Everything is running smoothly. You’ve installed WinterBoard to make your theme look shiny and sweet. Perhaps you’ve installed some Android apps such as AndroidLock to add some of the beloved features found in Android to your iPhone. **Maybe you’ve even purchased MyWi to tether your iPhone to your laptop & actually take advantage of your “unlimited” data plan.

But what happens when your Jailbreak breaks? It’s happened to all of us, and is bound to happen to you if you are constantly changing your theme functions or installing new repositories and unofficial Apps.

What does one do when their phone goes into the dreaded “Apple Screen of Death” and their iPhone becomes an  iDoorstop? Is all lost? Nope. It’s software, and software is always reversible.

So let’s start by trying to figure out what you actually did to your poor iPhone to make it stop breathing. ***Afterward, I’ll guide you through what to do to bring your iPhone back up and running in no time.

Before you do any of this, and especially before you jailbreak your phone for the first time, make sure to back it up in iTunes. You’ll need that backup for later if your phone becomes unresponsive.

Editor’s Note: I’m not going to tell you how to Jailbreak your phone. Check your good ol’ friend Mr. Google.

Here is a list of known issues that will cause a Jailbroken iPhone to crash and become unresponsive:

• Installed a bad or unsupported repository in Cydia or Rock My Phone. A repository is a feed of items (apps) that become accessible to you once you add the link to the “list” hosted somewhere on the internet. If this list isn’t made correctly, or if it’s just not yet supported by Cydia or Rock (the Jailbroken equivalents of the App Store) then your iPhone may become confused and crash. Don’t install Cydia repositories inside Rock and vice- versa.
• Installed an app over an app. If one of your apps isn’t working correctly, you may need to reinstall it. But DO NOT simply download it again and install over the one you already have installed. If you do, the permissions of the disk inside your iPhone will become corrupt because two things are trying to access them at the same time – the system, and then the current reinstall process. If you don’t want to “brick” your phone then make sure to remove the app first. This can easily be done inside Cydia or Rock.
• An App didn’t install correctly. Yeah, something happened, and more than likely something became corrupt. Sorry, friend, it’s time to restore or re-jailbreak. See below.
• Installed a bad App. One of the downsides to Jailbreaking is that you can now install almost any iPhone supported App out there. But these Apps aren’t tested and verified by Apple – they are made by just about anybody and can contain malicious code or are buggy enough to crash your whole system. Unless you know the ins and outs of SSH, it’s just to restore or re-jailbreak. See below.
• Trying to update your Jailbroken iPhone. Don’t even think about it. If your phone is Jailbroken, why would you even think about installing an official Apple update over it? That’s a guaranteed break right there. Just wait for someone to crack the update or remove your Jailbreak and install if you rather have the official software update. See below.
• Something else. Random OS crash, out of memory, overheating, almost anything that can cause a computer to crash can, and will, cause your iPhone to crash. In most cases, especially with a Jailbroken iPhone with newly made changes, your phone will go into restore mode and you’ll be forced to start over. See below.

So now you know what you did and what probably caused your iPhone to die. Let’s bring it back from the dead. Check out the Restore or Re-Jailbreak guide after the jump.

Restore or Re-Jailbreak.

The main question that everyone always asks is “Can I permanently damage my iPhone by Jailbreaking?”

Well, gardware wise, there’s an extremely slim chance. I have yet to see one, but a malicious, unverified App could use so much processing and memory resources that could cause the iPhone to overheat. The iPhone has a security function built in to shut the phone down in case of such a tremendous spike in heat to protect it, but technically, there’s a slim chance the hardware inside can become permanently damaged. Apple looks at the code in all of the Apps that hit the App store and they see if that App could ever be a cause of hardware failure. If it looks good, they approve it. If it looks bad, or if it’s made by Google and has to do with voice, they reject it. When you install a Jailbroken App, Apple isn’t and probably has never looked at it.

Software-wise, absolutely not. Like I said before, software is always reversible and no matter what you install on your iPhone you’ll be able to restore it. If you have any type of software problem on the iPhone, unless you cracked the hardware boundaries and flashed the whole device to your own homebrewed creation, your phone is fixable.

DFU mode (Device Firmware Upgrade), or as some like to call it “Recovery Mode” because it sounds comforting, is something that will always be there. If your root system becomes corrupted to a point where you can’t boot your phone, all you have to do is put your iPhone in DFU mode, connect it to iTunes, and restore. It’s a guaranteed fix.

In most cases, your iPhone will know there’s something wrong and will automatically put your phone in DFU Mode. It looks like the picture above.

If your iPhone is confused to a point where it has absolutely no idea that it’s broken (a common characteristic in insane people), then you’ll have to force it into DFU mode. It’s easy: 1) Open up iTunes on your computer. 2) Plug in or dock your iPhone. 3) Hold the screen “lock” key at the top and the “home” button on the bottom. Your iPhone will reboot. 4) Keep holding down your home button and your iPhone will put itself in recovery.

In a few moments iTunes will recognize it and you’ll be able to restore it to that backup I told you to make earlier on. You made one, didn’t you? If not, then you’ll just have to start over with a fresh iPhone OS install while at the same time losing your MMS, photos, Apps, etc. iTunes will guide you through this the rest of the way until your iPhone is back up and running.

Now, call your mom. She’s been waiting and your phone can now actually make a call.

After you know all is well, if you want, you can go ahead and Jailbreak again. Just don’t do whatever you did in the first place to break it. Now for the legal stuff:

* I do not encourage you to Jailbreak your iPhone. It is illegal and will void your warranty with Apple.
** I am not responsible for any additional data charges you may incur while using unofficial apps and/or tethering your iPhone without the appropriate plan.
** I am not responsible for any damage or software issues your iPhone may experience by following this guide.