I’ve been getting a lot of questions lately about jailbreaking. Should you do it? Is it worth it? Is it dangerous? Is it illegal? Will you be sent to prison if you even utter the word “jailbreak?” To answer all of these questions and give my personal opinion on jailbreaking, I have decided to make an FAQ-style, explain-like-I’m-five opinion piece on jailbreaks.
Q: What is jailbreaking?
To put it simply, jailbreaking your iPhone is a process that allows you to edit your phone’s system files. Modifying your phone’s system files may seem like a complicated and risky process, but this is done through “tweaks” that you can install. You’ll rarely, if ever, edit the system files yourself (unless you feel comfortable, of course!)
Jailbreaking opens up the realm of possibilities for your phone. With a stock iOS (an un-jailbroken phone), you have little to no control over how you want your phone to look. You can’t change the clock, the app style, or how it functions. Jailbreaking allows all of this and much more.
Q: What are tweaks?
Think of tweaks like customization apps. They are installed through “Cydia,” which is the jailbroken-equivalent to an app store. Developers will upload their own tweaks there for users to download. Many are free, but there are paid ones as well, just like the regular app store.
Q: Isn’t jailbreaking dangerous? Like, couldn’t you get a virus or get hacked if someone untrustworthy codes a tweak?
I’m not going to lie – there are untrustworthy tweaks out there. However, most of them are hard to find. Most of them come from sources that you have to add yourself, and a lot of the sketchy ones are from sources that promise paid tweaks for free. But, the vast majority of tweaks are absolutely safe. If you are ever unsure about whether a tweak could be harmful or not, a quick Google search will ease your worries. Basically, you’re going to have to go out of your way to download a “dangerous” tweak.
Q: OK, so I’m probably not going to get a virus. But can’t jailbreaking destroy my phone if something goes wrong when I try to do it?
Same answer to the last question: you’re going to have to go out of your way to destroy your phone in the process of jailbreaking it or while it’s jailbreaking. That would take some serious meddling, and I’ve never heard of many people bricking their phone from a jailbreak. When you jailbreak it, just follow the instructions step by step and carefully. If you’re not good with technology and you really want a jailbreak, maybe ask a technologically-competent friend to assist you. When it’s jailbroken, don’t go messing with system files (you’d have to go out of your way to do that, too), and you should be fine.
Q: What if something does go wrong? Doesn’t jailbreaking void my warranty?
This seems to be everyone’s biggest concern about jailbreaking, and honestly, it’s a toss-up. If you have a problem with your phone, like a cracked screen, all you need to do is restore it and remove the jailbreak and all traces of it will be gone. They’ll fix it like normal. Let’s say you can’t turn on your phone at all or do anything with it – you still might be able to get it fixed. It depends from worker to worker. Some Apple store workers will be a stickler for rules and refuse to touch your phone if it’s jailbroken, but many Apple store workers will also still repair it. They’d rather keep you in the Apple family than turn you away because of a jailbreak. You’re not public enemy number one if you jailbreak in their eyes, trust me.
Q: Cool, so it’s not too risky. Why should I even want to jailbreak though?
This answer could take several pages. There are so many reasons why you might want to jailbreak and it varies from person to person. Maybe you want to change the look of your home screen. Maybe you want to be able to save people’s Snapchats without them knowing. Maybe you want to be able to change the color of your iMessage bubbles, or maybe you want to get some free in-app purchases that would otherwise cost you an entire leg.
All of that is possible. Yes, all of it, and so much more. I don’t know what you want, but let me tell you about my favorite features of my own jailbreak.
I can unlock and lock my phone without pressing a single button. On Twitter, I’m able to mute tweets with certain words from ever appearing on my timeline. On Instagram, I can save people’s photos with just the tap of a button, and I can do the same on Snapchat with stories without anyone ever knowing. I’m notified when someone has read my iMessage to them at the top of my screen. I can change my location to anywhere in the world.
My lockscreen and homescreen are beautiful.
And so are my messages.
Oh, and my Spotify changes color to match the album artwork of whatever song I’m listening to at the moment.
I could go on for hours. My jailbreak is amazing and I can’t imagine living without it.
Q: OK, OK, you’ve convinced me! So, how do I go about jailbreaking my phone?
It depends on what iOS version your phone is on, and you can check this in Settings -> General -> About. I’ll only be talking about the two most current jailbreaks, 9.3.3 and 10.0 - 10.2, but if you are on a different version, Google is your friend.
Here is a guide for 9.3.3.
Here is a guide for 10.0 – 10.2.
READ THE GUIDES FULLY WHILE YOU JAILBREAK. I cannot emphasize this enough.For instance, if you don’t read the guide for 10.0 – 10.2 fully, you might end up jailbreaking even though your phone might not be compatible!
If you go through with this jailbreak, let me know how you like it! Happy jailbreaking, friends.
