Mobile Hacks

This section of my blog is targeted at giving you the information and tools to hack your mobile phone. Depending on your device the actual term may differ, so if you’re using an iPhone the term is Jailbreak, if you are using a HTC device then it’s called rooting. Please note, any kind of hacking is always done at the owners risk. It is also a good idea to read about what you are doing and understand what it means.

Apple iPod and iPhone

Jailbreaking iPhone / iPod

First and foremost, you can have one of two kinds of Jailbreak: 1. Tethered or 2. Untethered. The basic principle here is that a Tethered jailbreak means your phone is Jailbroken but if you turn the phone off or the battery dies, in order for you to state the phone you will need to connect the device to your computer and restore the jailbroken state.

Untethered means that your device is jailbroken and if it switches off or the battery dies, you will not need to connect it to your computer to state the device.

Overall, it is better to have an Untethered Jailbreak, always read the guide to find out of your device will be Tethered or Untethered.

There are several ways depending on what iPhone you have, I believe the iPod touch 2G and 3G along with the iPhone 2G and 3G  and 3Gs can be jailbroken with Blackra1n provided the phones firmware is 3.1.2 or below. It should be noted that Blackra1n jailbreaks your mobile and does not unlock it. You can download Blackra1n from here.

**Update – February 2011**
Greenpois0n RC5 has been released and promises to jailbreak most iDevices – read my full tutorial here, including how to get pass the DBDevList errors, Unable to initialize error as well as the Loader app error or no Cydia app.

The other jailbreaking apps are:

1. Limera1n
2. Pwnage Tool
3. Spirit JB
4. Redsnow
5. GreenpOison

Expected new tool:

1. Rubyra1n

For iPhone and iPod devices where Blackra1n does not work, the alternative is Spirit. I used Spirit on my iPhone 3Gs and it worked like a charm.

HTC Desire

Rooting an HTC Desire:

1. Uninstall HTC Sync –> On your computer, go to START >CONTROL PANEL > PROGRAMS and select and remove HTC Sync

2. Download the Unrevoked Rooting App: here

3. Run the file called “Hboot Driver” and follow it’s instructions. (You can also download and run it manually, here)

4. Once the drivers are installed, run the “Reflash” program

5. Once the program and drivers are installed, switch off your device and remove the battery.

6. After a few seconds, put the battery back in, push the power button and get it to the normal screen.

7. Run the “Reflash” program and this time it should say “Waiting for Device”

8. On your device ensure that you have it set for USB Debugging. (Menu > Settings > Applications > Development)

9. Connect your device to your computer by the USB cable

10. The “Reflash” app should automatically locate your phone and all you have to do is simply follow the prompts.

11. Done!

Rim BlackBerry

RIM BlackBerry

This is not so much a jailbreak / rooting guide as it is a tweaks and tricks section. If you want to load custom ROMs, wipe your device, reset to factory settings, backup your apps, autocheck for new OS or updates. When I had my 8900, I used this tool to load a beta version of the new OS as well as I used it to wipe and reset the device. The tool is simple and very easy to understand.

Download BlackBerry Swish Army Knife here