text:
What tool can I use to jailbreak?
Simple guide for new jailbreakers:
If you have a device on iOS 8.1.3-8.4, you can jailbreak it untethered using TaiG. See our Jailbreaking iOS 8 Guide for details.
If you have a device on iOS 8.0-8.1.2, you can jailbreak it untethered using TaiG or PPJailbreak. See our Jailbreaking iOS 8 Guide for details.
If you have a device on iOS 7.x, you can jailbreak it untethered using evasi0n7 or Pangu. See our Jailbreaking iOS 7 Guide for details.
If you have a device on iOS 6.1.3-6.1.6, you can jailbreak it untethered using p0sixspwn. See our Jailbreaking iOS 6 Guide for details.
If you have any device on iOS 6.0-6.1.2, you can jailbreak it untethered using evasi0n. See our Jailbreaking iOS 6 Guide for details.
If you have any device on iOS 5.1.1 (iPad 3rd generation, iPad 2, iPad 1, iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, or iPod touch 3rd and 4th generation), you can jailbreak it untethered using Absinthe 2.0 or redsn0w. For more detailed advice, see our Jailbreaking iOS 5.1.1 Guide guide.
If you have an older device on iOS 4.2.1 (iPhone 3G or iPod touch 2nd generation), you can also jailbreak it untethered using redsn0w. Plug your device into your computer, download redsn0w, open it up, and follow its instructions.
How do I jailbreak my old-bootrom iPhone 3GS untethered? Use the latest version of redsn0w to jailbreak it. It'll notice that your device is an old-bootrom device and will jailbreak it untethered on any version of iOS.
Why am I having trouble jailbreaking my 8 GB iPod touch 3rd generation or iPhone 3GS model A1241 (A1324 China)? There's no such animal as an 8 GB iPod touch 3rd generation - you actually have an iPod touch 2nd generation - see this document. If you think you have an iPhone 3GS model A1241 (A1324 China), you actually have an iPhone 3G - see this document.
For other devices and other versions, check out the following chart to find the right tool for your device and iOS version. You can also get step-by-step jailbreaking guides with screenshots from iClarified, ModMyi, and iDownloadBlog (scroll down that page for the guides).
For a quick-reference guide to current jailbreaking tools, you can also check here: http://jailbrea.kr/
You could also check out The iPhone Wiki's Jailbreak page to find out which of your devices uses which jailbreak.
Detailed chart of jailbreaking tools:
Note that this isn't a complete chart.
answered 10 Apr '11, 22:03
comex ♦
iAdam1n ♦
How do I restore (downgrade/upgrade) my device to a non-latest iOS version above iOS 5.0?
Information for iOS 6.x, 7.x, or 8.x on iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPhone 5C, iPhone 5S, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPad 2, iPad 3rd generation, iPad 4th generation, iPad Mini, iPad Mini 2, iPad Air, or iPod touch 5th generation
If you have one of these devices on iOS 6.x, 7.x, or 8.x, there is currently no way to downgrade, upgrade, or restore it to any version of iOS that isn't the newest available version of iOS, even if you have SHSH blobs. You can only restore it to the newest available version of iOS.
(The exception is the iPad 2 - if you have iOS 4.x and 5.x SHSH blobs saved, you can downgrade it from iOS 6.x to 5.x using redsn0w. Keep reading for instructions on this.)
Information for iOS 6.x, 7.x, or 8.x on iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPhone 5C, iPad 2, iPad 3rd generation
Some devices and firmwares can be restored to by using Odysseus. This requires that you have SHSH blobs saved. More firmware and device support is being worked on.
There is also OdysseusOTA for iPad 2 and iPhone 4S that allows users to downgrade/upgrade to 6.1.3.
Information for iOS 7.x on iPhone 4
If you have an iPhone 4 on iOS 7.x, there are no tools available for downgrading, upgrading, or restoring it to any version of iOS 7.x that isn't the newest available version of iOS, even if you have SHSH blobs.
General information on requirements for downgrading and upgrading
What do I need to find out first? To successfully restore to a specific version of iOS, the first step is that you must have that specific version's SHSH blobs already saved for your device, either on Cydia's servers or on your computer (although this is not a guarantee that you'll be able to restore to that version). Here's a guide to understanding what SHSH blobs are and why they are required. In short, if your device was previously jailbroken (or has been jailbroken for a while), Cydia may have been able to save SHSH blobs for some iOS versions for your device. You can check a device's SHSH blobs saved on Cydia's servers by running TinyUmbrella, plugging your device into your computer, clicking the "Advanced" tab, checking "Request SHSH from Cydia", unchecking "Set Host File to Cydia on Exit", and then clicking "Save SHSH" at top right. If you have the SHSH blobs you need, follow the instructions below for your device type.
Can't I just change my hosts file or run TinyUmbrella to restore? Nope. The TinyUmbrella TSS Server procedure does not work anymore when restoring to any version of iOS 5.x or later, because Apple has introduced an APTicket/APNonce check for restores to iOS 5.x and later. Instead, you need to use redsn0w to create and restore to a custom IPSW (custom firmware file) with stitched SHSH blobs. There is no need to change your hosts file anymore; that'll just cause problems.
Instructions for iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, and iPod touch 4th generation restoring to 6.x
NOTE: If you have iTunes 11.1 (or later) installed and you are restoring an iPhone 4, you need to first downgrade iTunes to version 11.0.0.
redsn0w has not yet been updated to make using SHSH blobs for iOS 6.x easy. Follow the Dev Team Blog and MuscleNerd for news about redsn0w releases.
If you use Windows and your device is running iOS 6.0-6.1.2, you can fetch partial SHSH blobs for the currently-running iOS version from your device using iFaith, and then you can use those SHSH blobs to build a custom stitched IPSW with iFaith or sn0wbreeze. You can then use that custom stitched IPSW to restore to that specific iOS version again. See this guide to using iFaith.
Note that the SHSH blobs (technically the SHSH blobs + APTickets) that Cydia automatically saved for iOS 6.0-6.1.2 turned out to be incomplete and useless - see saurik's explanation of the problem. SHSH blobs saved through other methods (redsn0w, TinyUmbrella, iSHSHit, iFaith, etc.) may be usable.
Instructions for iPhone 4S, iPad 2, and iPad 3rd generation restoring from iOS 5.x to 5.x
If your device is on iOS 5.1.1 or 5.0.1 and you'd like to restore it to iOS 5.0.1 or 5.1.1, you may be able to do this if you have SHSH blobs for your current version and your desired version. The exception is if you updated to your current version of iOS 5.x via an Over-The-Air update. See this Dev Team Blog post for detailed information. Also note that using this restore process will update your device's baseband to the latest available baseband version, so you may want to avoid it if you use an unlocking method that depends on your current baseband version.
Keep in mind that if you've already upgraded your device to iOS 6.x, you cannot downgrade it to 5.x, even if you have all the SHSH blobs in the world. (The exception is the iPad 2 - if you have iOS 4.x and 5.x SHSH blobs saved, you can downgrade it from iOS 6.x to 5.x.)
Instructions for iPhone 4 and 3GS, iPad 1, and iPod touch 3rd and 4th generation restoring to iOS 5.x
NOTE: If you have iTunes 11.1 (or later) installed and you are restoring an iPhone 4, you need to first downgrade iTunes to version 11.0.0.
(Note: If you want to upgrade an iPad 1 or iPod touch 3rd generation to iOS 5.1.1, just restore using iTunes, since 5.1.1 is the highest supported version on those devices. Then you can jailbreak with redsn0w or sn0wbreeze or Absinthe.)
Follow these steps to stitch a "custom IPSW with blobs" using redsn0w (compatible with Mac and Windows) and then restore with it. (Note that if you have an old-bootrom iPhone 3GS, you don't need SHSH blobs to restore to any iOS version.)
You may also pull partial SHSH blobs from your device (iPhone 4 or earlier) for the iOS version it currently has installed, using redsn0w's "Fetch" function or using iFaith. See this guide.
If you use Windows, an alternative to redsn0w is to use sn0wbreeze in iFaith mode to create a custom IPSW with stitched blobs (which can also be useful for people who need to preserve an unlockable baseband since sn0wbreeze custom IPSWs always avoid baseband updates). sn0wbreeze is available to download here, along with the stand-alone tool iFaith that can stitch blobs: http://ih8sn0w.com/
If you get any iTunes errors while restoring, check this list of error solutions for some ideas on what might have gone wrong.
answered 07 Mar '12, 18:15
iAdam1n ♦
Why do I need SHSH blobs? Can I use them on all devices?
What do the words "SHSH blobs" mean? SHSH blobs are digital signature files unique to your device.
Why are SHSH blobs important? Apple only allows you to restore to the iOS versions (firmwares) they "sign" (by providing SHSH blobs), in order to prevent you from restoring to earlier versions that may be easier to jailbreak. Apple's "signing" of each iOS version only lasts for a limited time, usually just for as long as that iOS version is the latest version available. Once Apple stops signing an iOS version, there is no way to restore that version again, unless you have SHSH blobs saved for that version (and even then, it's not always possible on newer devices - for example, you cannot restore to 6.x using SHSH blobs except on iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, and iPod touch 4th generation). If your device is currently on a version that Apple is no longer signing, restoring with iTunes will upgrade your device to the latest version available for your device.
How do I save SHSH blobs? Saving SHSH blobs for current versions of iOS on devices newer than the iPhone 4 is not likely to be useful, since there's no expectation that there will be tools released that can use them. The SHSH blobs that you can grab depend only on which versions Apple's servers are signing at the moment; they don't have anything to do with the version of iOS currently on your device. It used to be that you could manually save SHSH for a device (even a non-jailbroken device) using redsn0w, TinyUmbrella, or iFaith, but their support for saving blobs pretty much ended around iOS 6. redsn0w and iFaith can dump "partial blobs" for the currently-installed iOS version off some devices (iPad 1, new-bootrom iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and iPod touch 3rd and 4th generation), which you can use to "stitch" a pre-signed IPSW (firmware file), which may be useful if your device is on an iOS version that Apple is no longer signing, but you want to be able to restore to that version later. A guide to using redsn0w and iFaith to dump partial blobs.
How do I check whether my device has saved SHSH blobs? You can check a device's SHSH blobs saved on Cydia's servers by running TinyUmbrella, plugging your device into your computer, clicking the "Advanced" tab, checking "Request SHSH from Cydia", unchecking "Set Host File to Cydia on Exit", and then clicking "Save SHSH" at top right.
What do I need to know about using SHSH blobs on A5 and later devices (iPhone 4S and later iPhones, iPad 2 and later iPads, iPod touch 5th generation and later iPod touches, etc.)? If you have one of these devices on 6.x, it cannot be downgraded/upgraded/restored to any version of iOS 6.x or 5.x that is not the latest version (there is just no way to use them to restore to non-signed iOS versions at the moment). There's an exception for downgrading iPad 2 to 5.x if you have 4.x and 5.x SHSH blobs; see the next item. If you have an iPad 3rd generation or iPhone 4S on 5.x, you may be able to restore it to iOS 5.x - see here for a guide to restoring to iOS 5.x using your 5.x SHSH blobs.
What do I need to know about using SHSH blobs on iPad 2? If you have an iPad 2 on 5.x, you may be able to restore your device to iOS 5.x - see this Dev Team Blog post and this one - but once you upgrade it to iOS 6.x, you usually can't downgrade it back to iOS 5.x. The one exception: you can use SHSH to downgrade an iPad 2 from iOS 6.x to 5.x using redsn0w if you have SHSH saved for both iOS 4.x and iOS 5.x - see here for a guide to restoring to iOS 5.x using your 4.x and 5.x SHSH blobs. You can use the TSS server process to use SHSH blobs to downgrade/upgrade a WiFi-only iPad 2 to 4.x. To downgrade a GSM or CDMA iPad 2 to 4.3.3, you can try using TinyCFW.
What do I need to know about using SHSH blobs to restore to iOS 5.x or 6.x on A4 and earlier devices (iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad 1, iPod touch 3rd and 4th generation)? Since iOS 5, Apple has included an extra element in SHSH (called APTicket/APNonce) to try to defeat using saved SHSH to restore. However, jailbreakers have found a way to work around APTicket/APNonce on these older devices (since they have bootrom exploits available). Cydia saves SHSH and APTicket starting with iOS 5.0.1 (not for iOS 5.0) and TinyUmbrella does too. You can use these blobs to restore to iOS 5.x or 6.x using redsn0w: see here for a guide to restoring to iOS 5.x or 6.x using your 5.x or 6.x SHSH blobs.
What do I need to know about using SHSH blobs on old-bootrom iPhone 3GS and older devices? This is the weird exception: you don't need SHSH blobs to restore an old-bootrom iPhone 3GS to any iOS version - just put it into "pwned DFU" mode and use custom firmware. Here's how to check whether you have an old-bootrom iPhone 3GS. You also do not need SHSH blobs to restore if you have an iPhone 2G, iPhone 3G, iPod touch 1st generation, or iPod touch 2nd generation (MB model only), and you are restoring it to a pre-iOS 4 version.
How do I restore using SHSH blobs? Check out JailbreakQA's guide to restoring to iOS 5.x or 6.x using SHSH blobs (stitching process) or our guide to restoring to iOS 4.x using SHSH blobs (TSS server process).
What if I have more questions?
You can learn more about how SHSH works by opening up Cydia, tapping "Upgrading and Jailbreaking Help", and tapping "Can I upgrade/downgrade to the iOS version I want?"
For background on the SHSH system and some technical details, read saurik's explanation of the SHSH system.
For ih8sn0w's JailbreakCon2012 talk on SHSH blobs and APTickets, click here.
To find out which versions are currently being signed, see the iPhone Wiki's explanation and chart of currently-signed versions.
To learn more about TinyUmbrella, visit its FAQ page.
answered 11 Apr '11, 10:15
raviraj jailbreak guru
Can I upgrade/downgrade from any version to any other version?
If you've never jailbroken your device before (or used TinyUmbrella): no, sorry, Apple has a system that tries to prevent each device from being restored to any firmware version except the latest version (it requires the firmware on the device to be "signed" with SHSH blobs; here's more about why you need SHSH blobs). (You may still be able to jailbreak your device on the latest version using the right tool. Also, if you use TinyUmbrella, make sure you have "set hosts to Cydia on exit" unchecked before trying to jailbreak with redsn0w -- or if you've previously manually edited your hosts file, place a # symbol in front of any entries for gs.apple.com to help ensure a successful restore process.) Exception: Apple still signs iOS 4.1 for the iPhone 3GS and some other elderly devices (that had previously supported iPhone OS 3.x too) so downgrading those to 4.1 is possible.
If you have jailbroken your device before: you may be able to work around this system and restore to a specific version other than the latest version, especially if you've used Cydia within the past few months, because opening Cydia automatically saves currently-available firmware signature files (also called "SHSH blobs") from Apple. Exceptions: you have to use redsn0w blob stitching for iOS 5.0 and above, you can only downgrade a GSM or CDMA iPad 2 to iOS 4.x by trying TinyCFW, and downgrading an iPhone 4 from 5.x to 4.x may end up with poor signal reception on 4.x (since upgrading to iOS 5 with the normal iTunes process permanently upgrades the iPhone baseband).
To try downgrading/upgrading (a process that may bring up various mysterious errors, so be prepared to do further research):
Troubleshooting tips: One common error message is 3194, which means that the restore failed because your device does not seem to have SHSH blobs available for the version you're trying to restore - are you sure you followed all these steps correctly? See this guide for fixing error 3194. Or if upgrading to 5.0, are you sure you're using the latest version of iTunes? Finding your device stuck with errors 1013, 1015, or 1600 (after trying "Exit Recovery Mode" and "Fix Recovery") may mean that you have one of a variety of problems: (a) you didn't put your device in DFU mode before pressing "Restore", (b) your device has a non-standard baseband for its firmware so you need to restore using a custom firmware (make one using PwnageTool or sn0wbreeze), (c) your device needs to be in "pwned" DFU mode (you can do this with redsn0w or iReb), (d) you need to manually remove any entries from your hosts file related to gs.apple.com, or (e) something different (you can ask for help; let us know which steps you've tried already).
answered 22 Jul '11, 23:23
What's a tethered jailbreak?
A tethered jailbreak is a jailbreak where the device requires a computer to assist booting up. If the device's battery dies, or you turn off the device, or you reboot it, you will either be (A) stuck at the Apple logo or (B) boot up into a seemingly "un-jailbroken" state where Cydia, Mail, and Safari don't work - until you plug the device into a computer, open your tethered boot program (for example redsn0w), and follow its instructions. The situation in (B) is often called a semi-tethered jailbreak.
(Note: due to this requirement of booting your device with a computer, tethered jailbreaks are somewhat inconvenient. In general, people rarely need to reboot their devices unless they run out of battery, but a few popular Cydia packages also require a reboot after installing, including Winterboard and iFile. Most packages just require "restarting SpringBoard", which is not a reboot. So a lot of people don't mind having a tethered jailbreak, but you have to decide if this kind of jailbreak is OK with you.)
To boot tethered: if you're using redsn0w, plug in your device, open up redsn0w, click "Extras", and then click "Just boot". If you used a different tool to jailbreak, that tool probably also has an option to boot tethered.
If you're having problems getting your device to be recognized by redsn0w, start this process in DFU mode. To enter DFU mode: with your device connected to your computer, hold the power (lock) button and home button for 10 seconds, then release the power button but keep holding the home button for another 15 seconds.
If redsn0w still isn't booting your device properly, follow this guide to using redsn0w - including setting compatibility modes, running it as administrator, and specifying the IPSW. These steps solve many redsn0w problems.
Do I have a semi-tethered jailbreak?
Depending on the packages installed on a device with a tethered jailbreak, you may actually have a "semi-tethered jailbreak", which means that when you reboot your device without plugging it in, your device boots up seemingly "un-jailbroken" and Cydia, Mail, and Safari crash when you tap them. To fix that situation, boot tethered.
In more detail: tethered jailbreaks behave semi-tethered by default. If you install Cydia Substrate (Mobile Substrate) tweaks, your device will still be semi-tethered. But if you install Notification Center plugins that don't depend on WeeLoader, your device will no longer be semi-tethered - unless you also install the BigBoss semitether package.
answered 10 Apr '11, 19:13
Can I unlock my iPhone to use it on a different carrier?
Option A: Official unlock
Try calling your carrier and asking them if your iPhone is eligible for a free or paid official unlock. (In the US, AT&T now provides official unlocks for out-of-contract iPhones, and Sprint and Verizon may be willing to unlock your device as well.)
If you can get an official unlock, we recommend getting it even if you have to pay for it, since it'll be much more convenient than unofficial unlocking. An officially-unlocked device is permanently unlocked, even if you restore it and/or update the baseband.
Option B: ultrasn0w unofficial unlock
Look at your baseband version first: Find out your iPhone's baseband version by opening up your Settings app, tapping General, tapping About, and scrolling down to "Modem Firmware". That number is your baseband version. (The "baseband" is the low-level part of the iPhone that handles everything related to antennas, such as calls and 3G.)
Your device's current version of iOS doesn't matter when you're trying to unofficially unlock it with ultrasn0w. The baseband version is the important part.
If you're lucky enough to have an ultrasn0w-compatible baseband, you might just need to install ultrasn0w (search for it in Cydia). After installing ultrasn0w, you may want to install SAM to fake proper activation for your device.
Basebands currently unlockable with ultrasn0w
iPhone 4
iPhone 3G/3GS
Basebands currently NOT unlockable with ultrasn0w
iPhone 4
iPhone 3G/3GS
iPhone 4S
iPhone 5, 5c, 5s
Can I downgrade my iPhone's baseband? You generally cannot downgrade a device's baseband. The first exception is the iPad baseband downgrade (from 6.15.00 to 05.13.04) using redsn0w, explained above. The second exception is if Apple is still signing the earlier baseband, which happens at the same time as when Apple is signing the earlier version of iOS. For example, when Apple was signing both iOS 4.3.5 and iOS 5.0 at the same time (which was true during a few hours right after they released 5.0), you could upgrade to iOS 5.0 and have the 04.11.08 baseband - and then downgrade to 4.3.5 and have the 04.10.01 baseband. Apple only signs the very latest version of iOS for each device except during brief iOS version transition periods like that, so you generally can't downgrade the baseband. There's no equivalent of saved SHSH for basebands.
Option C: SAM-assisted unofficial unlock
This method no longer works to create new unlocks. If you took advantage of it during the short period when it was available, you can use it for up to three years after the unlock ticket was generated.
Option D: IMEI-based unlocking services
Depending on your phone's carrier, you may be able to find a third-party service that can provide an IMEI-based unlock for your phone. These charge a fee, which can be from $5-150+ depending on your carrier and the unlocking service. CutYourSim and AppleNBerry are established services, iProService is run by a JailbreakQA member, and there are many other reliable options available.
Just keep in mind that there are also many fake IMEI unlocking websites. Be cautious of any sites promising unlocks for all carriers, since that is not possible right now. Also be wary of sites that feature taglines such as "full support", "lifetime updates", "iOS x supported", and "members area". Pop-up video spokespeople, fake testimonials, "wait, don't leave" popups, and similar gimmicks are usually further indication the site is not legitimate. Partial list of reported fake sites.
This kind of unlock works the same as an official unlock from your carrier - it's a permanent unlock that remains even if you restore the phone and/or update the baseband.
answered 10 Apr '11, 20:26
How do I fix iTunes error (sometimes 21 or 1600-1602), 1013, 3194 or 3014 ("Device not eligible for requested build")?
For error 1013: this happens because iTunes is not getting authorization to update the baseband because your hosts file is changed to preserve baseband by pointing towards Cydia's server instead of Apple's. Note that at this stage the firmware has actually been flashed but not the baseband. You can exit this by using the "Fix Recovery" button in redsn0w or TinyUmbrella. If you want the baseband upgrade to continue without the 1013 error, remove the gs.apple.com line from your hosts file.
For error 3194 ("device not eligible for requested build"): this means that the restore failed because your device does not seem to have SHSH blobs available for the version you're trying to restore to. If you're trying to restore to a version you don't have SHSH for, you can't do that. (Here's more about how SHSH blobs work and why you need them.) If you're trying to restore to the latest version (a version that Apple is still signing), and this is happening, you probably have TinyUmbrella installed and it's set to edit your hosts file, so the restore is trying to use saurik's servers to verify the firmware instead of Apple's servers. To fix this, look under the Advanced tab in TinyUmbrella, uncheck "Set hosts to Cydia", and quit TinyUmbrella. If you've done that and visiting http://gs.apple.com shows the Cydia homepage instead of an Apple page similar to this, you need to fix your hosts file by editing it directly.
To help solve both errors, remove gs.apple.com lines from your hosts file:
Mac OS X:
answered 13 Apr '11, 03:28
kirb ♦
How do I fix a device that isn't booting up properly (boot loop, stuck at Apple logo, etc.)?
Is it out of battery? Plug your device into your computer for a while and see if this helps. Make sure you've plugged it into a functioning USB port.
If your device is an iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPod touch 2nd/3rd/4th generation, or iPad 1st generation: Do you have a tethered jailbreak? Plug your device into your computer and try using redsn0w to boot tethered - see these instructions for more details.
Try forcing a reboot: If that isn't applicable, try holding down the power and home buttons until you see the Apple logo, and let it finish booting up.
Maybe you installed a incompatible tweak? Try Cydia Substrate's (Mobile Substrate's) safety feature: If that doesn't help, it could be that a tweak you installed before rebooting (even days before rebooting) is very incompatible with your version of iOS, which could cause a "boot loop" (getting the Apple logo over and over).
Try forcing a reboot and then immediately holding down the Volume Up button as the device boots up. This will temporarily disable all extensions, as explained in the Cydia Substrate description:
Try manually removing incompatible tweaks: If your device is using an old version of Cydia Substrate (a version without the safety feature), try plugging your device into your computer and using an application such as iExplorer, DiskAid, or Phone Disk to access the device - it may be difficult to access a device in this state, but force a reboot and try accessing it. Check in the folder
If your device is an iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPod touch 3rd/4th generation, or iPad 1st generation: You can try this custom redsn0w method (scroll down to the first answer starting with "For new people reading this thread") to disable all tweaks and hopefully allow the device to boot up.
If all else fails: If it still won't boot, you can try putting your device into DFU mode and using iTunes to restore it - unfortunately you'll lose any un-synced data. Although with the latest versions of iTunes, you may have the option of clicking "Update" instead of "Restore" while it's in recovery mode, which may preserve your data - see this post for advice.
Make sure to use custom firmware to restore if you need to preserve your device's baseband.
But before restoring, you might want to ask a question so we can try answering it without the need to restore. (It's helpful if you list extensions you've installed, so that we can try to point out extensions that might be causing the problem.)
answered 10 Apr '11, 18:39
What is DFU mode, and how do I put my device into DFU mode?
"DFU mode" means "Device Firmware Upgrade mode". It's built into iOS devices to allow you to restore iOS even if something has gone wrong on the software level of the device. We use DFU mode to get a jailbreakable device ready for applying a jailbreak like redsn0w, and to restore custom firmwares. If something goes wrong with a jailbroken device, you can always put the device into DFU mode and restore it with iTunes.
Instructions for putting your device into DFU mode:
First make sure you have the latest version of iTunes installed on your computer, and make sure you've plugged your device directly into your computer (using a USB hub may not work).
Entering DFU Mode on iPhone, iPad or iPod touch
Exiting DFU Mode on iPhone, iPad or iPod touch
Entering DFU Mode on Apple TV
Exiting DFU Mode on Apple TV
When you disconnect or connect a device to your computer, it will play a sound effect, to notify you a device has been connected.
Use these sound effects to help you get into DFU Mode. After 10 seconds of pressing Home + Power, you should hear the first sound (disconnected sound effect). Then after another 10 seconds of holding the Home button, you will hear the second sound (connected sound effect)
answered 10 Apr '11, 22:19
justinred ♦
How to use SAM to get proper activation of my iPhone?
To find out why SAM is useful, see here: What is hacktivation? How do I hacktivate?
See also SAM's website for basic information: "This will allow you to do official activation on an iPhone without a stock SIM - it MAY help with Battery Drain issues, but that is NOT the primary purpose of this."
First install SAM from this repository: http://repo.bingner.com/
You need to know what carrier is your phone locked to. (You'll want to enter into SAM the country and carrier that the phone is originally locked to, not the info of the sim you are going to be using.) In automatic mode SAM assumes your iPhone is locked to AT&T; if you don't know which carrier your phone is locked to, you'll need to do some guesswork until you get it right.
Open SAM. It will notify you that your device is hactivated, so you need to first de-activate it before proceeding. Go to the Utilities menu and select "De-Activate iPhone". A message will come up saying that stockifying succeeded, and then go back to the SAM main menu.
You will need to select the method SAM should use to generate the simulated SIM ICCID and IMSI (this appears only after the de-activation step above). The methods include:
Once the method is selected, make sure that Enabled is switched ON. Connect your iPhone to iTunes, and you will see the status bar telling you that it is contacting Apple's servers. If you have selected the correct settings, you will see a message saying that you have successfully activated your iPhone.
Other options in SAM include:
answered 13 Apr '11, 02:45
When will there be an untethered jailbreak for iOS x.x.x or an unlock for baseband xx.xx.xx?
Don't ask us, because we don't know!
To get news about new jailbreaks and unlocks as soon as they happen:
For official news, subscribe to updates from the dev teams and their members: iPhone Dev Blog, Chronic Dev Blog, MuscleNerd, pod2g, saurik, evad3rs, iH8Sn0w, winocm, etc.
For unofficial news reports, you can also read ModMyi and iDownloadBlog, among other blogs.
Why do these things take a long time?
There will always be at least tethered jailbreaks available for devices with the A4 processor and earlier (including iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad 1, iPod touch 3rd and 4th generation), because they have bootrom flaws that can be used by redsn0w (with the help of an exploit called limera1n) for tethered jailbreaks of those devices on any version of iOS. These bootrom flaws can't be fixed by any update Apple sends out, because they're basically part of the hardware of the device. (But jailbreakers have to find additional exploits in order to provide untethered jailbreaks for these devices.)
Jailbreakers do not yet have this ability to manipulate the bootroms of A5 devices or later (iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPad 2, iPad 3rd generation iPad 4, iPad mini, and iPod touch 5th generation), so it's even harder to build jailbreaks for these devices, and the jailbreaks can be patched with iOS updates.
For more explanation of why jailbreakers cannot provide accurate estimates of when new jailbreaks will be released, read this detailed post by planetbeing. You can also look at this chart of first jailbreaks to remind yourself that jailbreaks can take several months.
There will probably not be more ultrasn0w software baseband unlocks anytime soon. There haven't been any new ones for a long time.
answered 10 Apr '11, 19:25
What's the difference between jailbreaking and unlocking?
Jailbreaking means removing restrictions in your device's default software so that it can run software not approved by Apple, such as extensions (tweaks) and other packages installable via Cydia.
Carrier unlocking is the process that allows an iPhone to be used as a phone on other carriers that aren't supported, such as an AT&T iPhone being used for texting and calling on a T-Mobile plan with a T-Mobile SIM card.
Jailbreaking does not automatically carrier unlock your device; they are different processes. See this guide to carrier unlocking options.
answered 10 Apr '11, 20:04
What is SpringBoard?
SpringBoard is part of iOS that organizes the home screen and gives you all the options to actions your iDevice can do such as creating folders, changing home screen wallpapers, installing applications, and when you're jailbroken, Activator for SBSettings.
Restarting the user interface without rebooting the phone is referred to as a respring.
What is WinterBoard?
WinterBoard is a Cydia package that allows theming, and is required for 99% of the currently available themes.
What is SummerBoard?
SummerBoard was an earlier theming support package, mostly at this point replaced entirely by WinterBoard.
answered 11 Apr '11, 05:50
iAdam1n ♦
I open Cydia and it says my TSS request is pending. What does this mean?
This means that Cydia hasn't yet been able to save SHSH blobs for your device. Whenever you open up Cydia, it tries to grab any available SHSH blobs that Apple is providing for your device, and if it hasn't grabbed any yet, you'll see the TSS request message.
(SHSH blobs are "signatures" that let you restore to the iOS version that the blobs have been saved for. Learn more about what SHSH blobs are and why they're useful.)
Cydia might not be able to grab SHSH for your device for various reasons. Apple generally only "signs" the very latest version of iOS for your device, and Cydia might not yet be saving SHSH for that version.
Generally you only have to be concerned about SHSH when you need to restore your device and want to restore to a version Apple isn't signing anymore, for example to retain an untethered jailbreak. It's nice to have SHSH saved for the future, but you shouldn't worry too much about the TSS request message.
You can also save SHSH manually by plugging your device into your computer and using TinyUmbrella or the "Fetch" feature of redsn0w. Another option is to install the iSHSHit package on your iOS device, which will let you generate and email SHSH blobs for an additional backup, but you should then get those emailed SHSH blobs and import them into TinyUmbrella, as SHSH blobs by themselves can't help you restore.
answered 10 Apr '11, 21:48
How do I fix errors and problems when trying to restore/upgrade/downgrade my device?
A restore or upgrade may fail due to one or more of the following problems. Go through each one to make sure it doesn't apply to you (and fix it if it does):
If you're getting a specific error number other than 3194 or 16xx (explained above), look up what the error code might mean on Apple's list of iTunes error codes with solutions and TheiPhoneWiki's list of error codes with solutions, or by searching for it on JailbreakQA.
If you're trying to restore your device to stock iOS and it's just not working, you could try building custom firmware and using that to restore.
If iTunes doesn't seem to recognize your device, put your device into DFU mode and plug it into the computer. iTunes should recognize it as being in recovery mode and you should be able to restore it.
If all else fails, you might want to take it to an Apple Store to find out whether there's a hardware problem with the device.
Please do not try these methods:
Tapping "Erase All Content and Settings" (in Settings -> General -> Reset) fails badly on jailbroken devices (due to their rearranged filesystems) - the result will be a device that's stuck on the Apple logo indefinitely, only fixable by restoring it with iTunes (using custom firmware if necessary).
Updating jailbroken devices via over-the-air (OTA) updates (also known as the little red update notification badge on your Settings app) also doesn't work - usually OTA updates on jailbroken devices will fail with an error message before they even begin, leaving your device unharmed, but it's best to just not try this.
answered 01 Jun '11, 02:55
How can I install ultrasn0w on my iPhone without Wi-Fi?
Got yourself in a pickle, eh? No Wi-Fi available, and you can't connect to the data network because you need ultrasn0w?
First make sure you have the latest version of iTunes installed on your computer.
You have to install ultrasn0w using iExplorer, DiskAid or iFunBox. Here's the ultrasn0w.deb file (mirror).
Put the ultrasn0w.deb in /var/root/Media/Cydia/AutoInstall/
If the Cydia/AutoInstall/ directory is not there, you should make it. Go into /var/root/Media/ and create a directory named "Cydia", and then inside that directory create another one named "AutoInstall". Put ultrasn0w.deb into AutoInstall.
Lastly, reboot your device twice (or power off your device once, and respring once).
Note: ultrasn0w has a dependency on Cydia Substrate (Mobile Substrate), so if this is not installed on your device (if this is a fresh jailbreak it will not) then you need to download Cydia Substrate, UIKitTools, and Substrate Safe Mode and install them the same way explained for ultrasn0w. This should be done before installing ultrasn0w itself.
answered 11 Apr '11, 06:54
raviraj jailbreak guru
theiphoneguy ♦
How do I fix this weird problem on my device if I'm not sure which tweak is causing it?
Verify package compatibility: Check your installed tweaks to make sure they're compatible with your iOS version - look them up in Cydia to see if their package pages include compatibility notes. Also make sure your packages are from legitimate sources such as BigBoss, Cydia/Telesphoreo, ModMyi, and ZodTTD/MacCiti - because pirated packages frequently cause problems.
Reboot your device: Power off and power up your device just in case the problem was a temporary glitch. If your device is stuck on the Apple logo and won't boot up normally, you can do a hard reboot by holding both the power/sleep/lock and home buttons - the screen will go black, and you can release the buttons when the Apple logo appears.
Try no Substrate mode: The next option is booting with Cydia Substrate (Mobile Substrate) disabled. Do a hard reboot by holding both the power/sleep/lock and home buttons - the screen will go black, release both buttons when the Apple logo appears and immediately hold volume up button until you see the lockscreen. This can take upwards to 3 minutes or more. Holding the volume up button while booting disables Cydia Substrate and all tweaks that depend on it. At this "no substrate" mode, springboard will appear stock and tweak options will not appear under the Settings app. You can launch Cydia and uninstall the tweak that you suspect may have caused the problem. Reboot again without holding the volume up button to go back into normal jailbroken state.
Try uninstalling Substrate: A surefire way to fix a device that cannot pull out of a safe mode or a bootloop due to a misbehaving tweak is to boot into "no substrate" mode, launch Cydia and uninstall Cydia Substrate. This will remove all apps/tweaks that are dependent on Cydia Substrate so take note which apps/tweaks you may want to reinstall later. After the device reboots on Cydia Substrate removal, you may reinstall apps/tweaks one by one and rebooting after each install to isolate which app/tweak was causing the problem.
Post a question: If you've tried these steps and you still can't figure out what's wrong, feel free to post a question (including as many details as possible) and we'll try to help. Please note that JailbreakQA cannot help with problems caused by piracy tools, pirate sources, or pirated tweaks or apps, so if you ask a question involving piracy, we'll have to just close the question and advise you to remove them.
Contact the developer: If you do figure out which tweak was causing the problem, and if it seems to be a bug with that tweak, consider emailing the developer of the package to let them know. To do this: go to the package page in Cydia, tap "Author" at the top of the page, and write them an email describing the problem (ideally including the steps that make the bug show up).
Related FAQ answers:
answered 29 May '12, 05:40
How do I get my device out of "Safe Mode" (Springboard crashing)?
Usually a Springboard crash ("Safe Mode") is a temporary problem, where you can tap Restart and go back to normal mode.
If your device goes right back into Safe Mode with the same message, you'll need to do some investigation. If you just installed a new tweak, that tweak is probably causing the problem. While you're in Safe Mode, open up Cydia and uninstall the tweak (go to "Installed" and look under "Recent").
If the Springboard crash keeps happening, one or more of your installed tweaks may be incompatible with your device's version of iOS. Open up Cydia, go to "Installed", and check the descriptions of each of your installed tweaks to try to find out whether they're compatible with your version of iOS. If one isn't, it's probably the reason for your crash, so uninstall it using Cydia. (Also check your packages to make sure they're all from legitimate sources such as BigBoss, Cydia/Telesphoreo, ModMyi, and ZodTTD/MacCiti; pirated packages frequently cause problems.)
If Safe Mode shows up while you are doing an action that is related to a tweak's functionality, that tweak might be the cause of the crash. Try uninstalling it.
If you would like to simply uninstall all of your Cydia Substrate (Mobile Substrate) tweaks to start over fresh, search for "Cydia Substrate" in Cydia and uninstall it. This will also uninstall all of your tweaks (since they "depend" on Cydia Substrate), which means you can then start over and reinstall your favorite tweaks one by one, watching carefully after each install to look out for problems. If you're interested in this method, you might first write down a list of your tweaks (or email yourself a list using the free AppInfo tool installable via Cydia) to make sure you remember which ones you should try reinstalling.
If you still can't figure out what's wrong, feel free to post a question and we'll try to help. Make sure to tell us what you did before Safe Mode started happening, what you've tried so far, and a list of your installed packages, to help us guess at what might be wrong.
answered 10 Apr '11, 19:18
How do I create a signed custom IPSW (firmware file) for my currently installed version?
iFaith and redsn0w allow you to make a signed custom IPSW (firmware file) for older devices' currently installed version (or to make a signed custom IPSW using already-saved SHSH blobs). This produces a signed custom IPSW so that in the future you still have the option of restoring back to your current version if your device requires a restore.
This is especially useful if you do not have normal SHSH blobs saved for your device's current version, but you want to be able to restore and return back to its current version.
This only works on older devices (A4 and older), since they have bootrom exploits available.
Using iFaith (Windows only)
iFaith supports iPad 1, iPhone 3GS (new bootrom), iPhone 4, and iPod touch 3rd and 4th generation. It does not support iPod 5G, iPad 2/3/4/Mini, iPhone 4S/5, or older devices (iPhone 3GS with old bootrom, iPhone 3G, or iPod touch 2nd generation). As of April 2012, it may not work correctly if you have an 8 GB iPhone 4 (see here).
Step 1: Download iFaith
Step 2: Dump SHSH blobs onto your computer
Step 3: Build the signed IPSW
NOTE: If you have iTunes 11.1 installed and you are restoring an iPhone 4, you need to first downgrade iTunes to version 11.0.0.
Using redsn0w (Mac and Windows)
For this function, redsn0w supports iPad 1, iPhone 3GS (new bootrom only - remember that old bootrom 3GSes don't need SHSH), iPhone 4, and iPod touch 3rd and 4th generation.
When you want to use this signed IPSW someday in the future, you can follow this process:
answered 04 Jul '11, 17:15
Where's all the free stuff?
If I jailbreak, does it make everything in the App Store and iTunes free?
Nope, jailbreaking does not remove the requirement to pay for things that cost money. (Jailbreaking adds the freedom to do more with your device; it does not take away anything!)
If you'd like to get a paid App Store app or iTunes song, you still have to go to the App Store or iTunes and buy it.
If I jailbreak my iPhone/iPod/iPad, does it give me WiFi anywhere?
No, unfortunately jailbreaking isn't magical. Find your local Starbucks. :)
I jailbroke my iPhone, so where do I get free apps that cost money on the App Store?
JailbreakQA does not support piracy, and these questions will be closed.
I thought everything on Cydia was supposed to be free, so why do some things cost money?
Cydia is a bit like the App Store in that it has both free and paid products.
Developers and designers can choose to distribute their products for free if they want to, or they can charge money for them (and Cydia gets a percentage of that payment in order to cover taxes, payment processing fees, hosting, and development costs).
Developers charge money so that they can spend a lot of time on making complex, interesting Cydia products and still pay their rent. :)
answered 16 Jul '11, 10:19
JonSeals ♦
What are the correct steps for upgrading my jailbroken device and easily reinstalling my Cydia packages?
To upgrade a jailbroken device, you have to lose your jailbreak (the upgrade and restore buttons in iTunes will both wipe out your jailbreak). Here's a series of steps for making the upgrading process as easy as possible. (Keep in mind that you cannot update a jailbroken device via Settings, also called OTA or wireless updates.) Before restoring, always check first to make sure the new iOS version is jailbreakable on your device (or if it's not jailbreakable, make sure you're willing to tolerate a non-jailbroken device). If your desired iOS version is not the latest version available from Apple for your device, you'll need to use SHSH blobs to restore - check out this guide to understanding SHSH blobs (which also explains the many devices and iOS versions where saved SHSH blobs don't work), and then follow the steps below.
(If you use any tweaks/extensions that use IconSupport, such as Infinifolders or FolderEnhancer, your previous icon layout will be restored after reinstalling those extensions.)
answered 31 Dec '11, 21:26
What's "pwned" DFU mode?
"Pwned" DFU mode is a special form of DFU mode where the device's bootrom (a low-level part of the device) has been exploited to allow custom firmware to be restored to the device.
You can use redsn0w or iReb to put your device into pwned DFU mode. In redsn0w, look under the "Extras" menu for the pwned DFU button. iReb is part of sn0wbreeze.
You can do this to devices including A4 devices and earlier (including iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad 1, and iPod touch 3rd and 4th generation). There is not yet any way to put A5 (or later) devices (including iPhone 4S, iPad 2, and iPad 3rd generation) into pwned DFU mode, since we don't yet have a bootrom exploit for them.
answered 10 Apr '11, 18:41
Where does iTunes store IPSW (firmware) files it downloads?
This depends on your operating system. The locations are as follows. Note that you may need to use "iPad Software Updates","iPod Software Updates" or "AppleTV Software Updates" instead of "iPhone Software Updates" depending on your device type.
On Windows XP:
C:\Documents and Settings\<user>\Application Data\Apple Computer\iTunes\iPhone Software Updates\
On Windows Vista/Windows 7:
C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\iTunes\iPhone Software Updates\
On Mac:
~/Library/iTunes/iPhone Software Updates
After you find the IPSW file you need, you may want to copy it somewhere else. Whenever iTunes downloads a new IPSW, it will automatically delete any older ones for that device.
On Windows, you may have to enable the ability to see hidden files and folders. To do this, open the control panel, click folder options, click the view tab, check show hidden files, folders, and drives, click OK, and try again.
On Mac OSX 10.7/10.8, the ~/Library folder is hidden by default. To re-enable it by default, open Terminal and type: chflags nohidden ~/Library/ (this prevents having to use the option-key from the Finder's Go menu).
If this guide doesn't work: if you can't find the IPSW file you need, you can download a new copy - just find the right link on this list of firmware downloads.
answered 13 Apr '11, 04:04
iAdam1n ♦
How can I downgrade the baseband for my iPhone 3GS on iOS 6, so that I can unlock it?
Part 1: Determine Eligibility
Production year is 2009 or 2010: You have an eligible device. You may proceed to Part 2.
Production year is 2011: Look closely at the production week. If your production week is 33 or lower, you have an eligible device. You may proceed to Part 2. If your production week is 34 or higher, STOP! Do not proceed to part 2, your device is not eligible.
Production year is 2012 or 2013: STOP! Do not proceed to part 2, your device is not eligible.
Note: If your device is not eligible and you still need an unlock, you need to buy a cheap IMEI unlock from a site like this or this.
WARNING: Do not proceed unless your device is eligible! Doing so will brick your device! If you have any question as to the eligibility of your device, join our IRC channel at irc.freenode.net #jailbreakQA and ask if your device is eligible.
Part 2: Download Required Files
Part 3: Upgrade to iPad Baseband, Install Cydia
Part 4: Downgrade from iPad Baseband
3g users skip to Part 6
Part 5: Boot Your Phone
Part 6: Unlock and Untether
answered 13 Feb '13, 17:03
spockers ♦♦
Which third-party repositories are safe to add to Cydia, what do they contain, and how?
You generally do not need to add more sources. Cydia comes pre-installed with three default sources with thousands of packages: BigBoss (specializing in providing tweaks and modifications along with some themes), ModMyi (containing lots of themes and some tweaks), and ZodTTD/MacCiti (containing even more themes and some games). When anybody develops or designs a new package, he or she can submit it to one these sources and generally have it published and available to everybody who uses Cydia. (Cydia also comes with the ultrasn0w repository and also Telesphoreo Tangelo, which is saurik's source with tweaks he developed and some developer tools etc.)
Adding more sources beyond those is at your own risk and not recommended. You can do it, but you might find badly-written software, configuration errors, and who knows what else. You can find some suggestions by tapping "More Package Sources" on the Cydia homepage. (Tip: if you accidentally uninstall one of the default community sources, you can reinstall it by going to More Package Sources.) If you add a source and Cydia warns you about it containing pirated material, don't add it.
If you want to add a custom third-party repository, such as a developer's repository with beta packages, here's how: in Cydia, go to Manage and choose Sources. Then tap Edit and Add. Enter the URL of the repository in the popup, tap Add Source, and then wait while it updates. You may then tap on the newly added repository to see what packages it contains.
For example, here are a few additional third-party repositories that don't contain pirated material:
What does it mean if I get a pop-up message that recommends moral introspection?
That means you're adding a repository that distributes pirated software. Pay attention to the warning that you get:
What you do regarding adding those sources is your business – Cydia is an open platform that does not impose a point of view on you – but keep in mind you are taking on responsibility, risk, and potential guilt. Anything you download from pirate sources is much more likely to contain bugs and problems, causing Safe Mode and other issues.
Paying for your software means that developers and designers can continue to make new and interesting tweaks and themes for everyone, and that Cydia can continue to host SHSH servers and other services.
answered 11 Apr '11, 16:16
Pepper ♦
How do I remove my jailbreak?
Plug your device into your computer, open iTunes, let your device sync and back up (you may need to separately back up your contacts, photos, etc. if they aren't synced with your device), and then click Restore. After the restore your device will reboot, and then iTunes will give you the option to choose which backup to restore from. The first one is usually the one you want, unless you want to restore to an older backup. Click continue and then let your apps, music, and pictures sync.
If you have an iPhone 3G or 3GS with the iPad baseband (6.15.00), you need to restore using custom firmware. sn0wbreeze and redsn0w can create a custom firmware file that is not jailbroken in baseband preservation mode only. See here for more on building custom firmware.
If restoring your device doesn't seem to be working, such as iTunes giving you error messages, check this list for possible fixes.
Restoring your device completely replaces the firmware (and upgrades it to the newest firmware for your device) and removes all reasonable traces of the jailbreak. You can feel free to take the un-jailbroken device to an Apple Store if it needs repairs.
answered 11 Apr '11, 19:30
Redsn0w stuck on uploading ramdisk?
Don't run redsn0w from inside the zip file. Extract redsn0w.exe to your desktop.
Windows 7 and Vista (but not XP)
Right-click the redsn0w.exe on your desktop, choose "Properties," go to the "Compatibility" tab, and under "Compatibility mode" tick the "Run this program in compatibility mode for" box and choose Windows XP, with the highest Service Pack listed. At the bottom of the dialog tick the box under "Privilege Level" to "Run this program as an administrator." Click OK. It should look like this screenshot.
Double-click redsn0w.exe on your desktop.
Windows XP only
Click redsn0w.exe on your desktop once to select it, and then hold down the Shift key and right-click redsn0w.exe. You'll see a contextual menu from which you can select Run as... and then choose an administrator account.
answered 11 Apr '11, 23:15
spockers ♦♦
What is activation? What is hacktivation, and how can I hacktivate my device?
What is activation?
When an iPhone is booted up for the first time or freshly after a full restore, the phone serial number and IMEI are checked against a database in Apple to make sure it's allowed to work with the SIM card inserted. This also activates push notifications to the iPhone.
iPhones that are locked will only activate when a SIM card from the providing carrier is inserted. Apple can recognize this from the SIM ID (ICCID) and the SIM IMSI. (This doesn't have to be the iPhone's original SIM card and it doesn't have to be a SIM with active service - it just has to be a SIM that is valid for that iPhone.)
Activation opens access to all functions of the iPhone except accepting another carrier SIM card, which is controlled by the baseband (this runs the low-level phone functions).
What is hacktivation, and how can I hacktivate my device?
If an official SIM card is not available, an iPhone can be hacktivated to allow access to the iPhone functions and Springboard. You can hacktivate a device by jailbreaking it with redsn0w and/or creating custom firmware files using tools like sn0wbreeze or redsn0w on an iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, or iPhone 3G. (There is no way to hacktivate an iPhone 4S, 5, 5s, or 5c, since they do not have bootrom exploits available.)
A hacktivated device has some downsides: push notifications, iMessage, and FaceTime won't work. Your device will also drain battery and data while it tries to look for the certificates that allow a normal device to use those services.
How can I properly activate my hacktivated device?
You may want to "un-hacktivate" your device, or in other words, properly activate it.
Official activation using redsn0w: If you can get access to a valid SIM card from the phone's official carrier (it doesn't matter whether the SIM card has service or not), put the SIM card in your device. Then open redsn0w, click "Jailbreak", and click the "deactivate" checkbox that will be presented during the jailbreaking process. Open up iTunes, and it should properly activate your phone. You can then remove that SIM card.
Official activation using SAM: This is similar to the redsn0w method above - you'll need to obtain a valid SIM from the phone's official carrier, and put that SIM in your phone. Add the repository http://repo.bingner.com/ to Cydia, install SAM (Subscriber Artificial Module), choose "Revert Lockdownd to Stock", and choose "deactivate". Then plug your device into your computer, open iTunes, and it should properly activate your phone. You can then remove that SIM card.
Simulated activation using SAM: This method does not require having an official SIM card. You can use SAM (Subscriber Artificial Module) to obtain correct activation certificates for your phone, because SAM simulates an official SIM card ID (ICCID) and IMSI. See "How to use SAM to get proper activation of my iPhone?" for instructions.
answered 13 Apr '11, 02:01
What do I need to know about installing the iPad baseband (06.15.00) to unlock my iPhone 3G/3GS?
It gives you the ability to unofficially unlock the phone to use it on a different carrier, but it is not compatible with recently-manufactured iPhone 3GS devices, and it causes a number of technical problems even on compatible devices. There is now a way to downgrade the iPad baseband to an earlier baseband to avoid those technical problems.
Compatibility details: The iPad baseband will damage iPhone 3GSes that are later than approximately 2011 week 28 - you have a week 28 or later device if your serial number starts with xx128 (you can also use this web tool to check). During the span between 2011 week 28 and 2011 week 35, some devices are compatible with the iPad baseband and some aren't, so if you're feeling lucky you can take your chances. If you have an iPhone 3GS in this incompatible category, you can't unofficially unlock it.
Problems with having the iPad baseband installed:
For more detailed warnings about installing the iPad baseband, see the Dev Team's original blog post about it. If you still want to do it, use the latest version of redsn0w (click "Jailbreak", select "Install iPad baseband", and after you're done install ultrasn0w from Cydia).
How to downgrade the iPad baseband to a better unlockable baseband:
As of redsn0w version 0.9.14b1, it can downgrade an iPhone 3G or 3GS from 6.15.00 to 05.13.04. This baseband is better because it supports GPS, only requires using custom firmware to upgrade/restore if you want to preserve the baseband, and allows you to restore the device to a seemingly-unmodified state (if you no longer want the device to be jailbroken or unofficially unlocked). See this Dev Team blog post for instructions and details, and then use the latest version of redsn0w to do this operation. See this for a detailed tutorial.
NOTE: For the iPhone 3G (not 3GS), the latest redsn0w won't work. You need redsn0w 0.9.14b2. Download links: Windows | Mac OS X. You MUST run the downgrade 2 times. It is a known issue! First downgrade blanks the modem firmware. Power off and downgrade again to be on 05.13
answered 10 Apr '11, 21:54
theiphoneguy ♦
How do I make sure greenpois0n runs successfully?
Before running greenpois0n do the following:
In order for greenpois0n to run successfully the first time, you need the following:
If for some reason the first run didn't work and you are trying again, check the folder in which you ran greenpois0n for the two payload files iBSS and kernelcache, and delete those before trying again as they may be corrupted.
Also note that greenpois0n rc5, rc6, rc6.1 do not support iPhone 3G, and only support iOS 4.2.1. greenpois0n rc3 and rc4 support all devices at iOS 4.1.
I'm getting "Failed to get AppleS5L8920XARM7M" on my device. What does this mean?
This happens if you're on iOS 4.3.x and trying to use greenpois0n RC 6.1. greenpois0n RC 6.1 is only compatible with iOS 4.1 and 4.2.1. It doesn't work on 4.3.x or above. Instead, use the correct jailbreaking tool for your device.
If Loader/Cydia crashes or Cydia icon is missing, here's how to install Cydia:
Install Cydia via redsn0w. You will need a copy of your stock 4.2.1 firmware. If you don't have it, get it here. Click "Jailbreak", and then choose only "Install Cydia".
NOTE: If you're on Windows, redsn0w must be run as administrator, in XP Service Pack 3 (2 in Vista) compatibility mode. Extract the redsn0w.exe to your desktop; don't run it from inside the zip archive. If you're using Windows XP, click redsn0w.exe once to select it, and then hold down the Shift key and right-click redsn0w.exe. You'll see a contextual menu from which you can select Run as... and then choose an administrator account.
This will not remove your greenpois0n untether and/or your jailbreak.
answered 13 Apr '11, 01:40
What can I do about unsatisfactory battery life after jailbreaking?
First, make sure you're following Apple's official recommendations for maintaining battery life, including checking your Mail retrieval settings and turning off 3G and WiFi when you don't need them active (and keep in mind that SBSettings makes toggling these on and off very quick and easy).
There are various reasons that battery drain can increase after jailbreaking, with various fixes.
If you're noticing strangely fast battery drain (or strangely slow charging) between 100% and 95%, keep in mind that your device's battery charging process has special behavior when nearly full in order to help protect the battery - see this article about the iPad 3 battery for a detailed explanation (this information applies to earlier iOS devices as well).
A couple of extra tools that may help narrow down battery issues are BatteryLogger and BatteryDetective. BatteryLogger gives you a visual graph showing battery life over time, and BatteryDetective gives you lots of info about the current state of the battery. The Pro version also lets you analyse running apps to give an estimate of how much battery they're using in the background.
Another tool you can try is to see what
If you've tried the above investigation without success, and are still getting huge battery drain even in Safe Mode, no apps running, Mail disabled, and the phone sitting unused for hours, then you may consider restoring and jailbreaking again to start fresh. (Just make sure the latest iOS version available for your firmware is jailbreakable.)
answered 09 May '11, 01:24
How to change my device's default password to make SSH safe?
Recommended: Cydia contains a handy guide to changing your root password using OpenSSH + a SSH client app. Just open up Cydia and scroll down on the homepage until you see "Root Password How-To" and read it, or you can view the same guide online.
Alternate method:
If you'd prefer to change the password using MobileTerminal instead, you'll first have to download MobileTerminal from Cydia. Here are instructions:
Now nobody else can access your device over SSH. Yay!
answered 25 Jul '11, 02:04
How do I save my installed Cydia packages for easy reinstall after restoring?
Here are a few solutions for saving your Cydia packages so that you can reinstall them later.
Note: be cautious with automatically restoring packages if you are upgrading your device between major iOS versions (such as from iOS 5 to iOS 6) - it's best to reinstall packages manually in that case, since many packages are likely to be incompatible. You should check each package to make sure it's compatible (by looking at package descriptions in Cydia), or else you'll end up in Safe Mode.
The basic method is: backup your packages using one of these methods, upgrade, jailbreak again, and restore your packages using your chosen method. For complete details on all of those steps, see this FAQ answer. To pick a backup method, keep reading.
Solution One [Difficulty: Easy]
The simplest method is just to open up Cydia, go to Manage -> Packages, and write down your list of packages. To email yourself a list instead of writing them down, you can use AppInfo from Cydia (free). After restoring, go through your list and reinstall them.
For another easy method, you can install AptBackup from Cydia (free), which makes a backup list of your packages automatically for you. After installing AptBackup, opening AptBackup, and tapping "Backup", make sure to sync to iTunes (it saves your package list in your iTunes backup). Restore (or Upgrade + Restore) with iTunes (using custom firmware if you need to), load your iTunes backup onto your phone, jailbreak again, install AptBackup, open AptBackup, and tap Restore. It should automatically load your packages back onto your device, although you may need to adjust the configurations.
For a more complete backup solution, find and purchase PKGBackup in Cydia ($10). It makes backups of your packages and sources (and apps), and it includes the option to backup to Dropbox (recommended), which is especially useful if you're not planning to restore from an iTunes backup.
There are also a few more backup tools available from Cydia, but we haven't tested them: xBackup, iBye, OpenBackup.
Solution Two [Difficulty: Medium]
If you are familiar with SSH and terminal commands, you can make a backup list using dpkg. To make a backup list of your installed sources and packages:
To restore your backup list of sources and packages:
Watch all your packages get magically reinstalled.
answered 05 Dec '11, 08:36
drtaru ♦
How do I install Cydia after uninstalling it?
Perhaps you ignored a warning, or perhaps a friend decided to annoy you by uninstalling Cydia on your device? You have some options for installing it again:
Use iFile: One easy option is to use iFile, if you already have it installed on your device. In Mobile Safari, go to this URL:
Use the command line: You may be able to SSH into your device (or use a terminal on the device such as MobileTerminal) and reinstall Cydia. You need to already have OpenSSH or MobileTerminal installed on your device, along with APT 0.6 or 0.7 (which are dependencies of various packages including CyDelete). After SSHing into your device (or opening MobileTerminal): type
Use redsn0w: If you have an A4 or older device (iPhone 4, iPod 4 and iPad 1 or older), you may be able to reinstall Cydia using redsn0w. Download and open the latest version of redsn0w, click "Jailbreak", make sure that "Install Cydia" is the only checkbox checked, and let that process complete.
answered 14 Aug '12, 01:53
spockers ♦♦
How do I build a custom firmware to upgrade while preserving my unlocked baseband?
Before upgrading, check that your target iOS version has a jailbreak available, and check to make sure ultrasn0w is compatible with your target iOS version. (ultrasn0w is currently compatible with iOS versions up to 6.1.)
Here's a basic guide:
Note: If you have a factory-unlocked iPhone, or if you don't need an unlock, you don't need to preserve your baseband. If your device has the iPad baseband (6.15.00), you need to use custom firmware every time you upgrade or restore.
answered 10 Apr '11, 18:38
Is it possible to install Android on my iPhone or iPod touch?
Only on a few devices, and it's very experimental. See the iDroid Project.
The only devices supported are the iPhone 2G, iPhone 3G, and the 1st generation iPod touch. The device must be on an iOS version between 3.1.2 and 4.2.1, and it must be jailbroken via blackra1n, redsn0w, or PwnageTool.
It is also possible to install Android on the 2nd generation iPod touch, but this requires tweaking, and the device isn't supported by the maintainers of the iDroid project.
answered 10 Apr '11, 20:00
How do I fix iTunes error 160x when using custom firmware?
Error 160x usually means that the device is rejecting the firmware because it is a custom firmware. You need to "Pwn" the bootrom to avoid this rejection by putting the device in Pwned DFU mode before restoring. This can be accomplished in a few ways:
Note: With iOS 5.0.1, 160x errors may also occur when gs.apple.com is redirected to Cydia. Verify http://gs.apple.com/ brings up an Apple page like this, not a Cydia page. If it brings up a Cydia page, check your hosts file and that TinyUmbrella is not set to set the hosts file to Cydia on exit. Clear DNS cache and/or reboot to clear the cache. Try several times, really, try several times. See this answer for more help with editing your hosts file.
answered 13 Apr '11, 03:00
spockers ♦♦
Why doesn't redsn0w recognize the IPSW (firmware) file I downloaded with Internet Explorer?
You need to change the filename of the file. Internet Explorer downloads it as .zip, but you need it to be .ipsw.
Open "My Computer" or any hard drive or folder. From the top menu, choose "Tools", choose "Folder", go to the "View" tab, and un-check "Hide extensions for known file types." Click OK. (If you don't have "Tools" or any other menu at the top, press "Alt" on your keyboard and then follow those directions.)
Now browse to your downloaded firmware, which will undoubtedly end with ".zip" and change it to ".ipsw" and you should be good to go.
If you can't find the right options, try using a different browser (like Firefox or Chrome) to download the IPSW file.
answered 19 Apr '11, 00:36
spockers ♦♦
kirb ♦
Why have the apps on my screen "shrunk" to 1/4 size?
This issue, where Cydia or other apps seem to shrink to a quarter of the screen size (example on iPhone, example on iPad), can happen if you're using iOS 5 or 6 and have one or more packages installed that contain a certain kind of bug (which is most common in packages that haven't been fully updated for iOS 5 or 6 yet). You'll need to check your installed packages and read their descriptions carefully to make sure each one is compatible with your iOS version, and uninstall any of them that aren't. Also make sure you're using packages from legitimate repositories (such as BigBoss, Cydia/Telesphoreo, ModMyi, and ZodTTD/MacCiti) so that you know you have the best current versions available from the authors of your packages.
If you have SBSettings installed (a popular free package for changing settings quickly), you might be able to easily put your device into "Safe Mode" so that you can uninstall the problematic package:
If you don't have SBSettings installed (or another similar tweak that can put your device into safe mode), you can reboot your device while holding the volume up button to disable all tweaks. Then open up Cydia and uninstall any tweaks that you suspect are incompatible. You can reboot again to check, and repeat the process as necessary.
Known tweaks that cause this issue are the current versions of Deck and Binary Clock, the Unlockize beta, some Springboard patches available via Flex, and old versions of SubtleLock, Incarcerapp, NowListening, Transparency, and RetinaPad (please update them if you have them installed).
Respringing may be a temporary fix for this issue (it may make Cydia usable again), but unless you remove the incompatible tweak(s), you will get this problem again the next time you reboot your device. Winterboard and UIKit Tools do not cause this problem (they are fully compatible with iOS 6), but installing/updating them may cause you to reboot your device, which makes the incompatible tweak problem show up.
answered 05 Jan '12, 06:31
Why is iTunes or redsn0w saying that my firmware file is incompatible?
If you're trying to restore to the latest iOS version, check to make sure that you're not running into hosts file issues. You'll know that your hosts file is correct if you visit http://gs.apple.com/ and it has an Apple page like this instead of a Cydia page. You can find out more about hosts files by reading this: How do I fix errors and problems when trying to restore or upgrade my device?.
Also, make sure you're using the correct firmware file. For example, if you have the iPhone 3GS and you're trying to restore to a
And to restore with custom firmware, your device needs to be in pwned DFU mode.
answered 10 Apr '11, 19:29
spockers ♦♦
Does jailbreaking upgrade my firmware and/or delete my existing data?
Most jailbreaking tools (including Absinthe, redsn0w, greenpois0n, and JailbreakMe) require your device to already be at the supported firmware version. In other words, they do not upgrade your iOS (firmware) version.
When you jailbreak with one of these tools, it simply jailbreaks your device and adds one application (Cydia). It does not delete any existing data. For example, if you've never jailbroken your device and you want to jailbreak the latest version of iOS, you have to upgrade to the latest version of iOS using iTunes and then jailbreak it.
(It's always a good idea to make a full iTunes backup before jailbreaking though just in case something goes wrong and you do have to restore.)
The exception is using custom firmware to jailbreak your device:
But jailbreaking with custom firmware (using tools including redsn0w's "Extras" menu, PwnageTool, and sn0wbreeze) puts your device on the jailbroken firmware version, so it is an upgrade + jailbreak if you started with a lower firmware version. It involves restoring to custom firmware, so it does remove existing data on your device. Make sure to use iTunes to backup your data so that you can put it back on your device after restoring. (See also: How do I build a custom firmware?)
answered 13 Apr '11, 02:55
Do I have to pay for any jailbreaking or unlocking software?
Do not believe websites that claim to be selling jailbreaking or unlocking software. They're just scamming you. If you end up paying for one of these, make sure to demand your money back by filing a PayPal or credit card dispute.
Real jailbreaking and unlocking software tools are available to download for free. At the same time however, the developers behind these tools put a lot of effort into creating them, so please consider donating to them (usually via a little PayPal button on the download page for the tool) if you appreciate their work. Donating is entirely optional, and you should not get any added benefits by doing so, other than feeling good about yourself.
Some legitimate forms of unlocking are not free - third-party IMEI unlocks and SIM interposer devices both cost money. But ultrasn0w is always free.
Here is our list of currently known scam sites.
answered 04 Jan '12, 08:48
I'm considering jailbreaking, but what are any downsides I should know about, from legality to warranty to security?
Is jailbreaking legal?
We aren't lawyers and there aren't strong legal precedents in this area, so we can't tell you for sure, but jailbreaking seems to be OK. There is one law in the United States, the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA), which has an "anti-tampering" clause that states that if there is a protection mechanism on a piece of software, a user is not allowed to bypass that protection. Jailbreaking may fall under that clause, but the law is intended to prevent copyright violations, and jailbreaking itself doesn't seem to be a copyright violation. The Library of Congress approved a DMCA exemption in 2010 for jailbreaking and unlocking cell phones, including the iPhone. Each DMCA exemption lasts for only three years, and in 2012 the exemption for jailbreaking cell phones was renewed (while the exemption for unlocking cell phones was limited). If you are outside the United States, some countries have similar anti-tampering laws with various exceptions and conditions, so please research the laws of your country to make sure jailbreaking is not prohibited for you - this may be a helpful place to start. Keep in mind that if you are pirating things, that is copyright infringement, which is illegal in most places.
What about iPads? The DMCA exemption approved in 2010 and 2012 only applies to iPhones, and the exemption proposed in 2012 for iPads was declined, but this doesn't necessarily mean that jailbreaking iPads is now illegal. It means that it's still a legal grey area - in other words, there's never been a DMCA exemption for jailbreaking iPads, and there still isn't one. But it's unclear whether the DMCA actually makes jailbreaking illegal in general. Jailbreaking iPod touches also falls into this grey area, neither clearly legal nor clearly illegal.
What about carrier unlocking? See this thread for clarification.
Does jailbreaking void my device's warranty?
Apple says that they "may deny service for an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch that has installed any unauthorized software," but jailbreaking is easily reversible, so you can go back to authorized-software-only whenever you want to. In other words, when you jailbreak your device, it is no longer eligible for Apple support if something goes wrong - but you can always restore the device to remove the jailbreak and then take the device into Apple for support, since a restored device has no evidence that it was previously jailbroken. To restore a device, connect it to your computer, sync to make a full backup, press Restore in iTunes to wipe the device, and load your backup again when prompted. All your App Store apps and the information in them will be preserved as usual. In some cases trying to restore a device with iTunes can give you errors, but you can fix iTunes restore errors.
If you choose to take the extra step of unofficially unlocking your iPhone 3G or 3GS using the iPad baseband so that you can use the phone on a different carrier, this is a permanent upgrade that permanently voids the device's warranty. You can restore it using custom firmware to remove the jailbreak, but the altered baseband will be obvious to Apple if you take it into a store for support.
Can I still use the App Store after jailbreaking?
Yes, you can still use the App Store normally to purchase apps, install updates to purchased apps, reinstall purchased apps on a restored device, etc.
Can I still back up my device with iTunes and/or iCloud after jailbreaking?
Yes, and you should! Jailbreaking does not interfere with iTunes syncing or backups, and iCloud works fine too. It's good to backup your data regularly.
Can jailbreaking damage my device?
Jailbreaking cannot put your device into a permanently "bricked" state. Jailbreaking affects only the software level of your device, so if anything goes wrong, you can always connect your device to iTunes and "restore" from a recently-synced backup. Restoring completely wipes the device's software, including the jailbreak, and gives you a normal device again. In some cases trying to restore a device with iTunes can give you errors, but you can fix iTunes restore errors.
If you choose to take the extra step of unofficially unlocking your iPhone 3GS using the iPad baseband so that you can use the phone on a different carrier, this can cause permanent damage if your iPhone 3GS is too new to be compatible with the iPad baseband.
Does jailbreaking cause instability or battery drain?
Jailbreaking itself generally does not cause problems. But you have full access to your jailbroken device, which gives you the power to install software that can cause instability and battery drain. If you're careful to install well-reviewed, popularly-recommended packages by reputable developers from legitimate repositories, you probably won't run into much trouble with crashes or increased battery usage. You do have to be willing to do a bit of research and troubleshooting though, since you're taking control and responsibility for your device and can install things that cause issues. (We can also try to help you if something goes wrong that you can't figure out how to solve.) Here's a guide to concerns about post-jailbreaking battery usage.
Does jailbreaking make my device less secure?
comex wrote a good summary in this discussion:
When you have Cydia on your device, scroll down a bit on the Cydia homepage to find a guide to OpenSSH and changing your root password. If you don't want to install OpenSSH, you don't really have to change your root password, but it's not a bad idea to change it anyway.
Having a jailbroken device is similar to having administrator power on your desktop computer: you have full freedom to install bad stuff on your computer, but you already know to stay away from installing dubious browser toolbars and sketchy email attachments - instead, you choose to install legitimate software from reputable developers. Use the same reasonable caution when installing software on your jailbroken device. It's generally a good idea to stick to installing software from the default repositories in Cydia (BigBoss, Cydia/Telesphoreo, ModMyi, and ZodTTD/MacCiti), only adding additional repositories if you really trust those additional repositories.
If you're interested in very technical details about jailbroken device security, see this conversation with saurik.
Does jailbreaking upgrade my firmware and/or delete my existing data?
Can I use iTunes to update iOS on a jailbroken device?
Updating iOS on a jailbroken device will work just fine, but it will remove your jailbreak. Make sure the new iOS version has a jailbreak available for your device before you update (so that you can jailbreak it again), and follow these steps to update iOS, jailbreak again, and easily reinstall your Cydia packages.
Can jailbreaking a factory-unlocked iPhone cause the phone to get locked?
Factory-unlocked (officially-unlocked) iPhones are permanently unlocked. Jailbreaking won't affect the carrier lock status of the iPhone; you can jailbreak it normally.
answered 27 Jan '12, 20:11
Can I get some help with using Gevey SIM?
We don't have much support for Gevey here -- it's not free, and most of the mods don't have any experience with it anyway. Most importantly, using Gevey SIMs requires calling emergency numbers (and then hanging up), which is of questionable legality, which means we don't support doing that. See MuscleNerd's tweet about this.
If you jailbreak your phone and use FuriousMod along with Gevey Ultra, you don't have to manually dial emergency numbers, so you have a smaller chance of error. We recommend this option.
If you purchased from an official seller (Gevey, Applenberry, or another one from this list), your best option is really to get support directly from them.
We definitely don't support fake/copy/clone versions (such as Pro Plus, Supreme, Turbo SIM, Ultra Turbo, etc.) - get support from whoever sold it to you, and not from here. Threads about fake/copy/clone versions may be closed or deleted.
Notes about upgrading to iOS 5 while retaining the ability to use Gevey: the iPhone 4 iOS 5.x basebands installed by iTunes (4.11.08 and above) are not compatible with Gevey. If you want to keep your iOS 4 baseband (4.10.01 or lower) and upgrade to iOS 5.x, use custom firmware to preserve your baseband.
answered 17 May '11, 05:50
raviraj jailbreak guru
A developer asked for my device's syslog. How do I send it?
(A syslog is a record of technical stuff happening on your device, including errors that can be useful to developers. It usually doesn't include personal information other than your device's name and the names of apps and packages you have running.)
Option A: from your device
Optional: If you want to be able to run the command-line program "tail" to watch the syslog, you may need to install the package "Core Utilities" (coreutils).
After completing this task: if you don't need syslog anymore, you can uninstall
Option B: from your desktop computer
answered 29 Dec '11, 14:46
Where do I begin learning how to develop tweaks, or how jailbreaks are created?
If you're interested in learning how to develop tweaks for jailbroken iOS, check out the iPhoneDevWiki, including the Getting Started page.
If you're more interested in learning about developing jailbreaks: it takes years of programming experience and specialized reverse-engineering skills to be able to find exploits in iOS, but to learn about the methods, check out "Up to Speed". That's on TheiPhoneWiki, which is a collection of information that includes details on many jailbreaking tools and exploits.
answered 30 Dec '11, 14:21
How do I begin theming with Winterboard?
For background on what Winterboard is and how it works, read saurik's original article: iPhone Theming on WinterBoard.
To begin theming:
These image files are usually optimized, which means they'll show up as invisible on your computer until you de-optimize them. The easy way: Download iPhonePNGApp for Mac or FixPNG for Windows.
You can grab UIImages by opening up Winterboard, tapping "Advanced (For Themers)", and using the "Record UIImages" option. This will save them - de-optimized - in
Optional: Get a theme from Cydia to study a theme's file structure.
Theming basically involves changing images from the artworks, uploading them to your device via SSH, and using WinterBoard to theme them.
Also never steal images; being original is the best way to go. :)
The best method to use is trial and error to see if you like what you've done or not. Also, don't forget to save PSD's, as Photoshop loves to crash, and people may accuse you of stealing images so you'll need to be able to show your PSD's as proof.
Once you are done with your theme, you submit it to a repository in Cydia (such as MacCiti, ModMyi, or BigBoss) and hope for the best!
If you would like to sell your theme on Cydia, it must follow the paid theme guidelines, and you must have a W9 form (USA residents) or a W8-BEN form (Non-USA residents).
Happy theming!
answered 03 Feb '12, 22:20
JonSeals ♦
kirb ♦
What does this Cydia error message mean, and how do I fix it?
Most Cydia error messages mean there are problems with packages or sources you have installed, not bugs in Cydia, so you can resolve the errors yourself. A lot of errors can be solved by doing the following:
For a big list of explanations of specific error messages, see Cydia Errors on TheiPhoneWiki.
answered 19 Oct '12, 19:07
How do I fix a device that seems to be stuck in "Connect to iTunes" mode (recovery mode)?
Download the latest version of redsn0w, open it, click "Extras", and click "Recovery fix". This should kick your device out of recovery mode and reboot it into normal mode.
If this doesn't work, you may have to restore, as iTunes suggests. (And then if you're trying to restore the device with iTunes and it isn't working, check this list of potential reasons and solutions.)
answered 10 Apr '11, 18:46
Why isn't iBooks working on my device?
iBooks works correctly on the iOS 5.1.1 and iOS 5.0.1 untethered jailbreaks.
iBooks does not work on the iOS 5.1 or 5.1.1 tethered jailbreaks.
It's best to avoid unofficial "iBooks fix" packages - they cause a lot of problems.
answered 18 Dec '11, 13:52
drtaru ♦
Can I put my device into DFU mode with a broken home button/sleep button?
The simple answer is that you should get your device's home button repaired, and the same goes for a broken sleep button. You're probably going to need them again later.
If it's still under warranty you can take it to an Apple Store. If not, you can usually find a local iPhone repair shop to fix it for you for a reasonable price. If you're adventurous, you can buy a kit online for fixing it yourself.
If you really want to try
You may be able to force DFU mode on older devices (older than iPad 2, iPod touch 5th generation, and iPhone 4S).
Easy method: Use redsn0w's "DFU IPSW" feature as explained here. Keep in mind that this isn't a great idea if you're going to use a tethered jailbreak, since every time the device reboots, you'll need to put it into DFU mode in order to boot tethered. In general, it's best to just get your buttons repaired.
Same results as easy method, but an older process from before redsn0w included that feature: See this tip from MuscleNerd ("use an ipsw where you've copied applelogo*img3 over LLB*img3. You'll get bootrom dfu!") - it's tricky to get working. Here's an unofficial guide that may help. If you follow that guide, during the process you will get error 37 with your device going into DFU mode. To get past this: unplug the device before clicking OK on the error, then click OK for error 37, and then click OK for error 168x too. (This is necessary because iTunes doesn't like that it can't see the device — if you click OK while the device is plugged in, iTunes will put the device in a weird mode and putting it into "Pwned DFU" mode will not work). Then close iTunes, open redsn0w, click Extras, and click "Pwned DFU".
answered 07 Jan '12, 17:42
Why aren't my Winterboard themes working on iOS 5?
Winterboard is compatible with iOS 5.0 and later (you don't need to install any "fix" packages and you shouldn't), but many themes aren't compatible with iOS 5 yet, so they'll seem to have no effect, or only a partial effect. If you have a favorite iOS 4 theme that doesn't seem to be completely working on iOS 5, you might be interested in trying to edit it yourself to make it work. Here's one method for modifying an iOS 4 icon theme to work better with iOS 5:
Access the device's filesystem. You can use iFile, SSH, iExplorer, Phone Disk, a SFTP client like Cyberduck or WinSCP, or your favorite alternate method.
Go to /Library/Themes, go to your theme's folder, and go to Bundles. Then:
For iOS 5.1 and later, you may also have to edit these filenames:
If you have an iPhone 3GS, iPad 1, or another non-retina device, make sure to leave out "@2x" and "@2x~iphone".
For other apps, you can easily find updated icon names using AppInfo (a free package available via Cydia).
Respring after editing filenames to see the fixed icons.
To learn about how to create your own themes, see these tips for making Winterboard themes.
answered 10 Jan '12, 01:21
Can I put Siri on my iPhone or iPod touch? Can I get some help with Spire?
To put Siri on your jailbroken iPhone or iPod touch, you must install a package called Spire from Cydia (on the default BigBoss repository) and you must also have access to an iPhone 4S so that you can set up a Siri proxy. Without a Siri proxy, Spire will do nothing. Spire is only compatible with 5.0 and 5.0.1, and not compatible with iOS 5.1 or above.
Before asking questions about Siri or Spire, please first read these two posts from the developer of Spire: Introducing Spire and Spire Proxy "FAQ". This unofficial Spire tutorial and another unofficial Spire tutorial may also be helpful. Please also read all the recent JailbreakQA threads tagged with "spire" to see if somebody has already asked your question. For example, having Spire installed may cause issues on your device including slowness and apps crashing; see those threads for some help with this.
Be cautious with public Siri proxies - they can see any personal data you send through Siri (watch this video). Also, many sites offering paid Siri proxies are scams; if you run into one of those, make sure to file a dispute to get your money back (via the payment method you used, such as PayPal or your credit card). We don't know where to find reliable Siri proxy services, so don't ask us. :)
What about using Siri ports other than Spire on iOS 5.1 or newer?
The short answer:
So what should I do if I want Siri on iOS 5.1.x or 6.x?
The long answer:
There are several packages that attempt to make a modified version of Spire work on iOS 5.1.1 and 6.x - Spite, Siriport, i4Siri, Ac!D, etc. - basically by forcing your device to have both iOS 5.0.1 and 5.1.1 or 6.x code running on it at the same time. This causes a lot of instability (and often boot loops - see here and here for some examples) that can only be solved by restoring your device. Even if people patch those packages to work better, mixing iOS 5.0.1 and 5.1.1 parts like this is always going to cause problems. (And chpwn's original version of Spire even has its own issues, causing slowness and app crashes...)
Also, these derivative packages use Spire's copyrighted code without permission, and they also involve redistributing Apple's copyrighted work, which is not legit. People usually don't call copyright infringement of free products "piracy", but it's still not really OK.
You have the freedom to install whatever you want on your jailbroken device, but we'd recommend checking out alternatives instead. There's Esra Assistant for jailbroken devices; Google Search (which now includes voice features), Speaktoit Assistant, Evi, Voice Actions, Voice Answer, and Dragon Dictation on the App Store; and probably a bunch of others.
And again, unofficial Siri services/proxies of all kinds also have privacy issues - the server processing the data can see any personal information you send through Siri, as well as other data used to determine a reply, such as your address book and messages. See this video for details.
answered 18 Jan '12, 07:50
raviraj jailbreak guru
How can I purchase Cydia Store products without having a credit or debit card?
If you have some cash but no credit or debit card, you can buy a prepaid general-purpose gift card and link it to a PayPal Payments account. Then use your PayPal account to purchase products in Cydia.
You can usually buy this kind of prepaid card at a convenience store, such as at 7-11 stores in the United States.
In the US and Canada, Vanilla Visa is a popular brand of prepaid gift card. The card has a $5 activation fee and a minimum of $20 needed on the card at the time of activation, but you can add as much money as you like. There are similar prepaid cards available in other countries as well - for example, see this list of Visa prepaid cards available in the UK.
Other options for prepaid cards in the US include Green Dot cards, which are reloadable but have a monthly fee of $6 and various other fees.
PayPal details
You can add funds to a PayPal account using a prepaid card or by linking your bank account to your PayPal account. PayPal promotes using prepaid MoneyPak cards (a Green Dot brand), which have a $5 fee and let you put a minimum of $20 on them. You can also give funds to a trusted friend who can send funds from their PayPal account to your PayPal account through PayPal.
answered 26 Feb '12, 05:14
JonSeals ♦
iAdam1n ♦
Which Cydia tweaks work on iOS 7.0.x?
Ever wondered which Cydia tweaks will work on iOS 7.0.x? Wonder no more! There is a list here.
answered 23 Sep '13, 07:11
iAdam1n ♦
How Do I Know Which Tweaks Are Free And Paid?
The free packages are in black colored text. Paid packages are in blue colored text!
For example, if you search "Barrel" in Cydia, it will show up in the results in a blue colored text because it's a paid tweak!
How do I pay for paid tweaks?
You can use your Credit or Debit Card to pay for your packages that you want from Cydia. If you don't have or don't want to use your credit/debit card, then view the guide How To Make Cydia Purchases Without Debit Or Credit Card.
answered 19 Mar '14, 12:05
How do I add a picture to my answer/question/comment on JailbreakQA?
It's pretty simple. First, you need to find a website to host the picture, such as Twitter or Imgur. Now you need to put it on here so there's 2 ways to do it. One of them is using the toolbar, and the other is doing a bit of typing.
So the first way, the easiest way, is using the toolbar. Go to the text box where you want to enter your answer, comment or question and you should see a tool bar on top of the text box with a load of icons across the toolbar. You should see a picture icon, click it then enter the URL of the image (which should end in .gif .jpeg .jpg etc) then click ok and it should enter it in the toolbox.
The second way is if you don't see the toolbar, don't worry its not too hard, you just need to enter a bit of extra text. So goto the text box then type the following
Another way to manually enter pictures is by doing the following:
Another way is to use html. First upload your image to a image hosting site then copy the URL. Next type
Done, the image should show
answered 06 Apr '14, 19:35
What is karma and how do I get more?
Karma is the points system on JailbreakQA.
You start off as a new user with 1 karma and gradually over time you will start to earn karma. Doing things like confirming your email and adding extra profile info will get you more karma. By looking at someone's karma, you will not get an idea of their cleverness.
The main way of earning karma is to help people. You can earn 15 karma if someone thumbs up your answer to a question. People can also give you karma by rewarding you on your answer. If someone accepts your answer on a question, both of you will earn 25 karma each!
Karma will help you unlock higher privileges throughout JailbreakQA.
NOTE: Karma can also go into minus numbers if your posts get downvoted a lot (10 karma per downvote) or if you downvote posts (2 karma per downvote).
answered 06 Apr '14, 19:54
How do close questions?
To close questions, you must have at least 9.5k karma. When you do, you will see a 'close' button next to the link, award points, edit buttons etc. If you don't have enough karma to close questions but want a question closed, you could join the IRC and ask someone who does have enough to do it for you.
answered 14 Apr '14, 09:22
Which Cydia Tweaks Work On iOS 7.1.x?
Ever wondered which Cydia tweaks will work on iOS 7.1.x? Wonder no more! There is a list here.
answered 25 Apr '14, 01:45
iAdam1n ♦
Is it safe to update my carrier settings whilst jailbroken?
You may be getting notified in iTunes, or popups on your device that you have a carrier settings update. It is perfectly fine to update your carrier settings as it doesn't mess with your jailbreak.
answered 17 May '14, 03:08
How do I find my karma history?
Maybe sometimes you just want to check up why you lost 5 karma points, or you want to know who thumbs up your answer to a question.
Go to your user profile and add /reputation/ to the URL. For example, if the user profile was jailbreakqa.com/users/5568/ you would put jailbreakqa.com/users/5568/reputation/
Once you've added /reputation/ to the URL, you will be taken to a page that shows a graph of you karma earnings and also a list of karma history of when you got awarded karma, and taken away karma
There are known bugs on the mobile version of the site which hides the karma history tab. To regain the tab, type /reputation/ at the end of the URL for a fix.
answered 06 Apr '14, 20:36
iAdam1n ♦
How do I change my user name on JailbreakQA?
To change your user name, click onto your user profile (the link at the top which has your current user name). You should then be taken to your profile, where you should see "User tools", click it and it will have a drop-down menu. Then click "edit profile" The top text box should say "Screen Name" just type in the user name you want and click "Update" at the bottom of the page.
TIP: Your user name can only be numbers and letters.
answered 10 Apr '14, 18:54
How do I update/downgrade my device on X.X.X to 7.0.X or lower?
Currently, not possible. You can only update to latest which is currently 7.1.2. If you have an iPhone 4 and SHSH saved, wait for iFaith to be updated. If you have any other device, there is currently no sight of any future way to allow this.
answered 20 Apr '14, 19:33
I'm on iOS 7/8 and "afc2add" doesn't work
On iOS 7 & 8 afc2add is broken, and will not work unless it gets updated. However there is another package that you can use that works for iOS 7 & 8 which is called Apple File Conduit 2
This is available in the default repos, so you can go ahead and search for it in cydia
answered 30 Jul '14, 16:03
Which Cydia Tweaks Work on iOS 8.0 - 8.1.2?
This is a tweak list which can be found here. This shows which tweaks do and do not work.
answered 27 Oct '14, 14:12
iAdam1n ♦
spockers ♦♦
Where is the JailbreakQA downloads page?
answered 10 Jan, 17:17
spockers ♦♦
Where are the iTunes 12.1 Windows 64-bit versions that prevent / fix jailbreak tool compatibility errors?
12.1.0: https://secure-appldnld.apple.com/iTunes12/031-07427.20150128.g076g/itunes64setup.exe
12.1.1: https://secure-appldnld.apple.com/itunes12/031-17458.20150218.3Eaze/iTunes64Setup.exe
12.1.2: https://secure-appldnld.apple.com/itunes12/031-18341.20150409.pp44e/itunes64setup.exe
(For a 12.2 equivalent download, see https://support.apple.com/kb/DL1816)
answered 04 Feb, 15:52