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) . 

• Jailbreak your iPhone iOS 6.1.2
• Download evasi0n 1.5 jailbreak tool
• Switch off Passcode Lock: Settings > General > Passcode Lock > Off.
• Follow the instructions and walk-through video
• Please note that the servers may be busy and you may experience congestion errors. See this article: "Cydia servers overloaded..."

• 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!  :)

Restoring/Downgrading/Clearing iPhones

There's a few scenarios why you may want to do this:

• You want to clear out the iPhone as it has slowed down over the year(s)
• You want to sell your iPhone (or change owners) 
• You want to unjailbreak it to take it back to the Apple store

Generally speaking, you can do this by simply connecting your phone into iTunes and then clicking "Restore"; this will wipe your phone and install the latest iOS available... this, however, may not the solution if you want to keep your iPhone jailbroken or on an older iOS.

If you need to take your phone back to the Apple store, you will need to unjailbreak your phone and update to the latest version. From Apple's point of view, if you are not using the latest iOS, then you have not attempted everything to resolve the problem you wish to discuss. This obviously means you will have to re-jailbreak the iPhone post visiting the store... if a jailbreak is actually available for the latest iOS. 

Downgrading or Re-restoring your iPhone

• Re-restoring means, you want to remain on the same iOS version you currently have on the iPhone e.g.  iPhone currently on iOS 5.1.1 and restoring to a clean iOS 5.1.1. because iOS6 jailbreak is not available.
• Apple stopped signing iOS 5.1.1 in Sept 2012. This effectively means that the following process will not work if you want to remain on iOS 5.1.1. I've detailed the steps below as it will work if you are on the latest iOS release: 
• Download the IPSW file for your device: LINK
• Put your phone into DFU mode: Link to Instructions
• 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
• Note: for iPhone 4S, you will need to wait for Redsn0w to release an update of their software - skip to "cleaning your iPhone without re-restoring" below.
• To be able to downgrade or re-restore your iPhone 4 (or lower model), you will need to save your SHSH blobs and use Redsn0w to stitch it to the IPSW file.
• Note: Run Redsn0w on as Admin. (If on Win7, set Compatibility = WinXP SP3)
• Saving SHSH blobs: Link to instructions with Redsn0w  and with iFaith (download link)
• Stitching blobs to IPSW and downgrade/re-restoring: Link to instructions
• Another set of instructions for both processes from SiNfuL iPhone forums

Clearing your iPhone without re-restoring

• Why? All the processes above will not work because, Apple has stopped signing the iOS you want  AND you currently cannot use the SHSH blobs (e.g. iPhone 4S A5 device as at Oct 8th 2012)
  .
• Non jailbroken iPhones:
  On the iPhone click:  Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Contents and Settings.
  .
• Jailbroken iPhones:
• Removing all apps and accounts
• Sync the iPhone with an empty iTunes account/library
• Log out of iTunes store
• Manually delete any remaining data: Messages
• Run iCleaner to clear any random caches, etc. (see previous blog entry for details)
• Removing all Cydia Tweaks
• I have not tried this, so please backup and read all the instructions carefully prior to attempting anything. 
• Link to removing all Cydia Tweaks on ijailbreak

iPhone Backups

iCloud backups are great... if you pay for the service to increase the size AND like waiting.
iTunes backups are also great... if you constantly connect your phone to your computer and click backup.

Pros: As they are Apple products, these methods complete a full backup and fairly hassle free.
Cons: You cannot partially restore files/sections of your phone; only a COMPLETE restore can be done.

If you're like me, I'd like to have some control in the way I backup things; preferably incrementally and wirelessly. Below details advice on how I prefer to backup the data on my iPhone.

FYI - to do a complete backup on iTunes, I always:

1. Right-click on iPhone in iTunes and click on Transfer purchases. 
2. Once complete, click on Backup. 

Backup: Calendar & Contacts
Description: 

• I've seen so many iPhones setup without auto-magically backing up their calendar and contacts to their gmail accounts.
• Once setup correctly, every new contact or calendar event that is added on your phone will automatically be synced onto gmail so you'll never have to worry about data loss. 
• This also means if you decide to move to another phone device (e.g. android), you simply need to input your gmail account details into the phone to download all your contacts and calendars! 
• If you also use Outlook and want to keep Outlook-Gmail-iPhone synced, this adds another level of complexity. Although I haven't not tried this, have a read of this link I've found that seems useful: http://randombytesofreality.com/2011/11/14/outlook-gmail-and-iphone-syncing/

Requirement: Google mail account
Detailed setup link: http://support.google.com/mail/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=138740
Setup Procedure Summary: 

• When inputting the setting into the iPhone, use Microsoft Exchange option (not Gmail!)
• Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Add Account... > Microsoft Exchange
• Email: enter your full Google Account email address. 
• Domain: leave blank
• Username: Enter your full Google Account email address
• Password: Google Account password
• Tap 'Next' and choose 'Cancel' if the 'Unable to Verify Certificate' dialog appears.
• Server: m.google.com
• Press Next to then enable Mail, Contacts, Calendars complete the process.
• If you have never saved contact/calendar information onto Google: when prompted "what would you like to do with the existing local contacts/calendar events on your iPhone?" select "Keep on My iPhone" .

Backup: Photos
Description:

• I prefer using these third party apps to back up my photos wirelessly so that I know full-well that the photos are backed up AND accessible/viewable. e.g. backing up to iCloud does not allow you to view your own photos via the iCloud login.
• I've been using CameraSync and have set it up so that when I load the app, it will automatically scan for new photos and copy them across to my FTP server. Another great feature is that it renames all the photos to yyyy-mm-dd hh.mm.ss
• Opening a box.com or dropbox.com account and using the Box/Dropbox App will also allow you to upload your photos to your box account. (Please use this link to sign up: dropbox referral)

App: CameraSync or Box app or DropBox app (all via App Store)

Alternatively, if you want to back up and delete your photos using the iPhone cable connected to a PC:

1. Use iFunbox to extract the photos in the original folders as found on the iPhone
2. Use Advanced Renamer to rename the photos to yyyy-mm-dd hh.mm.ss
   I use the following details in the program:
   <Year Modified>-<Month Modified>-<Day Modified> <Hour Modified>.<Min Modified>.<Sec Modified> <Img CameraModel>
   Name Colission Rule: Append incrementing number, separator: -
3. Use iTools to delete the photos from the iPhone
4. Respring the iPhone so that the photo database is rebuilt. 

Backup: SMS
Description:
I use iBye to backup the SMS folder on the iPhone (/private/var/Mobile/Library/SMS) to my FTP server. The app compresses the folder to SMS.tar.gz before transferring it over wifi. The app also allows you to backup to dropbox and has options to backup other system files (e.g. Cydia, Phone, Contacts...)

App: iBye (only for Jailbroken iPhones)

• via Cydia: ihacksrepo.com
• Another recommended app is PKGBackup (BigBoss repo for $9.99) 

Backup: Cydia Packages
Description:
From experience, I haven't found one app that is 100% reliable yet. That's why I've opted to use all three apps to attempt to backup my Cydia packages and sources. If all fails, it's not the end of the world as I keep a manual list of Cydia packages I like in my original jailbreaking blogpost.

Apps: APTBACKUP, OpenBackup and iBye  (all installed via Cydia)

• Feedback and experiences: 
• First time I used APTBACKUP and clicked on restore, it seemed to do nothing so gave up after 10mins; no progress bar. It may have possibly been extremely slow due to the server load(?)
• Using OpenBackup to restore, restored about 50% of my Cydia apps and tweaks. 
• Following this, I went into Cydia, added the sources, and queue the tweaks/apps in small batches at a time to install. The restore process actually kept all my settings so as soon as the Cydia app/tweak was re-installed, it worked exactly as I had set it up e.g. SBSettings had the correct theme. 
• "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."

Please let me know if you find new/better ways of completing the above tasks :)

Make your iPhone faster!

Besides un-installing unused apps clogging up your iPhone to help speed it up, there are two additional things I have done to speed up my device. Unfortunately (fortunately?) it requires your iPhone to be jailbroken.

Rather than write a long "how-to" guide, I'll let the videos on YouTube do the talking for me...

1. iCleaner (BigBoss repo)

This Cydia app clean up all the unnecessary & temporary files built up over the months/years. Running it will free up some space and speed up your iPhone. I recommend running it every month or two.

2. Speed Intensifier (ihacksrepo.com  or  repo.insanelyi.com)

This tweak simply speeds up the animations on your iPhone making it feel faster. The setting on my iPhone 4S for this tweak is +6 as I find it provides a good balance between animation and speed.

Enjoy!

iPhone Cases

It's that time of the year again... when people are looking at upgrading their iPhone. If you're like me, I like keeping my phone in mint condition... that means a good case and screen protector (good in both quality and value for money of course!)

At the moment, I've decided I'd quite happily stick with my iPhone 4S, but I thought I'd share my research on cases for the 4S as the same brand and principles will apply when looking for cases for the iPhone 5.

These were the cases I narrowed my selection down to:

Incase Slider
Loved this case for my 3GS; tight fit, durable, relatively scratch resistant, has a lip so the phone can be placed on the table face down without any worries. Caution: if you are sliding it on and off, be sure to clean out any dust from the case as the tight fit can cause the dust to scratch the back/side of the phone.
With regards to the 4 or 4S version of the case, there are reports stating there are of wear and tear unlike 3GS case. This is to do with the finish they decided on; the 3GS was shiny and the 4/4S is slightly rubberised.

Speck Pixelskin HD
Nice, snug fit, good camera cut out, good impact absorption. Some rare comments found about dust being trapped underneath and scratching phone! Highly recommend this and have seen my friends who have had this for over a year and have not noticed any dust/scratching problem

Incase Snap Case (Frost)

Thin, professional looking and adds minimal additional weight/size to the phone. The negatives (in my eyes) is that there is little/no lip on the front so facing the phone face down would result in the phone's screen touching the table surface. It also offers very little drop protection

Other cases I read up but quickly decided against were: 
Griffin Reveal Etch Case (Graphite)
SGP iPhone 4 Case Linear Color Series (Gun Metal)
Incipio NGP Matte TPU Jelly Case (Black)
Switcheasy Vulcan


Finally, the one I ended up getting and highly recommend is:

CaseCrown Slider

• 2 piece, slim and compact design
• Felt lined interior to protect iPhone from scratches
• Great quality
• Good screen protector included
• A range of colours including my favourite: metallic finish with two gradient colours
• Cheap!

I liked it so much that I even left a review on Amazon!
If you found this article useful and want to purchase a case, please click on the adverts above :)

Good luck case hunting!

Ainol NOVO 7 Aurora (7" Tablet)

I've owned Ainol NOVO 7 Aurora Tablet since April 2012 and thought I'd share my experiences with you. Having researched various tablets on the internet, I may just start with why I decided to buy this tablet:

• I wanted something cheap and cheerful (<£120). I will still be using my iPhone 4S for most of my activities, so the tablet was just for browsing, videos and reading (books, comics and magazines).
•  Wanted an Android tablet to learn more about Android OS
• 7" is perfect for portability and light-weight (minimises wrist fatigue)
• Reviews on YouTube show it was powerful enough to run HD video and render 3D games; indicates to me that it should suit my needs perfectly.

Technical specifications:

• CPU: AllWinner Many Core A10 1.2GHz processor.  GPU: Mali 400.
• 1GB DDR3 RAM, 8GB internal storage, microSD slot 
• 7 inch IPS Capacitive Screen 1024×600 pixel resolution  (LG version i.e. V3)
• WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, 3.5mm audio, mini USB, mini HDMI
• Size and Weight: 189mm x 123mm x 9mm, 313 grams

Overall... very happy with the device!

However, if I had to purchase a tablet now, I think I'd struggle to pick between the Novo7 Aurora II and Nexus 7. Without looking at in with much depth, I am slightly swayed towards the Aurora II purely due to the microSD card. I use my 32gb card all the time! 

Added 25/9/2012: If you want another option (only slightly more expensive than the Aurora II) then have a look at the Novo7 Fire: 1280x800 IPS screen, dual core processor, front and rear camera, 5000mA battery.

Added 10/02/2013: If 10" is what I want, it would be between the Novo Hero 2 and Google Nexus 10... purely from a pricing a features point of view, I'd buy the Hero. However, if I wanted an excellent high-res screen and want the latest factory android iOS, I'd get the Nexus 10.

     

Note: The Aurora had 3 versions released. Knowing which version is important when you want to install a custom ROM. To determine the release model, simply look on the box above the barcode:

• 201201 = Aurora v1  (Hitachi screen)
• 201202 = Aurora v1
• 201203 = Aurora v2
• 201204 and above = Aurora v3  (LG screen)

Learning points to share:

• The Aurora comes pre-rooted and CWM installed!
• If you need to change the language because the ROM defaults to chinese: Settings menu > option "A" icon > choose the first option
• ClockworkMod Recovery (CWM) is activation: Hold the BACK button and press POWER button for approx. 2 sec, then release POWER; keep BACK button pressed until CWM mode/menu is activated (it may take approx. 10 sec). Release the BACK button.
• With the factory installed ROM, the opened android logo with red exclamation mark is actually CWM mode: press BACK button for CWM menu.
• Updating to a different ROM (been trying feiyu, Mobiz and ConRom v2-7) to make the Aurora even faster/smoother. I was using ConRom v7 (CM9) for some time but now on Quarx CM10 nightly.
• Installing busybox into the wrong directory can cause the tablet to self factory reset on each reboot and result in errors.  Ensure you install BUSYBOX to /system/bin  (not the default xbin). This issue is caused by the busybox install, caused by an incompatibility between busybox and ICS (Android 4). What happens is the a couple of vital directories containing user data FAIL TO MOUNT. The reason is that the program /system/bin/busybox is missing. As you will not be able to download anything from Google Play at this time (No space - volume not mounted) you have to get hold of term.apk, The android terminal emulator, and copy the busybox in xbin to bin. Then reboot.
  Type into the terminal emulator: cp /system/xbin/busybox /system/bin
  Alternatively: Complete a full format flash.
• LiveSuit 1.09 unable to recognise AURORA in DFU mode (hold down volume-up, plug USB, press power 6 times) on my computer! (Windows 7 64bit).  I tried absolutely every driver combination to attempt to get it to recognise the tablet, but gave up after 4+ hours. Eventually, I used another laptop I had access to and it work right away (same version of Windows!)

Apps I have installed:

• SwiftkeyX  CM10 keyboard is great
• SetCPU  (Min 408. Max 1056 - interactive), Screen Filter
• Opera Mini, Dolphin Browser (and mini)
• Ghost Commander File (+ SMB plugin)
• K-9 Mail
• PerfectViewer (+PDF plugin) (to read comics)
• Adobe Reader, ezPDF Reader, Flipboard, gReader
• YouTube , BBC News, iPlayer, Sky News, TED, TVCatchup
• MX Player & BSPlayer
• Nova Launcher (Quarx CM10 20120901 launcher currently has problems)
• Lucky Patcher
• Superuser, Root Explorer, Advanced Task Killer, Quadrant Standard
• Terminal Emulator, SManager ads (for V6 script)

Quarx CM10 10121209 install procedure

1. Using Livesuit v1.09 (and press YES for format), install/flash Feiyu 0429 ROM - aurora_v1_feiyu_mod (0429) 
2. Load CWM to install the following:
   Activate CWM mode: Turn device off. Press & HOLD "back" key. switch device on. Let go of back key once CWM screen is loaded.
1. CWM6 (cwm-6.0.1.0.zip)
2. Feiyu 0429 V3 touch patch (aurora_v3_patch_(0429).zip)
3. Quarx 1209 (CM10-20121209-NIGHTLY-a10.zip)
4. Aurora V3 touch drivers (lg_touch_fix_v3.zip)
5. Gapps (gapps-jb-20121011-signed.zip)
3. Install Nova Launcher (via Play Store)
4. Download and install YouTube 4.1.47.apk (via Google)
5. Use V6 SuperCharger script to optimise memory and remove lag:
1. Install BusyBox v1.19.4 to /system/bin (Play Store)
2. Install SManager (Play Store)
3. Use SManager to run the newest release of V6 SuperCharger Script.pdf (run as "SU")
4. Patch and install services.jar using Ultimatic Jar Patcher Tools (Windows PC)
5. Use SManager to run 99SuperCharger as "SU" and "On Boot"
6. Use V6 SuperCharger Script to "SuperClean & ReStart!"
7. Use V6 SuperCharger Script to "Fix Emissions"

• Bugs with Quarx CM10 1209: 
• Wifi sleeping when device is off, even when set to "Always On" - Use SoftLock app
• Default Launcher crashes on rotation - Use Nova Launcher as mentioned above
• Still some lag - V6 script worked for me. 
• Some browsers are still "slow" e.g. Chrome.
  I use Opera Next (simple/fast browsing) and Dolphin Browser (full website browsing)
• References:
• http://quarx2k.ru/cm10-nightly-novo7%28aurora%29/
• http://volkov.ath.cx/quarx2k.ru/cm10-nightly-novo7%28aurora%29/
• http://www.slatedroid.com/topic/38048-cyanogenmod-10-jelly-bean/page__st__240__gopid__470266#entry470266
• http://wiki.rootzwiki.com/Google_Apps#Jelly_Bean_.28Android_4.1.x-4.2.x.29
• http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=991276

Useful Links

Beginners guide to improving Novo 7
http://www.slatedroid.com/topic/33944-the-absolute-beginners-guide-to-making-a-newly-acquired-novo-7-aurora-tablet-actually-useful/
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1639689

ROMs:
Full list (with google translator)
http://www.slatedroid.com/forum/280-ainol-novo-7-aurora/
http://dragondevs.com/viewforum.php?f=39
http://www.slatedroid.com/forum/296-roms-images-and-firmwares/

Busybox:
http://www.slatedroid.com/topic/31955-help-please-v6-super-charge-insufficent-space-for-apps-after-reboot-help-please/page__p__346801__hl__busybox+xbin__fromsearch__1#entry346801
http://www.slatedroid.com/topic/32251-my-aurora-journey/page__st__20__gopid__360828#entry360828

Deleting APKs:"Deleting apk from /system/app is like uninstall.
Check this cyanogen website or this link to find which apk's is safe to remove.
Since Aurora didn't have 3G/phone function, it's safe to remove Contacts.apk, ContactsProvider.apk, Phone.apk and TelephonyProvider.apk"
http://www.slatedroid.com/topic/29422-all-firmware-novo-aurora-mod-by-feiyu/page__pid__382483__st__1460#entry382483
http://forums.androidcentral.com/optimus-v-rooting-roms-hacks/156703-guide-apks-their-purpose-safe-not-remove-big.html
http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/index.php?title=Barebones

Supercharger V6 script
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=991276
http://www.slatedroid.com/topic/31903-scripts-simplified-v6-supercharger-script-installation-guide/
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=18703418&postcount=5021

Jailbreaking iPhone 4S iOS 5.1.1

Please note that you can only jailbreak an iPhone 4S 5.1.1 if the firmware is currently installed on the phone; you cannot upgrade from 5.0.1 or downgrade from 6.0 as Apple has stopped signing iOS 5.1.1. My advise for you is to remain on your currently jailbroken iOS. If you want to do anything, then make sure you save your SHSH blobs and try Redsn0w as it now "supports" iPhone 4S (A5 chips); please read the details on their website.  [Added Jan 4th, 2013]

If you have updated to iOS 6+, please see my iOS 6.1.2 jailbreak post [Added Feb 20th 2013]


In this post, I will explain my process of updating jailbroken iPhone 4S iOS 5.0.1 to iOS 5.1.1 UNTETHERED jailbreak.

Save SHSH blobs
[approx 5mins]

• Using TinyUmbrella, download and backup the SHSH blobs 
• (both with and without "request SHSH from cydia" option) 
• http://thefirmwareumbrella.blogspot.co.uk/
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfQ_aD3CSk0

Backup Cydia apps
[approx 10mins]

• Using Cydia, install APTBACKUP, OpenBackup and iBye
• Press backup in all programs. 
• I recommend more than one as I have not found one that's 100% reliable yet.
• Read my iPhone Backups blog post for details

Backup iPhone to iTunes
[10-20mins depending on when you last completed a backup]

• Connect iPhone to iTunes
• Right-click on iPhone in iTunes and click on Transfer purchases. 
• Once complete, click on Backup. 
• Read my iPhone Backups blog post for details and other methods
• (Whist you are waiting to backup, download the IPSW file in the next step)

Update to iOS 5.1.1 
[approx 10-20mins depending on internet connection]

• Download the IPSW file for your device: LINK
• Put your phone into DFU mode: Link to Instructions
• 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 

(Reset all content and settings - do this step if you updated iOS via another method)
[approx 5-10 mins]

• On your iPhone, go to: Settings > General > Reset > Reset All Content and Settings
• http://www.idownloadblog.com/2012/05/25/absinthe-lockdown-error/
• After your phone reboots, go through the menu options, connect to your wifi, and start up as a new phone. You don't need to input your iTunes details (click skip). 

Jailbreak iOS 5.1.1
[approx 5-10mins]

• Download the latest Absinthe (currently 2.0.2), and install. 
• Follow the guide on this website to jailbreak. 
• http://absinthejailbreak.com/untethered-jailbreak-5-1-1-iphone-4s-4-3gs-absinthe-2-0/

Install some Cydia apps
[approx 5mins]

• AppSync 5+, APTBACKUP, OpenBackup, iBye
• This will allow all your previous apps to be transferred back to the iPhone during the restore process. 

Restore your iPhone
[approx 1-2 hours - depending on how much data you had on your phone]

• Connect the iPhone to iTunes and RESTORE to the most recent backup point. 
• Then Wait... wait... and wait some more.... 
• This process restored most of the settings & data e.g. email settings, photos, SMS. I needed to re-input my giffgaff phone network settings. 
• Note: during the restore process, iTunes created a new backup point and my mac required 8gb of space for my iPhone which currently has 16gb of data.

Sync apps and media
[approx 20mins]

• In iTunes, click on SYNC. 
• Half way through, my phone rebooted itself without completely restoring all my apps. After it rebooted, I simply clicked SYNC again, and all my apps were back. 

Restore Cydia apps & tweaks
[approx 20-40mins depending on server load and how many tweaks/apps you have from Cydia]

• As jailbreak for 5.1.1 has ONLY just come out, I believe the cydia servers have been very busy/slow. Please be patient. 
• I initially loaded APTBACKUP and clicked on restore and gave up after 10mins. I wasn't sure if it was working or not as there is not progress bar. It may have possibly been extremely slow due to the server load(?)
• I used OpenBackup and clicked restore. This restored about 50% of my Cydia apps and tweaks. 
• Following this, I went into Cydia, added the sources, and queue the tweaks/apps in small batches at a time to install. The restore process actually kept all my settings so as soon as the Cydia app/tweak was re-installed, it worked exactly as I had set it up e.g. SBSettings had the correct theme. 

Done!

If you are wondering what Cydia tweaks/apps to install, or wondering why you should jailbreak your device, have a read of my previous post: pangosworld.blogspot.com/2012/04/free-your-iphone-jailbreak-it_06.html

Other useful iPhone related blog posts found here: http://pangosworld.blogspot.com/p/iphone.html

Finding good coffee in London... Yum :)

I'm not a coffee *geek* nor am I intending to be one, but I do enjoy a good smooth flatwhite...

 Monmouth Coffee

Where do I find a good coffee?

• For starters, a couple of years ago, I stopped going to the big chains in London (Starbucks, Nero, etc) and looked out for independent cafes. Lucky for me Dose Espresso opened up en route to work which made avoiding the chains an easy option. 
• As I explored London cafes, I realised that those with a La Marzocco coffee machine would generally serve a very nice cup of coffee. Having had the opportunity to visit the factory in Florence and learning that each machine is hand-made, starting at no less than ££££ digits, I realised that those that own this piece of machinery knew what they were doing. 
• Lastly, the iPhone app called London Coffee Map made my life locating great cafes a whole lot easier. The app uses GPS to locate closest cafe and provides me with information about opening times, reviews, and a link to google maps. Perfect!

Lantana Cafe (Simple decor and relaxing atmosphere)

 

Speakeasy Espresso & Brew Bar

Here are some other London Coffee websites worth checking out:

• http://www.coffeehunter.org/
• http://mondomulia.com/
• http://www.coffeesmithscollective.co.uk/
• http://comingsooncoffee.wordpress.com/

Please let me know if you come across any great finds in London!

La Marzocco Factory in Florence