For more than two months already, iPhone 4S jailbreak and unlock program was not yet released. However, the good news is that soon we’ll have both of these as soon as it will be ready for public release. This is because “LOTS of work left” and there are “huge missing pieces” which prevented its release.

Last week, a member of the Chronic-Dev Team had released a video showing an untethered jailbreak for an iPod touch running with iOS 5. @pod2g is known widely because of his discoveries in exploits that leads to jailbreaking an Apple device. In the video, he showed his iPod touch with iOS 5 jailbroken (with Cydia installed. He then rebooted the iDevice and still showed that the jailbreak is still intact. This means that he got an untethered jailbreak for his iPod touch.

His jailbreak were tested for some of the iDevices which includes iPod touch 3G, iPhone 4, iPad 1 and iPhone 3GS that runs with iOS 5.0.1. This means that his jailbreak is fully working on devices that bare A4 chips. He is now currently working for the jailbreak of iPhone 4S and the iPad 2 which both used A5 chips. We hope for the soon release of an untethered jailbreak for the iPhone 4S.

As for the unlocking of an iPhone 4S, probably it will soon follow after the jailbreak will be officially released. This is backed up by @MuscleNerd of the Chronic-Dev team two weeks ago on his tweet that a “very promising “ unlock for the iPhone 4S is in the works.

To wrap things up, an untethered jailbreak and unlock programs will soon be released after the Dev team will finalize all the codes. Follow us for more details.

If you are a Mac user and wanted to upgrade your iPhone (4 or 3GS) to iOS 5 while you can preserve the unlock, this is the best procedure to follow. This is for the preparation of unlocking your iPhone again using UltraSn0w in the future.

RedSn0w 0.9.9b5 is the tool you need in upgrading to iOS 5 using your Mac computer. This is because the developers in the Dev Team have added the baseband preservation tool to RedSn0w which was previously available in the Pwnage Tool. Please take note that this is not a jailbreaking procedure. Instead, this will only preserve the baseband of your iPhone so you can unlock using UltraSn0w in the future.

Steps in preserving the baseband for iOS 5:

1. Download RedSn0w 0.9.9b5.
2. Launch RedSn0w and select ‘Extras’ and ‘Custom IPSW’.
3. In your Mac, select the iOS 5 Firmware (~/Library/iTunes/iPhone Software Updates/)
4. Select ‘Pwned DFU’ from RedSn0w after building the new firmware.
5. Start your iPhone to DFU mode: Hold ‘Home+Power’ buttons simultaneously for 10 seconds, release Power button while continue holding the Home button for another 10 seconds. RedSn0w will then put your iPhone in Pwned DFU mode.
6. Close RedSn0w completely and launch iTunes. It will recognize an iPhone in Recovery mode.
7. Hold down ‘Option’ key on your Mac keyboard and click ‘Restore’ while selecting for NO_BB firmware which you had recently created. NOTE: Make sure to select the NO_BB firmware or else you will update your baseband.
8. After restoring, you will now have iOS 5 in your iPhone while preserving the baseband. You can either jailbreak your iPhone now or wait for UltraSn0w update for iOS 5.

Everyone is excited with the new iPhone 4S. In addition to that, Apple had a hard time meeting the demand of consumers since more and more people wanted to buy one. While these normal situations are present, the first few batches of iPhone 4S distributed around the world were also seen with some undesirable performances.

First and foremost is the worst performance by the iOS 5 which drains an iDevice’s battery faster than what the normal one. The software upgrade of an iPhone 4 into an iOS 5 from iOS 4.X.X proves that this situation is true. This problem is not merely affecting the iPhone 4S but also the other iDevices that are upgraded to iOS 5.

Another report states that some iPhone users upgraded to iOS 5 are having a hard time connecting for WiFi and 3G networks. And even others can connect to WiFi networks, the signal is not doing well and constantly disconnects from time to time.

Hardware issues being reported include audio abnormalities during phone calls and some users’ experiences “No SIM card Installed” errors. Although the later is not confirmed whether software or hardware related, it still disturb iPhone users who reportedly experiences this kind of problems.

Have you experienced any problems lately in your iDevices? Please let us know if you have any by writing a comment below. Thanks and enjoy!

SBSettings is one of the best reasons why a person would want to jailbreak their iPhone (or other Apple devices). This is because with SBSettings, you can take control of your iPhone with just a few taps of your fingers. What else you can do about SBSettings? Shortcut toggle switches to turn ON and OFF your WiFi, Bluetooth, Data, 3G or Airplane Mode; you can do a lot more with some features that are not usually used by the iPhone users. I assumed you have SBSettings in your iPhone so you can try the features I am going to discuss.

First of all, you can hide icons in your springboard by the use of SBSettings. For example you have an adult content app or a violent game which should not be exposed to children who may want to borrow your iPhone, this feature will easily lets you hide that app. To hide apps using SBSettings, launch SBSettings by swiping your status bar from left to right and tap “more”. A menu will be presented and you can see “Hide Icons”. After tapping the “Hide Icons” menu, you will be brought to the list of apps installed in your iPhone. Turn OFF the apps you want to hide and it will immediately take effect.

Next thing I recently tried is the “Fast Note” feature of SBSettings. This allows users who are in a hurry to jot things up to input important information rather than opening your Notes in the default iPhone utilities which saved you more time. Just make sure to enable Fast Note in SBSettings by setting it “ON” in “Set Toggles”.

The last thing I want to share is that SBSettings has a default battery percentage feature wherein you can see the actual percentage your battery have. I know some of you may find this ridiculous that just now I knew this is available in SBSettings, but the reason I am sharing this feature is because more people didn’t know this feature is built-in with SBSettings. To turn ON your numberic battery, navigate from SBSettings to more, and clicking on “System Options”. You can then see the toggle switch to turn ON and OFF your battery percentage.

There are more features in SBSettings that will help you enjoy your iPhone and I want to live it up to you to discover.

Many people are confused about how jailbreaking differs from unlocking, especially the new users of iPhones. While many of the jailbreaking community knew the difference, this article is highly dedicated to people who have doubts on how jailbreaking differs from unlocking.

What is jailbreaking?

Jailbreaking is the process which modifies your iOS firmware which then allows unsigned code to run and gain access to files in your iPhone which was previously prevented by Apple. After the jailbreak is successful in your iPhone (also for other iDevices), an unofficial application installer called “Cydia” will now be added in your springboard which will allow users to install cracked apps from the App Store and third-party applications which are not available in the official App Store.

To install cracked App Store apps for free, you need to download first Installous through Cydia. I do not recommend this but it’s worth telling it to everyone. After all, your iPhone is yours. Cydia also provides non-App Store apps that enhance your iPhone called “tweaks” like customization of the themes, lockscreen, ringtones and many more.

Once should not be afraid in jailbreaking their iPhone since the process can be easily reversed by restoring in iTunes in case things may not work as you expected. But trust me, once you have tried jailbreaking your iPhone, you’ll always want to have it jailbroken.

What is iPhone unlocking?

iPhone unlocking is the modification of your device’s modem which allows you to use any carrier SIM cards. The most common method of unlocking is through the use of software but is only limited to some basebands. Some software also requires you to jailbreak first before you can unlock like the UltraSn0w which was developed by the Dev Team.

Gevey SIM is also another process of unlocking your iPhone. You can read more about the details in my previous post.

After JailbreakME 3.0 was released, the number of jailbroken iPhones and other iDevices including the iPad 2 has risen to more than 2 million in just 2 weeks. But then Apple had also released new updates to patch the hole for iOS and Safari that were used to jailbreak iOS 4.3.3. With the release of 4.3.4 and 4.3.5, Apple had introduced some “legitimate” fixes that improve the security of Safari. But if you want to preserve your jailbreak (4.3.3), you will not benefit with these updates since you are not going to upgrade to higher version aside from 4.3.3.

Just earlier, iSSLfix was released in Cydia. This tweak will fix all the security related issues that Apple introduced in iOS 4.3.5 without letting you to update to the latest firmware. Since Apple’s main reason for releasing the iOS 4.3.4 and 4.3.5 was to eliminate the use of JailbreakME 3.0, perhaps their aim also includes security concerns. iSSLfix patches vulnerability known as CVE-2011-0228 and is now available for free in Cydia by BigBoss repo. This will then provide you the same protection as having an iOS 4.3.5.

To know if your iPhone is well protected from this vulnerability, just visit https://issl.recurity.com/ on your iDevice and observe the results. If you will see a warning message with the option “Continue” (just like the image below), your iPhone is safe otherwise if you will see an image, that means your iPhone is prone to vulnerability and needs to install iSSLfix if you don’t want to upgrade with the latest firmware.

To install iSSLfix, search for it through Cydia and install the package. Once again, if you are on iOS 4.3.5, you don’t need this. This is very much intended for jailbreak users who are stuck on iOS 4.3.3 in order to preserve the untethered jailbreak.

For every small detail that someone will need to his iPhone, the jailbreak community has always an answer. Have you ever been bothered because you missed a very important call in your iPhone? By default, iPhone 4’s ringtone is not too loud to be heard from a distance, especially when inside your pocket. Common situations happen when you sometimes think that your heard your iPhone ringing, or was it really ringing. We could not have missed an important call if only the world’s most loved smartphone will ring louder like the other brands. Don’t worry, the jailbreak community has a solution fr that, the PocketMode.

A jailbreak tweak that will increase the ring and SMS volume of your iPhone 4 until you finally notice that somebody is trying to call you. Though PocketMode sounds simple, as some would say, the function is quite complex since it will detect when you’ve removed your iPhone 4 where it was and readjust the volume accordingly. Using your iPhone’s ambient light sensor, PocketMode detects the dark surroundings when your iPhone is inside your pocket or bag.

Maybe somebody will ask, “Will PocketMode gets annoying during the night when I sleep?” Well, the developer also thought about that particular problem. A ‘Night Mode’ option will allow users to set a time frame when the app will disable itself.

PocketMode is worth $1.49 and obviously need a jailbroken iPhone since you will use Cydia to install this.

Since the exploit of JailbreakME 3.0 by Comex, Apple has released 2 iOS updates within 2 weeks. While Apple has been combating the jailbreak community by closing the hole and preventing it from happening again, I am pretty sure that the jailbreak community developers will not stop in uncovering hidden agendas that Apple might have forgotten to close.

My last post was about the Gevey SIM which can be used to unlock iOS 4.3.5. Today, the folks at Tiny Umbrella have updated to its latest version 5.00.77. It desn’t just allow you to save your SHSH blob for the new iOS 4.3.5 firmware but it also gives you the choice of whether or not to update your iPhone 4’s baseband.

This gives the users to pick an option whether or not they want to update their iPhone 4 baseband which will allow mixing and matching a new baseband with an older version of iOS. But this new option comes with very important warnings:

1. The version you want to restore and the version Apple is currently signing must both have the same baseband.
2. You need to realize the by checking the box will update your baseband.

This means that if you have unlocked your iPhone 4 on an earlier baseband, no need to check this option. This is because TinyUmbrella will not save your updated iPhone 4 baseband.

For tutorial on how to save your SHSH blob, check my post regarding this topic.

Since the exploit of JailbreakME 3.0 was released and was used more than 2 million times by iDevices, especially the iPad 2, Apple has released the 2^nd update which is iOS 4.3.5. According to Apple, the release of their recent update for iOS is to fix apparent security vulnerability with certificate validation. The update is now available in iTunes by updating your iDevice upon connecting to your computer.

For anyone who is using an untethered jailbroken iPhone with iOS 4.3.3, obviously DO NOT update to the latest version of iOS or else you will lose your jailbreak. It is also advised to save your SHSH blob to prevent losing your jailbreak in case accidental update may occur.

As expected, the Dev Team has now updated RedSn0w to provide a tethered jailbreak for anyone using iOS 4.3.5 with its latest version. It may be just a tethered one but this could help to anyone who has forgotten to save their SHSH blobs.

Surprisingly, the Gevey SIM also will now unlock iPhones running iOS 4.3.5. It will work perfectly for iOS 4.3.5 (except iPad 2) even if Apple has blocked Gevey SIM in iOS 5 Beta 2. Perhaps the iOS 4.3.5 will now be the last update that Apple will be releasing prior to iOS 5. In the meantime, if you are enjoying your jailbreak iPhone now, just don’t do anything and wait for another tethered jailbreak that may come.

If you have been doing jailbreaking for quite some time, then you are familiar with the steps on how to save your SHSH blobs. But to be fair with everyone, let’s tackle the topic on how to do it. As with my previous post, it was all about SHSH blobs and its importance. In all jailbreaking guides, you can always read ‘Make sure to save your SHSH blob before updating’ reminder because an SHSH blob is a signature file which is verified to the Apple server to ensure your iPhone 4 (or other iDevices) is running the latest version.

This is how it works. If you will restore to a previous version of an iOS, Apple will not allow you no matter what your reasons are. To make restoring possible to older versions of iOS, you need to send a request to other server (either Local or Designated) that sends an SHSH blob (which was saved by you) back to iTunes faking that it’s a current version.

Steps in saving your SHSH blob

Though there are other methods in saving your SHSH blob like iSHSHit and AutoSHSH, I will show you the simplest but reliable method using TinyUmbrella.

1. Download TinyUmbrella.
2. Launch TinyUmbrella by right clicking and choose “Run as Administrator.”
3. Connect your iPhone to your PC.
4. Click “Save my SHSH” and wait for TinyUmbrella to finish its task.

That’s it! Saving your SHSH is now done. A copy of your SHSH will also be send to Cydia for request to be saved in Saurik’s server.

As we all know that everyone is anticipating the release of Jailbreak for iPad 2, I never thought that it was released sooner as I expected. Comex, the developer for JailbreakMe 3.0, has now released the latest and easiest way to jailbreak your iPhone. Despite the leak regarding the JailbreakMe beta version, Comex has still managed to continue his work which will also work for iPhone.

Perhaps Comex was really upset about the leak and was in a hurry to finish the jailbreak ahead of time. Anyways, we still owe him the thanks for the effort he had exerted. And the people who made the leak, they owe an apology to Comex for what they’ve done.

Only the following iDevices and FirmWares will the JailbreakMe 3.0 works:

• iPad 1: 4.3 to 4.3.3
• iPad 2: 4.3.3
• iPhone 3GS: 4.3 to 4.3.3
• iPhone 4: 4.3 to 4.3.3
• iPhone 4 CDMA: 4.2.6 to 4.2.8
• iPod touch 3g: 4.3, 4.3.2, 4.3.3
• iPod touch 4g: 4.3 to 4.3.3

Here are the easy steps to jailbreak your iPhone with JailbreakME 3.0:

1. From your iPhone, open www.JailbreakMe.com using Safari.
2. Tap “FREE” and “INSTALL” to start.
3. Cydia will now be installed in your iPhone.
4. After it’s finished, your iPhone must be jailbroken.
5. Reboot your iPhone.

The following video will also help for you to jailbreak your iPhone.

Note:Clear the cache and cookies from your Safari and remove the apps from the multi-tasking tray and reboot your iPhone in case problems may occur.

“Why do I have to jailbreak my iPhone?” A question I often heard to people who just acquired an iPhone. Well, as I have discussed in my previous posts, jailbreaking simply gives you the freedom to do things that are outside of the scope of an application. Here are two of the best apps for a jailbroken iPhone. Please take note that you cannot have these apps if your iPhone is not jailbroken.

SBSettings

SBSettings is a jailbreak application that can manage your iPhone’s settings conveniently especially when you are using some other app. It can be launched by swiping your status bar from left to right, thus it’s not the same like other apps which can be found in the springboard. By having toggle switches for WiFi, 3G, EDGE, Bluetooth and others found on Settings app, you can easily turn them ON or Off  (Red is OFF and Green is ON).

To download SBSettings, launch Cydia. Search for SBSettings and Install. After installing, iPhone will reboot. Launch SBSettings by swiping your status bar with your finger from left to right. Download more themes for SBSettings which can also be found in Cydia.

WinterBoard

WinterBoard is also a jailbreak app developed by Jay Freeman (Saurik) that can customize your iPhone. Using this app, you can change icons, customize applications, install themes, iPhone dock graphics and change wallpapers of your iPhone’s springboard.

Loading and mixing multiple themes at once can be done by WinterBoard. It also allows users to create themes using web development languages like HTML and CSS to enhance the creativity of anyone thus giving unlimited possibilities to improve your iPhone.

Another method to jailbreak your iPhone 4.3.3 or iPhone from Verizon 4.2.8 is through Sn0wbreeze. With their latest version 2.7.1, this tool can only be used in Windows and is very easy to use especially in preserving your iPhone baseband.

Note: Update your iTunes first to the latest version before you will proceed in the following steps.

1. Make sure your iPhone is running FirmWare 4.3.3 or 4.2.8. Download Sn0wbreeze 2.7.1 together with the FirmWare 4.3.3 and save it in a folder easy for you to access.

2. Open Sn0wbreeze after clicking “OK” in the warning. Browse for the firmware you had just downloaded and continue.

3. Sn0wbreeze will verify the firmware that you selected and click to continue.

4. Choose “Expert Mode” and select the packages you needed. Build IPSW and wait for Sn0wbreeze to finish making your custom firmware.

5. Turn your iPhone in DFU mode. (I assume you already knew these steps.)

6. If you successfully put your iPhone in DFU mode, a message display that your iPhone is ready to go.

7. Open iTunes and click restore while holding the shift button. Make sure your device is connected to your computer. Browse for the custom firmware that Sn0wbreeze has created.

You should now have a jailbroken iPhone in just a few minutes after your device has rebooted.

So, what’s the difference to jailbreak your iPhone 4.3.3 with PwnageTool from RedSn0w? First of all, PwnageTool can only be used in Mac. Second, PwnageTool preserves your current baseband, thus you will not worry if you value your unlocked iPhone 4. Other reason includes, you can make a custom firmware which cannot be done by RedSn0w.

Here are the steps to jailbreak your iPhone 4.3.3 using PwnageTool in Mac:

1. Download the latest version of PwnageTool (that is 4.3.3.1) and iOS 4.3.3.
2. Launch PwnageTool 4.3.3.1, select your Apple device (iPhone, iPod, iPad or Apple TV) and click to continue.

3. Click “Expert Mode” even if its default is “Simple Mode”. PwnageTool will locate automatically the firmware needed. In case it won’t, browse for the FW you downloaded. Your firmware will be highlighted with green check, so click the arrow to continue.

4. Click the blue-arrow button after selecting “General” in the options.

5. This time, you will select if Pwnage should activate your iPhone. If you are with the official carrier, uncheck it. Otherwise, check to activate your iPhone.

6. Just click to continue at the Cydia settings since we want to make these steps as simple as possible. Remain Cydia to be checked at the Custom Package Settings and click to continue.

7. Click build and continue. Save the custom firmware in your desktop and click continue.

8. PwnageTool will now create your custom firmware.

9. Once PwnageTool is finished making your custom firmware, you will be asked to connect your iPhone to your Mac and to be placed in DFU mode. After successfully turned your iPhone in DFU mode, you can click “Exit”.

10. Open iTunes and click “OK” after iTunes detected your iPhone in recovery mode.

11. Hold Option/Alt button and click restore. Browse for the firmware you have made saved in your desktop. Click “Restore”.

12. iTunes will now restore your iPhone just like how it should be restored.

Enjoy your newly jailbroken iPhone with the baseband being preserved.

Since 1 week ago that Apple has launched the latest firmware for iOS, which is 4.3.3, I decided to try it for myself before I am going to write about the topic. Unsurprisingly, I am not disappointed again. Thanks to the Dev Team for their great work in developing the redsn0w 0.9.6rc 15, the tool I used to jailbreak my iPhone 4 with FW 4.3.3. Redsn0w will work for both Mac and Windows for Apple devices running 4.3.3 except for iPad2.

First of all, always update your iTunes to the latest version. Make sure that your device is in FW 4.3.3. If not, update first through iTunes to achieve iOS 4.3.3.

1. Download RedSn0w 0.9.6rc15 and iOS 4.3.3 and save it in a folder easy for you to find (or in the desktop).
2. Unzip RedSnow and launch .exe file. Browse for the firmware you had just downloaded.
3. RedSn0w will prepare to jailbreak your iPhone. Wait for a few seconds. Select “Cydia” to be included in the installation.
4. Turn off your iPhone and make sure it is connected to the computer. To continue, click “Next”.
5. Follow the onscreen instructions to get your iPhone in DFU mode. You will have to press the Home and Power buttons in this procedure. Make sure to follow.
6. If you had successfully turned your iPhone in DFU mode, RedSn0w will now start to inject the jailbreak process in your iPhone. Wait for RedSnow to do the job and it should be done in a couple of minutes.
7. Your iPhone will reboot once the process is completed. Cydia icon will now be present in your iPhone.

Congratulations on your newly jailbroken iPhone with FirmWare version 4.3.3!