DIY: jailbreaking iPhone and back again
To successfully jailbreak your phone, you are going to need to use one of the jailbreaking tools created by small teams of iOS hackers. There are half a dozen or so similar tools, but for this exercise we're going to use the Absinthe 2.0 untethered jailbreaking tool, as it is among the simplest we've come across, and it supports the most recent version of iOS at the time of writing. You'll notice the term "untethered" used to describe Absinthe. This refers to the fact that once the exploit is applied, you won't have to reapply it every time you reboot your phone. Tethered jailbreak tools are also available, and will require you to jailbreak each time your phone is rebooted. This may be a good option for users who want to test the waters with jailbreaking, with an easy way out afterwards.Each version of a jailbreak tool is divided into a number of sections based on iOS device types and the version of iOS that these devices are running. Make sure you download the version that correlates with the iPhone you are using. We tested Absinthe using an iPhone 4 with iOS 5.1.1 installed. Absinthe 2.0 is a ridiculously easy tool to use. After you download and unzip it, you simply run the executable, plug your phone in and click the start button. This process takes a couple of minutes to complete. Afterwards, you will find everything exactly as you left it, with the addition of the Cydia app-store icon. To make the most of your new-found freedom, start browsing the Cydia store for packages to further modify your iPhone experience.Help! Freedom was not for meIf you complete the steps above, and then decide that jailbreaking is not for you, the good news is that it is very easy to reverse. Simply plug your phone in to iTunes and restore the last backup image you saved before you installed the jailbreaking tool.To do this, plug your phone in, select it under "Devices", then hit the Restore button found under the Summary tab. A few moments later, you should be back to where you started. This process will even back-up your phone, so that it restores all your files and apps exactly as you left them, minus any jailbroken tools or features you may have installed.
