Preserve Jailbreak Apps & Settings During iOS Upgrade - Guide

Simplifying iOS Upgrades for Jailbroken Devices

Many users postpone iOS updates due to the complexities of preserving their Jailbreak apps, custom tweaks, and personalized settings. This guide details a straightforward method for backing up and restoring everything, ensuring a seamless iOS upgrade experience.

The Challenges of Upgrading a Jailbroken iOS Device

Upgrading an iOS device that has been jailbroken presents unique challenges compared to a standard, non-jailbroken device. With a non-jailbroken device, iTunes facilitates easy backups and app reinstallation.

However, this standard backup process doesn't extend to Jailbreak apps and applied tweaks. Upgrading to a newer iOS version effectively removes these customizations.

Even after successfully jailbreaking the updated iOS version, the previously installed apps and their configurations are permanently lost.

Preserving Your Jailbreak Experience

This tutorial provides a solution to safeguard your Jailbreak apps and settings during iOS version transitions. Following these steps will significantly reduce the time and effort required for post-upgrade customization.

By implementing a proper backup and restore strategy, you can avoid the tedious process of reconfiguring your device after each iOS update.

Key Benefits of Backup and Restore

• Time Savings: Avoid hours of re-downloading and reconfiguring apps.
• Hassle Reduction: Eliminate the frustration of losing personalized settings.
• Data Preservation: Ensure all your Jailbreak customizations are retained.

Ultimately, this method streamlines the iOS upgrade process for jailbroken devices, allowing users to enjoy the latest features without sacrificing their preferred customizations.

Essential Requirements

The following items are necessary for this guide. You will require:

• An iOS device for the backup and restoration procedures.
• A license for PkgBackup, which costs $7.99.
• An active Dropbox or SugarSync account; free basic accounts are sufficient.

While PkgBackup is a paid application—and represents a greater investment than many apps available on the App Store—its comprehensive features significantly simplify the entire process. Considering the considerable time investment required to reinstall jailbreak applications and reconfigure settings after an upgrade, the cost is justifiable.

However, if you prefer to explore alternative, more affordable, or free solutions for backing up jailbreak apps, options like xBackup ($1.50), AptBackup (Free), and iBye ($1.50) are available for evaluation.

PkgBackup's Advantages

PkgBackup distinguishes itself by offering backups to both your local address book and cloud storage. This eliminates the need for Secure Shell (SSH) access to your iOS device to retrieve backups from the hidden file system.

Furthermore, PkgBackup doesn't limit itself to jailbreak apps and their settings. It also secures your general springboard settings, Cydia repositories, preference files, and data from all your standard applications.

Important Note: This tutorial does not cover the jailbreaking process itself. Ensure you are fully acquainted with the jailbreak prerequisites for your iOS version before proceeding.

PkgBackup Installation and Configuration Guide

The initial step involves accessing the Cydia store on your device. Within Cydia, utilize the search function to locate PkgBackup. This application is part of the BigBoss repository and should be readily visible in the search results.

Acquiring and Installing PkgBackup

Proceed to purchase and install the application. If this is your first purchase through Cydia, you will be prompted to authorize your account. This can be accomplished using either a Facebook or Google account, linking your paid applications for simplified future downloads.

Payment can be completed through either Paypal or Amazon’s payment platform. Following installation, it’s crucial to configure the application through your iOS device’s settings menu before launching PkgBackup itself.

Configuring PkgBackup Settings

Navigate to Settings, then Extensions, and finally select PkgBackup. This will open the configuration panel for the application.

Within the PkgBackup settings, several options should be enabled. Toggle the following to the “On” position: “Scan Applications”, “Scan Packages”, “Confirm Backup”, “Confirm Restore”, and “Enter Backup Memo”.

Understanding the Configuration Options

Enabling the on-startup scan feature provides convenience. It prevents PkgBackup from repeatedly prompting you to perform a refresh scan each time the application is opened.

Confirming both backups and restores, alongside adding a descriptive note to each backup, represents sound data management practice. This aids in organization and identification of backups.

These settings ensure PkgBackup functions optimally and provides a reliable method for preserving your jailbreak applications and settings.

Safeguarding Your Applications and Configurations with PkgBackup

After adjusting the settings, navigate back to your home screen and initiate PkgBackup. Users of the iPad should note that the application is optimized for the iPhone and currently lacks retina display support—however, this is a minor drawback in an otherwise excellent tool.

Upon launching, the application will begin scanning your installed packages, a process that should only take a few moments. Following the initial scan, a notification will appear indicating that no backups have been created yet.

If you prefer not to utilize cloud storage, but instead wish to back up to your local address book—which will then synchronize with iTunes upon the next connection—select “Yes” to begin. However, a cloud-based solution is generally recommended.

To proceed with this guide, select “No”. Subsequently, tap the gear icon located in the upper left corner of the interface.

Configuring Backup Location

The “Addressbook” option is selected by default as the primary backup destination. To switch to a cloud-based service, make a change. Dropbox is used here as an example, but Sugarsync is also a viable alternative.

Select your preferred cloud storage provider. You will then be prompted to log in and authorize access. Once authorization is successful, the chosen service will be marked as the new default, as illustrated in the image.

Within this settings area, you can also schedule automatic backups. Given their small size (under 100k), backups can be performed frequently without consuming significant storage space.

Scheduled backups are skipped in this tutorial, as they are most useful after major changes or prior to an iOS upgrade. Return to the main application screen.

Selecting Backup Components

The main screen displays a list of applications and settings available for backup. By default, PkgBackup selects all installed Cydia packages.

You can also back up data for native Apple applications, App Store applications, Cydia sources, preference files, and your SHSH blobs—which are essential for downgrading your iOS version in the future.

Choose the components you wish to back up. We advise backing up all Cydia sources and preference files to preserve your Cydia experience. Once your selections are made, tap the “Backup” button at the bottom of the screen.

Completing the Backup Process

PkgBackup will request confirmation before initiating the backup. You will then be prompted to name the backup file, such as “Test Run”. The application will then begin copying the files, either locally or to your chosen cloud storage.

Upon completion, a notification will appear confirming the backup and its location (e.g., “Your backup is now on Dropbox!”). This is an opportune moment to verify the backup in your cloud storage or synchronize your address book to copy the data.

In our Dropbox test account, the backup files are readily visible within the PkgBackup folder.

The backup was successful! You can now proceed with the upgrade to the new version of iOS.

After the upgrade and subsequent jailbreak, refer to the next section to restore your applications and settings to your iOS device.

Utilizing PkgBackup for Application and Settings Backups

Following an iOS upgrade and subsequent jailbreak, regaining access to the Cydia store is possible. The initial steps of the process should then be replicated.

Initiate Cydia, conduct a search for PkgBackup, and proceed with its installation. Avoid installing additional applications or modifying any system configurations at this stage.

Restoring Your Backup

If your backup was stored within your address book, ensure synchronization is performed. Alternatively, if a cloud-based service was utilized, launch the corresponding application and re-authorize access to platforms like Dropbox or SugarSync, mirroring the earlier steps.

The restoration process now commences. From the primary interface, select the “View Restore” button located at the bottom of the screen.

PkgBackup automatically designates the most recent backup. To select an alternative, tap the drive icon situated in the upper right corner, adjacent to the displayed backup’s name.

Within this menu, you can choose any previously saved backup from your designated backup source.

Once the desired backup is selected, tap “Do Restore” at the screen’s bottom. A confirmation message will appear.

PkgBackup will then proceed to reinstall all backed-up applications, their settings, and associated data in the correct sequence.

A prompt will appear requesting a device reboot. Restart your device to fully enjoy your restored jailbreak applications.

This streamlined process, including the reinstallation of PkgBackup itself, typically takes approximately 5 minutes, significantly reducing the time compared to manual reconfiguration.

Do you possess a valuable jailbreak tip, trick, or hack? We encourage you to share your expertise. Send an email to tips@howtogeek.com to contribute your jailbreak knowledge.