Jun/100
Dock that iPhone simulator!
The iPhone Simulator
So, if you've been developing for iPhone and such you know how much it sucks to start xcode every time you want to test webpages or show off your new app. It gets downright frustrating. So, to link to the program in your dock; navigate to the following path. You can start this and select "keep in dock", or drag it down there yourself:
/Developer/Platforms/iPhoneSimulator.platform/Developer/Applications/iPhone Simulator.app
If you would like to administer the files that are considered to be "on" the device, (including photos) you can navigate to:
/Users/YOUR_USER_NAME/Library/Application Support/iPhone Simulator/
Hope this saves you some time!
Mic-B
Jun/102
iOS4 Downgrade
Those dicks locked us out!
So, a friend of mine... "Steve" we'll call him, uses an iPhone 3G as an iPod touch. Never had a problem with it. Basically, the advantage of this is that he has access to a camera. Nonetheless, before iOS4, there was no activation requirement on these units that would prevent you from using the device without a SIM. Such is no more. After upgrading to iOS4, he was locked out of his phone; and without AT&T here in Montana, he was pretty screwed. I gladly took his phone home as a project and jailbroke it back to 3.1.3 for him again.
So, originally I found this great writeup on how to do this process, but of course there were a few things I didn't feel were clarified very well, although it got me from point A to B. They cover a few different methods of this; but chances are that if your an iPhone developer and pay for the xcode dev license, you probably know about the firmware settings through it -- and most of the population doesn't have access to that, so I won't even waste my breath. Instead, here's how the average joe can get the job done... if they have a mac. There are far too many windows-only tutorials on these things.
Anyhow, you need to gather a few things to begin:
Once you've downloaded all of this stuff, (it'll take a few minutes) install libusb and unpack iRecovery. After this, plug in your iPhone. Open iTunes and hold down the "alt/option" key and click restore. When the box pops up (if you did this correctly... tested and working in iTunes 9.2.x) navigate to where you saved your firmware and select it. Upon restoring, iTunes should error out with a 1015.
1015 Error. Brought to us via tipb.com
Now it's time to run iRecovery. If you get the "faster" version, it may not be compatible with Snow Leopard... so be warned; you may have to do some command-line stuff... which I find fun, but you may not. Some people get mixed results here. Namely, some phones are fully restored after this and require no additional work. In my case, however, the phone became stuck in an "endless DFU mode". It was time to resort to some dirty work.
At this point, if you are in my boat, you should download and run blackra1n. Written by a badass named "George Hotz", blackra1n will solve all of your woes. Open up the program, hit the single button that says "make it rain", and let it run it's course. In my case, it solved the endless DFU and came prepackaged with a blackra1n app that allowed me to instantly install Cydia, Icy or Rock My Phone. (These are homebrew repositories, FTWDK) Awesome installer, and a relatively easy process.
If you or anyone you know needs some help with this, shoot me a comment or an e-mail. Always here to help!
Happy Hacking!
Mic-B
May/100
Unlocked iPhone APN Data Settings
Cellular data network error.
Credit: LimitedEditionIphone.Com
Hey guys and gals,
There was a problem I ran into recently with an iPhone where the subscriber had purchased a data package for their SIM card, but was not able to access any data-related features. In a WAP browsing phone, everything seemed to work; but as soon as the SIM was swapped to the unlocked iPhone, the functions were limited to calling and SMS. With WiFi enabled, everything ran great. With a little searching and some deduction, I came across the APN setting for the cellular network.
To the nay-sayers or those who are currently crying foul: unlocking your phone is not illegal. The Copyright Office issued six exemptions to the DMCA last year, one of which allows consumers to unlock their cellphones "for the sole purpose of lawfully connecting to a wireless telephone communication network." Still with me? Let's move on.
I suppose I should preface all this by telling you that in Montana, there's only one certified GSM provider, Cellular One. There's only one possible connection setting for people in this area unless they have a different service. (see: AT&T, T-Mobile, Worldphones, etc... most providers will kick you off for roaming 60% of the time or more) Also, this is not a workaround for not having a data subscription... it won't work unless you pay for a data package, as you should. It just so happens to be the same GSM system that the iPhone uses, and it works just like any other smartphone. The company recently purchased and took over Chinook Wireless as well, prompting the cellphone communities to dub them "Chinookular One". Duly noted... and class dismissed.
Originally, I scoured the free Nokia phone that came with the activated SIM and found an APN address... "wap.cellular1.net", but as you can tell by the URL, the Nokia phone had been defaulted to run as only a WAP browser. That wasn't going to do me any good. With that set, safari would pull up some pages, but still throw the error -- and e-mail, weather, etc were all down as well. Eventually I stumbled across this pdf for an HTC Touch where Cellular One gives out the data connection address. I came across the correct settings, as detailed below. Super confusing and difficult, I know. Note: This is for iPhone OS 3.0.
Navigate in your iPhone's system preferences to:
Settings-->General-->Network-->Cellular Data Network
And then type "internet.chinookwireless.net" in the APN field. Leave username and password both blank.
Seems to work great around here! Let me know if you experience any problems... I'd love to document them. If your a subscriber for a different service, have a look through some of their help and setup articles for smartphones as you can easily find this address for any carrier worth it's salt.
Mic-B
P.S. - A fellow Montanan from Missoula, Evan Lovely, has a great write-up about iPhones in montana, with some more info on MMS settings (the phone I was working with didn't have this for some reason) and some great comments after the article. Too bad I found this after the fact... could have saved me quite some time.
May/100
Check your warranty statuses!
So, after fiddling with the promised "Fix Number Three" -- an iPod Classic that would only charge -- this week, I determined that although the harddrive was to blame and I could easily replace it; it was still under warranty. Which prompted me to write this, as I'm sure a lot of people don't think about this when reading my blog posts here: Please, please check your warranty statuses. You could save both of us a lot of time, and yourself a lot of money by running your serial through a little box, or submitting a simple repair request. On average, I find warranties to normally end after one year. Visit the following to find some more information:
Apple
https://selfsolve.apple.com/agreementWarrantyDynamic.do
Sony
https://eservice.sony.com/webrma/web/index.do
Aside from all of this, I have another fix planned on the software side. I'll show you all how to set up an unlocked iPhone to correctly use a data connection over a local (or any) GSM provider.
See you tomorrow,
Mic-B
Apr/100
iPod Video 5G Display Replacement
So, a buddy of mine has had this iPod forever... and throughout snowboarding and such, the screen got progressively worse. At first it was a couple of lines, and it got all the way to the point of the first photo... so bad you couldn't pick a song. To make a long story short, I made my first order from iFixIt (always used their guides, but never ordered from them) and these guys are great! I don't know how big they are, but they have that small company feel and their salesmen are incredibly knowledgeable. Safe to say I will be purchasing my apple replacement parts through them every time I can. iFixIt kicks serious ass.
 The old screen. |
 New screen and tools! |
 iPod Back Case Off! |
Anyways, on with the fix. I used their iPod Video 5G disassembly guides, which have great hi-res photos and step by step instructions for how to pry open the case without denting it, disconnecting the cables without damaging them, etc. I not only ordered the replacement screen, but a couple of sets of the ipod opening tools -- I figured it was worthwhile to stock up. The iPod came up in iTunes with everything seemingly intact... all the music was there and the headphone jack was working, although it was basically a glorified shuffle. So, time to take 'er apart!
 Cracked open... |
 Harddrive Up! |
 Take the screws out... |
With the iPod tools, I started at the docking port, worked up the left side and around the top. Once the back case was separated, I had to undo a ribbon cable before the case would flop out book-style. Once the case is open like that, the harddrive will just come up as you see in the shot. Beware of it's ribbon cable as well -- these things are everywhere. Once the battery/headphone cable and harddrive are out, it's time to take the screws out of the frame.
 Taking the frame out... |
 All the pieces apart... |
 Unclipping the video cable... |
Now, the frame is glued in, so this is the part to treat delicately. Once you get that front faceplate off, make sure you keep the center button with the click wheel... or touch wheel or whatever they call that damn thing. This one had seen some use, and didn't just magically stay together anymore. We need to focus on replacing the screen, however... so unclip it's ribbon cable safely and slide it right out. At this point it's almost completely unattached save for that cable, so be extremely careful with it. In reading some forum threads, a few kids thought the screen could just be pulled out at this point, but I will refrain from calling them names. I figured that the old screen would be WAY more destroyed than it was, so this part went without a hitch.
 New VS Old Screen |
 Put the harddisk back in... |
 Ribbon cable back in. |
After swapping out the old faulty part, the last steps were to reassemble! Put it all back together in reverse order, the 1.8" PATA drive being the most important (and expensive). The bumpers are not necessarily attached to the drive itself so be aware of their positions when dis- and re-assembling. You don't want to crack one of those ribbon cables through pressure over time in your pocket or backpack. Srsleh.
 Back together... |
 Booting... |
 Aaannd BAM! |
With everything in place and back together, I gave her a quick boot and magically... BAM! New screen works like a charm. I'd say the fix would normally take me maybe 20-30 minutes to do if I didn't have to shoot photos and stop working every five seconds for the purpose of documentation. I ordered the parts on Friday, so the shipping was fast and cheap and iFixIt is my new go-to place; but you already knew that. This really is an easy fix that most anyone could do, and the replacement screen was only 25 bucks.
Happy Hacking.
Mic-B
Sep/0911
iBook G3 DIY GPU Reflow
I know it's been a while since I've updated, but a lot has gone on in the last month. I've planned my ACMT certification for early next year, and in preparation for that I've attempted my most risky repair yet: the legendary iBook G3 reflow. Basically, Apple put it this way:
"The Expanded iBook Logic Board Repair Extension Program covers iBooks that have a specific component failure on the logic board, resulting in the computer starting up but the built-in and attached external displays exhibiting one or more of the following symptoms: Scrambled or distorted video, Appearance of unexpected lines on the screen, Intermittent video image, Video freeze, Computer starts up to blank screen..." see more here
Sadly, apple ended their warranty extension program years ago, so this repair would cost somewhere around $300.00 US to have done officially. Of course, there are a few popular ways of fixing this problem, namely the "burn the house down" method and the "shove crap in the case" method. I happen to like my house and shims made me worry about the harddisk (as well as being incredibly unreliable and non-permanent) so I opted for the most permanent, most insane option... taking a heat gun to the motherboard. The model I'm working on is the iBook G3 Dual USB 14.1" 700MHz. (Mid 2002)
Now, this is probably the perfect time to go though the motions and tell you that this *will* void your warranty, I don't suggest that anyone do this themselves (especially at home), and there is a very high risk of failure when performing this repair. I took every precaution I could think of while attempting this, and advise anyone planning on trying this to do the same. Also, iFixIt's repair guides were literally indispensable in learning this computer inside and out. To be thorough I also downloaded a copy of the iBook G3 Service Manual (here's the site -- don't wanna direct link content) to aid in any small discrepancy I might encounter. (I know, overkill right? Well, it's all or nothing with this one...)
Ok, now to the nuts and bolts. First off, ensure that you have the right tools. The iBook G3 has a ton of different screws, so I made a list of what I would need to get into the case, and priced out the cost. However, I got to home depot and found a nifty little multi-tool with all the heads I needed for only 10 bucks! The wagner heat gun was in the paint department, and only cost another 20. The only other expenses I incurred were through parts orders on eBay. The RAM upgrade is still in the mail at the time of this writing, but I had already received the DVD-Rom and the AirPort card, so I set to work.
 Ready The Tools! |
 Sick Nerd Gat |
 Working, Shim Hacked |
Now, as you can see in that third photo, the laptop was already running with the shim installed, but would still crap out after a half hour or so of use, usually while typing. Rather than push that case out even more, it was time to send that piece back to it's maker. (oh, wait... that's me) Below you can see the new parts I received... the CD-RW/DVD and the AirPort card. I also added a shot from under the back casing of my attempt at a shim. I made mine from cardboard and aluminum foil, but it really is a worthless fix. Never worked right, case bulged... a good way to damage salvageable hardware if you ask me, so off I went dismantling the bottom half of the laptop. I didn't want to install the other parts if the reflow didn't work (I have another one of these units) so I decided to do the heat gun madness first.
 eBay Parts |
 Installed Shim Hack |
 Bottom Shield Off |
After the bottom shield was free and clear, it was time to start MacGuyverin'. The thermal foam that was on the chip originally had become quite brittle and cracked when I tried to remove it altogether, so the remainder was quite a bit of residue. I took my time with a fresh exacto blade and scraped all the glue from the back of the ATi chip. With the chip clean (effing 20 minutes later), I whipped out the trusty iPod Touch to do some leveling. Having a level surface is important, because if that chip slides or moves *AT ALL* while you are in the process of heating, you'll screw the whole logic board royally. With the table level and the components prepared, it was on to the heat shield!
 Scrapin' Foam |
 Nice & Clean! |
 Close Enough. |
You should probably do your own research for this part as it's quite involved, but here's my basic summary... I made my heat shield from 4 layers of foil, and pressed it lightly over the board to get the basic outline of the gpu. I then cut the layers with my exacto and folded them inwards, sealing off the space between them. This ensured that the shield wouldn't fly up during the heating process. (The wagner emits heat like a blow dryer, only hotter) With the heat gun on the low setting, I timed myself and slowly lowered the end of the nozzle from a distance of around a foot from the board to about 3 inches away over a period of 10 minutes. This was done to prevent temperature shock on the board, which could adversely effect the rest of the system. Also, when completing the process I followed a similar vein... I backed the heat off slowly as well (not too slow... you don't want to over-heat the chip) so as to not temperature shock the board when it cools, either. My biggest tips for this part are: 1- to have a metal object to spread heat across the silicone. I used a metal punch out from an electrical box. aaaaand 2- to put a piece of solder onto your metal object so that you know it's hot enough to make the solder flow. Once the solder on top melted, I gave it another 60 seconds or so before I began the process of backing the heat off. My hands were definitely shaking after a good 20 minutes of that, I tell you.
 Activate Heat Shield! |
 Guns, Yo |
 Don't Shock It Now... |
After quite a bit of cooling, it was time to give booting a shot. Lo and behold, the reflow was a success! I astonished even myself. With the GPU working, I moved on to replacing the stock CD-Rom with my brand-spankin' new CD-RW/DVD-Rom. This involved pulling the top of the case, the keyboard, ram shield and the top shield off, pretty much completely dismantling the computer altogether. Make sure you label your screws!
 Successful Reflow! |
 Top Half Off... |
 Time to swap drives... |
With the new DVD drive installed, all that was left was to reassemble the entire laptop with my organized set of screws. I used baywatch barbie cups, but feel free to concoct a hilarious organization system of your own. With the entire laptop reassembled and the AirPort card in, it was time to fire the unit up, download my photos and write this article! Sadly, I ended late at night so I'm completing this now, on said unit, the morning after. Definitely a fun project, and an expensive paperweight hasn't only been fixed, it's been upgraded! Worth the time if I do say so myself.
 Reassembling... |
 Only Keys Left... |
 DVD Playback, Shim-Free! |
Hopefully something here is helpful to someone considering doing this. Again, I don't endorse it and there are companies that will do this for you with the proper equipment, so be informed. However, I'm a DIY guy and I know how important testimonials and experience re-counts are when considering a risky repair, so I figured I'd document the process and pass my knowledge on.
Happy Hacking!
Mic-B
Photos taken by LT Hartly.
Jul/090
Tips for ipod touch jailbreakers
IpodTouchFans.Com
Well, I recently installed redsn0w on my iPod Touch, and I have to tell you... this was seriously the EASIEST device hack ever. Take it from a guy who's hacked almost every console he owns -- this one is child's play. redsn0w works with the iPhone 2G and 3G (not the 3GS) and both 1st and 2nd generation iPod Touches. It installs with a few clicks. Blew me away.
The hardest step in the whole process is finding the*.ipsw files that iTunes downloads when you pay the god-awful price of $9.95 for the 3.0 update. (Yeah, I know I could have downloaded it from a torrent -- by why not legally modify firmwares if we can?) IpodTouchFans was an indispensable site for finding all the info I needed, as well as good tips and little tweaks further on down the road. Anywho, here are the coveted IPSW locations on Windows XP and Mac OS X:
Mac - "User>Library>iTunes>iPod Software update"
Windows - "C:\Documents and Settings\<USER NAME>\Application Data\Apple Computer\iTunes\iPod Software Updates"
Aside from that, the only thing I found trouble with was getting file transfer through SFTP to work. AFP has always been sloppy and slow in my experience, so i went the other route. Turns out Cyberduck could only connect to the iTouch through the MBP's wireless connection. Whoda thunk it, huh?
Happy Hacking!
Mic-B
