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Our resident jailbreak video expert Reza brings you tips and tricks to help you get the most use out of your jailbroken iOS device. This week, he wants to share information with you about The Firmware Umbrella.

Firmware Umbrella is an application which lets you do a ton of things, such as preventing the upgrade of your baseband. This lets you keep it on an unlockable baseband. You can downgrade back to a previous iOS version. If you’ve upgraded to the most recent version and don’t find the apps you need, you can use this application to roll back so that you can have all of the capabilities you wanted.

Once you download the Firmware Umbrella, you’ll need to plug in your iDevice. You’ll need to save the SHSH for your device. This is a file which is associated with your device that talks to Apple’s servers. With that SHSH, you can fool iTunes to continue restoring your iDevice to any iOS version that you have the SHSH for. Apple only allows you to restore to the firmware versions they ‘sign.’ This ‘signing’ only lasts for a limited time. Once they stop ‘signing’ the SHSHs for a firmware, there is no way to restore that firmware ever again, so saving your SHSH file allows you to always restore to previous iOS versions regardless of what the current version is.

Even if you don’t want to jailbreak right now, it’s still a good idea to save that SHSH file in case you change your mind later on. You can do this with Firmware Umbrella. You simply need to launch the program to see your device is connected already. Click the little button on the upper-right of the screen called “Save SHSH.” Once you have saved it once for your device, it will continue to go out and get that file for each new version.

An additional function of Firmware Umbrella is to help you when your device is stuck in recovery mode. Launch the application and choose the button at the top to help you enter, fix or exit that crazy recovery stage.

If you’re still on the fence about jailbreaking, go ahead and use this application to save your SHSH. Doing so will not jailbreak your device or harm it in any way. It simply saves a file for you in the event you do decide to perform this service to your iDevice.

How to Prepare for Jailbreak with Firmware Umbrella

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Resident jailbreak expert Reza is ready to help you upgrade your current jailbreak for 4.3.1. The untethered jailbreak tools for iOS are ready and in the wild. If you’ve been waiting to upgrade your jailbroken iPad, iPod touch or iPhone, you can grab several of the new features by grabbing 4.3.1.

redsn0w is one of the tools you can use to perform your upgrade – or new jailbreak. redsn0w is a multi-platform jailbreak and unlock tool created by the iPhone Dev Team. redsn0w is simple to use, and supports all current iPhone and iPod touch devices which use at least firmware 3.0.

ultrasn0w is another tool that can be used to accomplish the same task. This unlock will work on iPhone4 baseband 01.59 and 3G/3GS basebands 04.26.08, 05.11.07, 05.12.01 and 05.13.04. If you have trouble finding ultrasn0w within Cydia, add this repo: repo666.ultrasn0w.com.

So why would you want to unlock your device to begin with? Many people enjoy the Apple hardware but prefer a more open software experience. They want to change the way things are done on their iDevice and even add some functionality that may not have already been there. It’s important to note that doing this is NOT illegal, but it does void your Apple warranty. You should always unlock or jailbreak at your own risk, and realize that no one can be held liable if you receive less-than-desirable results.

If you have an unlocked iPhone, you’re going to want to stay away from doing a straight upgrade. There are alternate update methods you can find in order to help you do some custom patching of the iOS before updating. Or, you can also use Tiny Umbrella to block your baseband and allow this upgrade.

If you’re ready to upgrade, 4.3.1 is great due to the hotspot features alone. It allows you to share your 3G signal with your iPad and other devices. With the iPad, it’s super cool because the GPS functionality from your phone will carry over into your iPad.

Have you updated your jailbroken device yet? What has your experience been like?

iOS 4.3.1 Jailbreak Available

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JailbreakQA is a site dedicated to answering iPhone jailbreak related questions. This week, Reza talks about JailbreakQA and how it can help you find the right answers to your questions about Cydia, jailbreaking your iPhone and any other non-standard uses for your iPhone or iOS device. Reza brings you tips and tricks to help you get the most use out of your jailbroken iOS device each week.

The JailbreakQA site is based on the OSQA platform, just like our Lockergnome Q&A site. Our site is dedicated to asking and answering questions of any nature, not just technical ones. Since most of our community tends to lean towards geeky things, that’s what you’ll find most often. However, I’ve seen questions about things such as cars, gardening and even dancing. To date, we have over 16,000 questions asked and nearly 70,000 answers have been given!

JailbreakQA works much the same way. People ask questions and other members give answers. You can vote up (or down!) the answers that you feel deserve a bit of recognition, and comment on any answers given to ask for more clarification. This site is a fantastic resource for those of you who may still be thinking about jailbreaking your device as well as for long-time “expert” jailbreakers.

If you’ve been thinking about doing this to your iOS device but still aren’t sure, you may want to read through some of the questions and answers on JailbreakQA. There are many people in the same position as you: they think they may want to unlock their device but aren’t positive it is the best option for them. You’ll find threads here which explain the advantages of jailbreaking – and ones which discuss any disadvantages.

Jailbreaking your device is a decision only you can make. I will give you the same advice here as I do when you ask me “which is better?” – do your research. Understand the benefits and limitations of a jailbroken device. Know your pros and cons. Decide if doing this is the best thing for you. If it is – then go for it. It’s your device, your money and your time. No one other than you can figure out what will work best for you.

Help for Jailbroken iOS Devices

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Reza brings you tips and tricks to help you get the most use out of your jailbroken iOS device each week. Today, he’s discussing the DreamBoard app as an alternative interface customization for your jailbroken iPhone.

The debate over whether or not to jailbreak your device is often a heated one. Those in favor claim to want the freedom and control over their devices. Those on the opposite side of the fence rant about breaking the device’s warranty, not using it as intended and claiming that the person in question shouldn’t have bought that device to begin with. Personally, I won’t be jailbreaking my devices. However, that’s a matter of personal preference for me. I happen to LIKE the way my iPhone works, looks and feels. I think that jailbreaking is something that each device owner should be deciding – it’s not my choice what they do with their phone!

The DreamBoard app will let you easily customize the look of your entire phone. You can click the application to bring up all of your available themes. It’s super simple to let you switch between them. Changing themes with the click of a button does all of the work for you. Changes are made across the device as soon as you approve the change. It does take a couple of seconds to bring the application – and its changes – up, but it’s definitely worth the wait.

You’ll have all of the widgets and the feel of any one of several different devices, including an HTC. Give yourself a Facebook or weather widget – or any of the others available for your use. Place your apps and widgets wherever you like using DreamBoard.

One important difference between this app and Springboard is that you won’t have to restart the app each time you make a change. No more resprings are necessary! DreamBoard also includes a free copy of Endroid (the HTC theme) for your pleasure.

This app is not available for the iPad, nor is it recommended for the iPhone 3G, iPod 2G, or iPod 3G 8GB.

Customize Your Jailbroken Device with DreamBoard

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If you have people you don’t wish to receive messages or calls from, it can be difficult to find blocking applications which actually work. If you happen to have a jailbroken iPhone, though, the answer is crystal clear: iBlackList. This is the best call blocker and sms selector available for the iPhone, as Reza shows you.

The application is seriously easy to set up and use – no muss, no fuss. There are several cool features, as well:

• Call and SMS blocking facility (Including Unknown/Restricted ID callers)
• Protects your privacy by Password
• Unlimited number of contacts per list
• Works with black and white lists concept
• Parental Control with silent record storage
• Popup removal from lock screen for lost events (Privacy), keeping the sound/vibration notifications
• Auto Reply SMS for SMS feature, where the system will send your custom SMS text to filtered messages
• Independent history, where blocked/filtered events will be stored for later visualization. Please note your setup needs to be correct in order to store records on this history
• Individual Scheduler for each list
• Four types of action for calls, which varies from send the caller to voicemail to completely ignore

At this point, you may be wondering why in the heck you would want to bother paying for and installing this app. After all, you can simply ignore the call if you see a number you don’t recognize or like, right? Using something such as iBlackList make life SO much simpler, though. You can choose which numbers to completely ignore, which ones to send directly to voice mail AND keep a log of every action made.

One use for this app is something I hadn’t thought of, but was brought up to me by another person: using it in court. Perhaps you have someone who is literally stalking you… or a person you have a restraining order against who continues trying to contact you. By sending these particular calls to voicemail or ignoring them and still having accurate date/time-stamped records, you can prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that someone isn’t doing what they should be.

What other uses can you come up with to make an app such as this worth your time and money? Which ones are you using to help you manage your phone life?

Manage Calls on Your Jailbroken iPhone with iBlackList

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This week, Reza is going to show you an app called biteSMS for your jailbroken iPhone. biteSMS extends your SMS text messaging capability with additional features like smileys, Quick Reply, Quick Compose, privacy mode, scheduled text messages, passcode lock, delivery reports, signatures, and more.

biteSMS can be a souped-up replacement to built-in iPhone text messaging, allowing you to send messages via your mobile carrier as you normally do. Beyond being a replacement, you can buy credits and send messages via the biteSMS network, which makes SMS during international travel more affordable.

Reza brings you tips and tricks to help you get the most use out of your jailbroken iOS device each Thursday.

biteSMS Texting for a Jailbroken iPhone

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Reza’s weekly video is going to show off Voice Activator for jailbroken iOS devices. Several websites have touted this app as the “best Cydia tweak ever.” Voice Activator is a new tweak by chpwn which allows you to take full control of the Voice Control feature of your iPhone or iPod touch. Launch apps, open URLs, use Activator actions: it’s all included within this one tweak.

This app is available in the Cydia App Store under the Big Boss Repo for the cost of $4.99. Although this may seem expensive, it’s definitely worth your time. Voice Activator opens up a lot more voice functions than what you will already find within your device – it gives you Android-like full systsem voice control!

Use it to open and close apps, perform system functions, launch web pages and create custom actions. It’s easy to install and will make you wonder how you ever functioned without it.

Thanks, Reza, for another great episode in the jailbreak series.

How to Use Voice Activator on iOS Jailbreaks

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This week, Reza is going to show you an app called SBSettings to be used with a jailbroken iPhone. He will be bringing you tips and tricks to help you get the most use out of your jailbroken iOS device each Thursday.

SBSettings will move your important toggles directly into Springboard where they are always available instantly – even while other apps are running.

The app doesn’t come with an icon. Simply swipe the status bar to bring down the main menu window. In the app settings, you can change the way you bring up the SB Settings window. Change it up to suite your needs.

Using this app reduces the total number of apps and pages that you need to go through to do things such as turn 3G on or off. You won’t have nearly as many swipes and clicks to get to where you need to be. Who doesn’t like it when life gets easier?

Which Apps Do You Use on a Jailbroken iPhone?

RMalayeri is going to be bringing you regular screencasts each Thursday to talk about different things you can do with a jailbroken iPhone. This week, he is showing off Multiflow, an app which brings Expose-like functionality to iOS. It will set you back a mere five bucks through the Cydia store.

This app is a replacement for the standard iOS multi-tasking view. With Multifl0w, you can “explode” all of your open apps, just as you can on your Mac computer. There are several different ways to set up this app to customize it to your liking.

Multifl0w shows all open apps (up to 9) on the same screen, for easy and quick task switching. The tabs are re-arrangeable, just drag an drop!

Thanks, Reza, for an excellent beginning to our new jailbreaking series.

Switch Tasks Quickly on a Jailbroken iPhone

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Alex submitted this screencast to tell all of you about the top ten Cydia apps for the iPhone. These are apps that you can use on a jailbroken iPhone or iPod touch.

• Lock screen customization – This allows you to choose what notifications you want to see when your phone is locked, from unread text messages to the weather.
• Winterboard – This app gives your iPhone or iPod Touch a graphical overhaul!
• SB Settings – Move your important toggles directly into Springboard where they are always available instantly even while other apps are running.
• Notify Pro – This allows you to have notification tabs that you normally wouldn’t have.
• 3G Unrestrictor – By adding this to the list of exceptions, you will no longer have to be connected to WiFi to do things (such as FaceTime).
• Safari Download Manager – Allows you to download files right within Safarii.
• iFile – SSH on your phone instead of having to access your computer.
• Folder Enhancer – This tweak allows you to do folders inside of folders, allowing you to have a lot more apps.
• TetherMe – Allows you to use your phone to tether without having to pay twenty bucks per month for the AT&T data plan.
• MyWy – This lets you have a WiFi hotspot using USB or Bluetooth.
• InfiniDock – This allows you to have more than four icons in your dock and scroll it from side to side. You can put as many icons as you want and choose how many you view.

What are your favorite Cydia apps?

Thanks for the excellent screencast, Alex.

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Top Ten Cydia Apps for the iPhone

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During live calls recently, Oscar wanted to know my thoughts on jailbreaking now that the courts have decided that it’s legal. It’s not that I dislike jailbreaking in the past. I didn’t find it compelling. I love my iPhone because it comes with a total package – the hardware, software and user experience are all excellent. Sure, I’m not happy with AT&T much of the time, but why would I want to take a chance of messing up my phone for that reason alone?

I was at a local tweetup recently, and someone went on and on about their jailbroken phone. He showed me a couple of neat things he could do with his iPhone that I cannot. However, as he’s showing me what it can do, the phone began rebooting. Yeah – I don’t want to do that to my phone.

If someone wants to jailbreak their phone, go for it. I don’t plan to do so with my phone. I actually think Google should work to develop a version of Android specifically for the iPhone, since so many people want to jailbreak them.

I doubt I will ever jailbreak my iDevices.

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Jailbreaking Thoughts

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After the court system in the United States declared that jailbreaking a device is not illegal in and of itself, TechRob asked how we feel about it over on Lockergnome. This is something that is being discussed all over the Internet, even weeks after the ruling was handed down. It opens a whole new set of questions which tech pundits everywhere are trying to determine the answers to.

I realize this has been a gray area until now. However, you can now legally jailbreak any device without fear of reprisals. Apple, of course, still claims you’re going to void your warranty if you jailbreak your iPhone. However, this leaves the door open for entrepreneurial interests. This was the right move, in my mind. It’s YOUR device, right? You should be able to run it on any network you choose.

I’m going to bet that within a year’s time, Google will develop a version of Android specifically for the iPhone. It will be made so that you can choose to boot your iPhone into either iOS 4 or Android. It’s sort of like what you do with Boot Camp on a Mac, right? Google has a huge opportunity here. It’s legal to jailbreak a device even if Apple will continue to complain about voiding the warranty. For those of you who don’t really care about that, having an easy way to run Android on the iPhone is going to be a huge difference.

It has to be your choice. Do you care if you void the warranty on your mobile device? Is it more important to you to be able to have the choice of carriers – and operating systems? At this point, I won’t be jailbreaking anything. However, if there were a solid Android operating system available – backed by Google themselves – I would seriously consider doing so. Would you?

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What are Your Thoughts on Legal Jailbreaking?

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Now that the iPad is available over in the UK, many of our community members who live there are ordering as fast as they can. However, one particular person called in to express his disgust over the fact that his friends plan to jailbreak their device as soon as they get it. He feels it’s “wrong” to do this, and wondered what my thoughts are.

None of my devices are jailbroken. I’ve been asked many times in the past if I have – or will – do this to my iPhone. The answer is simply “no.” I run under the AT&T contract, and that’s how it’s going to stay.

Some people may argue that they want to use it their way, and not be tethered to AT&T. That’s their decision, not mine. It’s not for me… but it’s also not for me to admonish or condemn them for it.

I’ve heard of a few issues where rogue software, keyloggers and rootkits have been installed on jailbroken phones. This wouldn’t have happened with Apple’s closed system had the devices not been tampered with.

I like knowing I’m going to be relatively safe since I decided to play by Apple’s rules. My iPhone and iPad aren’t ever going to become riddled with malware, nor will my warranty be voided.

Do I feel it’s “wrong” to jailbreak? It’s wrong for me, yes. Is it wrong for you? You’re the only person who can decide, honestly. Weigh your options carefully. Research the ins and outs – the pros and cons – of jailbreaking before making your choice. Know what your device will be able to do, as well as what limitations may be placed upon it.

Then – and only then – will you know if it’s right for you.

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Is Jailbreaking an iPhone or iPad Bad?

There was a lot of buzz in the weeks leading up to the official iPad release date as to how quickly the device would be jailbroken. Less than 24 hours after the launch, the inevitable has already happened.

The infamous iPhone Dev-Team was able to gain root access the hottest new device on the market. The crew claims that the hack isn’t ready yet for public distribution, but promise they are working on it. According to the team, it will work with all versions of both the iPhone and iPod touch (and likely the iPad 3G as well).

I don’t jailbreak my devices, and I don’t plan to start with the iPad. However, I know that many people do. Keep in mind that performing these actions will completely void your warranty, and can render your device unusable in some instances.

Jailbroken iPad Already

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Jeff called in to ask about the SDK coming out for the iPhone. He’s wondering if I know of any programs in development or coming out soon, that may enhance the iPhone’s functionability.

Here is a direct quote from Apple:

Let me just say it: We want native third party applications on the iPhone, and we plan to have an SDK in developers’ hands in February. We are excited about creating a vibrant third party developer community around the iPhone and enabling hundreds of new applications for our users. With our revolutionary multi-touch interface, powerful hardware and advanced software architecture, we believe we have created the best mobile platform ever for developers.

It will take until February to release an SDK because we’re trying to do two diametrically opposed things at once — provide an advanced and open platform to developers while at the same time protect iPhone users from viruses, malware, privacy attacks, etc. This is no easy task. Some claim that viruses and malware are not a problem on mobile phones — this is simply not true. There have been serious viruses on other mobile phones already, including some that silently spread from phone to phone over the cell network. As our phones become more powerful, these malicious programs will become more dangerous. And since the iPhone is the most advanced phone ever, it will be a highly visible target.

Some companies are already taking action. Nokia, for example, is not allowing any applications to be loaded onto some of their newest phones unless they have a digital signature that can be traced back to a known developer. While this makes such a phone less than “totally open,” we believe it is a step in the right direction. We are working on an advanced system which will offer developers broad access to natively program the iPhone’s amazing software platform while at the same time protecting users from malicious programs.

We think a few months of patience now will be rewarded by many years of great third party applications running on safe and reliable iPhones.

Steve

P.S.: The SDK will also allow developers to create applications for iPod touch.

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Apple iPhone SDK