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If I buy a new iPad 2....jailbreak questions

S

Songbird99

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 4, 2012
9
0
Hi guys,

I'm new and not very tech-savvy. At all. So I hope you'll be gentle with me. ;)

I'm thinking about getting the iPad 2. I want to be able to do word processing on it (with an external keyboard), save documents, and upload documents to the internet as well as jpg images. It sounds like this will be hard and/or impossible without jailbreaking, so I'm interested in doing that (also for all the other cool stuff you can do by jailbreaking).

So here are my questions: If I buy a brand new iPad 2 with (I'm assuming) the latest operating system....

1. Can I even do it? Because I saw on another thread on here that someone said there's no current jailbreak for iPad 2.

2. If so, is there an EASY jailbreak available? (Ideally a one-click...or anything for stupid people?)

3. What happens once I'm jailbroken, have lots of cool stuff on my iPad, and an update comes out? It seems like I heard they're optional at first, then they force the updates on you eventually, and that the updates usually screw up your jailbreak.

And do you have any other advice/suggestions? I'd love to hear from anyone with more knowledge than me. (Which is everyone here! :p)

I really appreciate it, because I need to make a decision today, and if I can't do what I need to on the iPad, I'll have to get a netbook....which I really don't want. (So sick of crap PCs that break on me.) Can't afford a macbook, so this iPad is just to tide me over til I can replace my &%#@ Toshiba laptop with a macbook. Plus, I love the light weight convenience of the iPad.

Thanks, guys!
 
I'm not sure you really need to jailbreak to accomplish what you want to do. Check out DropBox.com as a great way to move documents between your iPad and other devices via "the cloud".

That said, here are the answers to your questions:
1. Yes. Now is a good time to buy an iPad for jailbreaking. A recent jailbreak works on the iPad 2 with the current OS (iOS 5.0.1).
2. It's not a "one click" process. Here's a "how to": www.redmondpie.com/jailbreak-5.0.1-...-ipad-2-using-absinthe-how-to-video-tutorial/
3. Apple never forces an update on you. You should be cautious about updating and make sure a jailbreak is available for the new OS on your device. Once you update, you will need to re-jailbreak the device. You will probably need to re-download your jailbreak apps.
 
Thanks, Kevin!

I thought I heard you couldn't upload files using an unbroken iPad, though. I definitely need to be able to do that.

Do you happen to know if I need to back up my ipad before jailbreaking, even if it's new and has had no new apps or documents added to it? (I'm not sure if the backing up is to save all MY stuff, or if it's to save everything that's already on the iPad, as well.)
 
Songbird99 said:
Thanks, Kevin!

I thought I heard you couldn't upload files using an unbroken iPad, though. I definitely need to be able to do that.

Do you happen to know if I need to back up my ipad before jailbreaking, even if it's new and has had no new apps or documents added to it? (I'm not sure if the backing up is to save all MY stuff, or if it's to save everything that's already on the iPad, as well.)
Click to expand...

You're probably right about uploading. DropBox can upload photos and videos stored on your iPad and it can download pretty much anything into the iPad. However, once you edit a document, I don't think you can generally use DropBox to upload the result. Most apps will at least allow you to email your document off the iPad. Apple's iWork apps allow you to upload your documents to iWork.com.

There is no real need to back up a freshly purchased iPad. If things go bad and you need to do a full iOS restore, your iPad should end up in the same condition as a new one. However, once you begin setting it up it will be good to have a backup.
 
Songbird99 said:
Thanks, Kevin!

I thought I heard you couldn't upload files using an unbroken iPad, though. I definitely need to be able to do that.

Do you happen to know if I need to back up my ipad before jailbreaking, even if it's new and has had no new apps or documents added to it? (I'm not sure if the backing up is to save all MY stuff, or if it's to save everything that's already on the iPad, as well.)
Click to expand...

It's always a good idea to back up and even better to develope the habit! Sometimes after jailbreaking a person could download a Cydia app that screws up the iPad and it won't function without a restore. So backups are #1. That's not to say this happens all the time...

Jail breaking can be fun and cool, but also very useful for those of us who need "a little extra" to make things work the way we want it.

If its something you want to try out, then do it. But make sure you read up on EVERYTHING related to jailbreaking so it will go as smooth as possible.
 
Thanks everyone. I scored an awesome deal on a 64 GB on clearance this afternoon, so I'm going to read up on jailbreaking and how to do it right. Is Absinthe the only program people are using for Ipad 2 right now? That's the only one I've seen that's recent, so far.

I also picked up a rocketfish Keyboard Capsule and the camera connection kit, because I read that there's extra stuff you can do with that connection kit once the iPad is jailbroken.

I can't wait to start downloading apps. I don't think my husband took that into account when he said I could get one. I have a lot of apps on my list. ;)
 
KevinC867 said:
You're probably right about uploading. DropBox can upload photos and videos stored on your iPad and it can download pretty much anything into the iPad. However, once you edit a document, I don't think you can generally use DropBox to upload the result. Most apps will at least allow you to email your document off the iPad. Apple's iWork apps allow you to upload your documents to iWork.com.
Click to expand...

it depends on the app you use to edit the documents, a lot od apps allow you to sync and/or upload edited docs to Dropbox. Apple's iWork apps sync with iCloud, which you can log into from a web browser on a computer and download the docs that way. I don't think jailbreaking makes it substantially easier to get documnts on and off an iPad. What you need are the right apps for it. GoodReader is a must-have, and FileBrowser is good too, if you have a wireless network you regularly connect to. Between FileBrowser and Dropbox, I almost never miss having a file system on my iPad.
 
Okay, used Absinthe. No trouble at all to do the jailbreak, the hardest part was when it kept telling me I had to extract the files, but I already had. Finally got the program to recognize the files were opened, and it was a cinch after that.

Now I just have to figure out how to download and use Cydia apps. They don't describe them well in the Cydia app store, and it's all set up weird. And I don't really know what I'm doing, so when an app says that it has no icon, and I'll have to set one up in settings, I'm too scared to try it. I NEED to find the program/app/hack/whatever easily, which means I need an icon. All the articles said to go to Settings, but NONE of the ones I saw told me what to do when I got there. Ugh! I thought the jailbreaking would be he hardest part!

I'm hating the bluetooth keyboard case I got. Are they all like that? It loses the signal alllll the time, even when I'm typing. But the ipad itself is really nice.
 
Songbird99 said:
Now I just have to figure out how to download and use Cydia apps. They don't describe them well in the Cydia app store, and it's all set up weird. And I don't really know what I'm doing, so when an app says that it has no icon, and I'll have to set one up in settings, I'm too scared to try it. I NEED to find the program/app/hack/whatever easily, which means I need an icon. All the articles said to go to Settings, but NONE of the ones I saw told me what to do when I got there. Ugh! I thought the jailbreaking would be he hardest part!

I'm hating the bluetooth keyboard case I got. Are they all like that? It loses the signal alllll the time, even when I'm typing. But the ipad itself is really nice.
Click to expand...

When you go to Settings, there will be a new "icon" in Settings, that you tap, and then you configure how that app/tweak behaves.

And yeah, jailbreaking itself is usually the easiest part, adding apps from Cydia and troubleshooting issues when things go wrong is hard, and why I don't recommend jailbreaking to non-tecchy people,

As for keyboard, I have the Apple Bluetooth keyboard, and it's never lost signal on me.
 
If you're just browsing until something looks interesting, you won't get far. It's easier to search through Cydia with a goal in mind... This is what I want or need...

Better yet, there is always information on the latest tweaks for iPad in blogs all over. Just run a search for the best iPad tweaks or whatever you want. Then pick and choose from there.

Perhaps your keyboard is defective? Or just a cheap model?
 
Okay, that Rocketfish keyboard was a piece of crap. I tested out three other keyboards at the store, two of which weren't even made for the ipad (they were for the Galaxy Tab, realized that after the fact) and they all worked with no problems. I returned the Rocketfish.

I ended up with a Belkin folio-type keyboard cover. Keyboard works great. It was $100, but I had a coupon, so I got it for $70. Score!

I purchased iFile and Safari Upload Enabler and Pages. Now if I can just figure out a way to save my .doc files onto my iPad, I'll be happy!

That's the one thing that's making me question this purchase...should I have gone with a different tablet that lets me download, upload, and save files without tearing out my hair? :(
 
OnLive Desktop may be what you are looking for with your .doc files. Get it from the app store and you can upload download, save, change any word files excel etc.
 
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