There were complaints about battery life with iPhone OS 2.1, but many on the various internet channels seemed to think OS 2.2 fixed that up rather nicely. Reports since iPhone OS 2.2.1 have varied more widely. Some seem to think it’s fine while others, including well know tech pundit Leo Laporte, keep saying they’re getting worse battery life since the last update.

What’s happening with your iPhone? The same? Better? Worse? Can you make it through a day? And what’s with the up and down between firmware? Is Apple playing some high-stakes balancing game between battery life and signal reception?

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

How’s Your Battery Life With iPhone OS 2.2.1?

We included this app in our latest Apps for Less post but since Emoji has started to take off with iPhone owners we figured, what the heck… make sure it gets it’s very own post so nobody misses it!

You missed the boat with the Emoji hack from a few weeks back? Well here is yet one other chance to grab those Emoji icons without having to jailbreak. If you updated to firmware 2.2.1 and then decided to try the FrostyPlace you were out of luck. The firmware disabled this neat little trick. This is where Touch Dial Emoji enters and will give you the same 461 Emoji icons available on your iPhone.

In addition to the Emoji icons, Touch Dial Emoji also serves another purpose worth a mention. Users can assign a phone number to the application and it will then dial the assigned number on launch. Nothing too exciting, but we know you’re buying this for the icons…

It is currently on sale for $.99 in the app store and is available in this iTunes link right here.

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Quick App: Touch Dial Enables Emoji for the iPhone

So today I had a bit of a scare. I went to sync my iPhone 3G with my Macbook and noticed when I’d plug in the phone it would say it is syncing while iTunes simply showed nothing — no kind of response whatsoever. Yes, everything is up to date on my Macbook so that was not the problem. After a few reboots of the Macbook and iPhone the same behavior still continued like clockwork.

Next step was to do some research online and send off an email to Rene for some more ideas. To our surprise this seems to be a bigger than we thought with many people seeing the same issue. I decided it could not hurt to give Apple a call about this and as I was on hold I figured I’d try one more time and shockingly it worked. I had to do a double take at my screens but it worked. To make sure it was not a fluke I unplugged everything and rebooted both Macbook and iPhone, still worked!

This issue seems to be completely random and Apple claims to be looking into it. So, if this happens to you, keep trying to sync, chances are you may get lucky. I’d say avoid doing a complete restore to your phone because if it does lock up during the restore you will be left with a empty iPhone. That’s not good.

Hope Apple updates iTunes fast to prevent this from happening to any of our readers. In the meantime, have any of you had this misfortune?

Let us know!

[Thanks to @Rene for the backup!]

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

iTunes Crashing After iPhone 2.2.1 Update?

The illustri-notorious Dev Team has blogged about Jailbreaking iPhone OS 2.2.1, released by Apple earlier this week.

Simple version: You can now Jailbreak, if you haven’t already upgraded to 2.2.1 via iTunes, are using a Mac, aren’t affected by the OS X 10.6 DFU-mode bug, and — if you want to keep using yellowSn0w for unlock — are happy to spin your own custom firmware.

Complex version: involves closing the barn door — see here.

(For community-based jailbreaking advice and support, please check out our Jailbreak Central Forum)

Hopefully an easier solution will surface when the Dev Team has spent more time hacking away at iPhone OS 2.2.1. Until then, the cat and mouse game continues!

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

iPhone OS 2.2.1 Jailbreak — Incredibly Complicated Instructions Edition

So if you don’t live under a rock you would have noticed that Apple released a iPhone/iPhone 3G firmware update this past Tuesday. TiPb then warned all of you jailbreakers/unlockers out there not to proceed with updating your firmware… Judging from the comments, some of you took heed to our warning, while others were not so lucky.

To get a better understanding of what is going on with this latest Apple firmware and why you should not update just yet, be sure to check out the video above from iPhone Dev Team member, musclenerd.

[Via blog.iphone-dev.org]

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Dev Team Explains: Why NOT to Update to iPhone 2.2.1

MacRumors is reporting that both the recent iPhone OS 2.2.1 release, and ad serving reports from Pinch Media show an iPhone model 2,1. The original iPhone was 1,1, the iPhone 3G was 1,2, so if accurate this numbering would not indicate the small bump of the iPhone 3G, but a real next generation device update (similar to the recent, revised iPod touch, which earned it’s own 2,1 model last fall).

So, TiPb’s just gonna keep on saying it: we want us some iPhone HD this June! With faster 802.11n mobile WiFi chips, quad-core cpu’s for iPhone 3.0 that support OpenCL and a PowerVR graphics core to the extreme.

Anyone else starting to get impatient for WWDC 2009?

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

iPhone OS 2.2.1 Hints at Next Gen iPhone?

Out of nowhere Apple has quietly released a new firmware update for iPhone and iPhone 3G. This latest release, 2.2.1, weighing in at 246.4 MB, is said to have have improved general stability of Safari and has addressed the issue where some images saved from Mail did not display correctly in the camera roll. It is unknown at this time if Apple has snuck in any other tweaks or features, to follow along and report any findings be sure to head into our forums to the newly started thread – iPhone software 2.2.1 released?

To update simply connect your iPhone/iPhone 3G to your computer and “check for update” via iTunes.

Note to Jailbreakers/Unlockers: Do not update your iPhone/iPhone 3G until the all clear is given by the iPhone Dev Team.

[Thanks to forum member sting7k for the tip!]

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

iPhone 2.2.1 Firmware Released

MacRumors has linked up RussianiPhone.ru which claims to have gotten a pre-release look at the upcoming first beta for 2.2.1, which is said to include both the long-delayed Push Notification Service and something Mike first discovered way back with Mac OS X Leopard’s release: Notes sync.

Rightly, they point out how easy to fake something like this is, and we won’t know anything for certain until a public beta is actually made available for 2.2.1 (or 2.3, Apple hasn’t done minor point bumps for the 2.x architecture yet, so why now?)

But even if it’s not real, just how desperate have we become for these long overdue, or mind-boggling-ly missing features that we’ll fall all over even fake news about them?

Battered consumer syndrome much?

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

iPhone 2.2.1 Rumors: Push Notifications and Notes Sync?

Disclaimer: This guide is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Neither TiPb nor the author take any responsibility for any problems/issues/bricking/etc. that may occur while using this or any software to modify your iPhone. Please be aware of what you are doing. If you’re not sure, don’t do it.

Note to New Macbook Owners – if you have a late 2008 model aluminum MacBook, MacBook Pro, or MacBook Air and have not previously Pwned your iPhone (under firmware 2.1 or earlier), the issues we blogged about previously mean you will have to use a different computer to Jailbreak 2.2.1. Sorry folks. If you have already Pwned under 2.1 or previous, then you can simply put your iPhone into recovery mode and restore with the freshly created IPSW. (If you don’t understand what all that means, keep reading, or go to our Jailbreak Central Forum for help)

This applies if you have a locked iPhone 3G and you wish to update to 2.2.1 but preserve the iPhone’s current baseband software. Preserving the baseband will ensure that you can still use “yellowsn0w” the iPhone 3G unlock application. To upgrade your phone to 2.2.1 and preserve the state of the baseband you need to create a custom .ipsw with PwnageTool. This custom .ipsw will not contain the baseband update but of course will still give you any new stuff from 2.2.1

*You must be on firmware 2.2 or below in order to preserve your baseband. If you are already on 2.2.1 prior to Jailbreaking you will not be able to unlock your phone.

Let’s get started, after the jump!

1. Get the Tools

First things first, make sure you are running the latest version of iTunes [8.0.2]

Then you will want to create a folder on your desktop to keep things clean. Name it whatever you’d like.

Next you want to download the Pwnage 2.2.5 tool to the folder you just created.

Now download the 2.2.1 iPhone 3G firmware. Make sure to place that in the above folder as well. If you are able to use Firefox for this download, please do so. In the last set of guides, many of you had issues downloading the file with Safari.

2. Install the Tools

Now double click on the PwnageTool file to mount PwnageTool. Once mounted click and drag the PwnageTool application into the Pwnage folder you created on your desktop.

Then double click the icon that was just created to launch the PwnageTool.

3. Expert Mode

This is a easy one, select “Expert Mode”.

4. Select your Device

Which in this case would be the iPhone 3G.

5. Browse for IPSW

Click the blue arrow button to continue. You will be brought to the “Browse for IPSW” page. It should automatically find the correct file, then click the blue arrow to continue. If Pwnage does not find the file, you must manually browse to the IPSW file that is in the folder you created on your desktop.

6. Menu with 7 Options

You will then be brought to a menu with 7 different options. We will only address the “General” and “Custom Package Settings”. More advanced users can make any changes they see fit. Select the “General” tab and then click the blue arrow button to move forward.

When you are in the “General” tab there are a few things you must take care of. Here you will decide your partition size, 530 MB should be good. Next, if you are using your iPhone on an official carrier (AT&T, O2, Rogers, etc.) uncheck “Activate the phone”. Lastly, check “Disable partition wipe-out”. Hit the arrow button to continue.

Next select the “Custom Package Settings” tab. Be sure that “Cydia Installer” and “Installer” are both checked, hit the arrow to move to the next step.

7. Ready to Begin Pwnage Process!

Click the “Build” button and then click the arrow to begin the Pwnage process.

Now simply select where you would like to save the custom IPSW file that will be created. The folder you created on your desktop would be a good place.

Your IPSW is being created. Please be patient during this process, it could take up to 15 minutes. During this time Pwnage will ask for your administrator password, this is normal, enter it.

8. DFU Mode

First you will be prompted to shut off your iPhone.

This next part seems to give some people trouble, pay close attention. Pwnage will ask you to hold the home button and the power button for 10 seconds. Then, you will have to release the power button and hold the home button for 10 seconds. This should put you in DFU.

If you have succeeded you will see the following graphic.

*Important Note – The new Macbooks that were recently released prevent you from entering DFU mode. It is possible to go from 2.1 Pwned to 2.2.1 Pwned but you will not be able to go from 2.1 stock to 2.2.1 Pwned. Got that? In order to proceed, you must enter recovery mode as outlined in this Apple Knowledge Base article.

9. iTunes Restore

Now we have to go into iTunes and restore the iPhone with the custom built firmware. Do so by pressing the Alt/Option button and click “Restore”.

Simply select the following file, “iPhone1,22.2.15G77CustomRestore.ipsw”, from the folder on your desktop.

iTunes is now restoring the firmware on your iPhone. This can take up to 10-15 minutes.

When complete you will be asked to “set up as a new iPhone” or “restore from a backup”. You can select either option but my recommendation is to start fresh and select “set up as a new iPhone”.

Congratulations! You are now the owner of a freshly jailbroken iPhone 3G with the 2.2.1 firmware!

Have questions? Run into problems? Check out our Jailbreak Central Forum for help!

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

How To: Jailbreak iPhone 3G 2.2.1 with Pwnage Tool Preserving Your Baseband (Mac OS X Edition)

Disclaimer – Neither TiPb nor I take any responsibility for any problems/issues/bricking/etc. that may occur while using this software to modify your iPhone. Please be aware of what you are doing.

It was not long ago that we filled you in on the steps to take in order to jailbreak your iPhone 3G on Mac OS X as well as a Windows PC. Well today TiPb is proud to present a step by step guide to not only jailbreak your first generation iPhone 2G but to unlock it while jailbreaking. This is for Windows PC’s only.

So if you are against AT&T in the US, or simply need to run your original iPhone on an international carrier like Rogers in Canada or any GSM/EDGE network around the world, then please read on after the jump!

This guide will show you how to jailbreak/unlock the original iPhone 2G only, not the iPhone 3G. Some important notes before we begin: You must have iTunes 8 installed and you must be on firmware 2.2.1, if you are not, be sure to update via iTunes. Also make sure to go into the task manager and disable ANYTHING Apple or iTunes related.

1. Get the tools.

Once you are positive you are running the 2.2.1 on your iPhone and have iTunes 8 installed it’s time to get the tools you will need. Create a folder on your desktop named “Pwnage”, then download the following files into that folder:

• Windows QuickPwn 2.2.5
• iPhone 2.2.1 ISPW
• 3.9 Bootloader
• 4.6 Bootloader

Unzip the QuickPwn.zip file inside the Pwnage folder.

2. Launch QuickPwn

Simply click on the pineapple from the Pwnage folder you created on your desktop.

3. Connect your iPhone

Connect your iPhone via USB to your computer and click the blue arrow to continue.

4. Locate Firmware

Now we have to click the browse button to locate your iPhone firmware.

5. Selecting the 2.2.1 firmware IPSW

Select the 2.1 firmware IPSW file from the Pwnage folder you created on your desktop then select the IPSW file and click the open button.

6. Firmware Verification

QuickPwn will now verify you have selected the correct firmware. After it is verified click the blue arrow to continue.

7. Customize your firmware

This step allows you select what you’d like installed on your iPhone. You have the ability to select Cydia, Installer, replace boot logos, and unlock your device. Once you have made your selections click the blue arrow to continue on. If you want a full jailbreaking experience, installing Cydia and Installer is highly recommended.

8. Bootloader Files

You will now be prompted to select your bootloader files that I instructed you to download a few minutes ago. Click on the Browse button and select the 3.9 bootloader from the Pwnage folder you created on your desktop. Repeat this for the 4.6 bootloader file. Then click the blue arrow button to proceed.

9. Verify Connection

QuickPwn will noW verify that your iPhone is still connected to your PC. Again click the blue arrow to carry on forward.

10. Potential Tricky Part – Pay Attention

Ok, this part seems to give some people issues, but I assure you it does work. QuickPwn will now put your iPhone into recovery mode. When its in recovery mode you will be given directions to: Hold the Home button for 5 seconds, Hold the Home and Power buttons for 10 seconds, then release the Power button and continuing holding the Home button until your iPhone is in DFU mode.

11. Let the jailingbreaking begin – no going back now!

QuickPwn will detect your phone is in DFU mode and proceed with the jailbreaking process.

12. You are officially jailbroken – Congrats! Now Time to Unlock – Be Patient

Once jailbreaking is complete, QuickPwn will then reboot it and run BootNeuter. Let BootNeuter take over, do not interupt it. This process will take about 5 minutes. Your iPhone will reboot when it has completed and you will have a fully unlocked iPhone!

13. Setting up data connection – T-Mobile ONLY

Go into Settings, General, then Network and enter the following information.

APN: wap.voicestream.com

Username: (leave empty)

Password: (leave empty)

For other Mobile Carriers data settings check out this link.

Well that’s it folks, it’s time to start exploring this whole new world you have just opened. For answers to more of the questions you may have regarding jailbreaking please head on into our forums. There are always members of our community willing to help you out!

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

How to: Jailbreak/Unlock Your 1st Generation iPhone 2.2.1 – Windows PC QuickPWN Edition