Jailbreakers, what's your can't live without tweak?
I’m sticking with my iP4 running 6.1.3 until iOS7 is cracked.
For me it’s Video Out.
Anyone else?
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Same for me, and IOS7 looks annoying anyways,
For me probably lockinfo.
Many of my tweaks are iO7 interfaces.
Love them.
f.lux
NCSettings
Google Maps Opener
My brother has the Batman symbol where it would normally say Verizon on the top of the screen, is that a tweak?
If I jailbreak my iPhone and something goes wrong, will the insurance cover it?
And how, exactly, does one go about jailbreaking a phone?
@Katniss
A jailbreak is completely reversible via restore in iTunes.
@Katniss Yes, that is a tweak called Zeppelin. And you can use it for more than the Batman symbol. If you jailbreak your phone and something goes wrong insurance will not cover. But as Stoke says, it’s reversible – just back up your device beforehand. You jailbreak by downloading a program called redsn0w, or maybe Evasi0n is the latest now. Or maybe there’s a new dev – I haven’t kept up. Tou have to make sure there’s a crack out for your specific device and iOS, but then just download it and hit the Jailbreak button, and your phone will reawaken with Cydia (the main app store of the jailbroken world) on it.
@SecondHandStoke Video.
Cool.
I used to have a similar app that defaulted to a browser that supported Flash.
@wildpotato Thank you. I’m definitely going to think about it….. And probably have my son do it for me. lol It sounds pretty cool AND I’m eligible for an upgrade right now, so if something goes wrong I won’t be phone-less.
This might be a new question, but what exactly is “jailbreaking” and why does one do it?
@Seek_Kolinahr
The simplest explanation is that it gives the user Administrator level access to your phone, right down to the command line if you desire.
In the interest of reliability, battery life and nearly flawless operation i devices restrict what you can alter or install by limiting you to applications approved by Apple.
Jailbreaking opens the phone to an entirely different “app store” filled with third party applications that provide users with vastly greater control. Your access to the official App Store is still present just like everything else your phone came with or you already installed.
If there’s something about your phone you wish was better in your opinion it’s highly likely jailbreaking can get you that very thing.
Jailbreaking adds to your phone, it takes away none of the features and functions you had before and is completely reversible.
One of my very favorite jailbreak tweaks is called Video Out. It allows me to mirror my phone’s screen on a monitor without the need for AirPlay that requires costly Apple TV.
@Seek_Kolinahr It allows you to use the iDevice in ways Apple restricts, so it becomes like a tiny, weak computer that can do many more of the things a normal computer can do than your typical iThing. For example, I jailbroke my iPad specifically so I could add a fifth keyboard row, because I use numbers a lot in class notes and it was driving me batty to always hit the switchover key for the punctuation/numeral pad. Another useful tweak creates a clipboard that stores your email address so you can enter it in forms after just two taps. f.lux, one of my surprise favorites, mellows the screen colors after sunset so it’s not as harsh on the eyes. I could go on forever. Cosmetic changes can be made, too: using Winterboard, Iconoclasm, 5-Icon Dock and Shrink I made my home screen look like this – and that’s only scratching the tip of the iceberg.
I have found that Jailbreaking has done some horrible things like 90 minute battery life. And rolling back to previous versions is usually easy if you bork things. If apple expires the SHSH blob you are totally fucked.
I have never found it worth it after around iOS4.
Could not all of this be avoided by simply buying an Android phone instead?
I have apps that do all of those things you’ve just mentioned.
@Seek_Kolinahr
No.
Like @wildpotato stated the things we’ve mentioned here are “only scratching the tip of the iceberg.”
There are a myriad of ingenious items available in the Cydia store. Between the real App Store and the jailbreak one (Cydia) Android is hopelessly outclassed in terms of sheer numbers of available applications. Not to mention Apple’s trademark user respecting design and build quality.
@johnpowell brings up a good point.
You have to know what your doing should you choose to open this Pandora’s box.
This doesn’t need to be intimidating. It’s possible to keep it simple, stick with reputable developers and have fun demystifying your property as you go.
As with everything in life, Jailbreaking represents the greater reward associated with greater risk.
Manifest destiny, in the palm of your hand.
@SecondHandStoke: “Android is hopelessly outclassed in terms of sheer numbers of available applications. Not to mention Apple’s trademark user respecting design and build quality.”
Wow. Someone hasn’t used Android in a few years.
They respect their users so much the users have to hack their own products and void their own warranties in order to get a new keyboard?
@Seek_Kolinahr
Above I made the point that Apple has chosen to consistently err on the side of caution.
Sure Apple could sell the iPhone in a state similar to a jailbroken one but instead place greater priority on reliability, battery life and above all simplicity.
There’s also the matter of Steve Jobs mistakenly believing that user access was unnecessary as he had already made his product perfect.
Manufacturers make this trade off all the time:
Honda wants it’s line topping Acura RLX to be powerful, but not at the expense of fuel economy and comfort.
If they desired they could easily put a couple of boat cams in it and transform it into a fire breathing monster, but this would come at the expense of comfort and more importantly, economy and reliability.
Which again raises the question – if you want all the control and function that an Android phone provides standard, why pay three times as much for an iPhone and then be forced to void your warranty?
Was the screwy GPS system irresistable?
I get it.
It’s been real.
@Seek_Kolinahr @tom_g I will make the switch to an Android phone and tablet as soon as my current iDevices die completely, for the reasons you mention. Back when I bought them there were no Android phones or tablets out yet. But for now I’m not gonna spend the extra $ to upgrade when I can just jailbreak and get the functionality I need.
Side note: I have not found the GPS screwy, and I’ve really put it through its paces hiking and river kayaking.
^ I believe it was a common problem with later iPhone models.
For example…
Free wifi hotspot is the main reason I used to jailbreak. It’s great since I’m grandfathered into an unlimited data plan. But I travel a lot less now, so don’t have much of a need for it anymore.
@seek_kolinahr believe it or not, there are plenty of other reasons people would want an iphone over an android. One being a consistant UX and a community of developers that actually uphold apples design standards. Also a lot of people in the know, aren’t thrilled about using an OS that is built with Java. Regardless, android devices aren’t exactly completely open either, they just call it rooting instead of jailbreaking.
@Silence04: ”@seek_kolinahr believe it or not, there are plenty of other reasons people would want an iphone over an android.”
Sure. I actually recommend iOS devices to some people based on their needs. But these aren’t power users. But @Seek’s question is a valid one. For many jailbreakers, they are bucking up against Apple’s restrictive philosophy and approach and trying to do much of what you get in plain old Android. Sometimes you need to match your needs with the appropriate device.
@Silence04: “One being a consistant UX and a community of developers that actually uphold apples design standards. Also a lot of people in the know, aren’t thrilled about using an OS that is built with Java.”
Sure. If Apple’s design standards are to your liking, go for iOS. Again, not relevant to jailbreaking or functionality, but everyone has their priorities. And I love talking to ghostly “people in the know”. They usually end up being either imaginary or not very “in the know”.
@Silence04: “Regardless, android devices aren’t exactly completely open either, they just call it rooting instead of jailbreaking.”
True. You can root your Android for additional functionality. But it’s silly to ignore the fact that many people jailbreak their iOS devices in order to obtain functionality that has been standard in non-rooted Android devices for years.
@tom_g no reason to get defensive, lol. Just answering a question someone asked.
@Silence04: ”@tom_g no reason to get defensive, lol. Just answering a question someone asked.”
No need to imply defensiveness. Just responding to your comment.
@Seek_Kolinahr Oh, you mean the Apple Maps app. I use Google Maps for everything except tagging lat/long coordinates, which it will no longer do in this newer revamp if the spot you want to tag is not on a recognized road. The newer GMaps interface sucks and I hate that it lacks this feature, but at least its info is mostly accurate. Apple Maps is nearly unusable for everyday navigation.
The mapping apps in any device are not the same thing as its bare aGPS capability. I have been under the impression that this capability is similar for most phones, Android or Apple, currently on the market – specialty phones like the Sonim aside. Someone please correct me if I’m wrong; significantly better GPS would be worth upgrading for.
Maybe some of our more outdoorsy Jellies would know. I haven’t needed to use lat/long coordinates since I’ve had the phone.
@tom_g it’s the rating I gave your comment. I mean, if your defensive response was not intentional, then you were obviously trying to create some sort of educated debate by dissecting every sentence of my response. Unfortunately you failed to point out any real fallacies with my statements, and only contributed your own opinions along with subtle insults… an effort worthy of my 1/10 rating.
I will mention, that a crapload of IOS features are stolen from the jailbreaking community.
the ones that quickly come to mind are:
Having unlimited apps in folders, and pages in those folders.
Video Wallpaper
The notification center
there are lots of others though, and yet apple says jailbreaking is bad. bah
@XOIIO
Stealing seems like a harsh world to me, no matter really.
IMO Apple and the jailbreak “industry” need each other in deep and crucial ways.
Apple supplies the all important platform, Cydia developers bring ideas that Apple hadn’t thought of yet.
@Seek_Kolinahr
Respectfully, I submit that part of why the point of jailbreaking escapes you is because it’s simply fun.
Also, should a jailbreaker run into serious trouble with their warranty covered device they can simply restore the phone to Apple’s specs and have it repaired or replaced.
@SecondHandStoke: “Respectfully, I submit that part of why the point of jailbreaking escapes you is because it’s simply fun.”
Now that is an honest answer. And I can appreciate it. That’s one of the things that attracts me to Android. The ability to make your phone do exactly what you want to do is a blast – even if other people find it absurd. Anything that makes iOS more like Android is ok in my book.
That is a completely valid answer. You didn’t need to try this earlier…
@SecondHandStoke: “Android is hopelessly outclassed in terms of sheer numbers of available applications. Not to mention Apple’s trademark user respecting design and build quality.”
The first part of my statement was conveniently omitted:
“Between the real App Store and the jailbreak one (Cydia)...”
Do you work for the mainstream media?
@SecondHandStoke: “Do you work for the mainstream media?”
Hmm…you might want to explain this comment. Thoroughly.
Is this the part where Apple is a forgotten minority in the electronics market? because this conversation isn’t happening in 1998.
@tom_g
I’m curious as to your profession.
Conveniently omitting parts of statements for one’s own purpose Is a political and news stock in trade.
Something you did merely reminds me of the habits of certain people other than software engineers.
@Seek_Kolinahr
I already covered this in a previous post:
I said to the effect “Apple is no longer and underdog so it has become hip to deride them.”
Ok, so let’s back up from the odd sidetrack into our personal lives for a moment.
You made a claim. Include your entire statement. Include it all. Now, back it up with numbers. Spoiler alert: I don’t think they are going to be what you expect.
Here. I’ll make it easier for you.
@SecondHandStoke: “Between the real App Store and the jailbreak one (Cydia) Android is hopelessly outclassed in terms of sheer numbers of available applications. Not to mention Apple’s trademark user respecting design and build quality.”
_________ vs. ____________ fill in the total available apps that explain what qualifies Android as “hopelessly outclases in terms of sheer numbers of available applications”.
Uh, you can’t have an opinion on a number of available apps.
So, by “numbers” you mean “not numbers”?
Well, I’d like to play, but it appears that no one keeps track of Cyndia store apps.
Android clears out their store 4 times a year. No word on whether Apple does as well.
@tom_g
So you are a software engineer. cool, as we need these.
However, when it comes to the iPhone’s remarkable simplicity of use, some of it is the result of industrial designers.
@Seek_Kolinahr keeps chanting the praises of Android driven devices.
These are not halfway as clever and silently useful as those composed by Apple.
It’s as though, as usual, Apple products are as physically compatible and intuitive as their very first desktops.
As she suggests in so many words, why not employ an Android instead of tweaking an iPhone.
Why? because that would involve using and Android.
@SecondHandStoke – You could have saved us some time if you had just let us know initially that you were simply trolling.
@tom_g
Why the attempt to cause me to lose my composure?
The OP and many of my comments are perfectly legitimate statements about jailbreaking.
You even described one of my answers as an “honest one”, IE “one that (YOU) can appreciate.”
Inevitably another discussion about an Apple product or function degraded into the typical debate over them and their competitors.
I’ve had both Android and iPhone. Both have their positives and negatives. I hate iTunes. It’s a big pain in my ass. After 2 years I still don’t understand it.
I feel like my Android knew me better. My iPhone STILL tries to change “fuck” to “duck”. lol My Droid never did that!
@SecondHandStoke Every quarter, the Google Play store removes the bottom-performing 20% of apps from their store.
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