Tutorials

Tutorial: Jailbreak Your iPhone 3G 3.0 With PwnageTool For Mac

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated January 23, 2016

This tutorial will show you how to jailbreak your iPhone 3G using PwnageTool for Mac. Following this guide is the first step to take in order to unlock your iPhone 3G later on using UltraSn0w.

1. Make sure you have downloaded the latest version of iTunes 8.2 and that you have updated your iPhone to the latest 3.0 firmware.

2. Create a folder on your desktop. In this folder, download PwnageTool 3.0 and your iPhone 3G 3.0 firmware from our iPhone downloads page.

3. Launch PwnageTool, agree to the warning, and select the "expert mode".

4. Select your iPhone model (iPhone 3G) and click the blue arrow to continue.

5. Now if your computer doesn't automatically detect the iPhone 3G 3.0 firmware you downloaded in step 1, browse for it.

6. You will then have a menu with 6 choices. Choose "general", which will allow you to set your own root partition size. Click the blue arrow to continue.

7. You will now have 3 checkboxes. Make sure only "enable baseband update" is checked. You will also need to increase the root partition size. Usually setting the root partition around 700MB is enough. Click next to continue.

8. When you get to the "bootneuter settings", simply click the blue arrrow to continue.

9. The "Cydia settings" allow you to choose packages to download now so you don't have to download them from Cydia later. Choose any of the packages you want and click next.

10. You will now have the possibility to choose your own boot logo. I will skip this step as it is useless.

11. After setting your own boot logos (if you chose to), you will now be able to build your own IPSW file. Click the blue "build" button to start.

12. Choose a folder to save your custom firmware (ie. desktop).

13. Your custom firmware will now be built, which may take up to 15-20 minutes. Be patient.

14. Enter your administrator password.

15. When asked if your iPhone has been pwned before, say "no", even if it has.

16. Make sure your iPhone is connected to your computer and turn it off, as prompted.

17. This is the tricky part. You will now have to follow directions to enter DFU mode. It will ask you to hold the home and power buttons for 10 seconds. Then, you will have to release the power button and hold the home button for 10 seconds.

18. If done correctly, you will get a message saying that you successfully entered DFU mode. Close PwnageTool and launch iTunes.

19. iTunes will give you a message saying it has detected an iPhone in recovery mode. Click OK.

20. In iTunes, hold the Alt/Option key and click "restore" at the same time. It will open a window where you will have to select the custom firmware that you built a few minutes before.

21. iTunes will then restore your iPhone 3G using the custom firmware. This step may take 15-20 minutes so again, be patient.

22. Once done, you will have to "set up your iPhone", either as a new phone (which I recommend), or from backup.

23. Reboot your iPhone and you should have a Cydia icon on the springboard.

24. Congrats! You just jailbroke your iPhone 3G using PwnageTool 3.0 :)

Simple Hack to Enable Free iPhone Tethering On Any Carrier

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated November 12, 2019

Just a few hours after Apple released firmware 3.0 to the public, some smart guy already figured out a way to hack the iPhone to allow free tethering on most carriers, including AT&T. What's even better about this hack is that you don't have to jailbreak your iPhone.

How to enable free tethering on iPhone 3.0?

1. On your iPhone, launch Safari

2. Go to the following website: http://help.benm.at/tethering.php

3. Find your country, select your provider, and tap "download".

4. Go to Settings > General > Network > Internet Tethering Bluetooth or USB

5. Done!

Is this legal? Well, not really... I suggest you don't tether your iPhone too much using this hack as carriers have a way to find out and can very well overcharge you or simply disconnect you, as UK carrier 02 reportedly said it would:

Under those terms we reserve the right to charge customers making modem use of their iPhone or disconnect them.

Use with caution...

How to Do Everything On the iPhone

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated January 23, 2016

So you thought you knew everything about the iPhone? Think again! With all these new features unveiled in iPhone 3.0, chances are there are a few you don't know how to operate yet. That's why Apple created how to guides on its website. Interestingly, copy/paste, one of the most anticipated features is not explained.

How to Buy An iPhone 3G S Without A Contract

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated May 11, 2018

If you were thinking about upgrading your iPhone 3G to the 3G S, you may have been turned off by AT&T scandalous prices for its "valued customers". Indeed, current 3G owners willing to upgrade to the 3G S will have to pay between $499 and $699 depending on the model you want and renew their contract with AT&T for 2 more years.

A smart folk over at iTalk iPhone figured out how to purchase an iPhone 3G S without an AT&T contract.

How To Install An iNav Theme On Your iPhone

Sébastien Page ∙ June 2, 2009

If you're iPhone is jailbroken and that you look at Cydia apps and mods from time to time, you most likely came across the iNav themes. iNav themes are a little more complex than your usual theme and simply activating the theme in WinterBoard won't be enough. You will need to prep your iPhone and that's exactly what I'm going to show you today.

Installing an iNav theme is not hard at all but it will take a few minutes of your time.

How To Use SlingPlayer Over 3G

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated May 15, 2017

Since the release of the SlingPlayer iPhone app in the App Store yesterday, there's been much noise about AT&T's restriction that makes the app operational over wifi only. But as usual, the jailbreak community is here to save the day! If you haven't jailbroken your iPhone yet, here is reason #1,563,982 to do it...

Thanks to VoIPover3G, you will now be able to use the SlingPlayer app over 3G and Edge. VoIPover3G can trick any application into thinking that it is on Wifi even though it is on a cellular data connection. You can configure what apps get tricked by adding the app’s bundle identifier to “/Library/MobileSubstrate/DynamicLibraries/VoIPover3G.plist”.

In order to use this simple hack, your iPhone must be jailbroken (see quickpwn tutorials) and you must install Mobile Substrate, OpenSSH and VoIPover3G (reboot after install) from Cydia.

Assuming you've installed these apps and that you know how to SSH into your iPhone, follow these instructions:

1. SSH into your iPhone and go to the root directory “/”

2. Navigate to /Library/MobileSubstrate/DynamicLibraries

3. With a text editor, open VoIPover3G.plist

4. Look for:

Filter = {Bundles = ("com.Fringland.Fring", "com.apple.AppStore", "com.audiofile.Interstate", "com.apple.MobileStore");};

Now add this part: , “com.slingmedia.SlingPlayer”

It should look like this:

Filter = {Bundles = ("com.Fringland.Fring", "com.apple.AppStore", "com.audiofile.Interstate", "com.apple.MobileStore", "com.slingmedia.SlingPlayer");};

Don’t forget the “,” and the quotation marks!

5. Save the changes you just made and upload the file back to its location: /Library/MobileSubstrate/DynamicLibraries

6. Reboot your iPhone

7. Done! SlingPlayer should now work over 3G!

There is also an easier way to get SlingPlayer to work over 3G... Simply launch Cydia and look for the Tricker ThreeG application. It does the exact same thing as the above hack except it tricks ALL apps to think they are on wifi. It's much simpler than SSHing into your iPhone but remember that by installing Tricker ThreeG, all apps will behave like they are on wifi. This is not recommended because for a lot of apps its makes sense to know whether they are on wifi or 3G.

UPDATE: Jordan, the developer of Tricker ThreeG left a comment below explaining that my description of Tricker ThreeG was not entirely true. Unlike what I wrote above (strikethrough text), Tricker ThreeG only trick Fring, Skype and SlingPlayer to think the apps are on wifi. Knowing this now, I believe Tricker ThreeG is a far better option that VoIPover3G as it doesn't require manually editing file in the iPhone.

TidyRead Improves The Reading Experience On Your iPhone

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated January 23, 2016

I just found out about TidyRead, a simple javascript browser bookmarklet that strips out all the unnecessary content of any webpage, such as ads, or embedded videos.

TidyRead is a service that extracts the text from almost any web site and displays it on an easy to read page that removes all of the clutter that can make reading on the internet so hard sometimes. While reading is one of the main activities on the internet, a lot of sites pay very little attention to the readability of their text and the display on smart phones, such as iPhone, iPod Touch and Android phones. Instead, the reader's eye is constantly drawn to other UI elements, ads, and widgets. This problem is even worse when surfing on smart phones. TidyRead is setting to change this and makes online reading and surfing on smart phones enjoyable.

TidyRead is just about to become my favorite iPhone bookmarklet! It takes about 20 seconds to set up (see instructions) and it makes the browsing experience on your iPhone much more comfortable. See it for yourself with these before/after pictures:

iPod Touch 2G Full Jailbreak PC Tutorial

Guest Author ∙ Updated January 23, 2016

As you all know the greatest thing just occurred: the iPod Touch 2G has been fully jailbroken. But how do you jailbreak? Very simple.

This tutorial is for PC users only. There is no Mac version available yet. The Dev Team is updating PwnageTool and Quickpwn to work for this. You need to wait a bit. This method requires a FULL restore.

OK so you must first download QuickFreedom. You can download it here, here, or here.

Make sure you have the C++ Distributable Package and LIBUSB. You can install LIBUSB directly from the program. Just press the button in the beginning. So here we go:

When you open the program you are welcomed to the main menu. Click the "Jailbreak" button in the center. Make sure it says LIBUSB is installed and give it a second for it to find and copy the firmware file. When the option becomes available click next. Choose whether you want to install Installer and if you want custom boot logos. When done press the "Create Firmware" button. When that's done it will put the custom ISPW in the desktop. Click next. Now put your iPod in DFU mode. Hold the Power and Home button for 10 seconds and then the Home button for 8 seconds. When in DFU press the "Start Pre-Jailbreak" button. When it is done you can close the program. Open up iTunes. Go to your iPod. Press and hold shift and click restore. Select the ISPW in the Desktop and wait for it to restore. When it finishes you are done.

Post any problems in the comments and I'll try to help.

***********WARNING***********

I have seen a few reports that this is NOT working correctly with Windows 7 and that installing LIBUSB causes some problems. Please do not try this if you are on Windows 7. I will look into this and will get back to you.

UPDATE: Hey guys. QuickFreedom 1.1.1 has been released. It's the same as before so you can still follow the instructions above. But this update fixes most if not all bugs that you guys in the comments were experiencing. You can download it here, here, and here.

RedSn0w Lite Now on Windows Too! (updated)

Guest Author ∙ Updated January 23, 2016

The Dev Team released RedSn0w Lite not too long ago. This is the tethered jailbreak for the iPod Touch 2G. It was Mac compatible only however. But thanks to some programs by people RedSn0w Lite is now possible for Windows. Problem is it's hard, there are a few choices, and a guide is needed. So here we go.

UPDATE: The tutorial has been re-written to make it easier for you.

What You Will Need:

The GUI Jailbreak RedSn0w Booter Calm and Patience

Preparation:

BACK-UP YOUR IPOD!!!!! Create a folder on your Desktop called "Jailbreak" Extract the two files above into the "Jailbreak" folder but in separate folders. Kill both "iTunes" and the "iTunesHelper" process. Unplug your iPod and the USB cable Open up the GUI program and if you don't have the two packages it says on the home screen please click on the button to install them. Once done you can plug your iPod back in. Place the 2.2.1 ISPW firmware file into the same folder the GUI program is in.

PART 1:

Start up the GUI program. Click next. From the list of files select the 2.2.1 ISPW file. Then click "Start making ISPW file". This will take a few minutes. When finished in the same folder as the GUI program you will have another ISPW file named "JailbrokenISPW". Remember that. Now click on next. Now you need to put your iPod into DFU mode. You need to be PRECISE on your timing here. Hold the power and home button for 10 seconds. Then let go of the power button but keep holding the home button for 8 seconds. If this worked your iPod's screen should be blank. Now press the "Upload DFU file" button. When that finishes, unplug your iPod for 2 second then plug it back in. If it worked your iPod's screen should now be completly white. If so then press the "Upload 0wnboot patch" button. When that is done press next. Now press the "Press me" button. This will open up a CMD window. Right click on the window and click paste. Wait for this to finish. When it finishes open up iTunes and close the GUI program. It will say your iPod is in recovery mode. Now hold down the shift key and press restore. There, navigate to the folder where the "JailbrokenISPW" file is and select it. Wait for iTunes to finish restoring it. When it restarts your computer will not recognize it. But don't worry.

Part 2:

Now pay attention to Part 2. These are the steps you need to follow when your iPod reboots.

Make sure iTunes and the "iTunesHelper" process are dead. Open up the "Redsn0w Booter". It's pretty simple. Again put your iPod into DFU mode by holding the power and home button for exactly 10 seconds and then release the power button but keep holding the home button for 8 seconds. Once your iPod is in DFU mode simply press the "Boot" button. In around 20-30 seconds your iPod will boot up. If your iPod stays in a white screen and the CMD window is not open, make sure iTunes and the "iTunesHelper" process are dead and try again.

And you are done. You have jailbroken your iPod Touch 2G! Now something important. I STRONGLY recommend before running Cydia or anything that you sync all your stuff from iTunes. You can still sync later but at least for me I encountered a lot less bugs when I synched all my stuff first. After you sync make sure to run Cydia first. Then from there you are on your own. Remember it is a tethered jailbreak so you must run the booter every time your iPod restarts. If you are not familiar with some terms please see this FAQ I wrote on the tethered jailbreak.

Please be aware of 3 things:

- One is that after EVERY reboot, you must run the steps above. - That this is a somewhat "beta" release from the Dev Team, that they or non of the people who made the software above are responsible for anything. And neither are we. - And that the Dev Team is not providing ANY support for redsn0w lite.

Whether the tethered jailbreak is for you or not depends on whether you mind going to your computer every time your iPod reboots. Your choice. But at least you know how to now. The Dev Team is working hard on the full un-thered version of redsn0w which will not require you to run the booter after every reboot and is much easier to use. But this is not as easy as you might think.

There is also a semi-tethered version now out. Basically what this is, once you run the booter you can use your jailbroken stuff. When it reboots, if you are using the semi-tethered jailbreak, what will happen is your iPod will boot into normal mode. All your jailbreak stuff will still be there but you can't use them. I personally do not like this because it requires more work, it's a bit more complicated, and a lot of jailbreak apps (such as Winterboard) must be patched. So I prefer the tethered version.

How to Downgrade Baseband 2.30.03 to 2.28.00

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated January 23, 2016

If you like this post, please feel free to digg it, or subscribe to our RSS feed, or follow me on Twitter, or all of the above ;)

[digg-me]Since firmware 2.2.1 came out and updated the baseband from 2.28.00 to 2.30.03, many people accidentally updated, and are now stuck on baseband 2.30.03. I wonder how you can "accidentally update" your firmware as it takes a few steps, but anyways... I've had a few emails from people asking me how to downgrade baseband 2.30.03 to 2.28.08.

If you're looking to unlock your iPhone with YellowSn0w, you can't do that as long as you will on baseband 2.30.03. Unfortunately, you can not downgrade baseband 2.30.03 to 2.28.00! Sorry folks but you should have read the Dev Team's warning!

Now the good news is that I'm very confident the Dev Team is working on updating YellowSn0w so it works with firmware 2.2.1, baseband 2.30.03.

You can still downgrade your firmware from 2.2.1 to 2.2 in iTunes by hitting SHIFT + RESTORE and selecting firmware 2.2 but you will most likely have errors and even if you manage to downgrade, you still won't be able to downgrade the baseband.

UPDATE: It's now possible to downgrade your baseband thanks to pHaseBanDowngrader

pH (Pedro Henrique Franceschi) created a tool to help you downgrade your baseband from 2.30.03 to 2.28.00. To use this tool, you have to have to have an iPhone with bootloader 5.8. If your iPhone was manufactured before September 2008, you're good. If you bought your iPhone after September 2008 with firmware 2.2.1 out of the box, then you can't use pHaseBanDowngrader because your bootloader is 5.9.

Here are the instructions on how to downgrade using pHaseBanDowngrader:

1. Download this file 2. SSH into your iPhone and put the downloaded folder (phasebandowngrader) inside the folder /Applications/ 3. In MobileTerminal.app, type “login” and enter “root” as user, the default password is “alpine” 4. Now, type “cd /Applications/phasebandowngrader && ./phasebandowngrader”. Follow the screen instructions 5. Done!

Again, a big Thank You to pH for developing this tool.

PwnageTool 2.2.1 Guide & Tutorial

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated January 23, 2016

This tutorial will show you how to use PwnageTool to jailbreak your iPhone firmware 2.2.1. Note that PwnageTool only works with Mac OS X. PwnageTool will create a custom 2.2.1 firmware that you will then load to your iPhone. This will allow you to update your iPhone without updating the baseband, which is a very important feature if you're considering using YellowSn0w to unlock your iPhone.

QuickPWN 2.2.1 Guide & Tutorial

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

If you like this post, please feel free to digg it, or subscribe to our RSS feed, or follow me on Twitter, or all of the above ;)

[digg-me]This guide will show you how to use QuickPWN to jailbreak your iPhone firmware 2.2.1. Please read carefully all the steps and warnings before attempting to use QuickPWN to jailbreak your iPhone. The following tutorial is for PC users.

UPDATE: I closed the comments on this post. If you have any question about QuickPwn, please ask your question in the forum.