If you want to upgrade to iOS 5 but you have locked iPhone unit (aside from 4S), you might want to consider the ability to preserve your baseband to be able to unlock. UltraSn0w (V 1.2.4) unlock was just recently released for iPhone 4/3GS/3G that runs iOS 5. Here is the list of basebands that are compatible for unlocking:

iPhone 3GS: 4.26.08, 05.11.07, 05.12.01, 05.13.04, 06.15.00

iPhone 4: 01.59.00

You can follow the procedure in updating iOS 5 without updating your baseband for Windows and Mac in our previous posts.

In order to unlock your iDevice, you need to jailbreak first since it needs Cydia to download the UltraSn0w 1.2.4 package. Make sure that your baseband is listed above or else the unlocking process will not do.

A release note from the Dev Team is posted for users of iPhone 3GS and other possible baseband downgrades for some situations:

Note: there’s a special “trick” that iPhone3GS owners with baseband 06.15 need for iOS5. During the new setup screens you see when you start iOS5 for the first time, you’ll be asked about Location Services. Be sure to select “Disable Location Services” when asked! Later on in the setup, you’ll have the chance to turn on Location Services again when asked if you want to use “Find my iPhone”. It’s fine to turn it back on at that point, if that’s your desire (or you can always go in and enable it in Settings.app).

Also, some iPhone3GS users with the 06.15 baseband may have tried to install iOS5 using a stock IPSW (even though you should never ever try to use a stock IPSW if you’re an ultrasn0w unlocker). If you did try this, your baseband is probably in an inconsistent state, and you’ll need to reflash the 06.15 baseband again (using redsn0w). Be very careful if you use redsn0w to reflash the iPad baseband — don’t interrupt the process! And please avoid using stock IPSWs in the future  Unlockers should never go near stock IPSWs.

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.

Having an unlocked iPhone is what almost every iPhone users wanted to have. This is because you can switch to any carrier any time you want. Sn0wbreeze is the best tool to use if you are running on a Windows OS machine. With Sn0wbreeze, you can preserve the baseband of your iPhone while upgrading to iOS 5 if you are from iOS 4.x.x.

The following steps will upgrade your iPhone to iOS 5 and at the same time will preserve your baseband for unlocking purposes: (Note: can be used with iPhone 4/3GS/3G)

1. Download Sn0wbreeze 2.8 Beta 8.
2. Launch Sn0wbreeze and click OK and the blue arrow below.
3. Drag to the gray box on Sn0wbreeze the iOS 5 firmware but make sure that the firmware for your device is correct.
4. After verifying that the firmware is correct, click the blue arrow below and click on “Baseband Preservation Mode”. Click NEXT.
5. Sn0wbreeze will then start to build your custom firmware. After finished, the custom firmware will be saved to your desktop. Verify and click OK.
6. 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.
7. On the DFU Pwner screen in Sn0wbreeze, click START.
8. “iREB” will start and will place your iPhone in Pwned DFU Mode. Close out Sn0wbreeze completely after clicking the confirmation screen.
9. Launch iTunes so it will recognize that your iPhone is in Recovery mode. Click OK.
10. Hold ‘Shift+Restore’ and browse to the newly created firmware in your desktop.
11. Wait for the Restore process to finish and you should have the same unlockable baseband.

Enjoy having an iOS 5 while preserving your baseband!

As I have promised in my last article, I will continue to share some tips to save battery life in your iPhone. With more and more exciting apps, jailbreak tweaks or games added every day, no wonder why our iPhone drains out faster than before. That is; if you want to run the most powerful smartphone in the market, you are going to accept a heavy toll on your iPhone battery life.

As it turns out, there are things you can do to conserve battery life in your iPhone. Some of these solutions will limit your iPhone’s full potential, but can be very useful in times you really need to extend your battery life throughout the day.

Turn OFF Notifications. If you have enabled Notification Option, your iPhone will always search for the latest notifications you may have, like for Facebook or Twitter. So, turning this option OFF will save your battery more. Go to Settings app and select “OFF” under Notifications.

Delay or Turn OFF the Data Push and Fetch Features. After turning Off Notifications, go a step further by making the Mail and other apps check in with the servers less frequently. To increase fetch interval, go to Mail, Contacts, Calendars and select “Hourly” from the option of Fetch New Data. You cannot get mail or calendar invitations unless you will do it manually.

Learn to use Airplane Mode. Enabling this option will disable all network connections making your iPhone functions just like an iPod. This helps save your battery life since Bluetooth, WiFi and 3G greatly stresses your battery.

Install Running Indicator. Running Indicator is a jailbreak tweak that will let you know which apps are running by the glow. You can then turn this app OFF so you can save a little bit of extra energy in your iPhone battery. Make sure to add http://rpetri.ch/repo in your Cydia repo and search for “running indicator” to install this tweak.

Please let me know for more tips on how to save battery for your iPhone by making a comment below. Thank you and enjoy!

With the rumors going around these days regarding the upcoming iPhone 5, perhaps you might ask “what’s new with iPhone 5?” The iPhone 4 is a great smartphone and stands on top among its competitors. But wait, it has something that needs to be improved in the upcoming iPhone 5. That is, its battery!

Admit it; your iPhone sometimes doesn’t get you through the rest of the day after rigid use. You need to charge again before the day is done. So, what if you don’t have access to power source immediately? Well, maybe these tips on how to save battery life in your iPhone will help.

Adjust lower the screen brightness. To adjust brightness, go to Settings app and tap on Brightness. You need to have a jailbreak tweak SBSettings so you can quickly adjust the brightness of your iPhone by just sliding your status bar from left to right.

Always lock your iPhone when not in use. The iPhone has an auto-lock feature that can be set up for 1 minute to automatically turn your iPhone into sleep mode. Why wait if you can immediately tap the sleep button to make your iPhone locked?

Turn OFF “Ask to Join Networks” feature in the Network Settings. Your iPhone is constantly searching for WiFi networks available in your surroundings. Turn this option OFF so you can save battery life. You can still join a network manually. To turn OFF “Ask to Join Networks” feature, go to Settings app and open WiFi option.

Disable 3G Network. Although 3G will help you browse the internet faster in your iPhone, it will also drain your battery faster. So, turn OFF 3G when you are not using the internet or if you have a WiFi connection.

More tips on how to save battery life in your iPhone will be discussed in the next article. Enjoy!

Repositories are independent distribution channels that offer Cydia packages to customers from different developers. These repositories (or repos), also known as online hubs, contains the apps/tweaks for quick and easy access and installation. The Bigboss repo, for example, is a popular repo in Cydia that contains majority of the tweaks and are conveniently listed for easy browsing of customers.

While larger repos also contains a huge number of packages that sometimes flooded with garbage apps, it is nice to know that you can now create your very own repository so you can collect your favorite apps and tweaks which you can share with your friends. This is because sharing Cydia apps can sometimes be impossible with attaching in emails, that’s why creating your own repos is the best way.

iRepo is the new jailbreak tweak will allow you to create repos on your own and will host .deb files in your own iPhone or iPad with iOS 4.2 or higher. The following are the steps:

1. Purchase iRepo from Cydia through the BigBoss repo for $1.99.

2. iRepo will install and reboot your iPhone. A new icon will be present in your springboard.

3. Open up iRepo icon to start the app and you will be greeted with the configuration settings.

4. Input the name of your repo as you want it, a description or a codename for its contents. You can also add a password for secure access.

5. Tap on “Save” and go back to Status to enable your repo.

6. To add .deb files, you can SSH your iPhone in your computer under the “packages” option or use iFile so you can add anytime and anywhere.

Making your own Cydia repo is not too hard for a beginner!

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.

SBSettings is one of the best jailbreak tweaks that every iPhone users should have. For me, this is one of the reasons why I really need to jailbreak my iPhone. For other who doesn’t know so much about this tweak, you can check our previous post.

With SBSettings, you can access easily your Settings app almost in any app as long as you can see the status bar. The default theme for SBSettings is not so very attractive that is why more developers are introducing themes to add color to your iPhone. These themes are available through Cydia which you can download for free.

Steps in changing themes for SBSettings

Note: You need to have a jailbroken iPhone to install SBSettings. This procedure is also applicable to iPod Touch and iPad.

1. Assuming you already have SBSettings installed in your iPhone, launch Cydia and wait to reload the data.
2. Tap on Sections. Scroll down to see “Themes (SBSettings)”. Look for the themes that you like and you can tap to install.
3. To activate the theme that you had just recently installed, open up SBSettings by swiping your status bar from left to right.
4. Tap on “More” and naviagate to “SBSettings Themes” section to see the list of available themes including the one you recently downloaded.
5. You can preview a particular theme by tapping on the arrow beside its name. Tap the theme if you want to activate it.
6. Exit SBSettings and your iPhone will automatically respring. Your newly installed theme for SBSettings should now be activated.

For more themes, just browse Cydia. Enjoy your jailbroken iPhone with helpful tweaks like SBSettings.

Since Apple doesn’t allow iOS device’s users to downgrade into an older version of firmware, the jailbreak community had made a solution on how to do it. Basically, in order to open up the possibility of downgrading into a previous version, you must have a jailbroken iPhone and you have to make sure you saved your SHSH blob. For more information about SHSH blobs and its role in downgrading your iPhone, please visit this page. Always remember that downgrading an iPhone into a previous version of iOS is only possible if you have saved your device’s SHSH blob.

If you have tried restoring your iPhone in the past, perhaps you have seen the message “verifying restore with Apple” before it will fully proceed.

Steps in downgrading your iOS version in iPhone (For Windows and Mac users only):

1. Download the iOS version you wish to downgrade to and save it in your desktop.

2. For Windows, navigate to C:/Windows/System32/drivers/etc

For Mac, open your Terminal App and enter:

sudo /Applications/TextEdit.app/Contents/MacOS/TextEdit /etc/hosts

If you have done it correctly, a text pad should open.

3. At the bottom of the notepad just below the last line that reads: #127.0.0.1 gs.apple.com, add the following line: 74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com. Save the notepad and exit.

4. Connect your iPhone in your computer and put in DFU mode. You are familiar on how to do this if you have been jailbreaking for a while. TO do this, hold the Power button and Home button simultaneously for 10 seconds, then let go of the Power button while still holding the Home button for 10 seconds. If you have done it correctly, iTunes will auto-launch and ask you to restore your iPhone.

5. Press and hold SHIFT key (for Windows) or OPTION key (for Mac) and click restore. Locate the iOS firmware which you had downloaded earlier and select it.

6. Simply click “OK” if there are error messages that iTunes will show. This is just normal. Your iPhone will now be in recovery mode. Download the Fix Recovery and run the .exe file. Your iPhone will then reboot. iTunes will continue restoring your iPhone and it should be fully restored or downgraded to the previous iOS version.

It’s a great thing to have Cydia in our jailbroken iDevices. For people who are used in using jailbreak tweaks, for example SBSettings, you will find it hard to use non-jailbroken iPhones. Trust me, I have many experiences whenever somebody asks me to check his/her iPhone, I would swipe the status bar from left to right and smile since nothing comes out from it.

While we may find Cydia very helpful in our iPhones, we sometimes encounter problems that are common to everyone. When this will happen to you, just relax and bear in mind that your iPhone will be fine. After all, when things get really messed up, you can easily restore your iPhone back to factory settings through iTunes.

Because you want to jailbreak your iPhone, you also decide to install Cydia with it. But sometimes, it just crashes or makes your iPhone hang and reboots to Safe Mode. You’re not doing anything wrong but the jailbreak tool that you used, whether you are using JailbreakME 3.0 or RedSn0w.

Here are some important reminders when using Cydia:

• Whenever you face difficulties in Cydia or any iOS related preoblems, reboot your iPhone.
• Update Cydia regularly by opening it so that core updates will be installed automatically.
• Check for any updates of the packages you have installed. This can be done by tapping “Changes” at the bottom once you open Cydia App and checking for “Available Upgrades”.

If Cydia crashes, your iPhone is wise enough to respring your Springboard (the graphical environment manager of your iPhone) and goes back to your lockscreen as if it was rebooted. You can also manually respring your iPhone by using SBSettings or GPower Pro.

There are also cases when Cydia will not be able to load in your iPhone. When this happens, make sure you have iFile or any tweak that will SSH your iPhone and do the following:

1. SSH your iPhone and navigate to /private/var/lib/apt/lists.
2. Remove or delete all files except the directory named “partial.”
3. Reboot and try to launch Cydia.

If the above procedure will not work, try to:

1. SSH your iPhone and navigate to /private/var/lib/dpkg/updates.
2. Remove all contents of that folder.
3. Reboot your iPhone and attempt to launch Cydia.

As I have said, restore your iPhone and jailbreak it again if the methods above didn’t work.

If you have friends who are not really familiar with using apps in their iPhone, sometimes they may turn on you for some advices and recommendations on what to install. Then you’ll see your apps or browse for categories in App Store and share this apps or games to your friends by sending the URL. Since thousands of apps are available in the App Store, recommendation is very important to save time and effort you will spend.

How about if you have a jailbroken iPhone? You can still copy and share the links for your favorite Cydia apps or tweaks to your friends. Since there are more great features added once you jailbreak your iPhone, this is also the only way to get access with Cydia.

Here are the steps to find and share Cydia tweaks:

1. Launch Cydia and navigate to MANAGE and PACKAGES.

2. Tap on the package you want to share to see the details screen. Below the package name is an option “Change Package Settings”. Tap and hold this option and a menu will pop up for you to choose whether “Open” or “Copy”. Select “Copy.”

3. You can now then send the direct link of the package to your friends through email or messages.

Just make sure that the recipient you are sending the link should have the source added to their Cydia so that the package will be located. Like in the screenshot I included, Custom Lock is from BigBoss repository so when you share the link, the recipient should also have the BigBoss repo in their Sources.

What’s next? After you are done jailbreaking your iPhone with JailbreakME 3.0, RedSn0w or any other methods, what will you do now? If you have done it successfully, then Cydia is now present in your iPhone’s springboard.

What is Cydia?

Cydia is an independent third-party software application for iOS that enables users to install software packages, including apps, interface customization and system extensions if your iDevice is jailbroken. Obviously, you cannot have Cydia if your iPhone is not jailbroken. This is the alternative source if you want to get non-iTunes applications.

How to install Cydia?

If you will jailbreak your iPhone, Cydia will be installed automatically during the process.

How does Cydia works?

Cydia provides GUI (Graphical User Interface) to iOS users using repositories to install software not available on the App Store. The repos come from different trusted “Sources”. These software packages can be downloaded directly to the same directory of Apple in your iOS device (/Applications directory). With this ability, iOS users can still buy apps to Apple’s official App Store.

Now that you know about Cydia and how it works, you can download INSTALLOUS through Cydia. Just follow my step-by-step procedure in installing Installous.  This will be your first app to install to enjoy your jailbroken iDevice. The feature of Installous is almost the same with the App Store but you can find cracked apps in there. With Installous, you can download your favorite games and applications for free so you can save money buying in the App Store.

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.

While some of us are already using iPhones for a long period of time, some of are also new to this device. If you are one of the later, don’t be too excited. Instead, you should know the basics of having an iPhone, especially the security features it has brought which are not available to other brands. For those who are using iPhones in the past but didn’t know this important reminder yet, I hope this helps for you.

Now, what I am talking about is the security feature that iPhone has possessed since the start of iOS version 4. Up until now, with the latest iOS 4.3.3 and 4.3.4, Find My iPhone app is freely distributed. As what its name says, Find My iPhone is a tracking feature to locate a missing iPhone 4, iPad or iPod Touch 4^th gen.

If you lose your iPhone 4 because you have dropped it or maybe somebody stole it, you can then hop into a computer to follow the GPS coordinates of the iPhone on a Google Map. It will also trigger a beeping sound which is loud enough to hear from under a couch nearby. If you think that you really cannot get it back, you can either lock your iPhone or wipe the data contained (but you cannot find it anymore).

You need to activate first the Find My iPhone feature before you lose your iPhone. Here are the steps:

1. Update to the latest iOS (4.3.3 recommended).
2. Go to Settings App in your iPhone 4. Tap “Mail, Contacts, Calendars. Add Account and tap MobileME.
3. Enter your Apple ID (Username and Password). If you don’t have one yet, you can create one from there. Tap next.
4. Check your email for a verification email from Apple and click the link to verify and sign-in with your Apple ID.
5. Go back to Settings and Turn ON the Find My iPhone feature. Confirm to finish.

If you will lose your iPhone, sign in to www.mobileme.com using your Apple ID so you can locate your missing iPhone. You can also install the Find My iPhone App to any other iDevice.

Almost everyone that has an iPad 2 was happy to jailbreak using JailbreakME 3.0 despite some bugs that needed to be fixed. The huge number of hits in the website of www.JailbreakME.com was up to 1 Million hits in just the first day and more than half was able to download and installed the tweak (that means they had jailbreak their iDevice). After you have jailbreak your iPhone, it was now vulnerable to malicious malware that are widely spread in the web. Thus, a great possibility may occur that some hackers will use the hole that Comex has done in his exploit of your iPhone. JailbreakMe 3.0 works through web software to gain root-level access to your iPhone easily which some people may also do.

You need to install PDF Patcher 2 through Cydia in order to close the hole Comex has used for JailbreakME 3.0. He developed this patch to safeguard your iPhone form malwares and viruses scattered in some websites (just in case you happen to browse). Basically, PDF Patcher 2 will close the vulnerability that is used in his jailbreak tool.

Installing PDF Patcher 2 is highly recommended once you have jailbroken your iPhone using JailbreakME (other methods o jailbreaking doesn’t need this procedure). To install, launch Cydia. Search for “PDF Patcher 2” and click “INSTALL”.

The following video will also guide you in installing PDF Patcher 2.