Yeah, I'll second the iPhone update and then re-jailbreak issue. It sucks. If there's something you need in an apple update, then you've got to go through everything all over again. And if you *accidentally* have your phone update by plugging it in to your mac, then you don't have a choice as to when you have to re-jailbreak. Now I just charge it off the wall plug. But being able to pull the phone off of ATT's craptastic network is totally worth it.
You can use it like an iPhone off of AT&T's network? Does the visual voicemail work? I'm not leaving AT&T. What's the advantage of jailbreaking my iPhone? Other than you really feel like you're sticking it to the man? Are there apps that are worth using that aren't available if you don't jailbreak your phone?
I've done it repeatedly on my 3G (gotta do it everytime there's a software update), but if yours is brand spankin new I'd wait till the warranty goes out first. I did it to mine because I wanted to have background images (not allowed on 3g) instead of just the blackness and it also allows you to change appearance of things etc. One of the recent things I've done is the headphone jack got screwed up so I installed a utility that allows me to open a mono channel stream through the blue tooth connection so I can still listen to podcasts (albeit with really crappy sound) without having to keep the phone in my chest pocket as exactly the right angle and walk around like I'm a robot all day.
Okay, this is the kind of thing I'm looking for. I've got a 3GS. I know that Apple doesn't allow "approved" apps to do things like access the contact list or your calendar or the phone so you can't build an app like they had for the old Newton MessagePads that connected them together without recreating each database. Like adding contact drop down fields in an appointment screen or add appointments fields to the contact screen. Are there apps in Cydia that do things like that? Now, that would be worth Jailbreaking your phone for.
Ya got me, I just use it mostly for aesthetic stuff. Sorry I can't help you there, but there is a shit ton of utilities for it. Jailbreaking isn't really a big deal if you're not changing providers. Just gotta get the jailbreak program (I use redsn0w) and find a source for the .ispw (I think?) file for the latest OS and run em together. If you don't like it just reupdate the phone to the latest OS.
Nah, not changing providers. I know everyone hates AT&T, but coming from T-Mobile, AT&T is considerably better. Plus, it's my understanding that the you can't use the iPhone to it's full capability on another carrier. I think it's even easier than that, now. From what I read all you have to do is download the GreenPois0n or LimeRa1n executable, run it, follow the directions, and it's "Jailbroken".
Visual voicemail won't work off of AT&T's network, or at least I'm not aware of a way to make it work. But your visual voicemail will still continue to work with a jailbroken/unlocked phone on AT&T's network. I travel a lot, so I really like the apps where I can turn my phone into a WiFi hotspot and trick the phone to thinking I'm on WiFi when I'm only on 3G. That way I can Skype or use facetime when I'm in a pinch and not in a WiFi hotspot. Also works well for downloading files that AT&T doesn't want you do pull down when you're not on WiFi. I'm not sure about the contacts app that you're looking for though.
Now, we're gettin' somewhere. Thanks! That would be really cool to turn your iPhone into a wifi hotspot. The contact app was just an example of how Apple doesn't allow you to really change anything on the iPhone.
Another one I like is where you can pull your gps coordinates from the GPS chip, and then send them over SMS. I use it to check in with my wife so she can see my position every now and then when I'm out riding (or approximate the location of my body). She can just click it on her phone and bring up the map with my location.
Barnstormer, could you please elaborate on that? I've heard this before but never heard it qualified as to why. Does the actual phone somehow get better, or does just getting off ATT make the service better? I've got a 3G, and after enduring the slowness of the 4.0 upgrade and then being underwhelmed with the 4.1 'fix' for this problem I've downgraded to 3.1.3 and plan to stay there, so if I jailbreak my phone it will probably be a one-way trip. There weren't alot of new things in 4.x for the 3G anyway, certainly nothing worth the serious hit in speed. My motivation is that I travel internationally and would like to be able to get a SIM card for my iphone so I don't need to carry it plus my unlocked Motorola around. Other than the ability to use it on a different network, what are the advantages to jailbreaking? Where do you find cool apps like the GPS one Lonestrom mentioned? Does a jailbroken phone otherwise work like a regular iphone in terms of backup and sync in itunes, buying sanctioned apps from the app store, etc?
...aaaaanddd, since my initial post, Apple has released another update to the software. So... If you want to use the new stuff in the software, you have to either go back to the original or wait for a new jailbreak. I'm starting to think jailbreaking your iPhone is more trouble than it's worth.
I've never had a problem syncing after a jailbreak. Does seem like people get "jailbreaking" and "unlocking" confused a lot though. While you need to jailbreak in order to unlock (ability to use another carrier), you don't have to unlock when you jailbreak. Jailbreaking is always reversible. Unlocking is usually not, and often has a lot of caveats with it. Jailbreaking is ridiculously easy too, and no big deal. Unlocking you need to take some precautions. Especially with a 4 at the moment. Biggest thing to realize is that you can't usually just jump on the latest OS releases. Especially if you unlock. Usually they don't add much. I mean, this latest 4.2.1 release has nothing I'm interested in, so I'm content with my phone. At least till maybe the 5.0 release. If I still have it then.
I think I'm going to jailbreak my iPhone just for the experience of it. I haven't upgraded to iOS 4.2.1, yet. Don't need to unlock it as I won't be using it on another network. Any suggestion as to which jailbreak program I should use?
Crap. Neither Limera1n nor Greenpois0n will work on my Mac. Edit: Moved to my Toshiba and used Limera1n. Huh. That was easy and I didn't brick the thing. Go figure.
I did it for one reason only, to avoid having to pay ATT tethering fees... Right now I have unlimited data, but to tether you have to choose either the 200mb or 2gb plan, and add tethering for another $20 per month. By unlocking I still get to keep my unlimited plan and with a one time $20 app on Cydia called MiWi I can create a hotspot with my iPhone and supply wifi to my iPad, laptop, and whoever else wants it.
Given the cost of the phone and the service, $10 is a drop in the barrel. Besides, not that I condone this, but with a jailbroken phone, you can load any app from the Apple app store for free. Not through the app store, but they are available online for you to try out before you buy them, because after all, you will pay for the useful ones. Right? That should save you far more than $10 that you could have wasted on crappy games and apps that you will never use. $10 for something really useful is a bargain.
One thing I noticed was that after I jailbroke and unlocked my iPhone (done so I can use it with ChinaMobile, another cell carrier) got better recption with At&t. Places where I, previously, only got two bars, or no signal at all, I now get three bars and have not had a no signal problem in those same locations.
