iPhone Software

Hard to believe the iOS jailbreak tool sn0wbreeze is already two years old. Developer iH8sn0w is celebrating with the release of sn0wbreeze 2.9, which adds a long list of improvements and new features for jailbreakers everywhere.

Much like iPhone Dev-Team's PwnageTool for Mac users, sn0wbreeze gives iPhone jailbreak fans running Windows the ability to create custom IPSW files and more. Not only does sn0wbreeze 2.9 support a long list of older firmware, it adds the untethered iOS 5.0.1 jailbreak for A4 devices previously released with redsn0w and Corona.

Rumors of Facebook integration on future iOS devices has been floating around for some time, with previous reports pointing to Facebook joining Twitter in the initial iOS 5 release. Although this was not the case, code in the iOS 5.1 beta 3 firmware seeded to developers shows that Apple continues to work on system-wide Facebook integration.

iMore has found evidence of Facebook references that could mean Apple will add this functionality in iOS 5.1 or another future release. The site explained that Facebook was expected to be integrated into iOS devices with the iOS 4 firmware launch, but Apple and Facebook couldn't agree on terms for the deal.

A new security vulnerability on the Apple iPhone has been discovered that can expose photo albums stored on the device. Although this sounds like a dangerous breach of privacy there are several things that must happen before a complete stranger can view your pictures without entering a passcode. This is of course assuming you use a passcode to protect your data.

First of all, your iPhone must have iOS 5 or later installed. This adds the Camera shortcut icon to the home screen when the home button is double-pressed. Secondly your iPhone must fall into the wrong hands, with someone taking possession of your device who would care about finding and viewing your photos.

Some iPhone 4S users are experiencing a strange, involuntary mute when dialing out using their mobile devices. The problem is that the person dialing out can't hear anything on the other end of the line, not even a ringing phone. People receiving the calls can hear the iPhone 4S owner just fine. An Apple discussion page titled Outgoing call no audio started almost immediately after the iPhone 4S was released and has leap over to additional discussions.

Although Apple was quick to respond to complaints about iPhone 4S battery life being shorter than expected, there's no official word on whether or not a fix is in the works for the audio issue. Some iPhone owners who experienced the problem were able to correct the issue with a full restore. Others who have not had luck fixing the problem have begun to call the issue Audiogate.

UPDATE: iPhone developer pod2g blogged that an upcoming Corona update will fix "iBooks and other softwares having sandbox issues." We will let you know when it's released.

When jailbreaking iOS there are sometimes caveats and unintended consequences, although normally for enthusiasts the advantages of running new software take precedence. iBooks fans might have found that after liberating their device with the latest redsn0w untethered iOS 5.0.1 jailbreak that iBooks ceases to work.

Now there's a package available in Cydia that should fix the problem. Some users have reported no luck with the fix, but our team was able to fix iBooks using the procedure below. As always, jailbreaking and installing non-Apple packages is performed on your iPhone at your own risk! Here are instructions to fix iBooks after jailbreaking.