Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Cold Feet about Jailbreaking

T

teejusb

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 18, 2010
16
0
I've had my iPhone 3Gs for almost two years now (my AT&T Contract ends in October), so I thought it would be reasonable to finally Jailbreak it. I still have some questions I would like to clear up before I make the leap. I have done some googling and got many outdated and some mixed answers, which confused me even more. So I thought it would be reasonable for me to create a new thread. As of now, my iPhone is running 4.3.3 with baseband 05.16.02.

1) After Jailbreaking, IF I update a phone through iTunes (say, accidentally) what happens to my phone? I know the Jailbreak goes away, but does it make it unusable altogether? Or can I simply update it normally as I would, and then wait for the jailbreak to be released.
2) If I ever plan on Unlocking the phone, would I have to somehow downgrade the baseband?
3) Can I use iTunes with my iPhone connected without any harm?
4) I don't know my bootrom, but Untethered Jailbreak IS available for the 3Gs, right?

Basically I want to know what precautions I should take after Jailbreaking to prevent any bricking or hassles I may have in the future. And is Un-Jailbreaking possible without deleting my App Store downloaded apps and contacts? (Basically making it the same as it is now, without the Jailbreak)

P.S. I'm using Windows Vista, what Jailbreaking tool is recommended?
 
You use your phone exactly the same as you do now.
Jailbreaking adds tweaks and enhancments.

If you update your phone you'll loose the jailbreak (assuming the dev team havnt released a jb yet) and it will go back to a normal iPhone.

Don't worry about bricking it, I've yet to read of anyone bricking an iPhone with a jailbreak.

Try redsnow to jailbreak. That's probably the handiest.
Or jailbreakme can be done on safari. (one click)
 
teejusb said:
I've had my iPhone 3Gs for almost two years now (my AT&T Contract ends in October), so I thought it would be reasonable to finally Jailbreak it. I still have some questions I would like to clear up before I make the leap. I have done some googling and got many outdated and some mixed answers, which confused me even more. So I thought it would be reasonable for me to create a new thread. As of now, my iPhone is running 4.3.3 with baseband 05.16.02.

1) After Jailbreaking, IF I update a phone through iTunes (say, accidentally) what happens to my phone? I know the Jailbreak goes away, but does it make it unusable altogether? Or can I simply update it normally as I would, and then wait for the jailbreak to be released.
2) If I ever plan on Unlocking the phone, would I have to somehow downgrade the baseband?
3) Can I use iTunes with my iPhone connected without any harm?
4) I don't know my bootrom, but Untethered Jailbreak IS available for the 3Gs, right?

Basically I want to know what precautions I should take after Jailbreaking to prevent any bricking or hassles I may have in the future. And is Un-Jailbreaking possible without deleting my App Store downloaded apps and contacts? (Basically making it the same as it is now, without the Jailbreak)

P.S. I'm using Windows Vista, what Jailbreaking tool is recommended?
Click to expand...

for the most up to date tutorials i would use

http://www.iclarified.com/entry/index.php?enid=14563

like you said if you accidenty upgrade with itunes they you would lose you jailbreak but thats all they phone would function fine

as far as unlocking im not sure about the 3GS but the baseband cannot be downgraded so if thats important you may wany more clarification on that part
 
None really unless you bork something during the JB process. Don't worry though, if you mess something up, you'll know pretty much immediately so no worries there. JB is a pretty simple process however, if you don't like it, you can always revert back to normal without any issue.

In the event you're looking to unlock your phone, you will need to pay attention to maintaining your baseband as you can't revert that once it's been updated.
 
Just Made the Jump :D Now what should I do first and foremost now that Jailbreaking is complete? And what should I do to maximize my battery life?
 
teejusb said:
Just Made the Jump :D Now what should I do first and foremost now that Jailbreaking is complete? And what should I do to maximize my battery life?
Click to expand...

Check out macthemes and the iPhone hacks section. As far as battery life goes, stay away from video wallpapers and all that crap. Apps like Mywi are great, but will run down the battery pretty quickly.
 
Change your root and mobile passwords!

In Terminal type: "ssh root@your IP" (ex. ssh root@192.168.0.70)
Enter "alpine" as the password
Type "passwd" - this changes the root password
Type "passwd mobile" - this changes the password to the mobile folder

*Note: Do not type the quotation marks.

Also, I'd stay away from Winterboard (theming) as it has been the cause of many a system instability for me. It's usually what slows the device down.
 
Im trying to change the root password, but I don't have terminal. I managed to access my iPhone with WinSCP but I don't know how to change the password? How would I use the WinSCP to change the password? Btw, the MobileTerminal app in Cydia isn't opening which is why I'm using WinSCP.

Edit: I'm trying with PuTTY now, are the commands the same as the Terminal?
 
teejusb said:
Im trying to change the root password, but I don't have terminal. I managed to access my iPhone with WinSCP but I don't know how to change the password? How would I use the WinSCP to change the password? Btw, the MobileTerminal app in Cydia isn't opening which is why I'm using WinSCP.

Edit: I'm trying with PuTTY now, are the commands the same as the Terminal?
Click to expand...

Add the source http://yourcydiarepo.org for a working mobile terminal
 
So my I've changed my root password :D Now going through the "Post your Jailbroken Home Screen (Part 3)" thread, I see some awesome looking themes and "widgets." How do I make my iPhone look like those?
 
teejusb said:
Im trying to change the root password, but I don't have terminal. I managed to access my iPhone with WinSCP but I don't know how to change the password? How would I use the WinSCP to change the password? Btw, the MobileTerminal app in Cydia isn't opening which is why I'm using WinSCP.

Edit: I'm trying with PuTTY now, are the commands the same as the Terminal?
Click to expand...
Sorry, I thought you were on a Mac. I wouldn't been too much help anyway as I'm not all that familiar with Windows Unix terminal apps. Glad you got it sorted.
 
I recommend SBSettings - among other things gives a nice and easy way to mess with your wifi and other such settings (airplane, etc). Also come bundled now with activator - which allows you to assign gestures to apps (right now, pulling down from the top of the screen opens the camera for me, for example).

Also, if you didn't do it via Jailbreakme.com (which auto-applies this fix, IIRC) then you might want to look for the PDF fix to patch an access exploit.
 
teejusb said:
I've had my iPhone 3Gs for almost two years now (my AT&T Contract ends in October), so I thought it would be reasonable to finally Jailbreak it. I still have some questions I would like to clear up before I make the leap. I have done some googling and got many outdated and some mixed answers, which confused me even more. So I thought it would be reasonable for me to create a new thread. As of now, my iPhone is running 4.3.3 with baseband 05.16.02.

1) After Jailbreaking, IF I update a phone through iTunes (say, accidentally) what happens to my phone? I know the Jailbreak goes away, but does it make it unusable altogether? Or can I simply update it normally as I would, and then wait for the jailbreak to be released.
2) If I ever plan on Unlocking the phone, would I have to somehow downgrade the baseband?
3) Can I use iTunes with my iPhone connected without any harm?
4) I don't know my bootrom, but Untethered Jailbreak IS available for the 3Gs, right?

Basically I want to know what precautions I should take after Jailbreaking to prevent any bricking or hassles I may have in the future. And is Un-Jailbreaking possible without deleting my App Store downloaded apps and contacts? (Basically making it the same as it is now, without the Jailbreak)

P.S. I'm using Windows Vista, what Jailbreaking tool is recommended?
Click to expand...

1) Once updated, it will go to stock Apple Firmware and you will lose your jailbreak. However, iPhone is still usable.

2) Every different or major iOS update, Apple may sometimes upgrade the baseband to a different number. In this case, you have the highest baseband for the iPhone 3GS, which is not down-gradable.

3) Yes you can. Once you are jailbroken, just stay away from "restore" and "update" and you will be fine.

4) Untethered jailbreaks are available for the iPhone 3GS. If you wish to find out your bootrom, get iDetector from ih8sn0w.com.

Here is the link for iDetector: http://ih8sn0w.com/index.php/products/view/idetector.snow
 
teejusb said:
1) After Jailbreaking, IF I update a phone through iTunes (say, accidentally) what happens to my phone? I know the Jailbreak goes away, but does it make it unusable altogether? Or can I simply update it normally as I would, and then wait for the jailbreak to be released.
2) If I ever plan on Unlocking the phone, would I have to somehow downgrade the baseband?
3) Can I use iTunes with my iPhone connected without any harm?
4) I don't know my bootrom, but Untethered Jailbreak IS available for the 3Gs, right?

Basically I want to know what precautions I should take after Jailbreaking to prevent any bricking or hassles I may have in the future. And is Un-Jailbreaking possible without deleting my App Store downloaded apps and contacts? (Basically making it the same as it is now, without the Jailbreak)

P.S. I'm using Windows Vista, what Jailbreaking tool is recommended?
Click to expand...

1. The jailbreak will go away and your phone should not be affected negatively. If anything bad ever did happen, a DFU restore is the cure.

2. The baseband on a 3Gs isn't downgradable.

3. Yes.

4. Regardless of bootrom, 4.3.3 is untethered.

Back up your iPhone with iTunes to save your contacts and pictures and whatnot, before you jailbreak. Your app store apps will be tied to your iTunes account so no worries there. The only way to un-jailbreak is to restore.

P.S. Use Redsn0w. Jailbreakme was buggy was first, but it seems to have been patched. I'm running both jailbreaks (on 2 different phones, obviously :D) and although JBME runs fine, I still recommend Redsn0w no matter what.
 
Jailbreakme.com is very easy and convenient, but if you want a custom firmware then use snowbreeze, it is super easy if you know what you are doing.
 
restoring from a backup after jailbreak

Try not to murder me on this, but i'm new to jailbreaking.....

Can i restore from a backup through itunes after i have jailbroken my iphone?

I created a backup of my phone before i jailbroke it, i had tons of pics & videos i want to restore back onto my phone that i removed because i was having a problem with redsnow. I basicly restored to default then jailbroke it. Whats the best way to get all my stuff back (apps,pics,video,music, text logs,contacts, etc)
 
JPhillips173 said:
Try not to murder me on this, but i'm new to jailbreaking.....

Can i restore from a backup through itunes after i have jailbroken my iphone?

I created a backup of my phone before i jailbroke it, i had tons of pics & videos i want to restore back onto my phone that i removed because i was having a problem with redsnow. I basicly restored to default then jailbroke it. Whats the best way to get all my stuff back (apps,pics,video,music, text logs,contacts, etc)
Click to expand...

Restore from backup. You can do this through itunes on a jb phone. Everything is the same with an unjailbroken phone.

In addition, save your photos and pics separately as well, don't rely only on the backup. Use iphoto or manually save them somewhere using image capture.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back