A question about JailBreaking

Hello Ivan, Jailbreaking a device allows one to install apps and modifications on it that have not been approved by Apple. Please know that while legal, jailbreaking a device will officially void any warranty you have with Apple. While the decision to jailbreak is completely yours, the fact that jailbreaking officially voids the warranty on a device is something that those new to jailbreaking need to know.

Hi Ivan. As standard, Apple allows you to make certain changes to settings etc. in iOS, but this ability is relatively limited. Also, unlike on a computer for example, we are only able to download software applications that are approved and sold through the App Store on the device. Most users are happy enough with how this works. However, jailbreaking allows you to break out of these limitations. It installs an application called Cydia, which is essentially a second app store on your device. In Cydia, you can download things that have not gone through the Apple approval process. There are some apps, but what jailbreaking is much more commonly used for is downloading packages which modify the functionality or look of iOS or certain parts of iOS. These are generally known as Tweaks. Like the App Store, some are free and some are paid. A few examples I use are: - Activator. This allows you to create custom gestures. I set a triple tap on the status bar to open Control Center for example. - LastApp. Combined with Activator, this allows me to press and hold the volume down button to quickly switch between my two most recent apps without needing to open the app switcher. - BiteSMS. This gives you a quick reply function for the Messages app, so you can reply to a message from the lock screen or notification centre, amongst other things. - Bloard. This lets me always use the black keyboard in iOS7, rather than the white one which I find more difficult to see. - SwitchSpring. Allows you to quit all open apps in one go. - There are tweaks that would give you something similar to iOS7's Control Centre on your iOS6 device. That's enough examples, :) Just to give you an idea of what is meant by tweaks. I always say that jailbreaking isn't for everyone, but equally, it's not as scary or geeky as people might think either. It's pretty easy and can be useful and fun if you're into it. Michael is right to point out that it officially voids your service warranty with Apple. However it is very easy to un-jailbreak the device by restoring it, and once you've done that they can't tell that you were ever jailbroken.