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Tuesday 5 February 2013

Jailbreak iOS 6.1.2

Why jailbreak your iPhone?
Basically it allows you to install custom tweaks to enhance your iPhone to your hearts desire. Have a look at my previous post (Free your iPhone... Jailbreak it!) which has a couple of short videos explaining why you should, as well as my recommended jailbreak tweaks that I try and keep updated.

Which devices can be jailbroken on iOS 6.1.2?
As of 4th of Feb, 2013, you can use Evasi0n to jailbreak iOS 6.1 on the following: iPhone 5, 4S, 4, 3GS, iPod Touch 5G, 4G, iPad Mini 4,3,2. As of 20th of Feb, 2013, evasi0n updated their software to jailbreak 6.1.2


Please note that depending on the size of your iPhone and how much data you have, backing up, jailbreaking and restoring your iPhone can take anywhere between 1-3 hours! Make sure you have something to keep you busy during the waiting process! The actual jailbreak process itself is less than 10mins.

I'm interested, what do I do next? .... Backup your iPhone to iTunes!
  • In iTunes, right-click on iPhone, and click on Transfer purchases.
  • Once completed, click on Backup.... and wait....
  • Notes: 
    • "Syncing" your iPhone does not mean it is backed up to iTunes!
    • If your iPhone is currently jailbroken, save your SHSH blobs so you can downgrade to a previous iOS in future: iFaith video tutorial and download link
    • For a more details on completely backing up your iPhone (i.e. Contacts, Calendar, SMS, Photos, Cydia), please see my previous blog post: iPhone Backups
Next... 
  • Update to iOS 6.1.2 (using iTunes) 
    • Do not update using over-the-air update feature on your iPhone
    • Download the appropriate IPSW file: LINK
    • Put your phone into DFU mode: LINK
    • Connect your phone to the PC and load iTunes 
    • Hold Shift + click Restore button  (Alt/Option + Restore on Mac)
    • Point the file to the downloaded IPSW
    • If you are already on iOS 6.1.2,  I recommend resetting the phone:
      Settings > General > Reset > Erase all Content and Settings.
    • (If you think your iOS 6.1.2 was over-the-air, I recommend a DFU re-install) . 
  • If previously jailbroken: 
    • Install some Cydia apps: AppSync v6, APTBackup, OpenBackup, iBye
    • See my first jailbreak blog post for an up-to-date list of Cydia repos for these apps.. 
  • Restore your iPhone
    • Connect the iPhone to iTunes and RESTORE to the most recent backup point. 
    • This will restore most of the settings & data e.g. email settings, photos, SMS. You may need to manually re-input some mobile network settings.
  • Sync apps and media: In iTunes, click on SYNC
  • If previously jailbroken: 
    • Use APTBackup, OpenBackup and/or iBye to restore previously installed Cydia packages
    • APTBackup and OpenBackup MIGHT be able to restore some of your Cydia data
    • Feedback about restoring using iBye:
      • "If restoring from iBye, don't have the cable plugged into your computer - it did some weird stuff once with this scenario (the apple logo appeared in the background with the loading bar, like if you were updating the iOS - freaky.)"
      • "Annoyingly iBye didn't restore mail account details, photos, or other things; only SMS and notes only."
  • iOS6+ specific apps to install: 
    • App Store: Google Maps, YouTube
    • Cydia: AppSync v6

For a more detailed information (e.g. approx time per step/section mentioned above), please see my previous post: Updating Jailbroken iPhone 4S iOS 5.0.1 to 5.1.1 ...the principles behind the backup/jailbreak/restore are the same. 

Now with your newly jailbroken iPhone, you can enjoy the many tweaks available including my favourite: making your iPhone faster!  :)