What are the advantages of jailbreaking?

[Camcardshark]

what is the benefit for me to jailbreak my phone? does it effect the way my phone works now, i.e. calls, texts, email, apps (do you get apps for free that you would normally have to pay for) and/or my bill?

 

[Ipheuria]

The benefit of Jailbreaking your iPhone is that it allows you to run apps that aren't sanctioned by Apple. Apple may not approve because they have functionality that Apple doesn't want on the phone ie. Wallpaper displayed on the homescreen. You are able to browse the phone's filesystem and do things like change SMS rintones, and capture video with 2G and 3G iPhones. These are just a few of the great advantages of being Jailbroken. Most of the JB apps are free. I have attached a screenshot of my homescreen with my wallpaper on it.

 

[Camcardshark]

so what kind of apps are available that are good enough to jailbreak your phone, and what does this do with my bill from att... will it change at all?

 

[lungho]

Jailbreaking doesn't affect your billing. I mainly jailbreak so I can access the phone's file system and edit email and SMS tones. I also like changing my icons in the status bar at the top of the phone. And there are endless amount of themes too. For me, it's all about personalizing my phone to fit me. Here's some pics of my phone.

 

[hotrod#AC]

Your fears about your bill are probably because you might be confusing two terms. Jailbreak and Unlock.

I'm on AT&T and I'm Jailbroken but not unlocked. Jailbroken will not affect your bill and will not change any of the basic functions of your phone and AT&T will not know that you are jailbroken.

Unlocked is something you do to your phone after you are jailbroken that will allow you to use different sim cards and use your iPhone on different networks like T-Mobile. You won't unlock your phone unless you seek out and install those unlocking tools like ultrasnow.

The main reason I MUST jailbreak my phone everytime is so the I can run SBSettings and LockCalendar.

BigBoss has a good write up on Why you Should Jailbreak and How here; Jailbreak iPhone | iPhone News, Help and Guides

LockCalendar
http://moreinfo.thebigboss.org/moreinfo/lockcalendar.php
ModMyi.com | Lock Calendar

 

[Zoso1048]

Honestly, after reading everything l can get my hands on, l still don't see the point. l tried the whole "reverse-engineered-workarounds-because-l-dont-want-Windows-controlling-what-l-can-do" thing on my old WM devices. Headache central...hence why l [and l would imagine most of us] have an iPhone. lt works...and well. Why try to fix something that's not broken?

 

[Camcardshark]

ok i def want to jailbreak now, the link hotrod gave is a little confusing, this there some step by step directions out there?

 

[dc8825]

the idea is improvement. I myself am like you and am pretty satisfied with my iphone as is. I have jailbroken and tried out a few small things to improve functionality (5 icon springboard, lockscreen info, sbsettings) app wise i found nothing that i couldn't live without. it was the nice little hacks that made it more fuctional. i've done it twice and restored it to stock both times cause its just not of use for me. if your willin to do the crack and see what its all about, go for it. Worst that will happen most likely is you wont like it, just do a reset and restore your settings from iTunes. Don't know till you try!

 

[hotrod#AC]

For me, the iPhone works and works well, but it can be improved upon. Turning on and off the wifi is a multi-step process. Adjusting the brightness too, is a pain in the butt. However with SBSettings, it is quick and easy from within any program.

Moreover, I want to see my calendar information easily and everytime I turn on the phone. LockCalendar helps me to keep track of appointments.

I also forgot about my latest Cydia install and purchase, BiteSMS. It allows me to compose or reply to any text message without closing what I'm doing. So if I'm in Safari and my wife sends me a text to get up off the couch and come to dinner, I can reply to tell her to leave me alone while I continue to write this post to you. (I'm joking about the dinner story, but you get my point) BiteSMS is what Text Messaging should have been on the iPhone OS.

I don't get into skinning and changing all the backgrounds and icons with Winterboard, skinning the iPhone 3g slows it down too much for me. If I had a 3GS I would probably run Winterboard to change the look of my phone for fun.

 

[hotrod#AC]

I like the tutorials at iClarified.

iClarified - Tutorials - iPhone

and ModMyi is really helpful too. They have some nice guides too.
Apple & iPhone News | Forums | ModMyi.com

 

[Camcardshark]

how do i open sbsettings after i download it?

how do i open sbsettings after i download it?

 

[EU4IC]

Biggest advantage is that you can do whatever you want with your phone as far as looks go in addition to running apps that improve the functionality of the phone by a wide margin (5 Icon Dock, SBSettings, etc).

 

[sargd66]

Swedd523
Sharp theme!!

 

[hotrod#AC]

To open SBSettings you swipe your finger across the top of the screen. (rub across from the wifi signal to the battery signal) It doesn't have to be that long, but start with that type of motion till you get the hang of it.


You've already jailbroke it and installed SBSettings?? Wow. You were determined.

 

[EU4IC]

Swedd523
Sharp theme!!

Thanks! It took me an hour of custom combining various elements into my own personal masterpiece

 

[$ticky]

Hi all, sounds interesting. Does it work for iPod touch though?

Cheers

 

[hotrod#AC]

Here are some details on our latest version of PwnageTool 3.1.4 for Mac OS X which supports the 3.1.2 release of the iPhone software for iPhone 2G/3G/3GS and iPod Touch 1G/2G. Dev-Team Blog

follow the tutorial for the iphone but use ipod touch iClarified - iPhone - How to Jailbreak Your iPhone 3G on OS 3.1.2 Using PwnageTool (Mac)

 

[$ticky]

Cheers bud.

 

[Camcardshark]

So how do I apply themes that I have downloaded? I've been through sbsettings about 3 times now and I can't figure out how to apply my keyboard theme I downloaded

 

[lungho]

You need to download and install WinterBoard to apply anything theme related.