For a lot of people, just having a smartphone that just works normally is enough. This is true for the vast majority of consumers. However, there are still many who want to go beyond what is ordinarily offered to them, which is where the iPhone jailbreak comes in.
Though Apple has continued to add more and more functionality and innovation to its apple devices and to iOS, many people still find that Apple still puts too many limits on their devices.
One of the main restrictions that Apple puts on it’s devices is your ability to customize and change things to match your individual taste.
For the most part, you are stuck with the very limited customization options that you can find in the settings section.
You can’t make iOS or the device behave, respond, look, and feel the way that you want, other than what Apple allows.
Jailbreaking iPhones
For those who are not satisfied with what Apple gives them by default there is Jailbreaking.
Put in geek terms, Jailbreaking is the process of applying certain kernel patches to your operating system that will allow you to run code that has not been officially signed.
Jailbreaking is similar to the process of “rooting” wherein you gain root access that allows you to make changes to your device at the level of administrator.
What this basically means is that Jailbreaking gives you the ability to run programs and make changes to the way the operating system looks and behaves whether they like it or not — which they don’t.
How To Jailbreak the iPhone
Before you begin, it’s important that you put your device in Airplane mode and that you turn off the find My iPhone and the Passcode lock options. This way, it’s insured that no communication is done to the device and it’s not interfaced with anyway throughout the whole process. it’s also a good idea to make that you have backed-up all of the important files on your device so that nothing gets lost in case of emergency. So, this is what you have to do:
Download Pangu from here: Windows / Mac
Download iTunes if you don’t have it already. Make sure to get the latest version of iTunes.
Plug your device into the computer.
Run Pangu and click “Start Jailbreak” and Press “already did” provided that you have followed the steps that are displayed on the screen. The time that it takes to complete the process depends on your computer and the device that you are jailbreaking. You can follow the progress of the jailbreak by watching the Pangu window.
Afterwards, your device should automatically reboot.
Once the device has rebooted, open up the Cydia icon (more on this below) so that it can prepare your file system to start downloading and installing apps and tweaks.
It’s also advisable to check the changes tab and press refresh to see there are any packages that need updating.
If you have already done all these steps you are now ready to start downloading apps and customizing the functionality of your device.
Make sure to check out:
- How To Jailbreak iPhone 4S / iPhone 4
- How To Jailbreak iPhone 5 / iPhone 5S / iPhone 5C
- How To Jailbreak iPhone 6 / iPhone 6 Plus
The Cydia App Store
There are plenty of reasons for an app not to make it to the App store.
If you try reading Apple’s guidelines for developers, you’ll understand why.
And while many developers do try to follow these guidelines, it’s ultimately up to Apple if they will put the App on the App Store or not.
What’s more, Apple does not really provide helpful advice to developers whose apps get rejected, leaving them stumped.
A lot of the Apps that can’t make it on the Apple App Store can be found on Cydia.
There is also a large community of developers who develop apps specifically to put them on the Cydia App Store.
On the Cydia App Store, you will find not only apps, but also
tweaks that will allow you to customize the themes and the way that the app works.
Should you jailbreak your iPhone?
Like we mentioned above, Jailbreaking is for those who want to get full control of their device’s customization.
And though the option to be able to customize is great in many ways, there are some things that you ought to consider before Jailbreaking.
Security is one of them.
There is a reason for Apple being such a control freak. Gaining root access can potentially expose a device to danger and open the floodgates for malicious activity.
It has also been found that in some cases, Jailbroken devices tend to be less stable and sometimes have performance issues.
Also, there are potential dangers from downloading apps from the Cydia App Store. Because Cydia is so much less strict than the App Store when it comes to approving Apps, there is a danger that apps that have malicious code might get through.
Because Cydia acts only as a middleman, you are actually getting the apps from sources called repositories. The repositories are the ones that control what apps get approved and what don’t.
However, by making sure that you get Apps from sources approved by Cydia, and exercising the not-so-common practice of common sense, you should be able to stay safe.
Though some people are afraid to jailbreak their iPhones because of possible loss of warranty, this isn’t really a problem. By restoring a device using iTunes, you can get your device back to it’s original settings, thus making sure that everything is normal if your ever need to get your device checked at the Apple Store.
Having said that, there is no reason for anyone not to try to get their iPhone jailbroken. The steps actually only took a small part of this post, so from that alone you can see how simple and easy the steps are.
If you are someone who is satisfied with what Apple gives you, and likes to play it safe, then jailbreaking is not for you. But for those who like to live on the bleeding edge, like to pimp their tech, or simply like to play around, nothing is stopping you from trying to apply an untethered jailbreak for your iPhone!