What Is Jailbreaking? - Jailbreaking For Noobs

What is all this fuss about someone breaking out of jail? Well it is a term used in the iPhone community that refers to freeing your phone from Apple's restricting locks on your phone. Ever wonder why you can't do things on your iPhone such as use a different carrier or change your background/theme. It's because Apple has all the power when it comes to their phone and don't want you messing around with their code. Jailbreaking is the solution! To learn how to jailbreak check out my previous guide.

In technical terms jailbreaking is usually a program that exploits a security flaw in the iPhone firmware. The software injects an arbitrary code into the phone that then installs your their software that allows you to install their unsigned unapproved applications.

Currently the most popular iPhone jailbreak software is Cydia. It is a software application created by Jay Freeman or aka Saurik. It allows you download applications that don't have restrictions like the ones in the app store. Cydia is a GUI for APT which is a package manager for UNIX systems. So you can add repositories aside from the trusted ones that come with Cydia.

Don't be intimidated by the sheer amount of apps. I will give you a rundown of the best and the most installation worthy.

Winterboard

This app doesn't seem like much but it is one of the most powerful apps on Cydia. It allows you to add custom themes and backgrounds to your phone. I prefer to select the settings transparent dock and user wallpaper so my wallpaper is my lock screen wallpaper. You can download additional themes and backgrounds in Cydia.

Cycorder

 

Are you envious of the new 3GS users and their fancy video cameras on their phone. With Cycorder you can record and save video on the iPhone 2G and 3G. It has very good quality but its only drawback is retrieving your videos once you have recorded them. You can access them through SSH or a file manager like DiskAid.

Five-Icon Dock

Five icon dock is by far my favorite because it is so simple. It allows you to use five icons instead of four.

SBSettings

After you download this app you can access it by sliding your finger across the top of the screen where the time is. It allows you to turn on or off certain functions of your phone like wifi or bluetooth. It also allows you to free memory so your phone runs faster.


How To Install Apps From Cydia

First, you find which category the app you want to install is in.

 
Then you select it from its subcategory. You will get details like what the icon will look like and what the app does. You click install at the top right of the screen. Then click confirm.

You will get to this black screen that may seem really confusing to new users but it is just showing you what it is doing internally.

Once it is done it will bring up a bar at the bottom that can say many things such as but not limited to: return to cydia, reboot phone, and restart springboard. You only have to reboot the phone if it is a complicated app.

Now you are all done and have a newly installed application. If you liked this guide please donate so I can continue writing. If you have any questions about this guide please email me.

By Scar3croW