup & Restore Jailbreak Apps with PkgBackup

PkgBackup is a $3.49 application but I think it has to be the best out there thanks to its great UI and ease of use. In top of backing up and restoring your jailbreak apps, PkgBackup will also preserve the way your icons are arranged on your springboard.

iClarified has a great tutorial on how to use PkgBackup. Check it out here.

Backup & Restore Cydia Apps with AptBackup

AptBackup supposedly works the same way as PkgBackup except it doesn't save your icons arrangement. Personally, I was never able to get it to work, and it actually got me in serious troubles before.

You might be luckier than I am though. I know a few people who use AptBackup and never had any problem with it.

Manually Backup and Restore Your Cydia Applications

If you feel like messing around your iPhone folders and don't mind taking risks, there is a way to manually backup your jailbreak apps. I haven't done that myself, and to be honest, I probably never will, but I want to share this option with you.

Simon wrote an interesting tutorial on his blog on how to manually backup your jailbreak apps. Read it if you're interested.

My favorite way to backup jailbreak apps is still PkgBackup. Sure it costs a few bucks, but to me, it is from far the most reliable and easiest option.

Do you ever backup your jailbreak apps? If so, how do you usually go about it?

How to Make iTunes Believe You Are on Firmware 3.1.3

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated November 12, 2019

Are you tired of telling iTunes NOT to update to 3.1.3 every time you plug your iPhone in? Well, there's an app for that. It's called Fake 3.1.3 and it is ideal for people like me who don't like being bugged by recurring iTunes alerts.

Fake 3.1.3 will make iTunes believe that you are running firmware 3.1.3, although you will still be on 3.1.2 with the older baseband. It kinda reminds me of FWchanger, although this one just helped make the App Store believe you were on a different firmware.

Fake 3.1.3 is available for free on Cydia via the http://cy.sosiphone.com repo.

How to Turn Your iPhone Into A Wifi Hotspot

Sébastien Page ∙ February 12, 2010

I've always been a big fan of iPhone tethering, which has saved my butt a few times, especially during my travels. Today, a blog reader by the name of DarkN sent me a really nice tip about MyWi, a jailbreak app that allows you to both tether your iPhone AND create a Wifi Hotspot so you can share your Internet connection with computers around you.

This has to be the most useful app I've seen in quite a while. I had heard about MyWi before but I thought it was only an app to tether your iPhone so I didn't even look at it. But being able to use your iPhone as a wireless hotspot is just amazing!

If you can't see the benefits of using your iPhone as a wireless router, then let me give you an example. My fiancee and I are currently in Thailand. Unfortunately our hotel doesn't offer wifi. I do however have a local SIM card and a data plan which I use to tether my iPhone. By creating a wifi hotspot with my iPhone, I literally turn it into a modem/wifi router and my fiancee can now connect to the internet with her iPod Touch.

How to Turn Your iPhone Into A Wireless Router

Step 1: Make sure your iPhone is jailbroken and that it is running at least OS 3.0.

Step 2: Launch Cydia and search for "MyWi". If you don't have Rock installed on your iPhone and you don't want it, choose the "MyWi (no Rock)" version.

Step 3: Purchase ($9.99) and install MyWi then reboot your iPhone.

Step 4: Launch MyWi and tweak the settings to your liking:

Change the hotspot name Change the channel Enable Wep security Enable USB/Bluetooth tethering

That's it. You should now be able to use your iPhone as a modem and share your internet connection with other computers or iPods around you.

Note that using your iPhone as a wifi router is an absolute battery killer. Make sure it is plugged in so you don't run out of juice in just a few minutes.

What is Jailbreaking?

Cody Lee ∙ Updated August 2, 2010

What Does Jailbreaking Mean?

Jailbreaking, or "hacking" is giving a user read/write access to otherwise locked OS files on your iPhone.

It allows you to "unlock" your iPhone and activate it on another GSM carrier that doesn't have bad Luke Wilson commercials. It gives you access to app stores like Cydia that offer programs that you won't see in Apple's popular counterpart. It'll even give you the ability to customize the background of your home screen and change the look of your icons and menu colors.

Starting in early fall after the summer 2007 release of the original iPhone, jailbreaking began as a fairly complicated multi-step process. Things have definitely evolved over the last few years and the online jailbreaking community for iPhones is estimated in the millions (if you're reading this article on this site, that number shouldn't surprise you) with hundreds of blogs and forums scattered throughout the web dedicated to this crazy thing called jailbreaking.

What Are the Benefits of Jailbreaking?

Up until recently, if you wanted to shoot video with your iPhone, you had to jailbreak and download an app called Cycorder from Cydia that would let you shoot and save video, because your iPhone out of box couldn't do it. Same with cut/copy/paste, MMS, all only available if you had jailbroken your iPhone.

Your probably wondering well then what in the heck do I need to do it for now? Well I jailbreak mine so I can have the application Backgrounder from Cydia, it allows you to multitask and do things like listen to Pandora while writing emails, something you can't do with your run-of-the-mill iPhone and iPod Touch.

I also have apps like Winterboard from Cydia that allow me to customize my home screen, change the look of my lock screen, and change the overall theme of my iPhone. I can make my iPhone look completely different than the way it does when you open the box for the first time. So much to the point where people will ask me what kind of phone I've got when it's in an unmarked silicon case.

Another good reason I would say to go for it is that it is easier than ever to jailbreak. In fact, programs such as BlackRa1n by GeoHot make jailbreaking as easy as plug and click.

What Are the Risks of Jailbreaking?

Now, although jailbreaking has become increasingly easier, there are still very complicated risks that go with it. If you have a newer iPod Touch or iPhone 3GS, or if you plan on unlocking your new device, remember what I am about to tell you...

An underground group of programmers known as the Dev Team, for the most part, spearheads all this jailbreak technology more or less without Apple's permission. Think of the Dev Team as the LA SWAT team with huge awesome guns trying to get into a barricaded building, which is the jailbroken iPhone software.

Every time they find a way in, Apple comes along and puts another barricade up with a software update that closes the entrance they had. Then they have to find another way in. They are currently working on jailbreaks for 3GS and iPod Touch software version 3.1.3, so if you upgrade to the newest version of the firmware, you will lose the ability to jailbreak at this time.

So it's just a best practice to check the latest firmware version jailbroken (see the Dev Team blog) versus your own (go to Settings > General > Status). Aside from the above mentioned risks, there's always the chance of your iPhone "bricking" or getting stuck in a non working state.

Several times during jailbreaks, mine would be stuck in phone purgatory for hours. Take just a few moments to browse any iPhone forum with jailbreaking topics and you're sure to find several comments along the lines of "help! I tried to jailbreak my iPhone and now it's been stuck on the Apple logo for hours, help!" or "Please help me, after jailbreaking my iPhone my GPS won't work."

So things definitely can go wrong, but generally it's user error. Usually plugging in your iPhone to your computer, starting iTunes, and holding power for 5 seconds, power and menu button for 10 seconds, and then just menu for 20 seconds, tells iTunes your phones fried and it will do a fresh install of your most recent iPhone software. For more information on getting your iPhone out of the constant reboot cycle, read this article.

Is Jailbreaking Legal?

UPDATE: Jailbreaking is now officially legal in the US

Now you're probably wondering if it's legal. Um… yes and no! The fact of the matter is that Apple has verbally announced that they believed jailbreaking to be illegal and an infringement on their copyrights by way of complaint to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, or EFF last January.

But, the EFF sided with the consumer and stated that the "reverse engineering is a fair use when done for purposes of fostering interoperability with independently created software," saying that yes, even though jailbreakers are using Apple's copyrighted code, they are doing so in a way that allows them functionality that Apple doesn't provide access to on their own.

On top of that, Apple's legal team is probably too busy dealing with Nokia, Fujitsu, and Psystar to chase after people who are trying to customize their home screens.

To be honest with you I'm sure Steve Jobs and company have sat down and gone over the risk/threat of jailbreakers and have discovered how much it really fuels iPhone/iPod touch sales. Don't believe me? Run a 24 hour poll on your blog and ask if users would still purchase iPhones if they couldn't be jailbroken in any way.

What to Keep in Mind

But the cat and mouse game with Apple shows no sign of stopping as the Dev Team is furiously at work to break into the latest iPhone software to release to the public. Jailbreaking gives you complete control over your iPhone from customizing to 3rd party apps that didn't for one reason or another end up on Apple's App Store.

In fact the Cydia store is home to a lot of misfit apps that fell victim to Apple's ever popular App screening process. Well, now that you've heard some background on jailbreaking, you've learned some of the benefits and risks, you may now make the choice, to jailbreak or not to jailbreak, that is the question.

If you decide to jailbreak, generally any app by the Dev Team such as PwnageTool or RedSnow is a safe bet, as long as the versions are compatible with your iPhone or iPod Touch firmware.

Lately BlackRa1n has been working well for me. It was literally a plug into usb port, launch program, click the button. I know Sebastien's got some great tutorials on how to jailbreak as well as BlackRa1n and other downloads that will get you started.

Still completely lost? Drop a comment or a tweet and myself or Sebastien can lend a hand.