Become the admin of your device with jailbreaking Jailbreak your device to customize it
To jailbreak or not to jailbreak, this is the question! Use jailbreaking to become an admin of your device
In a nutshell jailbreaking is the process of exploiting the imperfections of a device that is locked initially to increase your access. This is done so you can use software that is not officially allowed to be used on this device. But let’s have a look over it in more detail.
What is Jailbreaking?
Taking advantage of the flows present in the original code of an operational system became popular some years ago, primarily for iPhones and PlayStations. This is when the term jailbreaking became well known. By jailbreaking your phone, you will gain access to the root of the operational system, and you can make changes to it. The term makes you think about breaking out of the limits imposed by the manufacturer on a particular device. However, don’t worry — jailbreaking is not, in general, illegal.
Let us give you an example. As we mentioned, the terms became popular because iPhone users wanted more freedom regarding how they used their devices and what they could install on them. Especially the early versions of iPhones when there was no app store and the interface was much more limited than it is today. You could’ve accessed only the AT&T network, so jailbreaking their phone for users who want to use other providers was the only choice. By jailbreaking their phones, people were able to use any carrier they wanted and install apps that Apple had not approved.
Since then, jailbreaking has been used not only for iPhones or mobile devices. It can be used on gaming consoles, Amazon Firesticks, Roku streaming boxes, or almost any other device that you would like. With the growing popularity of this method and the more diverse usage, the term “cracking” started to be also widely used.
Jailbreaking doesn’t change the device’s core features, and you can still use it as usual. You just have more freedom to go over the limitations of the device’s default settings. You can find jailbreak codes for free in many community forums, and they usually come with all the instructions you need to apply them. However, some basic level of technical knowledge is recommended, so you know that you will not completely mess it up and break your device.
When you ask yourself whether you should or shouldn’t jailbreak your device, you need to think about the pros and cons.
Pros and cons of jailbreaking a device
Let’s start with the pros:
You gain complete control over your device
- How much control you have over your device depends on how strict the manufacturer is. In cases like Apple, you have minimal control over your devices, which is why jailbreaking became so popular. For people that don’t like to be restricted, becoming the admin of their phones was a no-brainer. Cracking their phones allows them to access the roots of the system and manipulate it to their advantage.
- Use different unauthorized apps — Every device has its limits for the apps you have pre installed or can install on it. For example, Amazon FireSticks have their limits as well. You can stream movies using services like Prime, Netflix, and others, but all those require having a subscription. And we all know how expensive those can become. So, if you want to watch something on other platforms offering streaming for free, it might be impossible unless you jailbreak your FireStick. Don’t worry, jailbreaking FireStick does not involve making any changes to the system files that could brick your device.
- Access additional features — Many functionalities are not available by default or might not have exactly the configuration you would like them to have. For example, the Find My iPhone functionality is limited to only when the phone is online. You can activate your phone even when the phone is offline or in airplane mode by jailbreaking your phone.
Now, we will have a look over the cons:
- No automatic updates — Once you make any changes in the root cause of your device, detecting automatic updates will become impossible. So, to update your device to a new version, you will have to wait for the appropriate hack to update the version of your device.
- Voiding the warranty — jailbreaking your device will cost you your warranty. The manufacturers deny repairs to devices that are cracked. So, be prepared that a service request you make will be most certainly rejected.
- Technical or security issues — obtaining a jailbreak code from a community forum is not always a safe solution. You can’t be sure if that code will work exactly as expected, and it might cause some issues. There are cases where the battery life is shortened, the device might brick, crashes to be experienced more often, be exposed to data and security breaches, and other risks.
Summing up
Jailbreaking has its advantages and disadvantages. Suppose you would like to have more control over your devices depending on their manufacturers. In that case, there are safer solutions like jailbreaking your Amazon FireStick or more risky solutions like unlocking your iPhone. No matter if you decide to do it or not, do extensive research before choosing which way to go and how to proceed with jailbreaking your device.
