Chances are you’ve heard talk about “jailbreaking”, and we aren’t referring to the television drama “Prison Break.” Some people say that jailbreaking devices and phones is safe, but it is not without many dangers. Home Telecom wants to caution you and highlight the problems you may face if you jailbreak your device.
Why Are People Jailbreaking Devices?
Some people decide to jailbreak their devices, such as iPhones and iPads, to cut themselves free from Apple’s restrictions. People that jailbreak devices are looking for different third-party apps that are not in the App Store. Additionally, some people would like to change the default settings or run different Operating System apps.
Jailbreaking devices is when the native software included on an iPhone or iPad is changed to remove any limitations and restrictions imposed by Apple. Jailbreaking is different from unlocking a mobile phone. Unlocking is when people want to change different mobile phone networks (i.e. switching from AT&T to Verizon).
Potential Consequences of Jailbreaking Devices
Before you think about jailbreaking devices, consider these consequences:
- Lose Your Warranty - You won’t have an iPhone warranty anymore if you jailbreak your phone. Apple’s employees will not lend a sympathetic look to a phone that has been jailbroken.
- Lack of Security for Apps - Apple has created a security feature in their App Store, which helps filter good apps from bad apps, malware and apps that crash. To help avoid any potential problems with your phone, stick with the App Store’s recommendations. They’re there for good reason.
- Decrease in Battery Life - Jailbroken iPhones and iPads can crash more often, apps and certain features don’t work and you may find that your battery life is considerably shorter.
- Jailbreaking Legalities - In the U.S., laws are murky about whether or not jailbreaking iPhones and iPads is even legal. It appears that under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act it may be legal to jailbreak an iPhone, but not an iPad. If you’re testing the waters of legal territory, we recommend forgoing it and keeping your Apple devices the way the manufacturer intended.
- Gives Hackers Possible Backdoor Access - Some jailbreak features may allow hackers to have access to backdoors, which means that your personal information could be at risk.
- Erratic Software Behavior - People who jailbreak their phones report that their iPhones behave more erratically.
- Disruption in Services - Jailbroken phones experience a higher rate in their disruption of services, such as voice, data, Visual Voicemail, iCloud, Apple Push notifications and more.
- Piracy - Some third-party software allows people free access to piracy-streaming video services. This causes the cost of TV and Video On Demand content to increase in price. Additionally, many companies are against this type of piracy. For example, Facebook prohibits any products or items that “facilitate or encourage unauthorized access to digital media.”
- Already User-Friendly - iPhones and iPads are designed to use right out of the box. Why mess with something that is already user-friendly and brilliant?
The bottom line is that if you want your iPhone and iPad to remain in good working order and also avoid a slew of potential legal issues, it’s best not to jailbreak your devices. Want to learn more about jailbreaking devices? Read this helpful article.