Jailbreak

ScreenExtender forces legacy apps to stretch to the iPhone 5’s taller screen

Mike Schnier ∙ Updated February 25, 2013

We've seen tweaks in the past like FullForce which essentially transform iPhone apps into full screen iPad apps. Since Apple reassured developers that adding official support for the iPhone 5's screen would be a snap for most apps through Xcode, we didn't think full screen support for the left behind apps would be much of a stretch for jailbreak developers.

Turns out it wasn't a stretch. Just two days after the evasi0n jailbreak is released, a new app on Cydia called Screen Extender brings full screen support to users of the iPhone 5 or 5th generation iPod touch...

Use CydiaUpdates to manually install .deb packages when Cydia is unreliable

Mike Schnier ∙ Updated February 25, 2013

Remember when Jay Freeman said that Cydia wouldn't get bogged down by the massive demand for users of the evasion jailbreak, thanks to measures like including the package catalog in Cydia? The lesson here is to never underestimate the demand for jailbreaking. At its peak, Freeman's servers were hit with over 4 million HTTP hits per five minutes. There aren't many independent websites that can survive that kind of spike in traffic overnight, so it shouldn't be a surprise that downloading tweaks through the Cydia app remains an unreliable process...

How to manually fix the Weather app issue after jailbreaking with evasi0n

Mike Schnier ∙ Updated December 29, 2016

As you may be aware, the initial release of the evasi0n untethered jailbreak broke a few minor features in iOS 6, most visibly the native Weather app on the iPhone and iPod touch. Word from the developers is evasi0n's exploit corrupted an important plist settings file for System apps like Weather, Siri, and the App Store. Lucky for our tech savvy readers, there's an easy fix that can replace the broken plist file in minutes. The script we are working with come from pod2g himself...

Quick Reply for Viber now available in Cydia

Mike Schnier ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Are you a fan of the BiteSMS jailbreak tweak, but prefer using services other than iMessage or SMS to send texts to your friends? Back in June, Delicious Inc. released Quick Reply for WhatsApp; which essentially brought BiteSMS's quick reply pane to WhatsApp's notifications. Today, on the heels of the release of the evasi0n jailbreak, the developers behind BiteSMS bring a similar tweak to Viber in iOS 5 and iOS 6.

Viber is another cross platform messaging app that allows users to make free calls, as well as send texts and photos. The original app works between iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Blackberry, Nokia, and Bada. It's a free alternative platform that is compatible with every major smartphone on the market. Viber is growing in popularity, so it's ripe for a jailbreak tweak of its own...

Evasi0n jailbreak wallpapers for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch

Jim Gresham ∙ February 2, 2013

We are all excited the Evasi0n jailbreak is around the corner, with a predicted, but not confirmed, release date of Sunday, February 3. The anticipation is high and everyone is getting pumped about finally jailbreaking their iOS 6.1 device, including me! As we prepare for the imminent release, I put together a few iOS wallpapers for everyone to enjoy...

Use your iOS device as USB flash storage with roqyUSB

Mike Schnier ∙ Updated February 5, 2016

One of the features I've missed from the classic iPods is the ability to plug the devices into a computer in order to directly access their hard drives or flash memory. When I was in school, I didn't carry a USB key around with me because I always had my iPod and everyone had the cables handy. While there is software that can transfer files between an iPhone and a PC, we're generally not permitted to install programs on shared computers.

One solution is roqyUSB, a jailbreak utility that allows users to create virtual hard disks which can be accessed by USB. This isn't the first virtual USB drive we've seen for jailbroken devices, but it is the first we've seen in a default repository...

ZodTTD resumes work on n64ios

Mike Schnier ∙ Updated February 25, 2013

If you're an avid retro gamer like myself, you probably snagged the $1.99 preview build of n64iOS on Cydia, hoping to enjoy classic titles. Unfortunately, in it's current state, the N64 emulator for iOS is more of a tech demo than a working emulator. Although games run at near-playable speeds on hardware as old as the iPhone 4, the many graphical glitches combined with the jumbled control scheme make most games unplayable.

Shortly after the emulator was last updated in May, ZodTTD posted on Twitter that there would be an update which would revamp the entire UI, including the ROM manager and the wonky controls. Since then, there has been no new release of n64iOS. That may be changing soon: According to a recent conversation with Will Strafach, ZodTTD is once again working on n64iOS.

How to write longer tweets with TweetAmplius

Mike Schnier ∙ Updated February 25, 2013

Do you have lots of contacts in Twitter, but aren't crazy about limiting your tweets to 140 characters? Do you you use tweet expander services and URL shorteners, and find they're more hassle than they're worth?

TweetAmplius is a jailbreak tweak that takes your plus-sized tweets and automatically runs them through Pastie, Instapaper, and the URL shortener 'is.gd'. The tweak plugs into the official Twitter app, as well as Tweetbot, if you prefer. TweetAmplius provides a seamless long tweet experience in iOS...

Jailbreak developer says 7 out of 8 users pirated his Remote Messages app

Mike Schnier ∙ Updated February 25, 2013

Remote Messages is a jailbreak tweak that allows users to access full SMS and iMessage functionality on the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and iPhone 4S from a desktop browser. It's a clever utility that allows the iPhone to run as a server, which creates a chat window front-end on desktop browsers. This front-end comes complete with support for profile pictures, attachments, and Emoji icons, as well as for sending and receiving texts. This utility is especially handy if you like to have your phone connected to a stereo away from your desk or if you prefer typing with a full keyboard and screen.

Unfortunately, it seems the $4.99 app is mostly popular with pirates. According to a Reddit thread by the developer, 7 out of 8 installs of Remote Messages are pirated copies...

Sentry teases video for upcoming ‘iOS MiniPlayer’ tweak

Mike Schnier ∙ January 24, 2013

Do you love iTunes 11's MiniPlayer so much you wish you could just take it with you when you leave the house? If so, Sentry's latest concept for an iOS MiniPlayer will be a dream come true.

Sentry's iOS MiniPlayer concept is a bar-shaped widget which displays the name of the song currently playing, along with the album art and subtitles for the album and band. Tap on the title, and you've got basic playback controls for pause, fast forward, and rewind. There are even bars at the side of the MiniPlayer which you can drag to hide or reposition the widget...

‘PDF Printer for Safari’ adds support for Maps, soon for any app

Mike Schnier ∙ Updated February 25, 2013

PDF Printer for Safari was a jailbreak tweak originally designed to allow users to 'print' from safari to PDF documents in order to neatly archive websites, but it seems the tweak has grown beyond its name.

The latest version of PDF Printer for Safari adds PrintKit integration, which is the native printing library on iOS. This library means 'printed' documents will save faster, users can now delete pages from the PDF on the fly, and the PDF Printer now works with the stock Maps app in iOS 5...

What would you say if you met Jay Freeman, the developer behind Cydia?

Mike Schnier ∙ January 23, 2013

For most people, Jay Freeman isn't exactly a household name. Neither is Saurik, his online alias. That said, if you've used a jailbroken iPhone since 2008 then you've definitely seen both names frequently. Saurik is the developer behind Cydia, the package manager we use to easily install tweaks, themes, and other software that Apple won't allow developer to distribute through iTunes.

You might know his name, but would you recognize Jay Freeman if he was walking down the street? If you did, would you approach him? Would you ask him questions? Would you pose for a picture with him and post it on Reddit? Well, that's what the first stranger who recognized him did...