Some last questions before finally jailbreaking my iPhone 3GS ...

[mgpg89]

I decided I'm jailbreaking my iPhone 3GS after all, mainly for these reasons:

a) SBSettings ... I can't believe Apple hasn't included something like this themselves

b) Winterboard ... I'm a sucker for theming

and for now, that's basically all I'm intending to use the jailbreak for, but I have some last minute questions before actually doing so:


1) After jailbreaking my device, can I restore from a previous back-up again, so my app data isn't lost? (because I read somewhere it would be safer to 'start all over' again after a jailbreak ... or is this just BS?)
ANSWERED

2) I'm going to use my Mac (latest version of Leopard) to jailbreak my 3GS running 3.0.1 ... what's the best method to jailbreak? (I don't want an unlock, just a jailbreak ... since I bought my phone in Belgium, it's factory unlocked)
ANSWERED

3) I used to have an iPod touch when they first came out and I jailbroke it. Back then, the only 'app store' was Installer, but now I keep hearing about Cydia ... can anyone enlighten me on this and how the jailbreaking scene has changed since then? (just a few sentences to catch up quickly)
ANSWERED

4) Any reasons I should not jailbreak my 3GS ?

5) Anything else I should know about?

I'll post more questions as they come to mind.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Samuelllll]

Do It

Update to 3.0.1 (if you havent already)

Download redsn0w for mac.

download ipsw 3.0 for your 3GS ( i usually use http://www.felixbruns.de/iPod/firmware/ )

run redsn0w and follow the instructions.

Easiest thing in the world to do.


Ermm, cydia, basically its a program that is installed onto your iphone, and theres loads of stuff on there, themes, applications, ringtones etc etc etc. and you simply go on it, and download what you like lol easy as that!

Need any more help or if something does wrong give us a shout

 

[mgpg89]

OK, I'll go with the redsn0w method then.
I just checked out the tutorial on iClarified and I saw this screenshot.

What does 'Icy' do exactly?

 

[Tex-Twil]

OK, I'll go with the redsn0w method then.
I just checked out the tutorial on iClarified and I saw this screenshot.

What does 'Icy' do exactly?

Icy is another app to browse repositories. It's an alternative to Cydia. You can install both an use both.

Tex

 

[mgpg89]

OK, thanks so far guys!

Edited the first post to reflect which questions have already been answered.

 

[Tex-Twil]

1) After jailbreaking my device, can I restore from a previous back-up again, so my app data isn't lost? (because I read somewhere it would be safer to 'start all over' again after a jailbreak ... or is this just BS?)

Even if a restore will work, it is better to set your iPhone "as a new iPhone". the dev-team is talking about this here. Anyway, it is very easy to sync everything back once you set up your phone. Don't forget to copy your photos though. I don't know if it's possible to backup your stored SMS so you might Google for it if you really need to save them.


tex

 

[mgpg89]

But starting as a new phone also deletes:

- my game high scores
- my Nike+ runs (although they are synced to Nikeplus.com)
- app preferences, etc ...

How often does Apple release an iPhone firmware update? (in other words: how often will I lose my data?)

 

[impulse462]

There really is no reason to NOT jailbreak your phone. If you feel that your phone is becoming sluggish it MAY be from installing mobilesubstrate but that most of it depends on the apps you install.

Another reason not to jailbreak it is if the phone encounters any physical damage and you take it to the apple store, they will not help you at all; you will have to restore to a stock firmware

Not much else there is you need to know...apple should just let us install 3rd party apps as we please

EDIT: to answer your other questions, apple does not usually release that many firmware updates, usually the .1's and .2's are anywhere from 3-6 months(estimating) all the updates which are x.0.1 or x.0.2 are just to fix current abnormalities such as 3.0.1 with the sms exploit.

And yes as other people have said it is better to always start as new phone not restore from backup especially if you were jailbroken before. A lot of problems can be retraced back to that.

 

[mgpg89]

There really is no reason to NOT jailbreak your phone. If you feel that your phone is becoming sluggish it MAY be from installing mobilesubstrate but that most of it depends on the apps you install.

Another reason not to jailbreak it is if the phone encounters any physical damage and you take it to the apple store, they will not help you at all; you will have to restore to a stock firmware

Not much else there is you need to know...apple should just let us install 3rd party apps as we please

EDIT: to answer your other questions, apple does not usually release that many firmware updates, usually the .1's and .2's are anywhere from 3-6 months(estimating) all the updates which are x.0.1 or x.0.2 are just to fix current abnormalities such as 3.0.1 with the sms exploit.

And yes as other people have said it is better to always start as new phone not restore from backup especially if you were jailbroken before. A lot of problems can be retraced back to that.

What is this 'mobilesubstrate' you speak of?

Do the x.x.x updates require a new jailbreak and hereby deleting everything on the phone?

Why isn't there anything like SBSettings in the App Store? Is it against Apple's policy to allow apps to have access to system prefs?

 

[impulse462]

What is this 'mobilesubstrate' you speak of?

Do the x.x.x updates require a new jailbreak and hereby deleting everything on the phone?

Why isn't there anything like SBSettings in the App Store? Is it against Apple's policy to allow apps to have access to system prefs?

Every app that uses an extension of the springboard such as sbsettings,winterboard,backgrounder, lockscreen or intelliscreen(idk what they're called exactly) uses mobilesubstrate. Using anyof these apps without mobilesubstrate would crash the springboard.

so mobilesubstrate is basically a "failsafe" app that runs "behind" the springboard which allows these apps to run. Problem? it runs all the time, however(especially if you're on a 3gs) the slowdown is minimal and not that noticeable but it is only fair to warn you about it.

And yes every update requires you to rejailbreak (so far)

And why isnt there an app like sbsettings at the appstore? thats a question for stevey

 

[IBradMac]

What is this 'mobilesubstrate' you speak of?


Do the x.x.x updates require a new jailbreak and hereby deleting everything on the phone?

Why isn't there anything like SBSettings in the App Store? Is it against Apple's policy to allow apps to have access to system prefs?

Mobile substrate.


Whenever there is a new update and you choose to update yes you will have to rejailbreak.

I have no clue why SBsettings is a JB only application. My question is why can't we theme our phones to our liking? Seems like such a small thing to not allow.

 

[mgpg89]

Every app that uses an extension of the springboard such as sbsettings,winterboard,backgrounder, lockscreen or intelliscreen(idk what they're called exactly) uses mobilesubstrate. Using anyof these apps without mobilesubstrate would crash the springboard.

so mobilesubstrate is basically a "failsafe" app that runs "behind" the springboard which allows these apps to run. Problem? it runs all the time, however(especially if you're on a 3gs) the slowdown is minimal and not that noticeable but it is only fair to warn you about it.

And yes every update requires you to rejailbreak (so far)

And why isnt there an app like sbsettings at the appstore? thats a question for stevey

My spidey sense was tingling because of the underscored part.
What about impact on battery life? (because it's running all the time)

So everytime I jailbreak my phone again after an update, all my Rolando levels are locked again?

 

[impulse462]

My spidey sense was tingling because of the underscored part.
What about impact on battery life? (because it's running all the time)

So everytime I jailbreak my phone again after an update, all my Rolando levels are locked again?

Well not necessarily, all your game saves will be saved in your backup if you choose to restore from that. It's not recommended however.

But jailbreaking itself wont cause the games save files to be gone.

As for the battery life, I've seen people's whos battery life have suffered and people's whose battery life have stayed the same. As for me, it really depends how much I use the phone. I wanna say the battery life is decreased just a tiny bit from a normal stock phone, but it will have no where as near an impact as how much you use the phone each day.

 

[mgpg89]

Well not necessarily, all your game saves will be saved in your backup if you choose to restore from that. It's not recommended however.

But jailbreaking itself wont cause the games save files to be gone.

As for the battery life, I've seen people's whos battery life have suffered and people's whose battery life have stayed the same. As for me, it really depends how much I use the phone. I wanna say the battery life is decreased just a tiny bit from a normal stock phone, but it will have no where as near an impact as how much you use the phone each day.

The jailbreak itself won't cause the games save files to be gone, but a jailbreak requires an iPhone in recovery mode which deletes all files, right?
And restoring to a previous back-up isn't recommended, so eventually, all my saved games will be lost after a fresh jailbreak.

I don't know if all this is worth SBSettings and Winterboard anymore ...

 

[impulse462]

The jailbreak itself won't cause the games save files to be gone, but a jailbreak requires an iPhone in recovery mode which deletes all files, right?
And restoring to a previous back-up isn't recommended, so eventually, all my saved games will be lost after a fresh jailbreak.

I don't know if all this is worth SBSettings and Winterboard anymore ...

Neither recovery nor DFU mode deletes any thing. Jailbreaking requires DFU not recovery btw.

What you can do is connect phone to itunes, back it up. Close itunes, run redsnow/purplerain and all your game files will be there plus the jailbreak.

If you want to restore, the steps are: Backup phone in itunes, restore phone, restore from backup, then jailbreak.

If you choose to restore and then jailbreak, but restore from backup, your phone will work. Will you experience problems? hard to say, but if you do, it can be retraced to the restore from backup

 

[mgpg89]

Neither recovery nor DFU mode deletes any thing. Jailbreaking requires DFU not recovery btw.

What you can do is connect phone to itunes, back it up. Close itunes, run redsnow/purplerain and all your game files will be there plus the jailbreak.

If you want to restore, the steps are: Backup phone in itunes, restore phone, restore from backup, then jailbreak.

If you choose to restore and then jailbreak, but restore from backup, your phone will work. Will you experience problems? hard to say, but if you do, it can be retraced to the restore from backup

Oh, I thought it was necessary to completely empty your phone before you could jailbreak ...


Can you still use iTunes to make back-ups of your iPhone when it's jailbroken?

 

[impulse462]

Oh, I thought it was necessary to completely empty your phone before you could jailbreak ...


Can you still use iTunes to make back-ups of your iPhone when it's jailbroken?

yessir

Jailbreaking doesnt prohit you from doing anything, just adds to the experience

 

[mgpg89]

yessir

Jailbreaking doesnt prohit you from doing anything, just adds to the experience

So, let me run over this one last time.

I have my iPhone 3GS, complete with saved games etc ...
I run redsn0w and jailbreak it.
Then I can use my freshly jailbroken iPhone like I would before? Meaning ... no empty phone?

If so, I'm definitely jailbreaking ...


Any other things you can recommend me besides Winterboard & SBSettings?

 

[jshelton]

Go for it!

You are sort of taking jailbreaking and "putting it on a pedestal" (if that makes sense). People make it a big deal and seem hesitant about doing it. With the new jailbreak processes, there is nothing to it. It takes 2 minutes, and if you don't like it, it takes another 2 minutes to restore it back to normal.

I can't imagine using my iPhone now without Backgrounder, SBSettings, Winterboard, etc.

Good luck

 

[impulse462]

So, let me run over this one last time.

I have my iPhone 3GS, complete with saved games etc ...
I run redsn0w and jailbreak it.
Then I can use my freshly jailbroken iPhone like I would before? Meaning ... no empty phone?

If so, I'm definitely jailbreaking ...


Any other things you can recommend me besides Winterboard & SBSettings?

Yeah everything you said was right

Some other things you can get are backgrounder(really nice because the 3gs has 2x more ram so the phone isnt slowed down much at all when you run apps in the background)

5-icon dock
PDAnet
mxtube(they now have yourtube which lets you download youtube videos in the youtube app itself but you have to pay for it, mxtube is free)
iFile(browse your iphone)
If you have a google voice account, you can even get the gv mobile app that was rejected by apple.

I don't have many things installed from the jailbreak, only a few, but I use the jailbroken apps all the time so.

The best thingyou can do is browse through cydia and see what different things to install. If you're a fan of classic games there is a gba, gameboy color, nes, and ps1 emulator you can install as well.

 

[mgpg89]

Go for it!

You are sort of taking jailbreaking and "putting it on a pedestal" (if that makes sense). People make it a big deal and seem hesitant about doing it. With the new jailbreak processes, there is nothing to it. It takes 2 minutes, and if you don't like it, it takes another 2 minutes to restore it back to normal.

I can't imagine using my iPhone now without Backgrounder, SBSettings, Winterboard, etc.

Good luck

I'm kinda hesitant because it was quite a hassle back when I jailbroke my iPod touch ... in the pre-App Store age

 

[impulse462]

I'm kinda hesitant because it was quite a hassle back when I jailbroke my iPod touch ... in the pre-App Store age

Icy is the "new" installer. Uses the same sources as cydia, but you'll just end up using cydia and not even touching icy since its just that much better.

save the 4kb of memory and dont install icy(its up to you though)

 

[mgpg89]

Alright, I'm jailbreaking it the moment I get it back from the Apple store (had a broken screen after performing the 3.0.1 update, probably some sort of heat problem ... but that's not the issue at hand here)

I was afraid I'd lose all my Rolando, Rolando 2, Edge, TapTap high scores etc ...

 

[mgpg89]

Icy is the "new" installer. Uses the same sources as cydia, but you'll just end up using cydia and not even touching icy since its just that much better.

save the 4kb of memory and dont install icy(its up to you though)

4kb of RAM memory or actual disk space?

 

[impulse462]

4kb of RAM memory or actual disk space?

Disk space i believe