Apple released iOS 6.1 yesterday to very little fanfare. There are some tweaks and bug fixes, but nothing really exciting.

For most people you can probably install the update and continue on, but I will hold off a bit. I have been patiently waiting for the iOS 6 jailbreak and one of the things that might have been holding things up was the 6.1 update which was about to be released.

They didn't want to release a jailbreak, only for the 6.1 update to come out a few days later and lock things back down potentially.

My thinking is that if they do release an untethered jailbreak soon, having update 6.1 MIGHT prevent you from being able to run the jailbreak, so since I don't really have anything that needs to be fixed right now, I'll wait.

** 2/4 Noon Eastern Time Update ** iOS 6 jailbreak now available

To see if iOS 6.1 is available for your phone, navigate to Settings > General > Software Update. The update requires at least 1GB of storage to download and will take about a half hour over Wi-Fi. You can also connect your device to your PC and download via iTunes.

Your device will need to reboot once the update is installed. You will then have to re-enter your Apple ID credentials for iCloud, iMessage, and FaceTime purposes.

Let me know if you do install it and if you experience any improvements or notice anything new and exciting. Below is the full post from CNET.

Apple releases iOS 6.1 with additional LTE support

The first point update of iOS 6 brings support for more LTE networks as well as a movie ticket buying feature within Siri.

(Credit:CNET)

After five beta test versions, Apple today released iOS 6.1, the first major update to iOS 6 since last September.

The software, which went out this morning as an over the air update, as well as a download through iTunes, brings a few new minor features, along with bug fixes.

Chief among the new features is 4G LTE support for more carriers, along with a feature that lets users purchase movie tickets from Fandango after finding showtimes using Siri.

Apple also returned the option for iTunes Match subscribers to download individual songs from iCloud, something that was quietly removed in a previous software release.

On the privacy side, the update also adds an option to reset Apple's advertising identifier option, the "non-permanent, non-personal, device identifier" feature added as part of iOS 6.

Other, minor changes in iOS 6.1 include new boarding pass behavior in Apple's Passbook software, tweaks to Safari, reworked music playback controls from the lock screen, and a back-end change in Apple's mapping software.

The update comes less than two days after the release of a fifth beta version of iOS 6.1, which Apple oddly put out to developers during the weekend.

Apple's last update to iOS 6 was iOS 6.0.2 in mid-December. That software, which went out to users only on Apple's newest devices, fixed a handful of bugs, including one that kept iPhone 5 users from installing over-the-air software updates. It also fixed an issue with lines appearing on the software keyboard, and a bug that deleted meetings from calendars when accepting an invitation.

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Before I get into the main post, wanted to point out some breaking iOS 6 / iPhone 5 news pointed out by my sister Michelle this morning. Google Maps is now available in the app store at long last. Get it while it's hot! Now back to your regularly scheduled post...

Heh, well two days ago when I created this post I had come across a post online mentioning that there is a site giving a date of Dec 22nd, 2012 for a release of an untethered iPhone 5 / IOS6 jailbreak. That was from a group called Dream JB and they are not affiliated with the guys that usually release the IOS jailbreaks, the Chronic Dev Team.

A lot of folks, including myself, were quite skeptical. Especially since they had given a specific date when the jailbreak would be released. Turns out we were skeptical for good reason. If you check out that site today it says that it was a social experiment to see how many followers they could get and how many people would latch onto the idea. Got me.

So, the bottom line is that we'll have to stay tuned to the Chronic Dev Team site for the latest jailbreak details and definitely do NOT purchase any apps that claim to jailbreak your phone, since once the jailbreaks are released you never have to pay for them.

iOS6 Jailbreak Explained

You may be asking yourself, just what exactly is an untethered iOS6 jailbreak and if so, let me explain. Apple has a strict approval process for all apps allowed on iOS devices and you must go through the Apple Store to download those apps. For most folks, that is a good thing.

However, jailbreaking allows you to get around those restrictions/controls and allows you to install 3rd party apps not necessarily approved by Apple and you can get them outside of the Apple Store. Basically, you follow the jailbreaking process and then install an application called Cydia. Cydia is an alternative app store for downloading/installing 3rd party apps.

There are a ton of 3rd party apps available through Cydia that allow you to customize and tweak your device in really cool ways, that wouldn't normally be available.

What cool stuff can I do with a jailbroken iOS device?

You may be thinking, why do I need to jailbreak my iOS device? It is fine the way it is! Well, let me highlight the top 5 free apps/tweaks that I found for iOS 5 devices that can enhance your iOS experience and may even change your mind...

Reveal
When you receive text messages when your phone is locked, you normally see a preview of the message when you wake your phone back up. However, if the message is lengthy, you'll have to unlock your phone and go to the message and scroll through it from there. With an app called reveal, you can scroll through the message right there on your locked home screen.

Winterboard
WinterBoard allows you to change the icons, modify the look and feel of status bar, dock, lock screen, change the font and lots more. You can also customize all kinds of system sounds. Another great feature of WinterBoard is that there is no limit on the themes you can install and you can also mix & match several themes together.

SBSettings
SBSettings allows you to add widgets such as Airplane mode, Bluetooth, Brightness and WiFi to your screens for easy on/off access.

The last two are part of the top 5 video above and I really think you need to see them to appreciate them. They take two features, moving within/editing text & top of screen notifications and really fix something that I think needs fixing. Can't wait to get these!

SwipeSelection
This one does a great job of enhancing the ability to move within a line of text or highlighting to copy and paste a selection of text. This is one of those things that would make typing/editing so much easier.

CoverMeNot
Have you ever been in your email and get a text or other notification along the top of the screen and you just want to go back to the last message or your inbox, but you really can't easily do that because the notification is blocking most of the buttons you want access to? Happens to me every day and CoverMeNot fixes that. It basically pushes the app or screen you are in down when you get a notification so that it won't cover the top of the app you are in.

Conclusion

I just wanted to bring to light some of the really cool things you can do with a jailbroken iOS device, that you might not otherwise have been aware of!

As to whether jailbreaking may void your warranty, I found this one answer in a forum post:

"I heard jailbreaking voids my Apple warranty, should I be concerned?
NO! But, If you take a jailbroken device into an Apple store they may refuse to service it on the grounds that you have modified it which breaks the license agreement between you and them. In that respect your warranty is void. However, you can easily remove a jailbreak from any device before you submit it for warranty repair.

Even if you have a hardware fault, there are some simple logical steps you can take to shield the jailbroken status of your device from Apple if you absolutely have to present it to them jailbroken. But the easiest thing to do is connect your device to iTunes, press "restore". Your device will be back to factory freshness and Apple will never know that it was previously jailbroken. The do not have any special "tools" which can detect if it was jailbroken despite what you may have heard! "

Are any of these tweaks something you would be interested in? Considering a jailbreak for your older iOS device? This guy has a lot of info and how-to videos to get you started. You can be sure I will be one of the first to let you know when an untethered jailbreak is released for iOS 6 and the iPhone 5!

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