Guide

iPhone 4 User Guide

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated September 21, 2011

Just got a new iPhone 4 and you're not sure how to use it? That's why Apple created an iPhone 4 user guide. From setting up your email to adding contacts, this 244 page PDF will walk you through every single step of the iPhone set up.

Obviously this iPhone 4 user guide was not designed for people who already own an iPhone but I'm sure it will help first-time iPhone owners.

You can download the iPhone 4 user guide in PDF from here, or just go to help.apple.com/iphone/ from your iPhone.

If you have a specific question about the use of your iPhone, please DO NOT ask it here. Instead, go to our forums where other users will be able to help you.

The Ultimate Guides to iOS 4

Sébastien Page ∙ June 22, 2010

iOS 4 was released yesterday and comes with over 100 new features. If you haven't updated your iPhone yet, you may want to consider it so you can take advantage of all these new features.

I started writing a guide of all these new features, shortcuts and settings but I quickly realized that many other blogs before me had already created such comprehensive guides. Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, I figured it'd be easier to direct you to these guides.

So I found two good guides that I want to recommend you to check out:

Gizmodo's complete guide to using iOS 4 LifeHacker's new iOS 4 shortcuts, features and settings your need to know

These 2 websites will show you the most exciting features of iOS 4.

iPhone User Guide

Sébastien Page ∙ April 1, 2010

The other day as I was trying to figure out how to add songs being played on the iPod to my on-the-go playlist, I landed on Apple's website.

As I was already bitching at Apple for not even bothering creating a mobile version of their website, I was positively surprised to see that they actually had an iPhone User Guide formatted for the iPhone.

I wasn't aware of this iPhone User Guide and even though it didn't solve my problem, I found it pretty interesting to browse for a while (I actually learned a new trick).

You can access the mobile version of the user guide by going to http://help.apple.com/iphone/.

I might be a little late on that one but if you haven't been there yet, it might be worth to go check it out. Now that I think about it, doesn't this iPhone User Guide comes with the stock Safari bookmarks of the iPhone?

How to Unlock iPhone 3.1.3

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated August 31, 2010

This guide and tutorial will show you how to unlock iPhone 3.1.3 using UltraSn0w or BlackSn0w, depending on your iPhone baseband.

The first step is to jailbreak your iPhone 3.1.3, either with RedSn0w or with PwnageTool. Note that PwnageTool is the preferred method as it helps preserve the baseband.

You can use UltraSn0w to unlock these basebands:

04.26.08 05.11.07 05.12.01 05.13.04

To find out what your baseband is, go to Settings > General > About > Modem Firmware.

How to unlock iPhone 3.1.3 with UltraSn0w Launch Cydia. Add the following source to Cydia repo666.ultrasn0w.com (note there is a “0″ in sn0w, not an “o”). After installing this source in Cydia, search for “ultraSn0w”. Install UltraSn0w and reboot your iPhone. How to unlock iPhone 3.1.3 with BlackSn0w Launch Cydia. Add the following source: http://blackra1n.com. After installing this source in Cydia, search for "BlackSn0w". Install BlackSn0w and reboot your iPhone.

Your iPhone should now be unlocked. If you have questions or comments on how to unlock iPhone firmware 3.1.3, please leave a comment.

UPDATE: This post is outdated. Check out our unlock section for the latest information about iPhone unlocking.

Jailbreak Your iPhone 3.1.2 Using Sn0wBreeze

Sébastien Page ∙ January 23, 2010

I had heard several times about Sn0wBreeze but I never really paid attention to it because it seemed to be one of these tools that would never get out of beta. I was wrong!

Today I received a couple emails from readers of the blog with more info about Sn0wBreeze, and Thomas even sent me a pretty detailed tutorial (thanks Thomas).

Sn0wBreeze is a jailbreaking tool developed by some underground developer and from what I understand, it's pretty much a rip off of Dev Team's PwnageTool, except it works on Windows. As a side note, it's important to highlight that the Dev Team came up with an update to RedSn0w (see RedSn0w tutorial here).

Just like PwnageTool, Sn0wBreeze will create a custom firmware for iPhone OS 3.1.2. This is the perfect solution for people who want to upgrade to OS 3.1.2 without updating their baseband.

I haven't tried this myself but as I said above, I got reports from 2 different people that it works flawlessly. Obviously, you should be cautious if using Sn0wBreeze...

This version of Sn0wbreeze only supports the iPhone 2G, 3G and 3GS (non MC) as well as the iPod touch 1G and 2G (non MC) so far.

This step-by-step guide and tutorial will show you how to jailbreak your iPhone 3.1.2 by creating a custom firmware with Sn0wBreeze.

Step 1: Make sure you have the latest version of iTunes installed on your PC. If not, download and install it, then reboot your PC.

Step 2: Download Sn0wBreeze as well as the right firmware 3.1.2 for your device from our download page. To make things easier, I suggest you place these 2 files on your desktop.

Step 3: Launch Sn0wBreeze and select "Simple Mode".

Step 4: SnowBreeze will then ask you to browse for your IPSW file. Click "Browse" and select the 3.1.2 IPSW file you downloaded to your desktop in Step 2.

Step 5: Sn0wBreeze will then verify your IPSW. Click Next to continue.

Step 6: Sn0wBreeze will now ask you if you want to activate your iPhone. If you are on an official carrier (ie. AT&T in the US), say no. If you are not on an official carrier, then click yes.

Step 7: SnowBreeze will now create the custom firmware for your iPhone.

Step 8: Now launch iTunes and we will restore your iPhone using the custom cooked firmware we just created. To do so, hit the SHIFT key on your keyboard while clicking on RESTORE. It's very important that you hold the SHIFT key while clicking! iTunes will ask you the location of the firmware you want to use to restore your iPhone. Browse for the custom IPSW (most likely on your desktop) and select it.

Step 9: Your iPhone will now be restored using the custom firmware. This might take a while so don't stress out.

Done! You have successfully jailbroken your iPhone using Sn0wBreeze. Next step for you might be to unlock your iPhone. Follow this guide to figure out how to unlock your iPhone, depending on what model you have.

Jailbreak iPhone 3.1.2 with RedSn0w 0.9

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated January 31, 2010

This guide and tutorial will show you how to jailbreak your iPhone 2G, 3G or 3GS running OS 3.1.2 using RedSn0w 0.9.

If you are new to the whole jailbreaking thing, I really suggest you read this information about RedSn0w 0.9. It will tell you everything you need to know about RedSn0w before starting.

I know that some of you won't bother reading the more info link about RedSn0w 0.9 so here is probably the most important information about this jailbreak:

If you have a late-model iPhone 3GS, or if you have an iPod touch 2G whose serial number begins with “MC”, you can use redsn0w to jailbreak but you are currently restricted to “tethered” rebooting. That means you need to connect your device to a computer to complete the boot after a reset. Also, these devices cannot have custom logos.

redsn0w will ask you whether or not you fit in this category when used with the iPhone 3GS or iPod touch 2G. If you have a late-model device and don't give redsn0w the correct answer, you will likely need to do a system restore to recover from the mistake.

To do a tethered boot after your late-model device resets for some reason, either run redsn0w again and select “Just boot tethered right now”, or run blackra1n.

This RedSn0w tutorial was written for Windows but I assume the steps are identical for a Mac.

Step 1: Download RedSn0w 0.9 for Mac or PC as well as the correct 3.1.2 firmware for your iPhone from here. To make things easy, save those 2 files on your desktop.

Step 2: Make sure you have the latest version of iTunes installed on your computer, then restore your iPhone to the latest firmware 3.1.2. Restoring is the preferred way to go about it as simply updating could cause issues later on.

Step 3: Launch RedSn0w and browse for the 3.1.2 firmware you downloaded to your computer in Step 1.

Step 4: RedSn0w will automatically check if you chose the right firmware (IPSW). It will then patch the file.

Step 5: For iPhone 2G only (other please skip to step 6)! You will then be offered several options. If you have an iPhone 2G and you want to unlock, now select "Install Cydia" and "Unlock". You will have to download the bootloaders 3.9 and 4.6 from here. If you just want to jailbreak, disregard this and go to step 6.

Step 6: You will now have the option to "Install Cydia" as well as "Custom boot logo" and "Custom recovery logo". For the purpose of this tutorial, I suggest you only choose "Install Cydia".

Step 7: Make sure your iPhone is plugged to your computer. RedSn0w will now dictate you a few steps to have your iPhone enter DFU mode. Follow the onscreen instructions very carefully.

Step 8: Your iPhone will reboot when successfully jailbroken.

Congratulations! You just jailbroke your iPhone using RedSn0w 0.9. If you want to unlock your iPhone 3G or 3GS, simply install UltraSn0w from Cydia.

Any question or concern, please feel free to ask in the comment section below. Happy jailbreak :)

UPDATE: People have encountered quite a bit of problems when running RedSn0w o.9 beta 3 with an iPhone 3GS. Thankfully MuscleNerd has been updating RedSn0w and the 3GS issues should now be gone. You can download the latest RedSn0w from our iPhone downloads page.

How to Jailbreak iPhone 3GS 3.1 on Windows Tutorial

Sébastien Page ∙ October 3, 2009

This step-by-step guide and tutorial will show you how to jailbreak firmware 3.1 for iPhone 3GS using a Windows PC. If you have a Mac, you might as well follow this tutorial.

This guide is just a workaround as there is no official iPhone 3GS 3.1 jailbreak tool for Windows yet. We are going to get a custom firmware cooked on a Mac machine and install it on your iPhone 3GS on a PC. This is a safe and simple way to update your iPhone 3GS to a custom jailbroken 3.1 firmware.

Tutorial: Jailbreak & Unlock iPhone 2G 3.1 Using PwnageTool

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated October 13, 2009

This guide and tutorial will show you step by step how to jailbreak and unlock your iPhone 2G using PwnageTool for Mac. At the time I am writing this, only PwnageTool for Mac is available to jailbreak or unlock iPhone 2G 3.1. Tools for PCs should be available soon. For the latest information about jailbreaking methods (including iPhone 3G and 3GS), I suggest you read our jailbreak page.

UPDATE: This tutorial also works for iPhone OS 3.1.2. Instead of using the 3.1 firmware, simply use a 3.1.2 firmware.

Please make sure you read and understand everything before starting the process. If you're new to jailbreaking, please take the time to follow the tutorial step by step. Problems often come when people want to go to fast or skip a step, so again, please take your time to read and understand every step.

1. First, make sure you have the latest version of iTunes installed on your computer. If not, update to the latest iTunes available.

2. On your desktop, create a folder called "jailbreak". In this folder download and save the following files available from our downloads page:

PwnageTool 3.1 3.1 IPSW firmware for iPhone 2G (iPhone1,1_3.1_7C144_Restore.ipsw), or 3.1 firmware for iPhone 2G (iPhone1,1_3.1.2_7D11_Restore.ipsw) if you want to jailbreak 3.1.2 BL 3.9 BL 4.6

When downloading the 3.1 firmware, make sure you use FireFox and not Safari as Safari often brings up unwanted issues. To download PwnageTool, you will need a torrent downloader such as uTorrent.

3. Launch PwnageTool. Click OK to the warning message. Then choose "Expert Mode".

4. Choose your device. It should be the one on the very left. A green check mark should appear when you click on it. Click the blue arrow to continue.

5. You will now be able to "Browse for IPSW". Click on it and look for the 3.1 firmware you downloaded in step 2. Select the IPSW file and click the blue arrow to continue.

6. You should now be taken to the general menu where you have 7 different options. Choose "General".

7. In the "General settings", make sure that "activate the phone" and "enable baseband update" are checked. This is important. Again, make sure these 2 options are checked. Change the root partition size to about 600 MB and click the blue arrow to continue.

8. In the "Bootneuter settings", check "Neuter bootloader", "Unlock baseband", and "Auto-delete bootneuter.app", then click the blue arrow to continue.

9. You should now be in the "Cydia settings". This allows you to install packages so you don't have to do it later via Cydia. I like to install my packages manually but feel free to select a few if you want to. I will skip this step. Click the blue arrow to continue.

10. In "Custom packages settings", I recommend only checking Cydia. Icy is quite unstable so I don't recommend installing it. Do as you want but make sure at least Cydia is checked. Click the blue arrow to continue.

11. You are now taken to the "Custom logos settings". You can choose pre-selected logos or upload your own. I don't recommend installing any. I suggest unchecking the 2 custom logos that are pre-selected, then click the blue arrow to continue.

12. You should now be back to the general menu. It is time to start building your custom firmware. Click "Build", then click the blue arrow to continue.

13. If you haven't pwned your iPhone before, you will have to upload the bootlader files you downloaded in step 2. Follow the instructions on the screen to upload BL 3.9 and BL 4.6.

14. PwnageTool will then ask you if "you have an iPhone contract that would activate normally with iTunes". If you're using an official phone carrier (ie AT&T in the US, 02 in UK, etc...), and don't want to unlock your iPhone, click YES. Your iPhone will just be jailbroken. Click NO if you want to unlock your iPhone to use with other carriers.

15. You will now have to save your custom IPSW. Save it to your "jailbreak" folder on your desktop. PwnageTool will now create your custom IPSW which may take up to 15 minutes.

16. If asked for it, enter you admin username and password.

17. PwnageTool will ask you if your iPhone has been pwned before. Just say No.

18. This is a very important step. PwnageTool will ask you to turn off your device, the put it into DFU mode. After turning off your iPhone, follow the on-screen instructions to put your iPhone into DFU mode. Hold the power and home buttons for 10 seconds. Let go of the power button but keep holding the home button until you enter DFU mode. If you fail, PwnageTool will give you an error message and you will have the opportunity to start over this process until completed successfully.

19. Once your in DFU mode, launch iTunes if it hasn't already launched automatically. It will tell you that iTunes has detected an iPhone in recovery mode. Click OK.

20. We will now restore your iPhone using the custom firmware you created. In iTunes, hold the Alt/Option key while clicking "Restore". This is extremely important that you hold the Alt/Option key while clicking. A window will pop up and will let you browse for the custom firmware you created (which should now be saved in your "jailbreak" folder). Select it.

21. The restore will start, which may take up to 15-20 minutes. Once done, your iPhone will reboot.

Congratulations! You just jailbroke and unlocked your iPhone. If you have any question or comment, please leave a comment below.

Tutorial: Jailbreak iPhone 3G on 3.1 Using PwnageTool

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated October 3, 2009

This guide and tutorial will show you how to jailbreak your iPhone 3G running firmware 3.1, using PwnageTool for Mac OS X. So far, only PwnageTool is available for jailbreaking the 3.1 iPhone 3G and it is only for Mac. I believe a RedSn0w method for both Mac and PC will be available soon.

1. Make sure you have installed the latest version of iTunes (iTunes 9).

2. On your desktop, create a folder called "jailbreak" or whatever name you want to give it. It doesn't really matter. Download PwnageTool 3.1 and the 3.1 IPSW (iPhone1,2_3.1_7C144_Restore.ipsw) from here and save them into the "jailbreak" folder. Note that you should download the firmware using FireFox as Safari often brings up issues. Also note that the PwnageTool download link is a torrent and you will need a torrent downloader (ie. uTorrent) to download it.

3. Launch PwnageTool. It will give you some sort of warning. Just click OK. On the next screen, choose the "Expert Mode".

4. Select your iPhone model and click the blue arrow to continue.

5. Browse for the IPSW you downloaded in step 2. You should then get a green check mark.

6. You will now be offered several options. Choose "General". Make sure the "Activate the phone" box is left UNCHECKED if you use an official carrier (such as AT&T in the US, Roger in Canada, etc...). This is very important. If you are not using an official carrier, then CHECK "Activate the iPhone".

7. Increase the root partition size to 700 MB. This is not necessary but it is safer. Then click the blue arrow to continue. Click the blue arrow one more time to skip the bootneuter settings, which aren't available for the iPhone 3G.

8. You will now have the possibility to pre-install a few packages from Cydia so you don't have to do it manually later. I will skip this part. Click the blue arrow to go to the next step.

9. You will now be in the "Custom packages settings". Make sure Cydia is selected and you may want to select Icy as well. For what it's worth, I do not use Icy. I only use Cydia but you're free to select both if you want. Whatever you do, make sure at least Cydia is selected. Click the blue arrow to continue.

10. You can now set your own "Custom logos settings". I don't use any but again, you can choose the one pre-selected or you can even upload your own. If you choose to upload your own, remember the logo mustn't be bigger than 320 x 480. Click the blue arrow when done to continue.

11. It is now time to start the pwnage process. You should be on the main options screen offering you 6 different options. Choose "Build" and click the blue arrow to continue.

12. You will now have to save your custom IPSW file. Save it in the "jailbreak" folder we created in step 2.

13. Your custom IPSW firmware will now be built, which may take up to 15 minutes, so be patient.

14. You will most likely be asked for your administrator password. Fill in the blanks and click OK.

15. You will then be asked if your iPhone has been pwned before. Just answer "No".

16. Now is the most important step. You will first be asked to turn off your iPhone. Follow the instructions on your computer screen to put your iPhone into DFU mode. Basically, you have to hold the home and power buttons together for 10 seconds, then release the power button but still hold the home button. If done correctly, PwnageTool will tell you you successfully entered the DFU mode.

17. If iTunes hasn't launched automatically, open it. iTunes should tell you it has detected an iPhone in recovery mode. Click OK.

18. In iTunes, hold the "Alt/Option" key and click Restore at the same time. DO NOT click "restore" without holding the "Alt/Option" key! A window will pop up and you'll be able to choose the custom IPSW file you created in step12 that you saved in your "jailbreak" folder.

19. iTunes will now work on restoring your iPhone using the custom firmware.

20. Done! You will now be offered the option to set up your iPhone as a new phone or restore from a previous backup. I personally like to start fresh and I always choose to set it up as a new phone, but it's your choice.

21. You should now see the Cydia icon on the second page of applications on your iPhone. Congratulations, you just jailbreaked your iPhone 3G 3.1 with PwnageTool.

If you have any question or concern, please leave a comment.

Tutorial: Jailbreak iPhone 3GS Using RedSn0w

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated July 31, 2009

This guide and tutorial will show you how to jailbreak your iPhone 3GS using RedSn0w. After jailbreaking your iPhone 3GS, you will be able to unlock it using UltraSn0w should you want to.

Note that this tutorial is for the iPhone 3GS but the steps are the same for the iPhone 2G, iPhone 3G and iPod Touch 2G. Read this for more information about the jailbreak that best fits your needs. This was done on a PC but I assume the steps are the same for Mac and Linux.

Jailbreak iPhone 3GS Guide:

1. First, make sure you have the latest version of iTunes installed on your computer. If you have to update iTunes, make sure you restart your computer after installing the latest iTunes.

2. On your desktop, create a folder called "jailbreak iPhone 3GS" or whatever you want to call it. In this folder, download firmware 3.0 for your iPhone 3GS and RedSn0w 0.8 from here. Unzip the RedSn0w folder.

3. Launch RedSn0w and browse for the 3.0 firmware you downloaded in the previous step. RedSn0w should be processing the chosen firmware and tell you that the IPSW was "successfully identified". Click Next.

4. RedSn0w will start working for a few seconds and then will ask you what you would like to install. You can install Cydia and Icy. I highly suggest you only install Cydia. Choose Cydia and click Next.

5. We'll now have to connect the iPhone 3GS in recovery mode. To do so, unplug it from your computer, turn it off and wait a few seconds. Then hold the home button while plugin your iPhone to the USB cable. Keep holding the home button until the "Connect to iTunes" image appears.

6. Your iPhone will then go into recovery mode and that's when the magic happens... RedSn0w will install the jailbreak, which may take a few minutes.

7. Your iPhone will restart and install a bunch of stuff. . Even though RedSn0w says "Done!", wait until the very end to click "Finish".

8. After a few minutes, your iPhone will restart. Then click "Finish".

9. Go to your iPhone springboard and you should see the Cydia icon. Note that the icon may be on the second or third page on your springboard.

10. Done!

It took me about 10 minutes to jailbreak my iPhone 3GS, including time to take screenshots and write this tutorial. It was from far the quickest and most painless jailbreak.

iPhone Jailbreaking and Unlocking Guides

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

I just added 2 new pages to the blog's navigation bar: jailbreak and unlock. I will make sure to keep these pages up to date with the latest tutorials on how to jailbreak and/or unlock your iPhone.

If you have a look at these pages, you will see that it's pretty straightforward: look for the firmware you want to jailbreak/unlock, then choose your device (2G, 3G, or 3GS) and click on the appropriate guide.

I decided to create these 2 pages because it might be a little hard for newbies to figure out what they're supposed to do or even how to search for information on this blog. This way, I make it dead simple for everyone to find relevant and clear information on both jailbreaking and unlocking the iPhone.

Note that I am starting this page with the latest 3.0 firmware. By now, most people have updated their iPhone to 3.0 and it wouldn't make much sense to list previous tutorials I wrote.

Tutorial: iPhone 3.0 Jailbreak Using RedSn0w

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated August 8, 2009

This RedSn0w guide & tutorial will show you how to use RedSn0w to jailbreak your iPhone 2G, iPhone 3G, or iPod Touch 2G. Note that this step is required to unlock your iPhone 3G using UltraSn0w later on. For more information about the latest jailbreak methods for each iPhone, I recommend you read this before doing anything.

This guide is for PC users but I assume the steps are very similar on Mac. If you want to build custom firmware files with more flexibility it is suggested that you use PwnageTool on Mac OS X (PwnageTool jailbreak tutorial - PwnageTool unlock guide).

1. Before doing anything, make sure you have the latest version of iTunes and the latest firmware 3.0 installed on your iPhone.

2. Create a new folder on your desktop. In this folder, download RedSn0w as well as the latest 3.0 firmware for your iPhone from our iPhone downloads page (make sure you pick the right firmware).

3. Unzip and launch RedSn0w.

4. Click "browse" and select the 3.0 firmware you downloaded in a folder in step 2.

5. Once the firmware has been successfully identified, click "next".

6. Select "install Cydia" and click "next".

7. Make sure your iPhone is plugged into the computer and that it is off. Click "next".

8. RedSn0w will then guide you to put your iPhone into DFU mode. Hold down the power button for 2 seconds. Without releasing the power button, also hold down the home button for 10 seconds. Without releasing the home button, release the power button but keep holding the home button for 30 seconds.

9. If done correctly, your iPhone should reboot and the jailbreak process should start. This step may take up to 15-20 minutes so be patient.

10. Once this process is over, you will get a message saying that it is "done!"

11. Click the "finish" button and reboot your iPhone. The reboot may take up to 10 minutes so again, be patient.

12. Congratulations, you just jailbroke your iPhone 3.0 with RedSn0w. Cydia should now be on your springboard :)