The Life, Death, and Legacy of iPhone Jailbreaking (vice.com) 150
From a Motherboard article: Jailbreaking is the art of hacking into Apple's ultra-secure iOS operating system and unlocking it -- and thus allowing users to customize the phone, and write or install any software unimpeded by Apple's restrictions. At the time I met with Todesco (a person who offered jailbreaking service), in December 2016, there was no known jailbreak (for the iPhone 7) -- no public knowledge of this hack -- for the latest iOS version that was installed on my iPhone (iOS 10.2). The world's first jailbreaking step-by-step procedure, discovered in 2007, was posted online for all to see. Subsequent jailbreaks were used by millions of people. At one point, there was even a website -- called jailbreakme.com -- that was free for all to use and jailbroke your phone simply by visiting it. [...] Ten years after the iPhone hit the sleek tables of Apple Stores worldwide, and the first-ever jailbreak, that Wild West is gone. There's now a professionalized, multi-million dollar industry of iPhone security research. It's a world where jailbreaking itself -- at least jailbreaking as we've come to know it -- might be over.
Re: (Score:1)
You appear to have misunderstood the reason for the existence of the iPhone. Its purpose is not so that you can speak to your friends, visit web sites, run apps that you think are useful or fun. The purpose of the iPhone is to generate cash for Apple. First they get you to hand over lots of money to get hold of it, then using it means handing over more money: to download apps, get subscriptions, etc — every time Apple get 30% of the money.
Apple does not want you to stem this flow by installing apps th
Re:Property (Score:5, Insightful)
Well, of course. Using that narrow definition of "purpose", the purpose of every commercial product is to generate income for the company that is manufacturing and selling that product; any desirable functionality of the product is only a means toward that end.
That's a true observation, but also an obvious and unremarkable one, except to anyone who was under the impression that corporations were a type of public-service-oriented nonprofit.
What's relevant is whether or not the product serves the customer's needs well, or not.
Re: (Score:2)
First they get you to hand over lots of money to get hold of it,
So exactly like Samsung who sells the S8 for $725?
to download apps, get subscriptions, etc — every time Apple get 30% of the money.
So exactly like the Google Play store.
Re:Property (Score:5, Informative)
And the even bigger fact you can install anything you want on your Android from any store you like, or even no store at all.
Re: (Score:2)
Apart from the fact Samsung don't own the Google Play store.
And the even bigger fact you can install anything you want on your Android from any store you like, or even no store at all.
Ever since iOS 8, you can do that (sideloading) with iOS, too. Do try to keep up.
Perhaps that's the real reason that Jailbreaking of iOS devices stopped being " a thing".
Re: (Score:1)
Re: Property (Score:1)
Almost immediately Apple blocked certain kinds of apps that many users wanted, simply to keep users fettered: https://www.infoworld.com/article/2606424/jailbreak-apps/21-apps-apple-doesn-t-want-on-your-3-0-iphone.html
Yes cheap shot I know :) (Score:2)
Re:Property (Score:4, Interesting)
You're forgetting one minor detail: post-purchase support. With the iPhone locked down to be one specific way consistently it's much, much easier to support. Less time per support call means more calls-per-hour and fewer over all calls. Support just eats into profits, doesn't make the company any money ya see. So anything Apple can do (from their point of view) to decrease number of calls is a win for them.
I can only imagine what it must be like trying to support an Android OS. All those launchers, different versions of the Settings screen, different UI mods. And that's without rooting it. Sounds like a nightmare.
Re: (Score:1)
I can only imagine what it must be like trying to support an Android OS. All those launchers, different versions of the Settings screen, different UI mods. And that's without rooting it. Sounds like a nightmare.
It's probably quite easy. You just tell people that you only support the software that shipped on the phone, which is pretty much standard across all of IT on any product ever. And is as it should be.
Also, anyone actually contacting the manufacturer for support on a cell phone is probably not someone that would know how to change anything anyway.
Re: Property (Score:2)
All the stuff that was mentioned is preloaded on the phone.
Re: (Score:2)
All those launchers, different versions of the Settings screen, different UI mods. And that's without rooting it.
It's probably quite easy. You just tell people that you only support the software that shipped on the phone,
All the stuff that was mentioned is preloaded on the phone.
Bullshit. Phones come with one launcher, you cannot install any serious UI mods without rooting, the settings screen is provided by the OS and apps can insert more stuff into it but that doesn't change its basic functionality. You are either deliberately spreading FUD, or know fuck-all about Android.
Re: (Score:2)
changing the launcher on android without root is super easy dude.
moving the goalposts in a slashdot comment is super easy dude
The claim was that the launcher came with the phone.
If you have any questions, you may direct them to that brick wall over there.
Re: (Score:2)
At that point, it's no longer capitalism.
Re: (Score:2)
Just don't buy Apple and Apple will go away. Apple can not survive more than 3 flopped products in a row and if you don't but their crap those Apple shares will be worth fractions of a cent end of next year.
Dude, Apple has 200 BILLION in the bank, and no long term debt.
You can fail a LOT with that kind of cash.
Re: (Score:2)
Correct, you don't really own it. You own the hardware, but you don't own the operating system.. and you never did. Read the TERMS OF SERVICE next time you install iOS.. it's in the very first paragraph.
And you think you "own" Android?!?
jailbreaking... might be over. (Score:1)
:-) Always do love a challenge. But if all this 'new' security benefits the user as much as the company, it's all good
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Well, then it's not all good right? I mean, the DRM and other stuff is there to benefit mainly the company.
Or do you think iTunes is good for the user? Really?
What do iTunes have to do with iOS?
Advanced mode (Score:2)
I wish iOS had an advanced mode you could enable. Take down the "walls" and let me run ssh to customize things to my liking.
Re: (Score:1)
You can't be trusted with the phone. It's not really yours.Apple just licenses it to you.They own you.
Re: (Score:1)
You mean like any GNU/Linux phone (Score:2)
-I wish iOS had an advanced mode you could enable.
You mean like Palm/HP webOS's developer mode ? (type in the command "webOS2009060" in universal seach. Or for shit and giggles, you can also spell out literally the Konami code "upupdowndownleftrightleftrightbastart", but it's a bit longer to type) (Also the default remote-shell is a bit shitty ("novacom" - some adb-like thingy) buy you can install openssh)
You mean like Jolla Sailfish OS developer mode ? (check in the "developer mode" box in the settings, it will even automatically download ssh for you).
You
Not with Obsolescence Enforcement Suite (CTS). (Score:1)
here is plenty of choice in the market still, since you have OnePlus and Google allowing you to easily unlock your phone and flash whatever rom you want
Not if you count the restrictions arbitrarily enforced by Google through their "Compatibility" Test Suite.
Re: (Score:2)
I had Android devices for years but they always seemed slow and laggy compared to iPhones. Right now I have a 5C which was released in 2013 and still gets updates for the latest iOS. I had one Android phone and it only received ONE update for the OS.
I'm not a fan of iTunes or Apple's method of managing mp3 files. When I ask about getting files on the phone without iTunes people tell me ridiculous things like upload to iCloud or stream the files through another service. I have the phone sitting on my desk wi
Re: (Score:2)
I have a whole bunch of music videos that I downloaded from YouTube. Most of which are not available in iTunes. So I want to download those videos. I can, but guess what! I can only watch them under Photos, not Music. Which sucks, b'cos I want to put those in Music under a playlist, so that when I'm driving, I don't need to do anything but listen, while paying attention to the road.
Why do I use Apple for this? Reason - my car has an iPod player in the console/dashboard navigation system, so it can
Re: (Score:1)
Don't make counter-factual statements. (Score:5, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Don't make counter-factual statements. (Score:4, Informative)
He also left out the part where the dev kit costs $100/year and that you need at least a $1500 Mac to run it on. So, sure, "anyone" can do that, at long as they're OK with paying out the nose for the "privilege".
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
You left out the part where you need electricity to power everything, a place to house the stuff. Oh, and sustenance and oxygen to breath.
BTW, for personal use the dev account is free to use and deploy to iOS devices. I know it's hard to keep up with 2 year old news but please do try.
Re: (Score:2)
You need to own an expensive apple phone in order to bypass their walled garden too...
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
To install gentoo (never used it, I like BSD) you would still first have to obtain the use of an appropriate computer.
"add another repo" means what? What control is lacking? Could you explain to me how I am limited?
Re: (Score:2)
Yes, you would need a computer. A computer that is one of the following architectures: IA-32, x86-64, IA-64, PA-RISC; PowerPC 32/64, SPARC 64-bit, DEC Alpha, ARM, Motorola 68K. As opposed to an x86-64 computer that was manufactured by Apple, or one More importantly, "install gentoo" was troll advice, similar to "delete system 32," because the task was needlessly cumbersome and complex for the needs of the overwhelming majority of users.
You are bitching about compiling your own software being no big de
Re: (Score:2)
Let us get this straight. You are now objecting to the fact that. actually, I don't know what you are objecting to. When there are still "Hakintoshes" out there and loads of Apple boxes running something other than OS X , what exactly are you bitching about.
And I am not 'bitching", I am not the one sledging a manufacturer and operating system out of what? "Join the party", "look how clever I am"...... Whatever it is vanity.
My first post said "Apple has no restrictions on source code. Just download the
Re: (Score:2)
He also left out the part where the dev kit costs $100/year
Probably because you don't need it. The dev tools are free to download and use. You only need a developer account if you want to sell your app in the App Store.
and that you need at least a $1500 Mac to run it on.
A $500 Mac mini bought brand new would suffice, or, even better, buy a used Mac for cheaper.
Hell, I was given an early MacBook Air a few years back. It'd resale used for maybe $100 at this point, but it'd be more than enough if all you wanted to do was compile the occasional app. Given that you already paid $700+ for the phone, paying an extra $100 f
Re: (Score:1)
Is that true? I've never used iStuff, but at least it used to be the case that you needed to register as a developer in order to install programs that you have compiled on your own iPhone. That if you were not a registered developer, the only way to install software on your device was by usin
Re: (Score:2)
Is that true? I've never used iStuff, but at least it used to be the case that you needed to register as a developer in order to install programs that you have compiled on your own iPhone.
Yup, it's true. You're correct that it used to require a paid account, but we haven't needed paid accounts to compile and sideload apps [9to5mac.com] since Xcode 7 launched in mid-2015.
One point of clarification: you do need a developer account, just not a paid one. Getting a free developer is as simple as visiting Apple's developer site, logging in with your Apple ID, and agreeing to their developer terms. That's it. Once you do, it'll unlock access to the developer tools for your Apple ID, including the ability to side
Re: (Score:2)
Even so, have people not heard of the command line and utilities to edit, compile and link?
It has aways been possible to distribute free software without jailbreaking via source code.
The 'walled garden' just keeps out the wankers.
Re: (Score:2)
You show us anywhere that you can buy even a broken macbook Air for $100. Go ahead, we'll wait
Here are 220 sold listings on eBay in the last three months alone, all of which sold for under $100. [ebay.com]
Given that the one I have is a 2010 or 2011 model and can't even operate without being plugged in, I'd say that many of those are comparable to what I have.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Whoever pointed out this "expensive inconvenience " is also blowing hot air. The post you actually replied to showed its falsity. The user made a counter factual statement. You are supporting that demonstrable falsity.
It would seem that you and the other think that having to obtain the use of a computer and the development environment should be free.
You lean to program and someone should give you a computer? sorry, I am not
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
My feeling is that it is six inches for anyone who knows the language they are using and that language is available in the development kit. A person off the street? They will not understand very much. But the audience here, well, I would not expect to many non-programmers here. SO, yes, I expect the audience to be able to compile and link and rapidly find out how to do so on any new system. That is why it is a six inch barrier. If you are competent to program, there is no real issue. The documentatio
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Now, granted, a lot of apps are little more than glorified websites in their scope, but if you want anything past significantly past that, you do need a much more diverse skill set.
Well that is a bit mealy mouthed, but thank you for the retraction and conceding the argument. Since you now agree with me I can consider this done.
Re: (Score:2)
I didn't retract anything. I'm saying that it's a walled garden, and you're argument that it's not a walled garden because it can be circumvented by a decent portion of slashdot is utter bullshit, because slashdot doesn't represent the general public, and a decent portion of slashdot can circumvent many things (like DRM, for example) with far less difficulty.
Wikipedia defines a walled garden [wikipedia.org] as "a software system where the carrier or service provider has control over applications, content, and media, and
Re: (Score:2)
The factually correct statement that I made and that you are objecting to was "Apple is only a walled garden to people who cannot program for themselves". Nothing you have said makes that statement inaccurate. It wasn't about the general public or even the readers of slashdot just "those who can program for themselves". Go play with your own straw men please.
You want to play with logic you do not know how to use? Fine.
1. OS X does not have control over applications since you can compile your own or cop
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Nope. For any competent programmer it is no barrier at all. That is my point. However if YOU want to change the definition of a programmer to remove the required skills of compiling and linking. I am not inclined to agree with your personal redefinition of 'programmer'. Which is the bigger idiot?
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Dolt? Pot calling the kettle black.
To write a program or app you need to be able to program? Why can you not get this through your head? It is inherent in the term. It is not a "made up" term. It is the reality. So, no, there is no real barrier. That is reality.
Well, I'm stepping out of my own head right now an looking at your own. Pretty unpleasant swamp you live in. Illogic, ad hominems, arguments from authority and you seem to think that trumps both definition and usage. Why don't you just clai
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
From the start, you framed your argument in your own bullshit definition of what you could call a walled garden. If you do that, the term walled garden is completely meaningless. Yes, you were consistent in your bullshit, but it was bullshit nonetheless. It's like saying "if you don't count red meat or fish, I'm a vegetarian." I don't know if there's anything that could be called a walled garden by your gaping exceptions, or ones of a relatively similar magnitude.
Re: (Score:2)
You lost an argument, no big deal, but the way you are reacting to it is pathetic.
Re: (Score:2)
I never disagreed with you on your technical claims of what can be done, only disputing your ridiculous claims, just like your latest that it's completely meaningless to the competent. Competent programmers tend to prefer the path of least resistance. It's completely possible to the subset of competent familiar with Objective-C and the iOS API, but having to compile from source is a pain in the ass.
I disagreed with on your abuse of terminology, which renders the term "walled garden" completely meaningle
Re: (Score:2)
I never disagreed with you on your technical claims of what can be done, only disputing your ridiculous claims, just like your latest that it's completely meaningless to the competent. Competent programmers tend to prefer the path of least resistance. It's completely possible to the subset of competent familiar with Objective-C and the iOS API, but having to compile from source is a pain in the ass.
A competent programmer is prepared to learn something new to achieve his ends and that usually is the path of least resistance. If you are writing something new then you are likely to learn something new. One of the joys of programming.
I disagreed with on your abuse of terminology, which renders the term "walled garden" completely meaningless. 99% of the general population can't do it (something you don't disagree with me on), which means it's a walled garden. If I lost the argument, then name what you consider some actual walled gardens. If some other means of adding unapproved software is less trivial, it's not a valid argument. So, you can't name any console with homebrew without negating your own argument.
Ninety-nine per cent of the population (your number) probably cannot program. But pretty much anyone can follow a set of instructions. "Put this file in that place, start the IDE, select the file, compile and execute....
So it takes a programmer to write the app but pre
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
Great! How do I develop some software and make it available to the public at large people without Apple's permission? How do I sell it without Apple taking their cut off the top? Without using Apple's store?
Or is it a walled garden after all, where Apple determines what is acceptable for people to do with their own hardware?
Re: (Score:1)
It's a walled garden that includes a dirt box where you can grow something. If Apple says it's OK, you can then proceed to grow it in the rest of the garden, but it's still just as much a part of the garden and Apple can revoke that permission at any time it sees fit.
Jailbreaking/rooting phones is pretty much the only way to actually ensure you control the hardware you paid for, especially when you're forced to run whatever software the company wants (for example, mandatory upgrades). Apple owns that phon
Re: (Score:2)
You do realise you post is just bullshit don't you?
Do not make counterfactual statements. Many people call them lies.
Just distribute source code and be thankful apple won't let binary blobs from random strangers run.
Re: (Score:2)
You make it available in source code form, and other people can take that source, compile it themselves and install it on their own devices. All this does is limit your audience to those who are willing and capable of doing that.
Re: (Score:2)
You make it available in source code form, and other people can take that source, compile it themselves and install it on their own devices. All this does is limit your audience to those who are willing and capable of doing that.
Or you can simply use Cydia Impactor to load .ipa files, even from a Windos machine, and then tell iOS to "Trust this Publisher".
There truly isn't a "walled garden" anymore. Not for several years.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
You don't need to pay the $99/year anymore actually. They made it free a couple of years ago if you aren't going to be selling anything through the app store. You still need access to a mac to compile it and load it onto your iphone though.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
So, why criticise it's best features? If you want to write something the development kit does not permit then just don't use it. OS X still has all the normal Unix features. The "no shell access" is a strange one. Either you are using an IDE or not. If have an Integrated Development Environment and you need a shell then the IDE is broken (not integrated).
Seems obsolete anyway (Score:5, Insightful)
Why the heck did Apple decide you could only have a black background anyway? And only three text tones? No hiding iconseither. It wasn't like they sold background apps or SMS tones for a fee, they just said "no, not your phone."
It's obsolete now because... you can just get an android. And apple decided to give users some control over things like the background.
Yep... (Score:4, Insightful)
Jailbreaking, both for Android and iOS, came to be and became popular because it enable several things users were asking for and either the OSs couldn't do it, didn't want you to do, or just simply weren't high enough in the list of priorities for the companies.
Time passed and a whole ton of features, functionalities and customization options that came first from the jailbreak community were adopted and sometimes appropriated by the official OSs. So it's not only because security has hardened on iOS or Android, but more because these days there are not many people needing extra features that a jailbreak would enable.
How branding went through all these years also helped to estabilish proper markets I guess... Hardware is pretty much the same these days for Android phones and iPhones, and it's plenty estabilished that people who wants to be tinkering with their phones going beyond mainstream capabilities will flock towards Android anyways, so it just doesn't make that much sense for someone who intends to mess and customize their phones to the limits would get an iPhone for it anymore.
Re: (Score:2)
Jailbreaking for android is still a significant thing, but major cellphone vendors are still actually enabling it. Motorola uses the opportunity to print a warning to you about losing your warranty, which is an open violation of the Magnusson-Moss act, but at least they provide you a simple mechanism for performing the unlock.
No mention of Android (Score:2)
Funny how history repeats itself - Android is the new IBM PCs, while early iphone was the Apple II - last apple open to tinkering, if in somewhat awkward fashion.
In short, Android displaced iPhone in the tinkerer market niche, and the decline of jailbreaking strongly correlates with android eating up Apple's market. The article, oddly, doesn't make any mention of this.
Re: (Score:2)
The media doesn’t mention market share because a) its off topic and b) perhaps they actually understand apple’s market better than you. Apple isn’t going to be the only cell phone manufacturer and doesn’t want to even be the phone used by the majority; they want to be the cell phone of choice amongst people with high disposable income. That’s a small subset of buyers who generate the huge pile of cash Apple is sleeping on.
Everything else is just gravy.
Re: (Score:1)
Android: The OS of choice for law-abiding citizens.
There is only 1 reason to jailbreak my droid (Score:4, Insightful)
20 years ago we called this crap shovelware, and when we bought a new PC we spent a few hours looking at everything pre-installed, trying to figure out if we needed/wanted it (pre google), and deleting the ones we didn't want. Had a vendor back then been stupid enough to disallow you to remove this crap the outcry would have been amazing, and the vendor would be out of business in 6 months.
Wrong choice of device (Score:4, Insightful)
Android can do anything that iOS does, but the same flexibility of a jailbreak can be had out of the box. So why even look at the iPhone?
Re: (Score:2)
If it were just about features, surely Amazon's fire phone would have taken over the world. But it flopped. As have so many "iPhone Killers". People seem to assume that users line up a set of check boxes and buy the one with more ticks. 10 years on, that's still not how folks buy phones.
Re: (Score:2)
Did the Fire have any actual compelling feature? That 3D-ish interface was cute, but it was just a gimmick. Amazon fucked up by trying to create their own ecosystem when people were already hooked on Google's.
iMessage (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Yes, but after that short period - and particularly after the major revamp of Ice Cream Sandwich - Android became a fully viable and much less locked down alternative.
Apple fanboi's are funny (Score:2)
Jailbreaking is the art of hacking into Apple's ultra-secure iOS operating system and unlocking it.
VS
there was even a website -- called jailbreakme.com -- that was free for all to use and jailbroke your phone simply by visiting it.
One of these must be wrong...
Re: (Score:2)
Two different situations at two different points in time.
Functionality cycle & client/server side chang (Score:2)
I think there's a been a bit of a change, reducing the more obvious reasons why root & jailbreak is useful:
1) Root brought us a lot of innovation over the years (night screen, swipe keyboards, permissions... etc). It took Apple a long time to implement some of these, but they have now. When we were rooting before we never thought the likes of Apple and Google would actually help us with app permissions.
2) Root extends the life of your phone considerably. Even if you're an iphone7+ user this affects you.
Re: (Score:2)
Then get an Android device instead of an overpriced Apple.