Why iOS 5 is taking so long

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Admin

If you’re like most iPhone users then for the past month or so you have probably been wondering just where in the world that famed iOS 5 jailbreak and unlock where and when they were going to be released. Well you’re definitly not alone in your thoughts, many users have emailed us and asked us this very same question so instead of addressing them one by one we thought we would take them to answer them here so that the issue can be put to rest, at least for the moment.

The reason the new jailbreak and unlock for iOS 5 is taking so long is because the new apple devices use a completely new chip in their boards and as a result have a completely different type of security over the previous devices from earlier generations. This may not seem like a big difference to you and me but since hackers have to perfectly craft their unauthorized code in order to break into the root of the device it is a very big deal for them.

It’s no secret that apple doesn’t really like people jailbreaking and unlocking so when they released their new a2 chips they saw a chance to upgrade their security in order to thwart iOS hackers and as you can tell by the long waiting times they obviously took the chance and ran with it. Thats not to say that these new security features haven’t been already bypassed, they in fact have. The problem is that it’s been very difficult to put these new exploits into an easy to use software package that can easily be ran by your normal everyday user like me and you.

Some hackers are already out on youtube flaunting their jailbroken and unlocked iOS 5 devices but thats because they knowledge and experience needed in order to perform the complex process that is required. But there is no need to worry, the jailbreaking community is actively working to take these complex jailbreaks and simplify them so that they can be ran with a single click just like the jailbreaks and unlocks of previous generations.

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Jailbreak Vs. Unlock

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Admin

When it comes to iPhone hacking these are probably the 2 most commonly used terms but if you’re new to all of this you may not know what each one actually means so in this post I’m going to take the time to explain them both so that you can understand how they are different from one another.

First we’ll go with the most commonly used term, jailbreaking. Whenever somebody talks about jailbreaking their iDevice what they are reffering to is the process of loading unauthorized code onto their phone which will allow them to do things that normally wouldn’t be allowed by both apple and the cell phone carrier. What this special and unauthorized code does is “hack” the iPhones security features so that it can bypass most of the restrictions that are put in place by Apple or the carriers, once the code is loaded onto the phone and it has finished executing you’ll be able to pretty much do whatever you want with your phone such as use premium features and banned applications.

The process of unlocking is sort of like jailbreaking except that instead of affecting your entire phone an unlock will only affect the baseband and modem firmware of your iPhone. This is where your phone manages the process of making and recieving calls and text messages, the purpose of unlocking is to allow an iPhone user to switch their cell phone provider at will.

The reason these 2 are often mixed up by newbies is because they are viewed as a single process that must both be completed, but the truth is that unless you are looking to switch carriers then you only need to perform a jailbreak. But if you do want to unlock, then you will first need to jailbreak since the code that is used for unlocking is not authorized and is blocked. So in order for that code to properly run it must be ran on a jailbroken phone that remove this limitation and execute whatever code needs to be ran.

For most users jailbreaking the device is enough and it will provide you with all of the features that you could want, if down the road you decide that you want to switch providers and unlock your iPhone then it would be a smart idea to avoid upgrading so that if you’re using an older jailbroken firmware you’ll have a much easier time finding the proper and working unlock code for that version.

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Why You Should Jailbreak

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Admin

One of the first questions many iPhone users ask about jailbreaking is why they should even bother doing it in the first place. This probably shouldn’t come as a surprise since the majority of users are perfectly happy with their iDevice as it is and don’t want or need any of the extra features and functions that are available with unlocking and jailbreaking. But if you consider yourself an advanced or perhaps a “power” user then jailbreaking can offer you a lot more than you think and when you finish with the process you’ll be wondering why you didn’t end up doing it much sooner.

The first advantage of jailbreaking is that it is a gateway towards unlocking your iPhone so that you can use it on any phone carrier you want. The advantage of this is huge for people who are currently stuck in overpriced countries and is a must have for frequent travelers who don’t want to give up their precious iPhone for some throwaway GSM phone that can work in whatever country you happen to be visiting. But with that said we should warn that you really the only carrier that you can really unlock with is ATT since they use the worldwide standard of GSM while sprint and verizon are still using CDMA for their phones. You could unlock your phone for CDMA use in other countries such as China but it would require you to forge your MEID and serial number which is considered to be illegal here in the United States.

Now aside from unlocking jailbreaking also gives you system level access to your iPhone so that you can do things that you normally wouldn’t be able to do with a non jailbroken device. One of the more popular type of features is the use of tethering or a wifi hotspot app, normally you have to pay your carrier a pretty penny for this feature but with a quick jailbreak you can get this for completely free. Another example would be the use of wifi only apps being used over 3g. The most common example being facetime, it’s easy to see why the carriers wouldn’t want this working over 3g but if you can’t use the video chat feature whenever you want it sort of defeats the purpose. Then of course there is the ability of using banned or free, premium apps without having to pay for them.

Regardless of what the general jailbreaking community says, this is probably the biggest reason that people jailbreak, so that they can save all the money they spend on apps and get them for free instead. Yes its true, a jailbroken device will allow you to get just about any premium app for free but I think as an app developer myself it’s my responsibility to remind you that most of the time there is an independent developer behind that application and if you really enjoy it then you should eventually buy it to show your support and best of all you’ll get to receive the timely updates and you won’t have to worry about maybe downloading appware that will mess with your phone.

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