DevTeam releases PwnageTool and QuickPwn 2.1, wants to rumble

With firmware 2.1 now out for the iPhone and iPod touch we bring you the inevitable PwnageTool and QuickPwn response. Apparently, the DevTeam took offense to a previous posting where we questioned the relevancy of continued jailbreaks in the age of the AppStore and official, worldwide iPhone distribution.

So, we'll put it to you dear reader: as much as we respect these guys for their gen-1 iPhone unlocking and pre-AppStore era work, is PwnageTool and the ability to jailbreak your phone still as important as it was?

Update: By a three-to-one margin it's clear that you still love your Pwnage! As such, we'll continue to cover the DevTeam's exploits just as obsessively as before.

Is PwnageTool still relevant?

Yup, so much homebrewNope, AppStore's all I needHow do you say pwn?Vote

[Elias Santiago @ Sep 13th 2008 10:59AM]

Let's Get Ready To Rumble!!!!

[Thi mam(kris120890) @ Sep 13th 2008 11:05AM]

Fail


Its
"Let's Get Ready To Rumbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbblllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Flashpoint @ Sep 13th 2008 11:14AM]

If I am still running 1.1.4 on my iPhone, could someone explain to me how I can upgrade to 2.1 and then re-jailbreak my phone again? I used ziphone to jailbreak it the first time.

[potato @ Sep 13th 2008 12:06PM]

Google for guides online. PwnageTool will do the work for you, just follow the instructions. The only trick is that you have to hack the modem (an option that is by default off), otherwise you end up with a nice brick :)

So in summary: use the pwnagetool, but be careful and flip the right switches. Nothing too complicated about it.

[Chris @ Sep 13th 2008 12:08PM]

Just use Pwnage to create a custom 2.1 restore file. Restore with that file in iTunes 8. Bootneuter (included with pwnage) will undo the damage done by Ziphone.

[Chris @ Sep 13th 2008 12:17PM]

"but be careful and flip the right switches."

I just want to clarify that the only danger of flipping the wrong switches as far as I know is more investment of time to create another custom restore file and reinstall it on the phone. It is a safe process.

[Gilad @ Sep 13th 2008 12:18PM]

First, upgrade it to 2.1 in iTunes. It should then be locked (emeregency calls only).

*Then* you unlock it with PwnageTool or QuickPwn.

[iPhoner @ Sep 13th 2008 2:38PM]

You can find download mirrors for both QuickPwn 1.1 and PwnageTool 2.1 here: http://www.iphone-hacks.com/2008/09/13/quickpwn-11-pwnagetool-21-for-mac-osx-released/

And of course they are relevant!

[boss-hogg @ Sep 13th 2008 3:58PM]

Without homebrew on Iphone or Itouch I wouldnt even think about buying one.

[Big H @ Sep 15th 2008 9:30AM]

Looks like the author of this poll is getting pwned

[Gum @ Sep 13th 2008 10:59AM]

I'm looking forward to this, 2.0.2 keeps crashin on me apps

[gabe @ Sep 13th 2008 1:45PM]

Nice try Making up Engadget - only a few days ago your editor through the DevTeam under the bus - saying its useless after Itunes 8 came out - SHAME ON YOU ENGADGET!

NOW GO TO YOUR ROOM!

[cprail @ Sep 13th 2008 11:00AM]

The jailbreak is a big deal for the very large amount of non-officials 1st gen iPhone owners.

[sjkhuth @ Sep 13th 2008 11:50AM]

thank you, one person that thinks straight!!

[Jakob @ Sep 13th 2008 12:08PM]

Yes and I think this vote miss one very important thing: Yes, but not that much. App Store is great, but there is still need for Cydia/Installer.

And just wait, when DevTeam releases a unlock for iPhone 3G they are back!

[macserv @ Sep 13th 2008 2:11PM]

That was my take on it, actually. The jailbreak/unlock isn't becoming less relevant. It's becoming relevant to fewer people.

The app store and its robust catalog certainly do ensure that not as many people need a jailbroken phone to get the software they want. However, for those who need functionality that Apple or AT&T won't allow, there is still no alternative to jailbreaking.

As more journalists start to fall outside the circle of those who need to jailbreak, this will continue to happen. You have to look at the bigger picture to see why the pwnage tools are still just as important as ever, even if you no longer need them yourself.

[Levi Figueira @ Sep 14th 2008 2:24AM]

The only reason why jailbreaking still holds some attraction to me is OpenSSH!! All other apps are pretty useless: video recording apps suck big time since the iPhone's hardware is quite limited (maybe something to be added in the 3rd generation iPhones). The biggest problem I see is the proliferation of cracked AppStore products (which we all expected) but I hope never gets too big... If you like, come on, buy it! :)

But.. OpenSSH FTW ^^, I've saved myself a few restores after having those "lovely" frozen boot logos by SSH'ing in and renaming the Applications folder... Finishes the boot process instantly and then you can rename the folder again and all is well! Plus I can backup individual files (like sms.db or notes, etc...) and actually create my own little app to read them... And those are the reasons I jailbreak my phone!!

OHHH... OpenSSH *AND* Scrobbled... AND "TaskbarNotifier" (still can't believe Apple does include this one by default)!

[albert @ Sep 13th 2008 11:01AM]

Well I need them because I bought a 2.1 iphone and I needed jailbreak/unlock so I can use it on T-mobile.

[Nick K. @ Sep 13th 2008 11:35AM]

There isn't an unlock for the 3G yet.

[lolec @ Sep 13th 2008 11:56AM]

he might be using a 1st gen iPhone, i dunno, since there are almost as much 1st gen as 3Gs.

[Rick @ Sep 15th 2008 7:18PM]

That's my reason. However, they need to break the 3G first. I don't want to leave T-Mobile.

[iEye @ Sep 13th 2008 11:08AM]

brains...BRAINS!

[iPhone @ Sep 13th 2008 12:04PM]

guys, he is wishing he has brains, poor guy =/

[El Taco @ Sep 14th 2008 12:26AM]

BRIAN! I NEED BRIAN!

[Stephen.4 @ Sep 13th 2008 11:09AM]

Why did you guys make this a "Breaking" post, and "Digg" it? Attention whores much. Leave the Dev team to do what the Dev team does, don't argue because something isn't out five minutes after the firmware's released.

[Alex @ Sep 13th 2008 11:11AM]

i just need jailbreaking for disable the fucking dictionary...

[mike @ Sep 13th 2008 11:40AM]

A dictiorary might not be a bad thing for you ... Unless you are typing in another language I suppose

[holycow @ Sep 13th 2008 11:40AM]

you said it! Atleast apple should give us the option of disabling it if we dont want to use it.

[sebas @ Sep 15th 2008 11:05PM]

thats right... dictionary sucks, can't change it & even can't disable it

[Constantin @ Sep 13th 2008 11:14AM]

I need the jailbreak because the AppStore policy is bad and all the apps which arent allowed there are in Cydia or Installer! So what about a torch app which turns the screen brightness to 100% instead of just showing a white screen? Or a mobile scrobbler which syncs the iPod on your iPhone with Last.fm... I love Winterboard and BossPrefs is a must-have if you easily want to turn off edge! I can record videos and I really really can't live without the ability to change files! And I always back up my iPhone manually as the iTunes backup takes about 5 hours and the last time I lost some camera photos as iTunes ruined my backup and said its damaged or not compatible!

[pito189 @ Sep 13th 2008 12:09PM]

Light by Erica Sadun does just that, it is free. Air Sharing does file sharing over wifi, it is also free.

I agree with the winterboard and all those, it would be nice to customize MY phone some more but it's not a deal breaker for me.

[brandon @ Sep 13th 2008 12:28PM]

True, but nearly none of the 3rd party apps have been ported to 2.0/2.1. Most apps are dev tools or springboard customization (though Winterboard and its animated skins rock).
Jailbreak isn't what it used to be. BRING BACK FREE APPS!!!!

[Jason @ Sep 13th 2008 11:26AM]

I hope there will till be development, not because appstore makes it redundant, but rather 1 of my iphones is a gen 1 iphone, that requires jailbreaking every time a new version is released. It was never activated, and is not on an official iphone plan (even though I use ATT). My 3g is fine and legit, but when I got my wife her 1g iphone, they were not honoring corp discounts, of which we get 20% off service through her company. Hence why I jailbroke it.

Now everytime I update the phone to a new firmware, the phone works, but the radio stops (using the std upgrade path). Using the dev team methods results in a perfectly working iphone.

So yes, in the end, there will always be a reason for the dev team, atleast for people with jailbroken first gen iphones

[zmjjmz @ Sep 13th 2008 11:26AM]

Hey, us Linux users over here still need a jailbreak.

[Jason @ Sep 13th 2008 11:28AM]

I hope there will till be development, not because appstore makes it redundant, but rather 1 of my iphones is a gen 1 iphone, that requires jailbreaking every time a new version is released. It was never activated, and is not on an official iphone plan (even though I use ATT). My 3g is fine and legit, but when I got my wife her 1g iphone, they were not honoring corp discounts, of which we get 20% off service through her company. Hence why I jailbroke it.

Now everytime I update the phone to a new firmware, the phone works, but the radio stops (using the std upgrade path). Using the dev team methods results in a perfectly working iphone.

So yes, in the end, there will always be a reason for the dev team, atleast for people with jailbroken first gen iphones

[Jason @ Sep 13th 2008 11:28AM]

I hope there will till be development, not because appstore makes it redundant, but rather 1 of my iphones is a gen 1 iphone, that requires jailbreaking every time a new version is released. It was never activated, and is not on an official iphone plan (even though I use ATT). My 3g is fine and legit, but when I got my wife her 1g iphone, they were not honoring corp discounts, of which we get 20% off service through her company. Hence why I jailbroke it.

Now everytime I update the phone to a new firmware, the phone works, but the radio stops (using the std upgrade path). Using the dev team methods results in a perfectly working iphone.

So yes, in the end, there will always be a reason for the dev team, atleast for people with jailbroken first gen iphones

[Jason @ Sep 13th 2008 11:29AM]

Doh - duplicate.. need a way to delete dupes

[KeyBcodeR @ Sep 13th 2008 11:33AM]

I already got my iPod Touch 1Gen with 2.1 software jailbroken and love it even more, now i can call it, "the funnest iPod ever" just like Apple. I think Jailbreak is good for Apple cause people that does not have a iPod Touch or iPhone and read about Jailbreak want to go and buy either one of em' just to jailbreak it and be able to do more in that Amazing piece of Hardware and Software!!!

[maticek @ Sep 13th 2008 11:37AM]

It's needed badly, because in the land of Slovenia, there is no official iPhone 3g. We can go and buy it at our neighbours, the Italians, unlocked and almost ready to work. The big problem, however is, number format. In order to normally use the iPhone 3G in Slovenia, you have to add the right number formats. That's why I badly need jailbreak.

The second thing is autocorrection, in order to be able to write in a foreign language on the iPhone, one has to turn of the autocorrect feature. Again it's only possible with jailbreak.

[Neeko @ Sep 13th 2008 11:40AM]

There will always be a need to JB because not everyone wants to be SHEEP and play follow the leader. Iv got a Touch and ill continue to JB it because i like being able to customize my ipod the way i want. And install any APP i want. NOT the way STEVO says i should.. And ill continue to help my IT dept and friends and coworkers JB theres also.

[Jeff @ Sep 13th 2008 11:49AM]

You are a SHEEP. Simply buying an iphone/touch makes to one of us.

Yes, I do own and use a 1st gen iphone. I jb it but for ME it was not worth the hassle to do again with every new software update from crapple.

[Chris M @ Sep 13th 2008 11:41AM]

I get a 2001 error when using pwnage tool, an ideas?

[will @ Sep 13th 2008 5:53PM]

I got that too, my screen went White, disconnect then reconnect the iPhone, an restore to the custom firmware again, it should work second time :)

[Beau @ Sep 13th 2008 11:43AM]

Mirrors;

QuickPwn - http://rapidshare.com/files/144960341/QuickPwn_1.1.dmg
PwnageTool - http://rapidshare.com/files/144962694/PwnageTool_2.1.dmg

Enjoy!

[mac.nub @ Sep 13th 2008 11:44AM]

Without a Jailbreak, my iPhone wouldn't even do half the things it does now. So yes, it's definitely still relevant.

Now leave the Dev Team be :P

[kenbroll @ Sep 13th 2008 11:56AM]

Agreed. Jailbreaking adds a bazillion times more functionality to the iPhone. Without jailbreaking, the iPhone wouldn't be worth the money.

[Billy Reichert @ Sep 13th 2008 11:44AM]

ive had my iphone jailbroken since the day i got it, and never updated it until the devteam jailbroke the next firmware. there is so much that can be done to it that you cant do with it locked down. until apple releases something to customize the phone(themes, icons, etc...) i will always be jailbroken. there is also so much stuff in cydia/installer for free that that alone trumps the app store IMO.

[iJuleguy @ Sep 13th 2008 11:52AM]

The only fun things I could find are Qik, NES.app, and Cycorder. I had all of those when I had 2.0.2 jailbroken. Winterboard ran a little slow, and it made my Wi-Fi not work at all

[yyy @ Sep 13th 2008 11:45AM]

For these people who live in some of the many countries which Apple doesn't bother to officially import the iPhone to, it is extremely crucial to have a jailbreaking option so it'll be possible to install support for the local language. So many thanks to the DevTeam!

Besides, Apple must realize that its whole "unsupervised-software-for-the-iPhone-is-extremely-dangerous" attitude is pathetic since millions of its Mac users run such software everyday and there are hardly any viruses for the Mac.

[Armon @ Sep 13th 2008 11:46AM]

Honestly, i only use jailbraking to use Winterboard, and maybe one or 2 apps that are not in the app store, or free in the app store. the main use is winterboard though. If apple allowed winterboard to be in the app store, then i would prob not jailbreak any more.