Filed under: Hacks, iPhone, iPhone 101
iPhone Hacking 101: Jailbreaking
When you want to add ringtones, change wallpaper, or run third-party applications on your iPhone, you need to perform a task called "jailbreaking". What this does is to open up your iPhone's file system so it can be accessed from your computer. There are a number of tools available to jailbreak.
If you're on an Intel Mac, you just won the lottery. The easiest software to use, by far, is iFuntastic. It walks you through the entire process with helpful prompts and pictures and is very simple to use. The iFuntastic crew promise PPC support in upcoming releases. If you are a PPC user and don't have the desire to download, compile and install complicated hacker tools you might be best served by just waiting for the next iFuntastic release.
Also keep in mind that you don't have to jailbreak on your own computer. You can borrow a friend's computer for 15 minutes to use iFuntastic. That's handy if you're a Windows users or on a G4 or G5.
A much more complicated alternative to iFuntastic is the iPhone Utility Client, with its amusing acronym iPHUC. You will have to google for the link as the website in question has requested no direct links. If you have access to developer tools, iPHUC will allow you to jailbreak on your G4 or G5. I warn you that the process is ugly and involves extreme hackery. If you want a slightly easier way to use iPHUC, the latest version of the iActivator tool performs iPHUC-compatible jailbreaks. Best of all, it's a Universal Binary.
For Windows users, there's the original fully-leaded jailbreak utility. The complicated bit is that it requires that you have a copy of the original 1.0.0 firmware present. To get that, you will have needed to have restored your iPhone at least once during it's 1.0.0 release.
The bottom line is that if you don't own an Intel Macintosh, the path to jailbreaking is difficult and complicated. You'll need to google a lot and, I recommend, rely on social networking. The best place to get started with jailbreak is over at irc.osx86.hu, in the #iphone channel. Be polite. And remember, anyone helping you out is doing so of their own goodwill.
Thanks Nate True, duck_tape and Ste.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Micah Neumark said 1:43AM on 8-09-2007
The problem is that iFuntastic currently does not let you install any files. Only modify and download previously existing files. Once I can drag an iPhone App to the Applications folder, I'll be happy. Even cooler would be an App that automatically loaded SSH onto the phone or at least made it easier. Also an app that autoloads terminal apps would be great too.
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Macroy said 2:07PM on 8-08-2007
Is there a way I can use iFuntastic to install apps?
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Ben Goetting said 2:17PM on 8-08-2007
What is the likelyhood of bricking your iphone? Will the next update just reset your iphone or will it find that it's hacked and shut 'er down?
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DD said 5:24PM on 8-11-2007
"If you want a slightly easier way to use iPHUC, the latest version of the iActivator tool performs iPHUC-compatible jailbreaks."
what compatibility issues are there? breaking the jail should be the same, no matter who does it, right? is what iFuntastic doing somehow incompatible with iPHUC?
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Alex said 3:01PM on 8-08-2007
You'll just have to do an iPhone restore using iTunes and reload all your content to the phone. iTunes keeps a backup of your phone data.
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Matt said 9:38AM on 8-09-2007
Does iFuntastic work after you have updated the iPhone's software? I have not been able to get mine to work since...
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Suckerspakien said 5:24PM on 8-08-2007
I accidentally (and moronically) forced quit Ifuntastic midway through the process while trying to do something else. It bricked my iPhone, but I was able to restore it using iTunes without a hitch. So it's at least me-proof.
Also can I get an Erica free feed? I'm tired of getting useful advice, ground breaking hacks, and new apps for my iPhone.
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Robert Huebner said 6:57AM on 8-09-2007
Well, it's not that hard. Erica seems to be convinced that all TUAW readers are complete idiots. To call a few commands in Terminal "extreme hackery" is more than ignorant, and is even moderately insulting. Either way, I do agree with Erica about the intel mac point. Truth is, you really do need to know what you're doing if you're not on an intel mac. Ahh...that new mac feeling just came back, despite the fact that my macbook is over 11 months old. :)
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Dave said 8:07PM on 8-08-2007
If you just want to add a ringtone, iFuntastic is great. But if you think you'll want to install apps, look for iOpener (unfortunately, there's lots of other stuff called iOpener) and install the SSH server on your phone. After you do that, you'll never have to jailbreak your phone again--you have access to the full filesystem, and just upload files with an SFTP client. And if you want to install an app you'll have to do this anyway to set the permissions on the executable.
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(01) said 12:33AM on 8-09-2007
Hmmmm, I seem to have won the lottery with my MBP, yet have no iPone... doesn't seem right somehow :-)
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John said 3:10AM on 8-09-2007
Thanks Dave for the recommendation - nice to know somebody is using it. The name thing I discovered after putting it up, so I've renamed it to iPhoneOpener now, and I've just uploaded a new, improved version to my blog at http://weblog.bluedonkey.org/?p=714 including pre-built binaries for PPC and Intel platforms (apologies to Windows folks: I just don't have a Windows box to build them on).
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Macroy said 2:56AM on 8-09-2007
Thanks for the tips about installing apps, guys! I'd only be willing to risk another restore if it was really really easy to install apps, and whenever they get multitouch working on the iPhone NES emulator.
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Giselle said 8:42PM on 8-21-2007
Is there anyway to jailbreak a phone that has already been updated to 1.0.1? I am trying to jailbreak my phone to add custom ringtones, does anyone know when iFuntastic is coming out for PC?
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Bart said 11:47AM on 8-29-2007
Like Gisele, I am trying to get jailbreak to work on my PC running Windows. When I run jailbreak, the iphone says, "!Please connect to itunes." but then it hangs. Anyone have some ideas?
According to mark at hacktheiphone.net, the older firmware is supposed to be available here: http://hacktheiphone.net/iphone_first_ten_steps_to_modding_windows.html
and shouldn't be a problem if your phone had newer firmware.
But still, my system hangs. Has anyone else seen this problem? Anyone know how to solve it?
Thanks in advance,
Bart
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