How to Jailbreak an iPhone (as of OS 3.1.2 [UPDATED FOR 3.1.3])(also works for iPod Touch)

So I’ve had to help several people in liberating their iPhones, and each time I repeat basically the same information. For the sake of simplicity, and to clarify any issues that may come up in future jailbreaks, I’m going to dump the instructions I give everyone else along with the recommended applications I suggest others start out with here.

read this entire message before doing anything…

Start off by playing this in the background: Aggro1 – Foo Fighters vs. Evil 9

Okay… so everything is really, really simple. Just follow the basic instructions and read what I have written here to get yourself started off. You don’t need to install everything I’ve listed, but it’s a great selection of apps to see what kind of stuff jailbreaking allows. This is by no means, however, everything you’ll be able to do. Explore. And remember that if anything goes absolutely horrifically wrong, all you have to do is restore your phone through iTunes and try again. Bam. You’re set.

1. Update iTunes and iPhone software and firmware to latest updates. This isn’t super important, but why not? I find it odd (read: stupid) when others have outdated code running on their computers or devices. It’s usually slower, less secure, and lacking in features that one could find quite useful once available. Once all updates have completed, continue.  UPDATE: if you have upgraded to the 3.1.3 firmware go here and follow the instructions provided before continuing
2. Sync your iPhone. This will backup all of your important and perishable data; not that it’s going anywhere–this process doesn’t alter any of your data or media or information. No worries. It’s simply a good idea to always have a plan C in case plan B (checking Google’s suggestions and trying again) somehow doesn’t work. Close out of iTunes once the sync has been completed.
3. Head to blackweather and click on the icon that describes your operating system. If you’re running some form of Linux you probably aren’t going to need much direction anyway.
4. Make it ra1n! Run the downloaded file and go through the entire list of one option available to select. Seriously, if you mess this up, take this alternate path: place phone on ground, lift foot and bring down with significant force on top of phone. Most likely, you’ll be getting through one of the most frightening bits without breaking a sweat.
5. Wait. If all goes well, you’ll get a congratulatory message and another view of GeoHot, the wonderful hacker responsible for what you’re about to enjoy.
6. Let the fun begin… On your phone should now be a black raindrop icon for the blackra1n app. Open that up and select only Cydia (unless you want to use your phone with other SIM cards on other networks in the United States or elsewhere, in which case you should also select sn0w; sometimes there are issues when using blacksn0w, but you can look here for the fixes) and Uninstall blackra1n. That will get rid of the little black raindrop icon, though your phone will remain jailbroken.
7. Let the real fun begin… Cydia is where all the fun comes from. It’s what you use to install all the various hacks and apps and elements of customization that will turn your iPhone into a iamsexyPhone (if that’s the direction you so choose to take). Open that up and wait a bit for it to refresh its repositories (repos are catalogs of downloads for your phone; some will have similar or the same things available, some will be in random languages, and others will have only a few things available for download which may be of absolutely no interest or use to you [thankfully, individual categories can be hidden away in the Sections area]; I’ll give you a list of the repos I use a little bit later…)
8. Update what needs updating, again. Hopefully you’re already connected to a WiFi network, though any cell-data connection will work (albeit slowly). Cydia will tell you that there are some updates available for the preloaded components it comes with. Get those. Pass Go. Collect $200.
9. Okay, really, now the fun begins. Start exploring! You’ve now seen what it looks like when Cydia installs new things (the streaming lines of code). It looks kind of intimidating but really isn’t anything to be scared of. At some point Cydia will ask what you are: user, hacker, or developer. If you’re reading this, chances are you’re a “user”. That means you’re shown only tools and applications you’ll know how to use (if you like lines of code and fiddling with the more intimate bits of your phone’s innards, feel free to advance to the next levels; it’s your phone worth hundreds of dollars)
10. The world is your oyster. Let’s open it up. In the Manage section you’ll find a Sources subsection, which contains your list of repositories currently subscribed-to by your phone. You can add or remove repos here (there are also some suggested repos on the main page of Cydia with a stupid and unnecessary warning message about adding more sources), and I’ve included a list of some of the ones I have (ignore any possible warnings you may receive while adding these repos):
    • http://david.ashman.com/apt/
    • http://repo.beyouriphone.com/
    • http://cydia.hackulo.us/
    • http://cydia.iphonecake.com/
    • http://repo.sinfuliphone.com/
    • http://cydia.xsellize.com/
    • http://www.sinfuliphonerepo.com/
11. My recommended app list. These guys will show you a good time and really show off some of the cooler things you can do with a jailbroken iPhone. There is no order or organization to this list. It’s just stuff I like. I suggest you try it all out, but obviously the choice is yours. At least add the repos and search for the packages to see what they do. Some may be more useful than you expect.
    • SBSettings (very, very useful; lets you change lots of settings without leaving whatever page/app you’re on/in; play with settings to adjust what options this shows)
      • Insomnia toggle (used within Insomnia; allows you to turn off Insomnia with a swipe and tap of your finger)
      • Actually, there are just a ton of useful toggles and the like for SBSettings, so I’ll only list a couple and suggest you look around at what else is out there…
    • Insomnia (lets you allow the use of WiFi/data connections even when you lock your phone or it falls asleep; obviously, this will drain your battery if you leave it on with applications downloading things in the background, but it’s nice to have if you find yourself downloading many or massive files [see install0us below...] )
    • qTweeter (update Facebook/Twitter without leaving any application or page you’re on; cracked version available)
    • MobileTerminal (useful later; also required by some applications)
    • Backgrounder (enables applications to be run in the background; allows multiple applications to be run at once)(yay multitasking!)
      • Kirikae (provides a really nifty and efficient way to make use of Backgrounder)
    • Winterboard (lets you customize the look of just about every aspect of your iPhone; search for Winterboard themes to make your iPhone pretty; look for inspiration
      • Glasklart (what I’m currently using)
        • Glasklart Liveclock (for use with the liveclock)
      • Black-Matte UI (I’m using this too)
      • 2001 Rainbow Battery (and this)
      • Minimal Grey and White SMS (also this)
      • Gruppled Theme (there are many additional parts you can get to complete this theme)
        • Gruppled Art
        • Gruppled Live Clock
        • Gruppled Weathericon
      • Abeo
      • Note: if themes have overlapping parts, whichever ones are checked off and on top will be shown. if there are certain elements you like from one thing plus some other stuff from another, select and arrange them accordingly. i have rainbow battery on top of user lock screen and user background, which are all above matte and the glasklart stuff. just play around with it. the more crap you have going, the slower your phone may be, though.
    • Battery Control Premium (cracked; lets you tweak extra battery settings, such as allowing you to tap the icon in the upper right corner to switch to a percentage remaining)
    • Cyntact (adds photos to all lists of contacts on your phone–just kinda nifty)
    • Enable Tethering for iPhone (I’ll give you one guess)
    • A Better Tap to Unlock (nice place to start when playing with Winterboard)
    • Lockinfo (adds all sorts of useful info to your lockscreen in a really slick interfact; super-recommended)
    • Five Icon Dock (allows you have up to 5 icons on your dock; there are apps that allow for more, but it gets too cluttered for my taste beyond 5)
    • Five Column Springboard
    • Fiveirows no GUI
    • Liveclock (changes the static clock icon on your homepage to a “live” clock that displays the actual time)
    • install0us 2.5 (from sinfuliphonerepo.com; set apptrackr.org as the home “Home URL” and turn on “iTunes Sync” — make sure you also have AppSync for 3.1.2 [also from the sinfuliphonerepo.com] in order to sync these cracked applications with your iTunes)
    • Statusnotifier 3.0 (puts notification icons on your status bar to indicate new messages, emails, RSS updates, et al.)
    • Weathericon (shows live weather status on your homepage similar to Liveclock; can also display temperature in your status bar)
    • Safari Download Manager (helps with downloading files in Safari)
    • iFile (lets you browse the insides of your iPhone’s filesystem from within the phone itself; more useful than it sounds; I often use this to correct minor issues or use downloaded files that I’d otherwise only be able to access through a computer)
    • afc2add (allows to use things like iPhone Browser to explore the system files that are otherwise hidden via your computer)
    • OpenSSH (also necessary for browsing your iPhone’s internals from a computer)
    • bigboss’s source
    • Lockscreen Clock Hide (I use this with Lockinfo and its clock plugin)
    • Lockscreen Dim Delay (lets the lockscreen stay visible for longer; best used with Lockinfo)
    • miphone repo
    • modmyi.com repo
    • pwncenter repo
    • QuickReply for SMS (or QuickSMS; allows you to reply to a text message without leaving your current application/page)
    • Rotation Inhibitor (allows you to prevent automatic rotation; includes SBSettings toggle)
    • Universal Search (turns the spotlight search into a web-service-searcher)
    • Searcher (lets you search within text messages, emails, contacts, etc.)
    • Haptic Pro (really nifty app that creates haptic feedback on your iPhone; drains battery faster than normal typing would, obviously, so consider using with the complementary SBSettings toggle)
    • YourTube (lets you download YouTube videos from directly within the actual application)
    • yxflash
    • zodttd’s source repo
    • 3G Unrestrictor (prevents applications from requiring you to use WiFi for certain features)
    • Whatever else looks interesting.
      • Remember, if you look around enough (mostly in the xsellize and sinfuliphone repos; not to mention their very useful forums online) you can find most of the commercial (read: you have to pay to use it) apps here (not to mention in the Apple AppStore; see install0us above) for free. They aren’t all available, and they’re not always totally up to date, but they can give you a good idea of what you’re missing out on by being a cheapskate.
12. Don’t be ignorant. Read the “more info” sections and look at the screenshots when checking out the various things available to download. They’ll often show you how to use the apps, let you see whether Ultra Badass Winterboard Theme is really as awesome as it’s made out to be, or whether the stuff you’re looking at is really of any use to you at all.
13. Use protection. Now that you’ve let loose your iPhone into the great wide world, a lot of wonderful things abound; but recently, some less-than-benevolent bits of code have been floating around the airwaves infecting jailbroken and unsecured iPhones. Thankfully, it doesn’t take much work to secure your phone, if you’re not afraid to get a little intimate with it.
    • Make sure you have the MobileTerminal app installed on your iPhone. It’s available for free in the default Cydia repos, so you can get started with this right away.
    • Launch MobileTerminal, give it a second, and you should see something like this: iPhoneName: ~ Mobile$
    • Note, after each line you enter into MobileTerminal, press return to enter the command.
      
    • At that prompt, type: passwd
    • You’ll be prompted for the ‘old’ (current) password for the mobile user.  Enter this as the old password: alpine
    • You’ll then be prompted to enter the new password – so just type in your desired new password.  Use good password principles if possible (long and stong).  You will not see characters appearing on the screen as you type – that’s normal, not a concern.
    • You’ll then be prompted to re-enter the new password.  Do that.
    • You should then be returned to the Mobile$ prompt that you started on when opening the MobileTerminal app.  There’s no success message to say the password was changed – but if you’re returned to the prompt and do not get an error, the change was successful.  And you’re done with change for the mobile account.
    • The second primary admin account for the iPhone is called root – so now you need to change that as well.
    • Type this to switch to the root user: login root
    • You’ll be prompted for the root user’s current password.  Enter this: alpine
    • Type this to start the password change routine again: passwd
    • Enter the old password for root (it is ‘alpine’, same as for the mobile user) and enter your desired new password twice, just as you did for the mobile account.

It’s more than a good idea to do this, and doesn’t actually take much skill. Just don’t forget what password you use….maybe email it to yourself (seriously takes no more than a couple minutes, but should be done sooner rather than later).

14. Enjoy. That’s it. You’re all set. If all went well, then it should have taken no more than 15 or so minutes. If you get stuck or worried or whatever, don’t panic. I have yet to encounter a problem that couldn’t be fixed with a quick search of the symptoms on Google. I guarantee you that if you’re having trouble with something, someone has already been through the same thing and asked for help somewhere on the internets. There’s a lot of knowledge out there. If you absolutely cannot for the life of you figure out what’s going on, then feel free to ask me for assistance. I’m going to know if you didn’t bother to search for the answer on your own first.

FINAL NOTES: for many of the apps, settings are found in your normal settings thing. just open it up and scroll down and you’ll see a list of settings and whatnot for a bunch of your jailbroken cydia-installed apps. that’s a nice feature. in cydia, installing numerous apps can take some time unless you queue them up by selecting “install” in each app and then “cancel/queue” up at the top left and hit “continue queuing”. you can then select tons of things to download and install at once and just leave your phone rocking out while you go eat dinner or shower or whatever (nothing really ever takes that long). i’ve also joined a couple of jailbreaking communities where i get access to other cracked apps and fun things, and one of the ones i like most and highly recommend are sinfuliphone.com, hackulo.us, and xsellize.com.