As gaming grows on Apple's iDevices (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad), we might see more and more DToiders picking up these devices. So, for those of you with them, and those of you planning to get one, here's some tips on jailbreaking your iDevice.

What is "jailbreak?"

Jailbreak means to allow your iDevice to run third party software; aka apps NOT from the app store. This can come MUCH in handy.

Why bother? The app store already gives me everything I need!

Sorry buddy, but it doesn't. For example, by default, the iDevices can't save videos from the YouTube app; you'd figure such a common feature now-a-days would be a shoo-in. Plus the fact that downloading it straight to the iDevice is much simpler than downloading it on your PC, converting it to the right type, THEEEN sending it over. Jailbreaking your iDevice doesn't necessarily mean you have to start stealing apps, it merely means you want more control over the device. It's simple to do, and makes your iDevice endlessly customizable. The first thing I've done to each one of my iPod Touches (multiple?! lolwut) is to jailbreak them, since it's so easy to do now.

Well, tell me how then!

First, go HERE. You can download the file you'll need there.
JUST TO CLARIFY, READ THE FUCKING PAGE.







Stop looking at Batcat, go read that fucking page.






You read the page? Good. Now here's that info again.
[quote]What's Spirit?

* Spirit is an untethered jailbreak for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch on the latest firmwares.
* Spirit is not a carrier unlock.
* If you currently are using a tethered jailbreak, you have to restore to use Spirit. Do not upgrade if you use an unlock on an iPhone 3G or 3GS. (You can, however, restore to 3.1.2 if you have SHSH blobs for that version.)

Requirements

* Any iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch on firmware 3.1.2, 3.1.3, or 3.2.
* An activated device: one not stuck on the Connect to iTunes or Emergency Call screen.
* Any version of iTunes 9 (including 9.1.1).
* Syncing with iTunes before trying this is highly recommended.

Note: On iPad, all this is still sort of beta. Some packages in Cydia, not designed for iPad, might screw up your system and require you to restore. Be careful. (And no, Cydia's appearance is not final.) [/quote]

That means IF YOU HAVE A TETHERED JAILBREAK, YOU WILL LOSE EVERYTHING. (If you don't know what tethered is, tethered jailbreak means every time you turn it OFF, the jailbreak is lost, so you can't use your device until you re-do it on a pc.)

Step 1:
Plug your iDevice into your computer.
Step 2:
Sync that shit.
Step 3:
After you sync it, open Spirit.exe. Wait for it to load, it'll tell you what device you have.
Click "Jailbreak."





Wait, what? That's it?

Yeah, that's it. You now have access to Cydia, which you can use to get tons of cool themes/add-ons for your iDevice. I generally don't use themes, but I always use SBSettings. It allows you to swipe your finger across the top of the screen to turn wifi/bluetooth/anything really on/off at a glance, as well as show your battery life as a percentage NEXT TO THE BATTERY SYMBOL.

So handy.

What you put on it now is up to you; don't worry though. You can still use the app store and iTunes as usual, so you can still buy apps or sync like nobodies business, no worries.

What I Recommend:
SBSettings
n64iphone - IF you have an iPhone 3GS OR iPod Touch 3rd gen, bigger than 8 gigs. (The 8 gigs are 2nd gen models)
Install0us - Lets you download app files (.ipa) from the internet and install them directly from your ipod
Rock App - Like Cydia; the main competition for it too. They each have exclusives, but both are handy.
Snes4iphone - SNES emu. Runs LTTP just fine, thats all I care about.
gb4iphone - GBC emu. Runs like shit. If you REALLY want it though, go for it.
gpSPhone - GBA emu. It.. it's weird. Runs some games perfect, others not so much.
Scrobbl - For you Last.FM users, this will Scrobbl every song you listen to straight to your account, so that you can constantly be showing your friends how "varied" your musical taste is.
Quake III - It's fuckin Quake III. So cash.


All in all, have fun with it, and don't be a filthy lil stealing bastard.

[NOTE: Earlier I mentioned having multiple iPod Touches, so lemme clarify on that. I own 4. An 8gb 2nd gen, which I gave to a friend because the accelerometer intermittently doesn't work. A 64gb 3rd gen, which my mother primarily uses, but I use it for some emus with the hope that it'll run more smoothly on a stronger processor. A 32gb 2nd gen, which I bought for myself because of the 1st iPod. I went 2nd gen because at the time 3rd gens were not jailbreakable; of course, a week later, they were. The fourth, is the DToid/Sega Alpha Protocol 8gb 2nd Gen iPod Touch I won from the Twitter contest. Since I don't have any extra cases or screen protectors, mostly it stays in it's packaging/in a plastic baggie. However, I tend to use it for testing out new programs from Cydia. Some apps seem shady, and I wouldn't wanna have to reinstall 10gb+ of music/apps on the 32gb. It's also the general music player for when I'm driving. anyway, there you go. You know how to jailbreak; any comments/questions, leave em in the comments, I always love to read em and hear from you guys. Have a good one!]