what is jailbroken? how can i tell if mine is jailbroken?

i just got the phone 2 days ago from Fido. the guy who sold it to me hooked it up to their computer but i don't know what he did b/c i got distracted and forgot to ask him why he was hooking it up

 

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=iphone+jailbreak

Do it, it's pretty impossible to screw up the jailbreak now-a-days.

 

it's not jailbroken. This is a term from back when they first came out and where only available on AT&T in the states. The software on the phone would not allow root access to the user so you couldnt tinker with it. Jail breaking it allows read/write access to the software and adds the ability to make changes/customizations. With the app store now, and the phone being available on most carriers in most countries there's less and less need to jail break.


Edit: This brought back memories of back in the day when the first unlock was released and I went storming across the border to buy one. Unlocking and jailbreaking them via command line FTL in Terminal (Os X) no less which I had never any experience with before.

 

thanks very much. that helps a lot, but do you know why the Fido guy hooked it up to their computer? it looked like he was on itunes?

 

He was putting music on it?

But yeah dude, doesn't sound like its jailbroken. Do it. It's easy. You can put on awesome themes and what not on it. You can also install a app via Cydia (app that is installed automaticly when jailbroken) called "installous" Which is all the apps from the appstore but everything is free. Also many torrent apps.

 

no, i don't have anything on the phone yet

 

Then maybe he updated it.

The only way to know forsure if its jailbroken is if it has the Cydia app on it.

 

possibly updating it. i don't think it's jailbroken b/c Fido wouldn't do it and i don't have the Cydia app. i'm just curious what he did, but i think you're probably right, he was updating it

 

He was just activating it. If you do a full restore in Itunes and disconnect it while it's rebooting it will ask to be connected to activate it. When you first pull it out of the box it just needs to be activated, you can do it at home or in the store.

There's a way to force the phone to display this screen (dfu mode) by pressing and holding on/off button and home button, and keep holding both until you see the apple logo, once you do release to on/off but continue holding the home button and it will ask you to connect to itunes. (don't do this because you will likely have to restore which takes awhile)

If your phone ever freezes first try holding the home button for 6 seconds and it will force quit the application you were using, if this doesn't work hold the on/off and the home button for 10 seconds or until the apple logo appears and release them.

 

he wasn't updating it, that tends to take like 20 min. He was activating it.

 

I thought the iphone was used......which wouldn't require activation.

I dunno though, it does take a while to update especialy on a PC. Maybe that was some really hot chick that distracted SG81 for 20 min.

 

i didn't know it had to be activated like that. i thought you just slide in the sim and it would work. really appreciate the help and info Dougler, thanks.

 

ha, no it wasn't a hot chick that distracted me (my gf was w/ me). he only had it plugged into the computer for about 5 minutes. oh, and the phone is new

 

Ahh, okay, that makes sense. He activated it then.

 

i jailbroke my phone, the only reason i did it was so that i didnt have to activate it in itunes and tell at&t i have an iphone and add on the data plan.

also with quikpwn when you jailbreak it gives you the option to unlock your phone so you can use it with a different carrier.