How to: jailbreak an iPhone or iPod Touch

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*BIG TIME DISCLAIMER
I am not advocating jailbreaking. If you have a warranty on your iPhone or iPod touch, this will void your warranty. Jailbreaking is fine for most people however it is strictly against Apple's terms of service. If you do manage to damage your iphone, this disclaimer is here to warn you that a) it really is possible to damage your phone and b) you are voiding your warranty if you do this so you may be denied service from apple if you run into problems
This guide is used to show you how jailbreak your iphone, not how to steal any software from anywhere. This guide is not intended to circumvent (hack/crack/bypass) any Apple software protection for App Store apps. You should always buy apps if you like them! Support app developers!




FIRST BE SURE TO BACK UP YOUR IPHONE:


Connect your iPhone to your computer.
When iTunes launches, click "sync" and wait for the process to finish.
You have just backed up your iPhone.


Restore the iPhone (or iPod Touch) This will allow the phone to be completely reset to its factory settings and start a new

a) In iTunes you will see a screen similar to the one below. You must click restore on the screen to continue:

b) You may be prompted to download the iPhone software. You must download it if you dont already have it on your computer. It can take some time depending on your internet connection, the files are over 200 megabytes in size. This takes some users a few minutes, and some a few hours depending on your internet connection speed.

c) When finished downloading, the rest of the process is automated. iTunes will now automatically restore the iPhone. The process will take 10-20 minutes.

You will see the apple logo with a progress bar on your iPhone during this time.

d) after the process is complete, as long as you have not removed your SIM card, and the iPhone has remained connected to iTunes, and your computer is connected to the internet, you will see a screen telling you that you iPhone is activated:

IMPORTANT:

If you are asked to restore your phone from a backup or set up as new, disregard these messages for now and continue on with the rest of this walkthrough.

Download Blackra1n from www.blackra1n.com
Be sure to click the windows logo if you are using windows, or the Mac logo if you use Mac.

When prompted be sure to save the file somewhere you can remember. You will need to run it in just a few minutes.

Be sure that you have your iPhone or iPod Touch connected to your computer. Close any iTunes related windows.

When the file has saved (should only take a few seconds as it is a small file) you must run it.

Double click the file and it will run:

Click the "make it rain button"

Next you may see the "found new hardware" balloon in windows. That is ok.

The iPhone is entering recovery mode and this is normal.

Your iPhone display will turn black, and then off for a moment.

Next you will see a picture of Geohot on your iPhone or iPod Touch

Blackra1n will now run and your iPhone will reboot:

The next screen you see after your iPhone reboots looks like this:

Final Step

After the iPhone or iPod Touch reboots, you will see a new icon on the screen called blackra1n

*VERY IMPORTANT:

Make sure you are connected to the internet via either WIFI or 3g. You can do this on EDGE but it will take a very long time. It is preferential to do this on WIFI

Click the blackra1n icon and you are brought to the following screen:

This screen is where you will select what download manager you want to install. Click Cydia and Rock if you want the most variety. I do not recommend Icy as some users have problems using Icy and some jailbreak applications an tweaks

Click INSTALL on the upper right hand of the blackra1n app.

Blackra1n will begin to download your chosen apps:

After it has finished downloading, the iPhone will do a soft reboot (this is called a re-spring) and you will see the selected manager on your home screen:

Next you can tap the blackra1n icon again, and then uninstall the blackra1n app to remove the logo:

RESTORE YOUR BACK UP IN ITUNES

Disconnect your iPhone and close iTunes.

Reconnect your iPhone via the USB cable and open iTunes if it does not automatically open.

Restoring From Your Last Backup. Assuming that you are using the same computer you usually connect your iPhone to, and you backed up in the beginning of this walkthrough you can now restore to your latest iPhone backup. iTunes backs your phone up when you connect it to your computer. We are now going to restore that backup

a) When the phone restarted and was activated, the iTunes screen changed to the "Set up a new phone" process. The screen will ask you if you would like to set the phone up as new (not recommended if you intend to restore your contacts, SMS messages, and apps) or restore from an earlier backup.

b) Select the backup you would like to use. After a few minutes, the phone restarts and if your iPhone backup is complete

Coming in the next few days, what to do with your new unjailbroken iPhone!