I've finally jailbroken my iPhone 3G. For those of you that don't know what jailbreaking is, it basically allows your iPhone to run programs that have not been approved by Apple. There are a bunch of really cool programs that are not in the App Store. My favorite one so far is a program that allows you to disable rotation of the screen that many of the iPhone apps support these days. While rotation is useful sometimes, it's annoying when you have a sideways picture, and you turn your iPhone to look at it right side up only to have the picture rotate.So, this post describes how easy it is to jailbreak your iPhone these days.
1. Make sure that you are running version 3.1.2 of the iPhone software. To do this, click on the Settings icon, then go to General --> About. There you should see Version 3.1.2 (7D11).
2. Download the jailbreaking program blackra1n by clicking here. It'll take you to geohot's website. Click on either the Microsoft logo and save the file blackra1n.exe to your desktop.
3. Plug your iPhone in (and make sure everything is backed up!). Close all open programs.
4. Double click on the blackra1n.exe icon. A screen should pop up that says "make it rain." Click on the "make it rain" button.
5. That should be it! Just leave your phone alone and let it restart. There will be several dialog windows that pop up on your screen. Just click OK and close the blackra1n program.
(Disclaimer: As always, installing unauthorized software on your iPhone could void any warranty and seriously mess up your phone. You assume these risks and are responsible for anything that happens to your iPhone.)
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Ok, after you install blackra1n, you have to install a package manager in order to install third-party applications. (This is sort of like the App Store). I like Cydia. So, when your iPhone is done rebooting, tap the blackra1n app on your iPhone. It should take you to a screen like this:
Tap on Cydia, and it'll install Cydia on your iPhone. After Cydia is installed, open up Cydia, and you'll be able to install third-party apps! Easy, huh?~~~~~
A must-have app is SBSettings. This program allows you to install other tweaks such as the anti-rotation app that I discussed above. Just search for SBSettings in Cydia and install it. Then, search for Rotation Inhibitor to install the anti-rotation app.
Note that you will not see any app icons for SBSettings or Rotation Inhibitor. I didn't get this at first, but to access these programs, all you have to do is slide your finger across the top of the iPhone (i.e., the top bar where it displays the AT&T bars and battery). A menu should drop down like the picture above. There you can quickly turn off wifi, rotation, and other settings. Pretty handy!
