Jailbreaking your iPhone 5 (Pros/Cons)

[Browns2212]

Hi Everyone,

With the new jailbreak that was released today/yesterday, I was just wondering what the pros and cons were for doing this.

This is my first iPhone and really have no idea what jailbreaking is all about. I guess I understand the overall concept, but have very limited knowledge. I mean, I guess by doing so it allows you to run certain things that Apple itself doesn't allow, etc.?

Basically, is it worth doing and what are your pros and cons for jailbreaking an iPhone 5?

Thanks.

 

[TacticalDesire]

Most people have a reason to jailbreak (i.e a certain feature they want not available on vanilla iOS.) If you there's anything of that sort, jailbreaking might be a good option for you. Back when I was on iOS 4 I wanted pull down notifications like on my Android devices so I jailbroke and got it. I wanted to use my own songs as alarms and was able to do that as well. There's a slew of things you can do.

Cons: Voids warranty (can be fixed with a restore), apps aren't as thoroughly vetted.

 

[SnowLeopard2008]

Pros:
Themes
Tweaks
Customization
Tethering apps
Ability to modify any part of the OS to your liking

Cons:
Security
Voids warranty unless you restore via iTunes
No OTA updates
Some apps in the App Store won't launch
Battery life might suffer depending on what you install
Some apps only accessible via jailbroken device might crash your phone or wreck something due to it's non-vetted nature
You might install something that might screw up your phone

 

[stunter2b]

WoW didn't know of all the cons...lol And I've had my iphone 3g and 3gs and iphone 4 all have been jail broken and is the ONLY reason I buy Iphone and not a droid, I thought there was only PROS to jail breaking a phone, I just did my 4s and gonna do wife 5 when she gets off work..

 

[Menneisyys2]

Cons:
Security
Battery life might suffer depending on what you install
Some apps only accessible via jailbroken device might crash your phone or wreck something due to it's non-vetted nature
You might install something that might screw up your phone

These can all be avoided if you

1, disable SSH and change the root password (REALLY easy)

2, only install recommended / tested stuff.

----------

WoW didn't know of all the cons...

Don't be afraid of them - see my prev. post. If you avoid installing everything appearing on the JB scene and only install thoroughly community-tested tweaks, you will NEVER have problems.

 

[SnowLeopard2008]

These can all be avoided if you

1, disable SSH and change the root password (REALLY easy)

2, only install recommended / tested stuff.

----------



Don't be afraid of them - see my prev. post. If you avoid installing everything appearing on the JB scene and only install thoroughly community-tested tweaks, you will NEVER have problems.

Stop being so defensive.

Even if you disable SSH, there are other things that you open yourself up to. And by recommended/tested stuff, what does that mean exactly? I'm sure by a broad definition, almost everything is "tested".

I certainly wouldn't use the phrase "NEVER have problems". You actually have more possibility of problems once jailbroken.

 

[stunter2b]

I hear you, and yes with a bit of luck and common sense I know you can be safe, heck I still have my 3g iphone and 3gs jail broken and both still work fine and never had any real issues...

 

[Skizzy]

Stop being so defensive.

Even if you disable SSH, there are other things that you open yourself up to. And by recommended/tested stuff, what does that mean exactly? I'm sure by a broad definition, almost everything is "tested".

I certainly wouldn't use the phrase "NEVER have problems". You actually have more possibility of problems once jailbroken.

I've been jailbreaking my iPhones since the first one came out and have "NEVER" had a problem. If you're smart and read before you do things then you won't have one either. Just like rooting on Android. All of the problems I've ever seen were people not understanding what they were doing or not taking the time to read. So yea, there will "never" be a problem if you know what you're doing.

 

[NovemberWhiskey]

I've been jailbreaking my iPhones since the first one came out and have "NEVER" had a problem. If you're smart and read before you do things then you won't have one either. Just like rooting on Android. All of the problems I've ever seen were people not understanding what they were doing or not taking the time to read. So yea, there will "never" be a problem if you know what you're doing.

While what you say is possible, I belong to the other camp. I've had so many problems with jailbroken phones that I have up in the past. I found rooting/modding Android to be much safer, and much easier. Not sure why the jailbreak scene seems a little sketchy: Cydia just looks like a mess with the way they put ads up on every page, and how everything is organized. Really surprised that it is such a large part of the JB scene and no one else has stepped in with a cleaner interface.

Again, not saying there aren't good installs, but I haven't experienced one on the 3GS or the 4. Hopefully things are better this time around. I really need a tether.

 

[Menneisyys2]

Even if you disable SSH, there are other things that you open yourself up to. And by recommended/tested stuff, what does that mean exactly? I'm sure by a broad definition, almost everything is "tested".

Widely discussed (and recommended) for example here, in this forum.

I certainly wouldn't use the phrase "NEVER have problems". You actually have more possibility of problems once jailbroken.

You surely can have problems but that doesn't mean you will. As a long-time jailbreaker with tons of devices at hand (I'm both a dev and an iOS programming lecturer so I have almost all iDevice models) I've never had really severe problems requiring a complete restore. (The only problem I couldn't fix myself was a new, buggy version (1.3) of RetinaPad. Fortunately, the dev released a new, working version in a day so I didn't end up having to restore either. (Story HERE.))

 

[itjw]

Be aware that the official Apple stance is that jailbreaking VOIDS the warranty. Not: Voids the warranty unless you restore it before you bring it in.

While you might get away with doing it that way, you are essentially defrauding Apple by doing so as they have stated on MANY occasions that once you jailbreak the warranty is void.

It's 100% true that it's easy to cover your tracks, but that may not always be the case (in theory Apple could easily make a note of jailbreakers when they sync to iTunes, they just haven't), and it doesn't mean that you won't find yourself in a position where you CAN'T restore to unjailbroken states (necessitating a trip to the microwave or hammer... for even more covering up). That actually has happened, but it's rare.

In the end, as soon as you jailbreak you have technically voided the warranty. Those who act like that's no big deal only do so because Apple's stance hasn't been to crack down (YET). Maybe it will continue forever, maybe it won't.

Regardless, you are 100% committing fraud if you take a previously jailbroken iPhone in for warranty work. I'm of the opinion that warranty issues are 99.99% of the time UN-related to jailbreaking, but that's Apple's stance.

 

[macsrcool1234]

Be aware that the official Apple stance is that jailbreaking VOIDS the warranty. Not: Voids the warranty unless you restore it before you bring it in.

While you might get away with doing it that way, you are essentially defrauding Apple by doing so as they have stated on MANY occasions that once you jailbreak the warranty is void.

It's 100% true that it's easy to cover your tracks, but that may not always be the case (in theory Apple could easily make a note of jailbreakers when they sync to iTunes, they just haven't), and it doesn't mean that you won't find yourself in a position where you CAN'T restore to unjailbroken states (necessitating a trip to the microwave or hammer... for even more covering up). That actually has happened, but it's rare.

In the end, as soon as you jailbreak you have technically voided the warranty. Those who act like that's no big deal only do so because Apple's stance hasn't been to crack down (YET). Maybe it will continue forever, maybe it won't.

Regardless, you are 100% committing fraud if you take a previously jailbroken iPhone in for warranty work. I'm of the opinion that warranty issues are 99.99% of the time UN-related to jailbreaking, but that's Apple's stance.

Why are you here? You spent all day trolling the official MR news thread about it and now you obsessively come here. *facepalm*

 

[NovemberWhiskey]

Be aware that the official Apple stance is that jailbreaking VOIDS the warranty. Not: Voids the warranty unless you restore it before you bring it in.

While you might get away with doing it that way, you are essentially defrauding Apple by doing so as they have stated on MANY occasions that once you jailbreak the warranty is void.

It's 100% true that it's easy to cover your tracks, but that may not always be the case (in theory Apple could easily make a note of jailbreakers when they sync to iTunes, they just haven't), and it doesn't mean that you won't find yourself in a position where you CAN'T restore to unjailbroken states (necessitating a trip to the microwave or hammer... for even more covering up). That actually has happened, but it's rare.

In the end, as soon as you jailbreak you have technically voided the warranty. Those who act like that's no big deal only do so because Apple's stance hasn't been to crack down (YET). Maybe it will continue forever, maybe it won't.

Regardless, you are 100% committing fraud if you take a previously jailbroken iPhone in for warranty work. I'm of the opinion that warranty issues are 99.99% of the time UN-related to jailbreaking, but that's Apple's stance.

lol. "defrauding" apple.

You should read a little more into the warranty laws. They actually have to show that what you modified caused the problem to deny warranty service on other functioning and unaffected parts.

They cannot legally uphold a blanket statement that modifying your phone voids your entire phones warranty.

 

[Stanyy]

lol. "defrauding" apple.

You should read a little more into the warranty laws. They actually have to show that what you modified caused the problem to deny warranty service on other functioning and unaffected parts.

They cannot legally uphold a blanket statement that modifying your phone voids your entire phones warranty.

You are right. If the problem wasn't caused by jailbreaking, it means that the problem would still be present whether the iPhone was jailbroken or not. Even if a problem was caused by a jailbreak during the warranty grace period, restoring the iPhone via iTunes would fix the problem so what's the point? unless the rule only applies to people who don't restore their phones before bringing it in.

----------

Hi Everyone,

With the new jailbreak that was released today/yesterday, I was just wondering what the pros and cons were for doing this.

This is my first iPhone and really have no idea what jailbreaking is all about. I guess I understand the overall concept, but have very limited knowledge. I mean, I guess by doing so it allows you to run certain things that Apple itself doesn't allow, etc.?

Basically, is it worth doing and what are your pros and cons for jailbreaking an iPhone 5?

Thanks.

It is NOT advisable to do something if you do not fully understand the consequences. By applying a jailbreak to your iPhone, you are exposing your device to bugs and vulnerability. I still tell everyone that asks me that the disadvantages of jailbreak outweigh the benefits, even if many people think otherwise.

 

[eyoungren]

…I still tell everyone that asks me that the disadvantages of jailbreak outweigh the benefits, even if many people think otherwise.

Hmmm. So you revived a thread that was a year and a half old in a JAILBREAKING FORUM to point out your negative opinion about jailbreaking.

Why are you here?

It's certainly not to aid the JB community by the sounds of it.

FYI: While you may think otherwise, jailbreaking in and of itself doesn't compromise your security. It's what you do afterwards.