iOS

This tweak generates a QR code for your iPhone’s Personal Hotspot

Anthony Bouchard ∙ January 9, 2020

Personal Hotspot is an indispensable feature of my iPhone that I use virtually every day as I move out of range of Wi-Fi, and while Apple has made it super easy to pair other iOS devices with the tap of a button, the same can’t be said about non-iOS devices, which often necessitate that you enter the hotspot’s password manually.

If you’re lazy like me and hate having to take the aforementioned steps when you or a friend attempts to connect a new device, then you just might come to appreciate a new and free jailbreak tweak called HotspotQR by iOS developer KingPuffdaddi.

Assistability13 augments iOS 13’s Reachability interface with shortcuts

Anthony Bouchard ∙ January 8, 2020

When it comes to the features people use most on their iPhones, Reachability is somewhat of a moot point, especially for those with hands large enough to finagle with Apple’s largest handsets. Apple provides a way to disable Reachability if you never use it, but wouldn’t it make sense to repurpose the interface instead of disabling it entirely?

Playing on this train of thought is a newly released jailbreak tweak called Assistability13 by iOS developer DODGraphics, which implements an AssistiveTouch-inspired shortcut palette into iOS’ native Reachability interface.

Personalize your Home screen and Lock screen with Kage

Anthony Bouchard ∙ January 7, 2020

When it comes to installing jailbreak tweaks on a pwned handset, my motto has always been that it’s best to install an all-in-one tweak instead of a plethora of one-off add-ons. Not only can this be beneficial from a performance standpoint, but it also keeps your installed tweak list nice and tidy in any package manager that you might be using.

Depending on what your needs are as a jailbreaker, finding the best all-in-one tweak can be a challenge. While there have been some notable releases in the past, many cost money of some sort. Fortunately, a new release called Kage by iOS developer YaYPIXXO brings a slew of customization options to both the Home screen and Lock screen at no extra cost to you.

This tweak disables the voice recording button in iMessage

Anthony Bouchard ∙ January 7, 2020

If you use Apple’s Messages app as your primary means of talking to people each day, then you’re probably accustomed to seeing the app’s voice message button in the text message composition field. This button lets you record yourself speaking and send your voice as an audio clip as opposed to typing it out or using Dictation to send a written message.

While this feature has its uses for a small subset of niche scenarios, you’ll probably very seldom use it if you don’t like recording yourself and prefer sending written messages. For those people, a new and free jailbreak tweak called AudioMessageBeGone by iOS developer burrit0z swoops in to save the day.

Cydia Impactor alternative ‘AltDeploy’ officially released for side-loading apps

Anthony Bouchard ∙ January 6, 2020

Those using the side-loadable Chimera and unc0ver jailbreak apps have experienced quite a rough patch these past couple of months given Cydia Impactor’s current broken state and the scarcity of reliable signing services that don’t get their certificates revoked shortly after going online. These issues have made it unusually challenging to get the jailbreak(s) running again after the host device endures a power cycle.

Saurik hinted in November that he would be looking into ways to fix Cydia Impactor, but we’ve since passed the expected ETA for such an update, prompting members of our very own jailbreak community to take action themselves. The newfangled efforts have resulted in a Cydia Impactor alternative for macOS called AltDeploy by @pixelomer.

Video: 1980’s Apple Hard Drive connected to an iPhone, but will it work?

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 6, 2020

iDownloadBlog reader Niles Mitchell has been keeping busy with his "Will It Work" video series in which he attempts to interface iOS devices with all sorts of peripherals via the Files app and the ubiquitous USB protocol. But this time around, Niles has a real treat for us.

DeadRinger makes iOS 13’s ringer/silent UI even better

Anthony Bouchard ∙ January 6, 2020

iOS 13 brought with it a slew of improvements that, despite a few kinks, made it exponentially better than Apple’s preceding mobile operating system for iPhones and iPads alike. One of my favorite upgrades was to the ringer/silent UI, which now displays a substantially less intrusive pop-up at the top of the display as opposed to a massive pop-up in the center.

While many give Apple props for finally making this change after years’ worth of dissatisfaction with iOS’ native UI, some continue to believe that the iOS 13-based ringer/silent UI could do with some improvement. To that end, a free jailbreak tweak called DeadRinger by iOS developer Kritanta was conceived.

LightsOut uses ambient light to switch between iOS’ dark and light modes

Anthony Bouchard ∙ January 6, 2020

If you’re jailbroken and you enjoy using dark mode to reduce eyestrain at night but prefer the standard light mode during the day for visibility, then you just might come to appreciate the convenience of a newly released and free jailbreak tweak called LightsOut by iOS developer Skitty.

iOS 13 can be configured to automatically switch between dark and light mode based on the time of day, but this unfortunately doesn’t compensate for unusual situations, such as walking into a dark room during the day. LightsOut effectively solves this problem by automatically switching your device between dark and light mode depending on the brightness level around you.

Zebra v1.0.4 resolves a crash when installing & uninstalling packages

Anthony Bouchard ∙ January 5, 2020

Following a somewhat weighty update to the young Zebra package manager for jailbroken devices Sunday afternoon, the software is out with yet another update, this time bringing Zebra up to version 1.0.4.

While the first update on Sunday crammed a plethora of bug fixes and improvements into Zebra, the second isn’t quite as jam-packed. The update is still recommended for all users, nonetheless.

Jailbreak tweaks of the week: Artemis, Shot Pro, Zebra, and more…

Anthony Bouchard ∙ January 5, 2020

This past New Year’s week has been particularly interesting for the jailbreak community. In this roundup, we’ll showcase all the latest jailbreak tweaks released in the major repositories from Monday, December 30th to Sunday, January 5th.

As always, we’ll kick things off by discussing our favorites and then wrap things up with an outline of the rest afterward.

Zebra v1.0.3 released with speed and reliability improvements, bug fixes

Anthony Bouchard ∙ January 5, 2020

If you’ve been tinkering with the new Zebra package manager on your jailbroken iOS device ever since it was officially released to the public on New Year’s Day, then you should know that there’s a new update out as of Sunday morning that you won’t want to miss.

Zebra version 1.0.3 is now available, and unlike the tiny update released just a couple of days ago, this one is jam-packed with a plethora of bug fixes and improvements that should make it more reliable in daily use.

Electra Team ending support for the iOS 11-based Electra jailbreak

Anthony Bouchard ∙ January 4, 2020

An announcement shared by Electra Team lead developer CoolStar on the team’s official Discord discussion group Saturday afternoon disclosed some unfortunate news for those using the iOS 11-centric Electra jailbreak tool.

From what we can gather, Electra has officially reached the EOL (end of life) stage of its development and will no longer receive any support from the Electra Team going forward: