Jailbreaking?

[craz33me]

So I just got an iPhone 3GS.

My friend told me I should jailbreak it.

What exactly is jailbreaking other than it voids your warranty?

Pros&Cons and which software would be best?

Please answer asap!

[JoshS]

jailbreaking: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IOS_jailbreaking

Pros:
custom apps
more customization

cons:
Voids warranty BUT if you do a reset before you take it in then they will never know.

I recommend Redsn0w to jailbreak, that it was i used for mine that i use as an ipod even though it is a 3GS.

[Loving Linux Penguin]

I've never attempted this, so can't recommend (or not recommend) any software, but here's the big picture.

Apple's devices are "jailed" or locked. You can only use programs offered in the app store, and you are at the mercy of Apple in terms of what you can do with the device or to what extent you can customize the software--for instance, the interface is largely unchangeable, it works in a particular way and that's the only way it can work. Jailbreaking is a process by which either by way of software, hardware, or both, you remove those software restrictions from the device, thereby allowing you to run whatever software you want (whether it's in the App Store or not) and also make various customizations and tweaks that you can't make normally. This process was long considered to be "copyright infringement" under the DMCA (Digital Milenium Copyright Act), but a court in the US has issued a ruling that this is NOT in violation of the law--it's perfectly legal. So, Apple is welcome to void your warranty for doing it (which i guarantee they will) but if you don't mind that, no harm will come from it. I believe that some third party companies such as SquareTrade actually will warranty a jailbroken device...but you'd have to look that up.

So you can legally do it, but you do run the risk of making the device run improperly.

[Digilodger]

I do NOT recommend you to attempt to jailbreak your iPhone. This should only be done by people who know what they're doing. No offense, but since you don't even know what jailbreak means, I cannot recommend you to jailbreak anything.

IMPORTANT: If your iDevice has A5 chip, then you CANNOT jailbreak. This means you CANNOT jailbreak an iPad 2 or an iPhone 4S (with the exception of an iPad 2 running iOS 4.3.3). You said that you have a 3GS; so this isn't a problem. But if this keeps up, you won't have the option to upgrade to future iPhones (4S and later).


==================================

What is Jailbreaking?

• A quick search on Google should answer this question. But in the simplest terms, jailbreaking is a hack that messes with areas of your iDevice that Apple doesn't want you to touch. Jailbreaking gives you virtually unlimited privilege to do whatever you want with your iDevice, WITHOUT any restriction from Apple.

• The current (as of January 9, 2012) latest version of iOS is 5.0.1, with version 5.1 in beta. Untethered jailbreak is available for both iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS running 5.0.1 iOS, but NOT iPhone 4S.

How to Jailbreak?

• You can check Jailbrea.kr for this.

==================================

Pros of Jailbreaking an iPhone:

• Freedom --- This is arguably the only reason why anyone would jailbreak, though some people (like me) jailbreaks just because . . . we can . You would enjoy unlimited customization possibilities; you can make your iOS looks however you want. And you have access to many more FREE apps at Cydia store. In short, you can bypass any restriction that Apple put on their iPhone once you've jailbroken it.

• Cydia "Packages" Store vs. Apple App Store --- Cydia is basically the jailbroken iDevice's app store. Here you can get apps, extensions, hacks for your jailbroken iDevice. LOTS of stuffs are available here--some are free, while others cost money. And yes, you can still use Apple's iTunes and App Store after jailbreaking your iDevice.

Cons of Jailbreaking an iPhone:

• The Future of Jailbreaking Looks Grim --- Currently (as of Jan. 9, 2012), we cannot jailbreak any iDevice with A5 chip. This means no jailbreak for the lastest iPad 2 (except an iPad 2 running iOS 4.3.3) and iPhone 4S. Can Apple keeps this up? Your guess is as good as mine.

• Less Stable and Harder to Fix Problems --- Apps that run on a jailbroken iPhone can run as root and do whatever they please. Some of them might conflict with each other; some of them may have a bug that messes up your phone. Some may have been created with malicious intentions. Keep in mind that apps from unofficial stores are usually not monitored or not as well as the official Apple App Store. So if you encounter a problem, you're pretty much on your own to fix it.

• More Vulnerable to Security Threats --- Jailbreaking opens more availability to almost every aspects of your iPhone, like customization, functionality, apps, extensions, etc. This also means that the availability of malicious software as well. Again, apps that run on a jailbroken iPhone can run as root and do whatever they please. Keep this in mind!

• Slower iOS Updates --- When Apple releases a new iOS, you won't get to update it immediately. You would have to wait for someone to find a way to jailbreak it first; THEN you can update it.

• Jailbreaking is NOT a One-Time Thing --- Whenever you update your iOS, you have to jailbreak it again. Hence, the problem with slower iOS updates mentioned above. Are you confident that you won't ever mess up?

• Jailbreaking is Not Always Problem-Free --- When everything goes smoothly, it's nice and all. But once in a while it would fails, and you would have to restore your phone, re-attempt to jailbreak it. Then keep restore-reattempt until it works. Did I mention that you have to re-jailbreak your phone every time you update your iOS?

• Tethered vs. Untethered --- Tethered jailbreak requires you to connect your iPhone to your computer to boot it every time. This means if your tethered-jailbroken iPhone happens to freeze up, then you're stuck with a dead weight until you get home and be able to connect it to your computer. Thus, go with untethered jailbreak whenever you can.

[craz33me]

I actually do know what it means.
I've jailbroken an iPod before.
Plus, I wasn't going to do it myself.
I just didn't know if it was different for a phone or not.

[craz33me]

That's why I asked.

[how.we.operate.]

If you tend to need customer support for your phone-as in you break it often or something goes wrong and you need help-I don't think you should jailbreak.
You cannot register a jailbroken iPhone to test apps--if someone develops an app that hasn't been released and it needs to be tested, you cannot submit your phone on that list to be tested-I know this because I took a class to develop for the iPhone and if you submit your jailbroken phone's serial number etc, it will get the school in LOTS of trouble and their development license may be terminated. I don't know if you would ever do so but just to chip in that.
Yes your warranty is void if you jailbreak.

Questions-
Why would you want to jailbreak it? Try using your iPhone as is...if you are okay with how it works, then DON'T jailbreak it. If you find yourself very interested in changing lots of things only a jailbroken phone can do, then RESEARCH a lot on jailbreaking.
Honestly, if you are going to jailbreak your phone, you should know everything that can go wrong and everything there is to know about it.
Are you a huge techie? If not...I don't know if jailbreaking would be your thing. Again, see how it goes by just using your phone as is.

[Digilodger]

Originally Posted by craz33me

So I just got an iPhone 3GS.
My friend told me I should jailbreak it.
What exactly is jailbreaking other than it voids your warranty?

Pros&Cons and which software would be best?

Please answer asap!

Originally Posted by craz33me

I actually do know what it means.
I've jailbroken an iPod before.
Plus, I wasn't going to do it myself.
I just didn't know if it was different for a phone or not.

My bad then, sorry. In your original post, you asked "What exactly is jailbreaking other than it voids your warranty?" So I assumed that (1) you don't know what jailbreak means, and (2) you already knew that it voids your warranty. Seems like I need to brush up on my reading comprehension a little.

Originally Posted by craz33me

Plus, I wasn't going to do it myself.

Oh, this makes it easy! Since you aren't going to do it yourself, then do not jailbreak at all. This shows that you only want a product that "just works," and that you aren't interest in messing around with the technical side of things. So chances are you won't be able to fix problems on your own should they arise--you would be left with frustration until someone can fix them for you.

And of course, this means that jailbreak is probably not for you. Your friend probably only recommended jailbreaking to you simply because it's a trend these days.

[craz33me]

Nah, he knows I'm a computer geek. haha.
:P
I like to try new things.

[craz33me]

New question!!

Is there one out for the new updates?
That is UNtethered.

[Digilodger]

Originally Posted by craz33me

So I just got an iPhone 3GS.

Originally Posted by craz33me

Is there one out for the new updates?
That is UNtethered.

If you have an iPhone 3GS running iOS 5.0.1, then yes, untehered jailbreak is available by using redsn0w. Check here (scroll down for download links.)

If you are running an older version of iOS, then upgrade it to the latest version. As of today (Jan. 18, 2012), the latest iOS version is 5.0.1, with 5.1 in beta. (Please correct me if I'm wrong.)


By the way, I could have sworn that you said you already had a friend jailbroke it for you. Apparently he/she hasn't? Gah, my memory is a mess,

[craz33me]

Nope.
I decided not to, until I updated it.
It's on the newest iOS 5.0.1

[Digilodger]

Sorry for the lateness. TeenHelp suddenly went down last night when I was trying to reply.

Originally Posted by craz33me

Nope.
I decided not to, until I updated it.
It's on the newest iOS 5.0.1

If this is your first time jailbreaking, then I really recommend you to watch this video tutorial. It would really help.


Step 1: Download redsnow from here. (Scroll down and you'll see the download links before the comments.) There's a PC version and a Mac version; so make sure you pick the right one for your computer. It'll be in a ZIP file.

Step 2: Extract the ZIP file and run redsnow. Note: If you're on Windows Vista or Windows 7, make sure to RIGHT CLICK then choose RUN AS ADMINISTRATOR. Choose Jailbreak.

Step 3: Connect your iPhone 3GS to your computer and then turn it off.

Step 4: Hit Next on redsnow and proceed to put your iPhone 3GS into DFU mode (Device Firmware Update):

• Hold down the Power Button for 3 second.
• Now without lifting your finger off the Power Button, hold down BOTH the Power Button and Home buttons for 10 seconds.
• Then release the Power button while still holding down the Home button.
• Keep holding down the Home button until redsnow start to do its things (should be less than 15 seconds).

Step 5: After that, redsnow will give you a few options of what to do next. Make sure that Cydia is checked (because Cydia is like the App Store of jailbroken iDevices, see my previous posts for more details).

Note: On that video, he also chose "Enable Multitouch Gesture." However, if you have no need for additional multi-touch gesture, then you don't need to check it.

Step 6: Your iPhone will reboot. Afterward, look for Cydia on your home screen and launch it. It should be there . . . somewhere. Have fun with your jailbroken phone then.




Unrelated to the OP's question, but in case anyone else come across this thread with similar quesiton:

As of January 20, 2012, untethered jailbreak for iPhone 4S and iPad 2 running iOS 5.0.1 is available . . . for Mac users only: GreenPoison Absinthe. This is the first untethered jailbreak method for iDevice with A5 chip running iOS 5.0.1.

Note: Currently (when I'm typing this post) greenpois0n.com is down. So here is the direct download link: http://cache.greenpois0n.com/dl/absi...ac-0.1.2-1.zip

January 21, 2012, CLI (Command Line Interface) is here for Windows users (also available for Mac users). Check tutorials here.

Note: This is CLI (Command Line Interface). There won't be any fancy buttons or windows; you will have to use command lines. If you dislike dealing with command lines, then you can run Absinthe on Windows by using a virtual machine running OSX. VirtualBox is a good free virtual machine application if you're interested.

Otherwise, we're still waiting for RedSnow to release its update.



I'm sorry for TRIPLE-posting. Before, I could have PM the mod of TH tech forum and plead him/her to edit my old post, but then currently TH doesn't have a mod for the tech forum. RAWR!


=======================================

As of Jan. 23, 2012, for those who wants to jailbreak iDevices with A5 chip (like iPad 2 and iPhone 4S), GreenPoison Absinthe is available for both Mac and Windows: http://greenpois0n.com/

Redsnow is waiting for an update. Check the blog here for the release: http://blog.iphone-dev.org/


=======================================

Okay, I'm done with this thread. Again, my apology to the OP and everyone else. I know that it's stupid and childish, but I really want to finish things that I've started. If not, it really bother me. This will be the last one on here, promise!