Sunday is recap day! If you missed any of this week’s articles, here is a summary of everything that was posted on the blog.

• How to backup and restore your jailbreak apps
• How to Fix iPhone Errors 1600, 1601, 1602, 1603, 1604
• iPhone Password Breaker
• How to disable automatic iPhone backup
• Apple Store manager calls mall cops on jailbreaker
• Does Apple have to worry about fakes?

That’s a funny story that HotRod1964, one of my Twitter buddies, sent me the other day. It’s quite a long story but I’ll try to make it short.

Basically, our friend went to the Apple Store to kill time for an hour. While in the Apple Store he talked with one of the employees and showed him his jailbroken iPod Touch. The employee then called up the manager who wanted our friend to turn his “illegal” iPod in.

So what did Mr Manager do? He called the mall cops, who pretty much told him to F off as there was no reason why he would have the power of taking our friend’s iPod from him.

You can read the full story below:

Went to local APP STORE about 2 weeks ago. For nothing other then I was in the area and had an hour to kill. Figured I’d browse around. Obviously, they were very polite and a salesperson approached me to see if I needed some help (store was not busy at all). Told him “Nope, just browisng”. Being that they were not busy he starts asking me what type of comp I have, what kind of phone and etc…When I told him I dont have an iphone he asked why and if I was interested in 1. I explained why and told him I am not interested due to apples unwillingness to allow owners to ‘do their own thing’ and that I have no intention of paying for an iphone if apple is going to handcuff me….he kept going on and on about what I was missing out on……I then told him I was more then happy with my new droid and I was more then happy with my Itouch. he said “Oh, so you do have an iTouch then?” I said yep and pulled it out. Flipped the case open and hit the home button and he saw my lockscreen, which is the Grateful Dead with some other ‘goodies’ on there. he sort of stepped back and his eyes popped wide. he asked if he could look at it..I would NOT hand it to him, but what the hell, it is my device so screw em….I slid the lockscreen to access the device and very obviously (i’m sure he knew as soon as he saw my lockscreen) at first look he knew it was JB’d. he didnt say anything other then going sort of quiet and saying “wow”……He walked away…..I was then approached by the manager. He said ” I was informed you have an ILLEGAL iTouch”…..I replied “I do have an iTouch but that it was not ILLEGAL”. he then asked if it was ‘modified’…..I said ( and happily I may add) “Yep, it IS MODIFIED…You should get one yourself as you dont know what you are missing out on”….he then said “Sir, that is an ILLEGAL device”….I said “Your NUTS….It is my device I paid for. I own it and can do anything I damn well please with it”…..he then said “Sir, the device you have IS illegal….I must now ask you to turn over the ILLEGAL device at once”. I responded and said “Dude, your nuts, it is not illegal and if you think I am giving it to you, I have a bridge in the sahara desert I’d like to sell you”….he then said “sir, if you refuse to turn over your ILLEGAL device I must have a copy of your drivers license”……I said ” Dude, you really are nuts..your not taking my itouch and you have no right to ask for my DL”..he then said I had to either give him my itouch or my DL or he will contact security…LOL..Oh boy..the MALL POLICE!!!…..I told him “go right ahead..I’ll make myself comfy and wait”…..Instead of the MALL POLICE..and actual Police Officer came….They spoke to the manager..then came to me…..I told them I am breaking no laws and there is no way in hell anybody is taking my itouch unless the COURTS order me to turn it over…I said..here is my info…take me to court…..Otherwise, get off my friggin back or I will sue apple and file complaints against you as just because you have a badge does NOT give you the right to detain me or ask me to give you my personal possessions unless you can tell me WHAT LAW I AM BREAKING…..They walked away…..talked to the manager…came back and said “sorry for the inconvenience. You have a pleasant day”……and I left………Anyway, just thought I’d share this since I see others posting about geting banned from their stores and etc, and I want to make sure everybody knows..DO NOT LET THEM CON YOU INTO GIVING UP YOUR DEVICE…some are intimidated by the authorities so may give up their device out of ‘fear’….DONT DO IT…..Tell them to explain what law you are breaking and to either arrest you or get F*cked…do not let them CON you into giving up YOUR PERSONAL iphone/itouch!!!!!

There is a new tool out called iPhone Password Breaker that can get access to any password-protected backups for all iPhones and iPod Touch.

Supposedly used for forensic investigations, I can see many ways how iPhone Password Breaker could be used by jealous husbands, or angry wives, for example…

Note that this tool will not help you bypass the password protection of an iPhone or iPod Touch. It will bypass the password protection of a backup.

The new tool recovers the original plain-text password that protects encrypted backups containing address books, call logs, SMS archives, calendars, camera snapshots, voice mail and email account settings, applications, Web browsing history and cache.

How would you use this?

When jailbreaking your iPhone, you always take the chance of messing up with the settings and losing all your Cydia apps. If you “experiment” a lot with your iPhone, I’m sure you’ve had to restore your iPhone on many occasions.

The problem when restoring your iPhone is that you have to resintall all your Cydia apps, which can take quite some time, depending on howm many you have.

Thankfully, there are a few options available out there that will allow you to easily backup and restore your Cydia applications.

Backup & Restore Jailbreak Apps with PkgBackup

PkgBackup is a $3.49 application but I think it has to be the best out there thanks to its great UI and ease of use. In top of backing up and restoring your jailbreak apps, PkgBackup will also preserve the way your icons are arranged on your springboard.

iClarified has a great tutorial on how to use PkgBackup. Check it out here.

Backup & Restore Cydia Apps with AptBackup

AptBackup supposedly works the same way as PkgBackup except it doesn’t save your icons arrangement. Personally, I was never able to get it to work, and it actually got me in serious  troubles before.

You might be luckier than I am though. I know a few people who use AptBackup and never had any problem with it.

Manually Backup and Restore Your Cydia Applications

If you feel like messing around your iPhone folders and don’t mind taking risks, there is a way to manually backup your jailbreak apps. I haven’t done that myself, and to be honest, I probably never will, but I want to share this option with you.

Simon wrote an interesting tutorial on his blog on how to manually backup your jailbreak apps. Read it if you’re interested.

My favorite way to backup jailbreak apps is still PkgBackup. Sure it costs a few bucks, but to me, it is from far the most reliable and easiest option.

Do you ever backup your jailbreak apps? If so, how do you usually go about it?

Here is a recap of the articles that were posted on the blog this week. Please feel free to share them on Twitter or Facebook.

• Jailbreak iPhone 3.1.3 with PwnageTool
• How to unlock iPhone 3.1.3
• Best iPhone blogs
• Why Cydia sucks and how it could be improved
• Thank YOU
• Downgrade iPhone baseband 05.12.01 to 04.26.08
• What is jailbreaking?
• iPhone 3.1.3 baseband 05.12.01 unlock on its way?
• How to turn your iPhone into a wifi hotspot
• How to make iTunes believe you are on firmware 3.1.3
• MobileInstallation patch for iPhone 3.1.3 with AppSync

With the release of iPhone OS 3.1.3, a new MobileInstallation patch is needed. After looking around for a new MobileInstallation patch for iPhone 3.1.3, I was actually tipped that you can simply install the latest version of AppSync, which is compatible with 3.1.3

In order to install AppSync MobileInstallation for iPhone 3.1.3, you will first have to add the http://cydia.hackulo.us source, then search for AppSync. Any of the versions available will work, even the 3.0 version.

I’ve always been a big fan of iPhone tethering, which has saved my butt a few times, especially during my travels. Today, a blog reader by the name of DarkN sent me a really nice tip about MyWi, a jailbreak app that allows you to both tether your iPhone AND create a Wifi Hotspot so you can share your Internet connection with computers around you.

This has to be the most useful app I’ve seen in quite a while. I had heard about MyWi before but I thought it was only an app to tether your iPhone so I didn’t even look at it. But being able to use your iPhone as a wireless hotspot is just amazing!

If you can’t see the benefits of using your iPhone as a wireless router, then let me give you an example. My fiancee and I are currently in Thailand. Unfortunately our hotel doesn’t offer wifi. I do however have a local SIM card and a data plan which I use to tether my iPhone. By creating a wifi hotspot with my iPhone, I literally turn it into a modem/wifi router and my fiancee can now connect to the internet with her iPod Touch.

How to Turn Your iPhone Into A Wireless Router

Step 1: Make sure your iPhone is jailbroken and that it is running at least OS 3.0.

Step 2: Launch Cydia and search for “MyWi”. If you don’t have Rock installed on your iPhone and you don’t want it, choose the “MyWi (no Rock)” version.

Step 3: Purchase ($9.99) and install MyWi then reboot your iPhone.

Step 4: Launch MyWi and tweak the settings to your liking:

• Change the hotspot name
• Change the channel
• Enable Wep security
• Enable USB/Bluetooth tethering

That’s it. You should now be able to use your iPhone as a modem and share your internet connection with other computers or iPods around you.

Note that using your iPhone as a wifi router is an absolute battery killer. Make sure it is plugged in so you don’t run out of juice in just a few minutes.

Last week I wrote about downgrading iPhone firmware 3.1.3 to 3.1.2 using an old trick. Unfortunately, this hack worked for downgrading the firmware but it didn’t help downgrading the 05.12.01 baseband that comes with firmware 3.1.3 and makes it impossible to unlock the iPhone.

If you accidentally updated your iPhone 3G to 3.1.3 and lost your unlock, you’re in luck! There is now a way to downgrade iPhone baseband 05.12.01 to 04.26.08 in a few simple steps thanks to Fuzzyband, an application available through Cydia.

Please note that this only works with the iPhone 3G on OS 3.1.3 with baseband 05.12.01 and the older bootloader 05.08. Let me repeat this so it’s clear. This trick will only work for iPhone 3G 3.1.3 baseband 05.12.01 with bootlloader  05.08. This will not work for the iPhone 3GS.

If you’re not sure about your bootloader, simply download and launch Fuzzyband and it will give you more info about your bootloader.

How to Downgrade iPhone Baseband from 05.12.01 to 04.26.08

Step 1: In order to downgrade your iPhone baseband from 05.12.01 to 04.26.08, you must first jailbreak your iPhone using RedSn0w, PwnageTool, or even Sn0wBreeze.

Step 2: After jailbreaking, launch Cydia, then search for and install Fuzzyband.

Step 3: Launch Fuzzyband then tap “Downgrade”, which will start the downgrading process.

Step 4: Reboot your iPhone.

Congrats, you successfully downgrading your iPhone baseband from 05.12.01 to 04.26.08. You should now be able to unlock using UltraSn0w. If you’re not sure how to do that, check out my tutorial on how to unlock iPhone 3.1.3.

This guide and tutorial will show you how to unlock iPhone 3.1.3 using UltraSn0w or BlackSn0w, depending on your iPhone baseband.

The first step is to jailbreak your iPhone 3.1.3, either with RedSn0w or with PwnageTool. Note that PwnageTool is the preferred method as it helps preserve the baseband.

Now we have 2 options for unlocking, and it all depends on your baseband model:

• If your baseband is still at 04.26.08, then you may use UltraSn0w.
• If your baseband is at 05.11.07, you may use BlackSn0w.
• If your baseband is at 05.12.01, you cannot unlock at this time. No one knows if we’ll ever be able to unlock this baseband.

To find out what your baseband is, go to Settings > General > About > Modem Firmware.

How to unlock iPhone 3.1.3 with UltraSn0w

• Launch Cydia.
• Add the following source to Cydia repo666.ultrasn0w.com (note there is a “0″ in sn0w, not an “o”).
• After installing this source in Cydia, search for “ultraSn0w”.
• Install UltraSn0w and reboot your iPhone.

How to unlock iPhone 3.1.3 with BlackSn0w

• Launch Cydia.
• Add the following source: http://blackra1n.com.
• After installing this source in Cydia, search for “BlackSn0w”.
• Install BlackSn0w and reboot your iPhone.

Your iPhone should now be unlocked. If you have questions or comments on how to unlock iPhone firmware 3.1.3, please leave a comment.

The Dev Team released PwnageTool 3.1.5 just a few hours ago. In this guide and tutorial, I will show you how to use PwnageTool to jailbreak iPhone 3.1.3.

Before we get into the details, please make sure you read this article by the Dev Team. It will explain to you what you can and cannot do. It is a very important piece of information that you should not overlook.

If at any point in time you updated your iPhone to firmware 3.1.3, then you also updated your baseband to 05.12.01. If that’s the case, you will be able to jailbreak by downgrading to 3.1.2 first, but you will not be able to unlock.

PwnageTool will jailbreak the following 3.1.3 devices:

• iPhone 2G
• iPhone 3G
• iPhone 3GS (old bootrom)
• iPod Touch 1G
• iPod Touch 2G (old bootrom)

If you don’t care about unlocking, RedSn0w is still an easier and quicker way to jailbreak.

Note that this tutorial to jailbreak iPhone 3.1.3 with PwnageTool is for Mac and Mac only. There is no Windows version of PwnageTool and they will most likely never be. If you don’t have a Mac, ask around and see if a friend of yours can help you out and create a custom firmware for.

Again, please make sure you read the information given by the Dev Team. It will answer most questions you may have.

How to Jailbreak iPhone 3.1.3 with PwnageTool

Step 1: Make sure you have the latest version of iTunes installed on your computer. If not, download and install it, then reboot your computer. Now make sure you backup your iPhone by syncing with iTunes, just in case something goes wrong.

Step 2: Download PwnageTool 3.1.5 and your iPhone firmware from our downloads page. Save these 2 files to your desktop.

Step 3: Launch PwnageTool. It should give you a warning message. Click OK.

Step 4: Select “Expert Mode”.

Step 5: Select your device then click the blue arrow to continue.

Step 6: If PwnageTool doesn’t automatically find the correct IPSW file, click “Browse for IPSW” and locate it (it should be on your desktop).

Step 7: You will now have several options. Choose “General” and click the blue arrow to continue.

Step 8: Under “General Settings”, you have the option to activate the phone or not. This is a very important step so please read carefully.

If you have a contract with an official carrier (such as AT&T in the US, or Orange in France, etc…), do not activate.

If you do not have a contract with an official carrier (ie. you want to unlock for another carrier), you have to activate. Then you will have to install UltraSn0w or BlackSn0w from Cydia in order to fully unlock the phone.

You will know you didn’t choose the right option if you don’t have signal after jailbreaking.

You don’t have to, but I suggest increasing the root partition size to somewhere around 700MB, just to be on the safe side. When you’re done, click the blue arrow to continue.

Step 9: You are now taken to the “Bootneuter settings”. All of them should be greyed out. Click the blue arrow to continue.

Step 10: You are now taken to the “Cydia settings”. From here, you may download packages so you don’t have to manually do it later. For example, you may download WinterBoard, which would be installed during the pwnage process. Let’s keep things simple and skip this step which is not necessary. Click the blue arrow to continue.

Step 10: You are now taken to the “Custom packages settings”. Make sure “Cydia” is selected.

Step 11: You are now taken to the”Custom logos settings”. You can choose to add the default logos (see below) or you can add your own logos. If you choose to add your own, make sure the images are not larger than 320 x 480.

Step 12: We’re almost done! You now have to build the custom IPSW. Click “Build” and click the blue arrow to continue.

Step 13: Save your custom IPSW to your desktop.

Step 14: PwnageTool will now start building your custom IPSW. Be patient… It can take up to 15 minutes.

Step 15: PwnageTool will ask you if your iPhone has been pwned before. If you’re not sure, just click NO.

Step 16: If your iPhone was previously jailbroken, you can skip to step 19. If your iPhone wasn’t already jailbroken, follow the following directions. If your iPhone isn’t plugged to your computer yet, plug it. Don’t open iTunes. If iTunes launches automatically, close it. PwnageTool will now deliver the payload.

Step 17: After successfully delivering the payload, PwnageTool will put your iPhone in recovery mode. Click OK.

Step 18: iTunes should pop up saying it has detected an iPhone in recovery mode and that you must restore. Click OK.

Step 19: We are going to restore your iPhone using the custom IPSW you built. In iTunes, hold the “Alt/Option” key and click “Restore” at the same time. DO NOT click “Restore” without holding the “Alt/Option” key! A dialog box will pop up and you’ll be able to choose the custom IPSW file you created that was saved to your desktop.

Step 20: Navigate to the “jailbreak” folder and select the custom IPSW we created.

Step 21: iTunes will now restore your iPhone using the custom firmware which could take a while, so relax. When done, your iPhone will reboot and you will now have a jailbroken iPhone.

That’s it! Your iPhone 3.1.3 should be fully jailbroken, thanks to the good work of the Dev Team and PwnageTool.

In the future, make sure you do not update your iPhone firmware when there is a new one coming out. It will avoid many issues. Besides, these updates are very minor and useless. For what it’s worth, I’m still on iPhone OS 3.0, and happy to be.

If you have any question or comment, please leave a comment.