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Why wouldn't I jailbreak my iPhone?

D

docprego

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jun 12, 2007
1,244
111
Henderson, NV
As best as I can figure it out, jailbreaking allows me to install thrid party apps through Cydia that are not Apple authorized. At the same time the Apple app store is available to me. Isn't this the best of both worlds?

What reasons are there that would make jailbreaking a bad idea? It just seems like there is nothing to lose and everything to gain. Or am I extremely naive and missing some important considerations?
 
jailbreaking can get you free apps...and it can get you a new theme...im not going to do it because there is a small risk of briking my phone...
 
buggy apps are one problem, but since you can just restore I don't see any reason not to jailbreak if you are so inclined.
 
The only downside of jailbreaking is when it downgrades the baseband.

Other than that, there is really no harm. You are right, it's the best of both worlds, and your iPhone can pretty much run anything that anyone makes that is legit.
 
Jailbreaking itself is fairly harmless as its reversible with a Restore. Unlocking is a different story.
 
You should visit the iPhone Hacks forum before making a decision. Keep in mind these are the people who have problems and need help. It will give you an idea of what other people tripped over. I haven't read them all, but only remember seeing one that broke to the point a hardware replacement was necessary. And there is much debate on if that was an existing hardware issue.
 
nickspohn said:
The only downside of jailbreaking is when it downgrades the baseband.

Other than that, there is really no harm. You are right, it's the best of both worlds, and your iPhone can pretty much run anything that anyone makes that is legit.
Click to expand...

I don't know much about the cell phone technology itself... so what do you mean by downgrading the baseband?
 
BMP1199 said:
I don't know much about the cell phone technology itself... so what do you mean by downgrading the baseband?
Click to expand...

the baseband has to do with your cell phone carrier and their settings.

I think they change the baseband when unlocking the phone for other carriers... i might be a little off on this but thats the best i could remember atm lol
 
there isnt much downside especially with how advanced Pwnage tool is. letting restore to original state change baseband to which ever version you need. i would do it....if i had an iphone
 
There seems to be quite a bit of confusion going on here.

Jailbreaking does not entail downgrading the baseband, that's Unlocking. You only need to be messing with the baseband and unlocking if you want to use the phone on a different wireless carrier than the one you are currently on (ex/ want to use the AT&T iPhone on T-Mobile)

Jailbreaking is simply modifying the iPhone's software to allow third party applications (outside the App Store) to be installed on the phone. It essentially opens your phone's file system up so programs can access it. It has been in the past, and will likely be in the foreseeable future, fully reversible.

Unlocking on the other hand can be quite a bit more dangerous. Not taking into account that true unlocking isn't available yet on the 3G iPhone, unlocking problems have indeed rendered phones unusable if something goes wrong in the process. It may or may not be recoverable if there is an issue downgrading the baseband while unlocking.

The point I am trying to make is that Jailbreaking is NOT the same as Unlocking. Although many of the programs available can do both at the same time, they are very different things.
 
aphexii said:
There seems to be quite a bit of confusion going on here.

Jailbreaking does not entail downgrading the baseband, that's Unlocking. You only need to be messing with the baseband and unlocking if you want to use the phone on a different wireless carrier than the one you are currently on (ex/ want to use the AT&T iPhone on T-Mobile)

Jailbreaking is simply modifying the iPhone's software to allow third party applications (outside the App Store) to be installed on the phone. It essentially opens your phone's file system up so programs can access it. It has been in the past, and will likely be in the foreseeable future, fully reversible.

Unlocking on the other hand can be quite a bit more dangerous. Not taking into account that true unlocking isn't available yet on the 3G iPhone, unlocking problems have indeed rendered phones unusable if something goes wrong in the process. It may or may not be recoverable if there is an issue downgrading the baseband while unlocking.

The point I am trying to make is that Jailbreaking is NOT the same as Unlocking. Although many of the programs available can do both at the same time, they are very different things.
Click to expand...

couldn't of said it better
 
Jeremy W said:
Hah, you'll still have that problem even if you only get apps from the App Store!
Click to expand...

Ironically enough, one of the biggest downsides to jailbreaking previously was app instability. Now that we all have it, even more reason to jailbreak :)
 
fireshot91 said:
jailbreaking can get you free apps...and it can get you a new theme...im not going to do it because there is a small risk of briking my phone...
Click to expand...

Jailbreaking is the EASIEST thing out there!!! i did mine in like 20min and its working great!! then i restored to original 2.0.... re-jailbroke with 2.0.1 in another 20min theres no risk involved whatsoever!!!!
 
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