Jailbreaking

Now those looking for some good apps on jailbroken iPhones can participate in one-stop-shopping. The two jailbreak app stores known as Cydia and Rock Your Phone are merging into one entity. The resulting app store (to be known as Cydia) will be the largest independent iOS app store.

Rock Your Phone has been providing apps to the jailbreak iPhone community for 18 months, with $3.3 million in sales. Saurik over at Cydia explains that the merger is really more of a strategic reorganization of the two companies to foster cooperation.

Apple has released a security fix for iOS 4 and users now have to decide whether or not to install the update. There are pros and cons to installing the update, mostly revolving around whether or not you're interested in jailbreaking your device. The security problem was first discovered and used by the Dev-Team to hack iOS 4 and provide a simple way to jailbreak through the Safari browser.

Now that Apple has released a fix, the developer responsible for the JailbreakMe 2.0 in-browser jailbreak software has made the source code of his exploit public. Let's be clear, the iOS 4.0.2 update will make jailbreaking with JailbreakMe 2.0 impossible, however now that the source code of the jailbreak is public, security threats are bound to multiply.

Comex's release of in-browser jailbreaking software for the iPhone has revealed a major security hole in all iPhones. Turns out the exploit used to download and install the jailbreak in Mobile Safari could also be used by malicious programmers to install spyware or other data-stealing software on iOS.

By creating a jailbreak procedure that can be performed anywhere (pictured above by 0xcharlie in the Apple Store) Comex has also made it clear that Apple has some security patching work ahead. What happens is that anytime a PDF file is accessed from the Safari browser, the PDF is capable of running programs that would normally be prevented from execution.

Those looking to jailbreak and unlock the iPhone 4 won't have to wait much longer. iPhone Dev-Team member Comex has stated he's not waiting for Apple to release iOS 4.1 to launch the latest version of the Spirit jailbreak. The previous version was a one-click solution to jailbreak the iPad running iPhone OS 3.2.

The new jailbreak software will work on all devices running iOS 4, including the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS. Comex is working to make sure the free jailbreak utility is up to Dev-Team standards before release, and suggests that users back up their SHSH blobs before jailbreaking.

Dev-Team member planetbeing has demonstrated the first unlocked US-purchased iPhone 4 in the world. With a custom-cut Rogers SIM card and some coding magic, his iPhone dialed Rogers customer service and displayed the Rogers carrier logo on the home screen.

MuscleNerd and planetbeing are working simultaneously on two different unlock solutions, and plan to release the best one when the time is right. Apparently the software needs work even though the end result is functional. Dev-Team may wait until Apple releases iOS 4.1 before making the iPhone 4 unlock public.

Spirit is a one-click jailbreak for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.

First check requirements:

You must be running iPhone OS 3.1.2, 3.1.3 or 3.2 on your device.
Make sure version 9.x of iTunes is installed on your computer.
Your device must be activated.

Jailbreak with Spirit:

1. Download and install Spirit from the official web page.
2. Connect your device to the computer with the USB cable.
3. Sync and back up your device with iTunes.
4. Run Spirit.
5. Click the Jailbreak button.

It's important to back up your device (iPhone / iPad) SHSHs before jailbreaking. If your iPhone is upgraded to a newer firmware and the ability to jailbreak is lost, you'll need SHSH blobs to downgrade the OS. Downgrading to the previous firmware will restore your jailbreak option.

Cydia will back up your SHSH blobs but there could be a delay in the TSS queue. Saving your SHSH blobs locally to your computer guarantees you have a copy on hand.

George Hotz (Geohot) continues to show off his iPhone hacking achievements with an untethered jailbreak. He announced the successful experiment on his blog along with posting a video of his iPhone rebooting.

According to Geohot, the entire project took 2.5 days to complete from start to finish. He refuses to set a release date, although the iPad release date of April 3rd is possible. The new jailbreak is supposedly just as easy to run as blackra1n, his previous one-click solution.

Blacksn0w RC2 is now available for those looking to unlock their iPhones running firmware 3.1.3. Beware however, this will not work with the latest baseband version 05.12.07. If you've updated your iPhone to 3.1.3 using Apple's official firmware you are out of luck.

Those updating their jailbroken device to iPhone OS 3.1.3 using PwnageTool 3.1.5 have taken advantage of Apple's battery fixes without altering the baseband from its current unlockable version, 05.11.07. In this case you can now download blacksn0w RC2 from Cydia.

How can I jailbreak and unlock my iPhone? This used to be a simple question with very few answers. Now that there are so many different models floating around determining the answer is more complicated. Add in multiple combinations of baseband, firmware and boot loader on this hardware and figuring out which solution will work can become very confusing.

A new resource on the web seeks to change everything by organizing all known jailbreak and unlock solutions in one place, along with tutorials and other information. The iPhone & iTouch Jailbreak / Unlock Matrix has all of the answers you seek including a place for users to post comments.