Filed under: iTunes, Software Update, iPhone
iTunes 7.4 breaks iPhone hacks
The iTunes 7.4 upgrade came as bad news to some iPhone hackers. It "broke" many existing hacks, including jailbreak applications and ringtone installers. But the news is far from bad as developers are quickly working to adapt to the change.
Nullriver's AppTapp Installer.app has already been updated and is working with 7.4, according to its developer "lg". Programmers for Breezy and iBrickr are also working on their updates at this time.
7.4 apparently changed several functions that were used to access the iPhone file system but it doesn't appear to be a backlash from Apple or any intentional thwarting of hacker activity.
Update: To clarify, this problem seems to be limited to new jailbreaks and restored systems. I'll keep updating as I find out more. Breezy does not jailbreak but it's being looked over thoroughly by the devteam. iBrickr developer Nate True reports that all features except ringtones-without-jailbreak are working. He expects that ringtones-without-jailbreak are broken for all apps including iToner and iPhoneRingtoneMaker, regardless of software and that they will not survive a sync. The reason is that these apps use the iTunes folder to store ringtones and a property list and are getting overruled by the new iTunes ringtone-compatible update. Ringtones installed into ~/Library/Ringtones instead are not affected.
I'm also hearing that the alpha version of the Windows AppTapp/Installer.app is being tested right now.

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
joshjagdfeld said 8:01PM on 9-06-2007
Thanks for the update, Erica. I was just thinking about an update for Installer.app today, and I knew I'd find a post here by you before the end of the day.
Kudos.
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jimmie said 8:03PM on 9-06-2007
Since updating to 7.4 all of my hacks and ringtones are working fine on my iPhone.
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Emilio said 8:50PM on 9-06-2007
I updated iTunes 7.4 this morning. My iPhone was hacked so that I could use my old AT&T SIM Card. After syncing my iPhone, it worked fine.
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Sportsmedjosh said 8:35PM on 9-06-2007
is anyone have problems with itoner syncing playlists now?
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Jon said 8:45PM on 9-06-2007
I don't think it's in Apple's interests to deliberately prevent people modifying the phone. I'm pretty sure they probably hate AT&T as much as everyone else.
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David S. said 8:48PM on 9-06-2007
I downloaded itoner also.. and no longer are my songs in my sounds list for ringtones.. it reset those.. but nowhere in the itunes store have I been able to find songs that you can make into ringtones.
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Mars said 8:55PM on 9-06-2007
I've downloaded the file that says 3.0 on the nullriver website, but when I click on about it still shows 2.63. Is this because it is still beta and they just haven't gotten around to updating the about screen, or did I do something wrong?
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jimmie said 9:09PM on 9-06-2007
I also downloaded the version 3 and mine still shows as 2.63 as well.
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PK said 9:50PM on 9-06-2007
@David S.:
Stevie J announced yesterday that the ringtones feature would go live sometime next week.
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2007/09/05itunes.html
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Mitch said 10:30PM on 9-06-2007
what about ifuntastic?? is it still working?
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Sportsmedjosh said 11:55PM on 9-06-2007
I'm also having weird time zone issues. My iCal shows classes that I'm teaching at 11 - 11:50 but when I look at the events on my iphone all events are 4 hours ahead. Which is weird. My g/f has an iphone also but she doesn't have this problem. If anyone knows anything about this let me know.
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j said 12:09AM on 9-07-2007
I tried to hack my friends today (he just got it) and ifuntastic was not working. I was unshackled but the modifications I set up never seemed to make it to the phone. I tried a lot things , any hints. Good Luck!
GOD DAMN HANDICAP PHONES, Don't be greedy whores.
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Nelson said 12:14AM on 9-07-2007
I used iPhoneinterface, iBrickr (with jailbreak), and WinSCP to transfer ringtones, and all still work. I unchecked the "Sync Ringtones" option in iTunes. Has anybody synched the iPhone with that box checked? If so, did the ringtones applied using the jailbreak method remain on the iPhone after synching was completed?
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john said 12:29AM on 9-07-2007
Nothing on my phone changed with the update. iToner seems like a nice idea, but you can just install your own ringtones with ssh, which is useful for so many other things anyway. Plus, this method is more robust, as proven today, and free.
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Cynthia Mckenna said 6:28AM on 9-07-2007
Sportsmedjosh
I had that problem before - it required resetting the time zone features on both my mac and my iphone - after that it was fine.
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Karl said 7:46AM on 9-07-2007
Will I still be able to buy one and hack it to use my old AT&T SIM card? I can easily afford the phone, it's the plan that will kill me. I want to stay with the one I have!
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stainboy said 9:16AM on 9-07-2007
iToner's not working right with the update, but rest assured that Andrew and co. should have a fix soon.
http://www.ambrosiasw.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=114983
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artman1033 said 9:12AM on 9-07-2007
Speaking of HACKS.........has anyone noticed George Hotz has not yet received his new car? Where are the Photos Certicell?
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Billy K said 9:27AM on 9-07-2007
"The iTunes 7.4 upgrade came as bad news to some... But the news is far from bad..."
That's a hell of a paragraph. Is it bad or not?
Editor! Bring towels!!!
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south said 10:25AM on 9-07-2007
isn't that like saying every update of Safari 'breaks' Saft? i mean, sure it stops working for a few hours and then there's an update, and everything's fine again. i don't think Apple is trying to stop the hacks, they just don't want to be responsible for whether they work properly or not. maybe.
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