So, you've finally taken the plunge and jailbroken your iPhone. (Jailbreaking is modifying your phone's system files so that you can install themes, programs, etc. that aren't approved by Apple). The only differences that you can see are that there are now a couple of extra icons on your phone menu. One of them is called Cydia.
Cydia has been called the App Store for jailbroken iPhones. I don't really like that comparison because there aren't too many games and productivity apps available in Cydia since the iTunes App Store opened. It's mostly a place to obtain themes, ringtones, system utilities, etc. Some of which will make your iPhone experience so much better than an non-jailbroken phone! It is where you get the tools to make your iPhone truly yours!
Here are the steps to use Cydia after it's been installed through the jailbreaking process. (See resource section below article for links on how to jailbreak).
Cydia has been called the App Store for jailbroken iPhones. I don't really like that comparison because there aren't too many games and productivity apps available in Cydia since the iTunes App Store opened. It's mostly a place to obtain themes, ringtones, system utilities, etc. Some of which will make your iPhone experience so much better than an non-jailbroken phone! It is where you get the tools to make your iPhone truly yours!
Here are the steps to use Cydia after it's been installed through the jailbreaking process. (See resource section below article for links on how to jailbreak).
Difficulty: Moderate
Instructions
Things You'll Need:
- Jailbroken iPhone or iPod Touch with Cydia installed
- 1
Tap on the Cydia icon and you will see Cydia main screen. Here you will find important information from the developer, along with some lists of pay applications (Cydia Store Products), FAQs, and a few How-To articles.
- 2
Next, you will want to browse products, or packages as they are called in Cydia, that are available by tapping on the "Sections" button at the bottom of the screen. You will see a list of everything available, divided up into sections or categories.
If you Press All Packages, you will see everything available to you, but there are thousands and will be overwhelming. It's better to browse the sections and find packages that are interesting to you. For example, there are sections for Ringtones and Themes.
- 3
Next, tap the "Search" button at the bottom of the Cydia screen. You will see a screen that only has a search box at the top. Tap the field to bring up your keyboard. Enter "BossPrefs" in the search field and press "Search".
Go down to the "B's" and when you find BossPrefs, tap on it.
- 4
You will now see the Cydia detail screen for BossPrefs. With most packages, you can scroll down and see additional information. For example, with theme packages, you might see "Screenshots". Or you might see a changelog so that you can see what has changed in different versions of a package.
If you'd like to install this app, press the install button in the top of the detail screen.
- 5
You will now see a confirmation screen, showing you the size of the package that you are about to install. Press "Confirm" to continue with the install.
- 6
You will now see a black screen with words going across it. Don't worry, you don't need to know! When the installation is complete, you will see a button telling you either to "Return to Cydia" or "Restart Springboard".
It will have to exit Cydia and restart the Springboard for certain types of apps, including packages that mess with the iPhone's operating system. If it does, just wait for it to come back to your iPhone menu.
- 7
If you go back to the iPhone home screen, you will now see your package, or application, installed. See BossPrefs down in the lower right corner on my attached screen shot.
- 8
Now go back to your Cydia application and tap the "Manage" button. You will see three options. "Storage" will let you know how much room that you have to install more applications.
"Sources" will let you add more sources, or locations where additional packages can be found by Cydia. See the Tips for additional information. Press "Edit" to add the additional sources.
"Packages" will show you what is currently installed on your iPhone. Many of the packages that you will see here are installed by the jailbreak. This is where you will remove applications. I'll show you how in the next step.
- 9
Press "Packages" under the "Manage" menu item (at the bottom of the Cydia screen). If you want to delete an application, scroll down to the package that you want to install. For example, I'm removing my Christmas Lights for my iPhone in the attached screenshot.
To delete, tap on the "Modify" button in the top right of the screen. It will ask you to confirm and then it will delete.
- 10For the last option, you can select the "Change" option at the bottom of the Cydia scree. The screen that you see will tell you which of the packages that you have installed have available updates. (You can look at the changelog in the package details to see what has changed.) It will also tell you all of the new packages that have been added. It's a great place to browse for new, exciting packages!
- 11Take some time to browse the different sections. You will find that Cydia is where you will find the iPhone modifications that will make you happy that you made the effort to jailbreak!
