Questions about dealing with my 1st gen iPhone (1.14)

December 15, 2008 7:49 AM

Should I upgrade my first gen jailbroken iPhone? Or can I re-jailbreak it to a later firmware? And which apps would you recommend I try out?

I'm using a first gen iPhone in Canada which has been unlocked and jailbroken to 1.14.

At the moment, I really only use the iPod and phone aspects because I could not afford a data plan so I was never concerned about running other apps. However, now I can afford a data plan but I can't install anything as the firmware is at 2.2 and I'm way behind.

So... is there a way to get my first gen phone to 2.2 without bricking it? And, if so, will there then be any diff between it and the newer phones? Once it's upgraded, will I be able to run any apps on it or are there 3g only ones? Which apps would you recommend?

I'm on a Mac if that makes any diff with the jailbreaking options. Mine was unlocked with iLiberty but they don't seem to be around anymore or don't seem to have 2.2 upgrade.

posted by Manhasset to technology (11 comments total)

You can easily upgrade to the new firmware, but your phone will not be jailbroken anymore, of course.

I am not aware of the Canadian mobile companies, but this friend of a friend who is using a non-T-Mobile company (which in Germany is the only official one) still needed it jailbroken, afterwards. This can be done by following the tutorial on iClarified - he is on Windows, though, so YMMV.

Software-wise there won't be any difference, but your phone still of course misses some hardware features (mainly the GPS) which means obviously there are some applications you won't be able to use.
posted by Henrik at 8:11 AM on December 15, 2008

2.2 jailbreaks just fine with QuickPwn, which is the gold standard of jailbreaking tools.
posted by majick at 8:11 AM on December 15, 2008

The 1.x -> 2.0 upgrade is totally worth it. You should be able to do a factory reset on your phone in iTunes (make sure you sync first, natch) and upgrade from there.

Which apps would you recommend?
There are tons of threads here on that topic.
posted by mkultra at 8:15 AM on December 15, 2008

I've successfully used Pwnage on my first-gen iPhone, repeatedly, to use my US iPhone on T-Mobile.

QuickPwn is basically a stripped-down, "express" version of that. Never used it, but heard it's just as good.
posted by CommonSense at 8:17 AM on December 15, 2008

Thanks for the answers so far. I'm downloading the apps from iClarified right now.

One other question: once I have upgraded, how does it work with apps? Does my phone behave just like a store-bought 3g in that I can buy apps from Apple as well as... what, get them from other sites?

I have not bought or downloaded any apps in the past so have no idea how it works.

What exactly should I avoid with my jailbroken phone in order to not turn it into a brick? Do I just always click cancel when iTunes tells me there's a software update? Is that the only thing that can brick it?
posted by Manhasset at 8:35 AM on December 15, 2008

Are you jailbreaking or fully unlocking your phone? If it's the former, and there's not a specific app you absolutely MUST HAVE, there's no reason to jailbreak a phone with 2.x. The only apps in that category, IMO, are ones that break some part of the SDK agreement (tethering apps, mainly).
posted by mkultra at 9:05 AM on December 15, 2008

I don't really know what the difference is.

I'm in Canada and these phones were never officially available here so I thought that I had to do both in order to use all the features.
posted by Manhasset at 9:14 AM on December 15, 2008

Bah! The Pwnage tool isn't working. Keeps saying, "sry, i haz Fail!"
posted by Manhasset at 9:20 AM on December 15, 2008

Bloody hell. Phone is bricked.
posted by Manhasset at 9:35 AM on December 15, 2008

Now there's a pineapple and it seems to be doing it's stuff.

iLiberty was much simpler. :)
posted by Manhasset at 9:37 AM on December 15, 2008

Seems to have worked. Thanks!

Any answers to these questions would still be appreciated.

Thanks.
posted by Manhasset at 9:51 AM on December 15, 2008