MUST READ: Congress demands answers from Google over Glass privacy concerns

Topic: Hardware

100 reasons to jailbreak an iPhone

Summary: It's perfectly legal in the US to jailbreak your handset. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act says so.

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

By for Hardware 2.0 |

Do you own an iPhone? Have you jailbroken it? If not, why not?

A video by Jailbreak Matrix's Mario Dabek shows 100 excellent reasons to jailbreak your iPhone. The video goes on to list a whole array of customizations you can carry out to a jailbroken handset; some cosmetic, with others adding much-needed functionality.

It's a popular misconception that jailbreaking is all about pirating apps -- it's not. Yes, a small number of miscreants do abuse the system, but the vast majority of the jailbreaking community simply want to get more from the hardware that they've paid good money for.

And it's entirely legal in the U.S. to jailbreak your handset. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act says so -- for now at least.

When looking up the jailbreaking process you will come across two terms that might confuse you initially: tethered and untethered jailbreaks. A tethered jailbreak won't survive if the device is rebooted and the device will need to be connected to a PC or Mac to reapply the jailbreak. An untethered jailbreak allows the device to be rebooted without removing the jailbreak, making it far easier and more convenient to use.

What's interesting is that while you can freely and legally jailbreak your iPhone, jailbreaking devices such as the iPod touch is illegal.

There are downsides to jailbreaking. The biggest of these is that you can't install Apple iOS updates as soon as they're released because that will kill your jailbreak and you'll have to wait for a new hack to come out which supports the new release. This can take days, weeks or even months, so you're forced to live in limbo during this period.

Also, bear in mind that jailbreaking technically voids your iPhone's warranty as far as Apple is concerned, but since it's easy to roll back a jailbreak I've never seen this cause a problem.

Related:

Topics: Hardware, iPhone, Mobility, Smartphones

Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily email newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.

Talkback

34 comments
Log in or register to join the discussion

  • Well sure you can but how many of your average consumers

    would want/care too? It's like back in the day when people use to customize their cars. I think at some level this still occurs but I don't think it's as prevalent today as it was in say the 50's and or 60's. Even at it's peak it was only a few who did so compared to the overall population of car owners/users. However if that floats your boat go for it!!!

    Pagan jim
    James Quinn
    Reply Vote

    • +1.

      And this is from an experience of Windows Mobile Custom ROM building.
      Ram U
      Reply Vote

    • But then,

      I doubt that "your average consumer" spends much time reading tech blogs either.
      cHarley1200
      Reply Vote

    • I've jailbroken my iPhone

      for many of the reasons mentioned in the video. Sure one could get an Android device to get some of that with a stock Android OS but it's not as polished on Android as it is on iOS.
      NonFanboy
      Reply Vote

  • Reason for iPod Touch jailbreaking being illegal?

    Citation would be appreciated as well =)

    Joey
    voyager529
    Reply Vote

    • Ditto

      I was wondering the same thing, details please.
      clcrockett
      Reply Vote

    • Specific DMCA exemption for smartphones

      Don't shoot the messenger but my understanding is that DMCA makes it illegal to jailbreak iPod Touch. There is a specific exemption made for smartphones:

      "When one jailbreaks a smartphone in order to make the operating system on that phone interoperable with an independently created application that has not been approved by the maker of the smartphone or the maker of its operating system, the modifications that are made purely for the purpose of such interoperability are fair uses."

      I won't even bother trying to link to where I got that but if you search for:
      dmca smartphone exception
      you should find all the links you need.
      toddbottom3
      Reply Vote

  • Umm, here's an idea...

    Just get a phone you don't have to jailbreak to do all these things!

    The iPhone is horribly outdated and just not worth the money!
    slickjim
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Umm, here's an idea...

      [i]Just get a phone you don't have to jailbreak to do all these things![/i]

      Right. Get an Android-based smartphone and you can [b][u]'root'[/u][/b] it. Same thing as jailbraking an iPhone. And rooting is done for pretty much the same reasons.

      P.S. Regarding your [over]use of exclamation points, see this Seinfeld script (esp. Elaine and Jake Jarmel):

      http://www.seinfeldscripts.com/TheSniffingAccountant.htm

      Enjoy! ;)
      Rabid Howler Monkey
      Reply Vote

      • Did you even

        Did you even watch the video? Or are you just that ignorant of Androids capabilities?

        Here's a list of items Android can do natively from the first half of this video, no rooting required!

        Close all apps at once
        Video chat over not just 3G but LTE as well
        Share files over Bluetooth
        Improved wireless printing
        Add cool effects and themes
        Block unwanted calls
        Put your apps anywhere
        Add pics to contacts
        Take calls while using other apps
        Attach files to emails
        Add custom sound themes
        Change keyboard colors
        Use music for alarms
        Calendar widgets
        Notes widgets
        Disable lock screen
        Face recognition
        Panoramic camera
        Hide unused apps

        Basically, you don't need to root your android device to get all these features as launchers, apps and features are available that handle these things natively.

        Now go back to your windows phone love fest and avoid discussions you know nothing about!
        slickjim
        Reply 1 Vote

      • Doesn't matter one way or the other

        From the article:
        [i]the vast majority of the jailbreaking community simply want to get more from the hardware that theyve paid good money for.[/i]

        This is the same reason that people root their Android-based smartphones. And if you don't think that people root their Android-based devices, smartphones and/or tablets, then you are ignorant. Have you even heard of after-market Android distros like CyanogenMod? Or Android's much discussed crapware problem? Rooting is step 1.
        Rabid Howler Monkey
        Reply Vote

      • No, it typically is not...

        Yes people root their Android phones to freeze or remove crapware... He'll, they even root it or free tethering but rooting is not required to get more from Android, sorry! Again, you fail to understand and still haven't watched the video have you?
        slickjim
        Reply Vote

      • There's life beyond Android.

        Check it out.
        Rabid Howler Monkey
        Reply Vote

    • I find your post amusing...

      As you say that the iPhone is horribly outdated and yet it still continues to outsell every single Android smartphone it's put up against. Collectively yes Android has sold more - don't confuse market saturation and razor thin margins with popularity... there are a great many really crappy Android smartphones out there.

      And what is really ironic about your claim of the iPhone being "horribly outdated" is that Android is a copy of iOS! As much as I despise the metro interface it IS a rather original concept in a smartphone UI... it's not a grid of icons like iOS, Android, WM, and BB. Sure one can add widgets to Android's UI but one still has icons in a row, line, or grid.

      And one DOES have to root an Android phone to get the latest Android OS. How many Android smartphones are sold with ICS? how many are STILL sold with Gingerbread? Every iOS device sold today is running iOS 5... every single one.
      NonFanboy
      Reply Vote

      • That would be wrong...

        Android functions extremely different and all the common concepts existed before iOS so that is bunk! Dude, Windows 3.1 allowed apps to sit on a plain desktop or sit in a folder... Nice try though!

        As for the iPhone sales, that is a selective statistic, it does not have the same success in other countries that it has in the USA... Android is pretty much double the iPhone installed base the world over and it isn't getting any closer.

        One doesn't need the latest OS for Android to get these features... The majority of the features were present in Android 2.2 with apps bringing some functionality.
        slickjim
        Reply Vote

      • @Peter Perry

        I own both and Android device and an iOS device and from personal experience your claims are bunk. Also we are not discussing Windows or any other desktop OS but mobile OSes - nice try with the misdirect. And I never said that iOS was completely original I said that Android is a copy of iOS. Prior to the release of the original iPhone Android was a Blackberry clone that was engineered to be used on Windows Mobile devices as an alternative to that crappy and buggy OS.

        [b]As for the iPhone sales, that is a selective statistic, [/b]

        Just like "Android beating iOS in sales" is selective when one adds ALL the Android smartphones out there vs ALL of the iOS smartphones out there - market saturation and deals is what helped Android get those sales.

        [b]it does not have the same success in other countries that it has in the USA... Android is pretty much double the iPhone installed base the world over and it isn't getting any closer.[/b]

        Riiiiiiiiiiiiiight. Got any statistics to back that up?

        "One doesn't need the latest OS for Android to get these features... The majority of the features were present in Android 2.2 with apps bringing some functionality."

        But it's much the same with iOS and yet Android get's a free pass for things not baked into their OS while iOS get's trashed for not having things baked into their OS that apps can do? Cue the Double Standards!
        NonFanboy
        Reply Vote

        • Stats

          http://mashable.com/2012/08/08/android-smartphone-marketshare/
          Jaymz421
          Reply Vote

  • And only 1 reason needed why not to

    if it works fine as it is, why mess with it.

    I just can't wait to see the 100 reasons as to why you should jailbreak your TV!
    William Farrel
    Reply Vote

    • And that would be your choice.

      In exactly the same way that other people jailbreaking their phones is their choice.

      [quote]I just can't wait to see the 100 reasons as to why you should jailbreak your TV![/quote]This article lists 100 things that you [b]can[/b] do with a jailbroken iPhone. And do [b]today[/b]. There is no question of "should" here - that is an entirely different topic! (As someone I knew once said, "'Should' is a Preacher word!").
      Zogg
      Reply Vote

  • They forgot one:

    expose your iPhone to malware!
    baggins_z
    Reply Vote
CNET Join | Log In | Privacy | Cookies Close