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Hey Apple, Ban This!

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated December 23, 2015

You may have heard that Apple removed over 4,000 sexy apps from the App Store. Apple SVP of Worldwide Product Marketing Phil Schiller explained in the NY Times the reason behind the ban:

It came to the point where we were getting customer complaints from women who found the content getting too degrading and objectionable, as well as parents who were upset with what their kids were able to see.

I think it's very hypocritical from Apple to do that, especially because they still allow apps such as Sports Illustrated Swimsuit or Play Boy. Why keep those apps then?

When asked about the Sports Illustrated app, Mr. Schiller said Apple took the source and intent of an app into consideration. “The difference is this is a well-known company with previously published material available broadly in a well-accepted format,” he said.

So I guess parents won't be as upset at what their kids can see on those 2 apps because they come from well-known companies. I fail to understand the reasoning behind this...

Next step for Apple might be to ban Google or even Safari from the iPhone because a simple search on Google Images brings up the following results.

I could have gone much more graphical with the image but you get my point.

I understand the App Store is Apple's own playground and that they can do whatever they want there. What's bugging me though is the dictatorship they have put in place. Not allowing sexy apps in the first place would have been one thing, but removing thousands of sexy apps that were perfectly ok a few days ago is just a Hitler-like move.

Whether you like it or not, it's just the way it is. Personally, I really don't care about these sexy apps but I think it is scary how Apple can change the rules at will. But what are we going to do? Meh, we'll just write a blog post about it, and let it go, because that's all we can do. Once again, I feel like Apple has stabbed iPhone users and developers in the back.

What do you think?

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.

F0recast Tells if You Can Jailbreak, Unlock, Untether, Downgrade Your iPhone

Sébastien Page ∙ February 22, 2010

F0recast is a new tool by iH8Sn0w (the developer of sn0wbreeze) that I think is going to be of tremendous help to many jailbreakers and unlockers out there.

It's become quite complicated to follow up with the jailbreaking and downgrading requirements lately and many people just can't figure out whether they can jailbreak, unlock, downgrade or not. That's where F0recast comes in.

f0recast is a tool for Windows® that will check your iPods and iPhones to determine whether it is tethered, or unlockable (iPhone Only).

It is just a real simple app for users who are confused about their device being tethered or able to unlock.

It even tells iPhone user's their Boot loader, so if you are an iPhone 3G user with the 5.8 Bootloader, it will notify you that you can downgrade your baseband if you wish to unlock.

So basically, F0recast will tell you:

if you can have an untethered jailbreak or not if you can unlock or not and what tool you can use to unlock if you can downgrade or not

You can download F0recast for free from here.

Is Geohot Working on Unlocking Baseband 05.12.01 for iPhone 3.1.3?

Sébastien Page ∙ February 21, 2010

Did Geohot change his mind? A few weeks ago he said that he would not work on OS 3.1.3 but what he tweeted yesterday suggests otherwise.

Apparently Musclenerd and Geohot are talking to each other to figure out whether his exploit is the same as the one discovered by Sherriff a few days ago.

This unlock would sure be a life saver to the many iPhone owners who "accidentally" updated their device to 3.1.3.

iPhone News You Missed This Week

Sébastien Page ∙ February 21, 2010

Sunday is recap day! If you missed any of this week's articles, here is a summary of everything that was posted on the blog.

How to backup and restore your jailbreak apps How to Fix iPhone Errors 1600, 1601, 1602, 1603, 1604 iPhone Password Breaker How to disable automatic iPhone backup Apple Store manager calls mall cops on jailbreaker Does Apple have to worry about fakes?

Does Apple Have to Worry About Fakes?

Sébastien Page ∙ February 20, 2010

A very good friend returned from a recent trip to China and called it the country of fakes – from Apple to Blackberry, China had all the recent models of mobile phones cloned and selling at less than half their original prices. They’re not exactly the same as the originals of course, although they look strikingly similar and are built with even more features than the models they’re supposed to be aping.

The fake iPhone for example is available at one-fourth of the price of the original, and it looks and feels like the real deal although those who know their Apple products and are blessed with sharp eyes will realize right off the bat that the dimensions are a bit off (the screen is not as wide as in the original).

While I do admit that Apple does a great job with quality, I do have a grouse against them not only because their products are priced exorbitantly, but also because they don’t standardize their offerings.

In short, it bugs me that I have to pay a bomb to buy from Apple and yet not be able to use their products with other gadgets. When there is no USB port on the new, much-hyped-about iPad, how on earth are you supposed to connect it to most other storage and communication devices?

Well, the fakes take care of that for you – the copycat iPhones include a mini USB connector instead of the iPod dock connector and they also have many more features that the real iPhone does not. Also, if you’re buying a fake iPod, you know you can use it as a mass storage device as well and just plug it to play or load songs from your PC.

And for those of you who worry about the size of the iPhone, well, there’s a miniature alternative available – the CECT m188 is exactly like a dwarf iPhone which is available unlocked and which supports dual SIM cards. It comes with an MP3 and MP4 player and also supports GPRS connectivity.

But even with all this direct attack on, I don’t think Apple has anything to worry about – whatever their faults, you do have to admit that they come out with products of the highest quality with efficient operating systems and attractive features and that look really great. They make great status symbols, and this is one thing the clones can never take away, the power of the brand called Apple.

What Apple does have to worry about is the threat of legitimate competition from manufacturers of other smart phones and gadgets, companies who are known for their status and quality too, and who finally may score over Apple just because they allow for standardization in their products and are not as hoity-toity as Apple.

This guest post is contributed by Brenda Harris, who writes on the topic of executive mba programs. She can be reached by email at brenda.harris91@gmail.com . If you would like to guest post on this blog, please check out the guidelines.

Apple Store Manager Calls Mall Cops On Jailbreaker

Sébastien Page ∙ February 19, 2010

That's a funny story that HotRod1964, one of my Twitter buddies, sent me the other day. It's quite a long story but I'll try to make it short.

Basically, our friend went to the Apple Store to kill time for an hour. While in the Apple Store he talked with one of the employees and showed him his jailbroken iPod Touch. The employee then called up the manager who wanted our friend to turn his "illegal" iPod in.

So what did Mr Manager do? He called the mall cops, who pretty much told him to F off as there was no reason why he would have the power of taking our friend's iPod from him.

You can read the full story below:

Went to local APP STORE about 2 weeks ago. For nothing other then I was in the area and had an hour to kill. Figured I'd browse around. Obviously, they were very polite and a salesperson approached me to see if I needed some help (store was not busy at all). Told him "Nope, just browisng". Being that they were not busy he starts asking me what type of comp I have, what kind of phone and etc...When I told him I dont have an iphone he asked why and if I was interested in 1. I explained why and told him I am not interested due to apples unwillingness to allow owners to 'do their own thing' and that I have no intention of paying for an iphone if apple is going to handcuff me....he kept going on and on about what I was missing out on......I then told him I was more then happy with my new droid and I was more then happy with my Itouch. he said "Oh, so you do have an iTouch then?" I said yep and pulled it out. Flipped the case open and hit the home button and he saw my lockscreen, which is the Grateful Dead with some other 'goodies' on there. he sort of stepped back and his eyes popped wide. he asked if he could look at it..I would NOT hand it to him, but what the hell, it is my device so screw em....I slid the lockscreen to access the device and very obviously (i'm sure he knew as soon as he saw my lockscreen) at first look he knew it was JB'd. he didnt say anything other then going sort of quiet and saying "wow"......He walked away.....I was then approached by the manager. He said " I was informed you have an ILLEGAL iTouch".....I replied "I do have an iTouch but that it was not ILLEGAL". he then asked if it was 'modified'.....I said ( and happily I may add) "Yep, it IS MODIFIED...You should get one yourself as you dont know what you are missing out on"....he then said "Sir, that is an ILLEGAL device"....I said "Your NUTS....It is my device I paid for. I own it and can do anything I damn well please with it".....he then said "Sir, the device you have IS illegal....I must now ask you to turn over the ILLEGAL device at once". I responded and said "Dude, your nuts, it is not illegal and if you think I am giving it to you, I have a bridge in the sahara desert I'd like to sell you"....he then said "sir, if you refuse to turn over your ILLEGAL device I must have a copy of your drivers license"......I said " Dude, you really are nuts..your not taking my itouch and you have no right to ask for my DL"..he then said I had to either give him my itouch or my DL or he will contact security...LOL..Oh boy..the MALL POLICE!!!.....I told him "go right ahead..I'll make myself comfy and wait".....Instead of the MALL POLICE..and actual Police Officer came....They spoke to the manager..then came to me.....I told them I am breaking no laws and there is no way in hell anybody is taking my itouch unless the COURTS order me to turn it over...I said..here is my info...take me to court.....Otherwise, get off my friggin back or I will sue apple and file complaints against you as just because you have a badge does NOT give you the right to detain me or ask me to give you my personal possessions unless you can tell me WHAT LAW I AM BREAKING.....They walked away.....talked to the manager...came back and said "sorry for the inconvenience. You have a pleasant day"......and I left.........Anyway, just thought I'd share this since I see others posting about geting banned from their stores and etc, and I want to make sure everybody knows..DO NOT LET THEM CON YOU INTO GIVING UP YOUR DEVICE...some are intimidated by the authorities so may give up their device out of 'fear'....DONT DO IT.....Tell them to explain what law you are breaking and to either arrest you or get F*cked...do not let them CON you into giving up YOUR PERSONAL iphone/itouch!!!!!

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?

iPhone Password Breaker Hacks Its Way Into Any iPhone

Sébastien Page ∙ February 17, 2010

There is a new tool out called iPhone Password Breaker that can get access to any password-protected backups for all iPhones and iPod Touch.

Supposedly used for forensic investigations, I can see many ways how iPhone Password Breaker could be used by jealous husbands, or angry wives, for example...

Note that this tool will not help you bypass the password protection of an iPhone or iPod Touch. It will bypass the password protection of a backup.

The new tool recovers the original plain-text password that protects encrypted backups containing address books, call logs, SMS archives, calendars, camera snapshots, voice mail and email account settings, applications, Web browsing history and cache.

How would you use this?

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?

iPhone News You Missed This Week

Sébastien Page ∙ February 14, 2010

Here is a recap of the articles that were posted on the blog this week. Please feel free to share them on Twitter or Facebook.

Jailbreak iPhone 3.1.3 with PwnageTool How to unlock iPhone 3.1.3 Best iPhone blogs Why Cydia sucks and how it could be improved Thank YOU Downgrade iPhone baseband 05.12.01 to 04.26.08 What is jailbreaking? iPhone 3.1.3 baseband 05.12.01 unlock on its way? How to turn your iPhone into a wifi hotspot How to make iTunes believe you are on firmware 3.1.3 MobileInstallation patch for iPhone 3.1.3 with AppSync