New to jailbreaking

[swsmpbaby985]

Forgive mebif this has already been posted and discussed on this forum, as I am new here.

I have an iPhone 4 running the 4.2.1 firmware. I've always been on "team pure" as some people call it. However as of lately I've found myself looking more into the possibility of jailbreaking.

Since I've never jailbroken any iDevice before I'm not really sure where to begin at really. I'm aware that there are several different jailbreak programs but am not sure which one I should look into.

I know jailbreaking voids the warranty, however I know that the iDevice can be easily restored to it's pre jail broken state so that's not really my concern. If it's not to much to ask id like someone to be able to give me a guided step for step detail of what I should do, because with my luck I'd screw something up on my own.

If it matters any I'm running the latest version of iTunes and running the latest version of Mac OS.

 

[swsmpbaby985]

Ok what's
The difference between a tethered jailbreak and an un tethered jailbreak?

 

[LooNTooNs]

Tethered=every time you reboot the phone it must be conected via cable to computer or it wont boot
Unteathered=will reboot while not connected

 

[BLiNK]

welcome to the darker side! unfortunately with the device you have and iOS you will indeed have to do a tethered jailbreak, for now

these links will help you get started:

iClarified - iPhone - How to Jailbreak Your iPhone 4 Using RedSn0w (Mac) [4.2.1]

Help Me Jailbreak

Tethered Jailbreak vs Untethered Jailbreak

however, if you think the tethered process may be something you may not want to deal with then the Untethered will be out eventually (nobody really knows exactly when, tbh)

then of course you can always come here for help as well

 

[swsmpbaby985]

So woulD you recommend I wait until an untethered jailbreak is released ir would it still be wise to try it tethered? I just found the Help Me Jailbreak website so I'll look it over just wasn't sure what route would be best to take.

Tethered jailbreak is in the event I'd have to power my device off and back on, or reboot it in the event that the phone decides to just quit working? I'm just wonderingnwhy would I need to reboot the device and have it hooked up to the computr to reboot it.

Thanks for any and all of your help.

 

[swsmpbaby985]

I'm having this problem:


"I am having a problem with jailbreak my iPhone4, I got my iphone a couple of days beforre officially on 4.2.1, tried so many times jailbreak it with redsnow but no success. what happens? after this procedure my iPhone4 reboots then everything is well, Cydia is white icon and when i press on it nothing happens. Any respond and idea will be nice and appreciated."

 

[irvingc]

I'm having this problem:


"I am having a problem with jailbreak my iPhone4, I got my iphone a couple of days beforre officially on 4.2.1, tried so many times jailbreak it with redsnow but no success. what happens? after this procedure my iPhone4 reboots then everything is well, Cydia is white icon and when i press on it nothing happens. Any respond and idea will be nice and appreciated."

plug it back into your mac... open the redsnow application. (i found it easy to just add the application to your dock)... and run through the process again of jailbreaking. instead of the checkbox that says "install cydia"... click the checkbox that says "reboot tethered". this should fix it. if it fails to process the ipsw software.. restart your machine and try it again.

 

[swsmpbaby985]

I done all that to success. I now however get this message that pops up

"System Version Too New

Activator has not been tested with this version of iOS Some features may not work as designed."

 

[irvingc]

I done all that to success. I now however get this message that pops up

"System Version Too New

Activator has not been tested with this version of iOS Some features may not work as designed."

1. Uninstall SBSettings, Activator and sbsettings toggles from Cydia.
2. Jailbreak again with redsn0w.
3. When Cydia asks to install the upgrades, choose ESSENTIAL only.
4. Reinstall SBSettings.
5. post back here and let me know if that solves it.

 

[swsmpbaby985]

How do I "re-jailbreak" and exactly what is the purpose of Activator?

BTW: I downloaded biteSMS and everytime I'd receive a text the springboard would crash. And I'd be told that the phone was in safe mode and I'd be given the option to restart. So I got aggravated with that crashing so I deleted it.

So far the only "good" app that i've found was the MiWi 4.0 app.... everything else has given me problems...

 

[JM19]

welcome to the darker side! unfortunately with the device you have and iOS you will indeed have to do a tethered jailbreak, for now

these links will help you get started:

iClarified - iPhone - How to Jailbreak Your iPhone 4 Using RedSn0w (Mac) [4.2.1]

Help Me Jailbreak

Tethered Jailbreak vs Untethered Jailbreak

however, if you think the tethered process may be something you may not want to deal with then the Untethered will be out eventually (nobody really knows exactly when, tbh)

then of course you can always come here for help as well

I'm also new to this and the whole jailbreaking scene. Came across this thread. Thanks for the above info. Unlike swmapbaby985, I'm running Windows on my PC, does this matter? Thanks.

 

[BLiNK]

I'm also new to this and the whole jailbreaking scene. Came across this thread. Thanks for the above info. Unlike swmapbaby985, I'm running Windows on my PC, does this matter?Thanks.

yes, it does matter. Help Me Jailbreak ;just follow the prompts

assuming you have the iP4 w/iOS 4.2.1, you'll be looking at a tethered jailbreak only (for now) and i would highly recommend researching exactly how to handle a tethered jailbreak before doing it

 

[swsmpbaby985]

Yea the tethered fact is the only thing that I don't really like, before installing anything from cydia I have to make sure I'm near my computer I jailbroke the phone with...just in case I need to restore it.

I'm assuming that an untethered jailbreak won't be released until Apple releases 4.3

 

[BLiNK]

most tweaks/apps in Cydia will only require a respring, not a reboot, so that's helpful. in regards to needing to be around the computer you jailbroke on.. not necessary

put a copy of the redsn0w jailbreak and the ipsw, you have already, on a USB flash drive and make sure you have a cable with you as well. now you can do a tethered reboot on any computer, iTunes does not come into play during this process so it is not needed

as long as you do not let the battery run out or reboot the device, without doing a tethered reboot, it should be all good. i have been tethered for a while now and never had an issue so far

this will all be a memory as soon as the untethered goes public, which hopefully will be after 4.3 is officially out *fingers crossed*

 

[JM19]

this will all be a memory as soon as the untethered goes public, which hopefully will be after 4.3 is officially out *fingers crossed*

I guess I'll wait until the untethered comes out. Don't want to risk it trying the tethered one and I mess things up.

 

[BLiNK]

I guess I'll wait until the untethered comes out. Don't want to risk it trying the tethered one and I mess things up.

just so you know you will not and cannot "mess" up your phone. this is probably one of the biggest misconceptions about jailbreaking, along with others

make sure you back up your device and hack away! if you get to a point where you are not comfortable or decide that this is just not right for you then restore is your friend. even people who have been doing it for a while resort to restores, that's just the nature of the beast. as long as you back up everything you can restore and re-jailbreak as many times as you wish

being tethered really is not that bad but it will take for you to do it to find out for sure. even with an untethered jailbreak you will run into situations that you will not be familiar with. to anyone who is indeed serious about it, read up and study as much as possible before getting into it and you should be fine

 

[fritzhl]

I am also on an Iphone 4 with a PC and 4.2.1 I have downloaded redsnow and also the firmware file. When I try to run redsnow it asks for the ipws file, but there is not one in the file. Do I need to rename one of the files? I am running a windows 7

 

[mysterio]

I am also on an Iphone 4 with a PC and 4.2.1 I have downloaded redsnow and also the firmware file. When I try to run redsnow it asks for the ipws file, but there is not one in the file. Do I need to rename one of the files? I am running a windows 7

You need to download the ipsw file for the iphone 4 first if you got that iPhone on 4.2.1 already out of the box. If you updated using iTunes (it showed you a prompt to which you clicked Download and Install), then the file should be on your hard drive. Use Windows 7's search function. It should be named iPhone3,1_4.2.1_8C148_Restore.ipsw. Now if your iPhone is the former (got on 4.2.1 already), then you need to download this file.

 

[swsmpbaby985]

I downloaded Winterboard from Cydia because I wanted to try to install a theme. However after downloading the test theme (I think it was the HTC Weather Widget) the only noticeable difference was the "slide to unlock" had disappeared and was replaced with a green dot...that was it. It didn't look anything like the screenshots for that theme. And the only other difference is the color of the App names is a bit lighter than Apple's default.

Help, what did I do wrong?

 

[gerwen]

BTW: I downloaded biteSMS and everytime I'd receive a text the springboard would crash. And I'd be told that the phone was in safe mode and I'd be given the option to restart. So I got aggravated with that crashing so I deleted it.

I had the same problem, except my phone was crashing every time i used a volume button.

Removed biteSMS, and installed the beta (5.1), from this repository:
cydia.bitesms.com (have to add that in Cydia/Manage/Sources/ then tap edit and then add)

biteSMS is really so much better than the stock messaging app. You won't regret giving it a try.