How To: Get Netflix Picture in Picture Mode on Pre-iOS 9.3.2 Devices

After Apple announced Picture in Picture mode for iOS in iOS 9, it has become a extremely useful feature for those who like to multitask as they work on their iOS device. Most entertainment apps finally caught up over the following months by adding PiP support to their apps, however Netflix still didn’t offer this feature, albeit more difficult as they weren’t using the stock iOS video player. This all changed today when Netflix announced their latest app update with the addition of PiP but only for devices running the latest 9.3.2 firmware. Knowing that the PiP APIs were introduced back in 9.0, I decided to take a look and see if this version restriction can be bypassed and it can for anyone running a jailbroken device.
Netflix iOS

If you are running a jailbroken device then following these instructions should enable the feature for you without any issues, however as always follow the instructions carefully and any damage caused is entirely your responsibility. This has only been tested on iOS 9.1, but should work on any 9.x firmware.

Install OpenSSH or MTerminal
Log in or SSH into your iOS device as root (default password is alpine)
If you are planning to keep OpenSSH installed on your device then please change your root password, instructions on how to do so can be found here.
Navigate to the following directory: /System/Library/CoreServices/
If you are using SSH then use your preferred editor to open SystemVersion.plist, I used nano to edit the file.
If you are using MTerminal then you will need to install your preferred editor on Cydia.
Open the file and navigate down to the ProductBuildVersion key and change the string value to 13F72.
Go down to the Product Version key and change the string value to 9.3.2, as shown below.
Now save and exit out of the editor, uninstall OpenSSH if you don’t plan on using it again. (Note: if you are using Pangu 9.0.x Untether then it will try to uninstall this when using Cydia as it thinks the system version is in fact 9.3.2 and therefore unsupported)
Reboot your device, it will appear as if you have upgraded your device and ask you to log into iCloud, however everything is still in tact and you are still running the original version of the OS.
Ensure you are on the latest version of the Netflix app and choose a title to watch, press the home button and now you should have a PiP view of the title.

PiP Mode on iOS 9.1

How To: Recalibrate iOS Device Home Button

One of the most notable issues over time with iOS device users is that after months of use the home button becomes un-responsive, it affects all iOS devices over time and can affect some more than others, generally based upon the use of the device. One way to fix it would simply to return it to Apple and get a replacement, if your device is still in warranty and they allow you to exchange it. However as it’s a mechanical part they may not replace the device itself.

A simple way that fixes the issue for most people, is something you can do yourself and all you need is your device itself. Following these simple steps will in most cases fix the problem and makes your home button a lot more responsive.

Launch one of the stock iOS applications on your device, for example the settings app.
When the app is open, press and hold the Sleep/Wake button at the top of the device until the ‘Slide To Power Off’ slider appears.
Press and hold the iOS home button. Keep the button pressed until the slider disappears and the application quiet back to the Springboard.
The home button is now re-calibrated and should be a lot more responsive.

Apple Now Actively Taking A Stance Against Jailbreakers

For years people have been jailbreaking their iOS devices to run things that Apple won’t allow, whether it be apps or themes. They’ve never actively done a lot against the jailbreaking community, until now.

I’m due to take my iPhone into the Apple Store due to some hardware issues, but of course I was running a jailbroken iOS 4.3.2, so I spent 3 hours trying to restore it. It got stuck in a constant restore cycle. I tried using RecBoot, TinyUmbrella and iRecovery to try and get it out of it but it just wouldn’t work.

Turns out that Apple have now updated iTunes to check the hosts file on the computer and if there is an entry under ‘gs.apple.com’ it will put your device into a constant restore cycle. This is because some of the tools used for jailbreaking will add the ‘gs.apple.com’ entry to the hosts file to stop the local machine talking back to the server. Of course it’s simple to remove the entry and restore but for whose who don’t know about this will be stuck with a very expensive paperweight. It does rise some other issues, some people may have very large host files and therefore it will simply take too long and then iTunes will assume the device is jailbroken and put it into the constant recovery cycle.

Apple Announces iTunes 10

Along with the new iPod line, iTunes 10 has been announced, with something different a new logo. The major new feature is Apple’s Ping Social Network which will let you follow people, including artists, post comments, check out custom song and album charts and even find over 17,000 concert listings.

The Ping network isn’t exclusive to just iTunes 10 on Mac and PC but also works on the iPhone and iPod Touch. It’ll be avaible for download in a few hours.

iPod Nano Re-Designed

Apple has announced it’s 6th generation iPod Nano, a complete new design as usual but with this new design comes some loss of features. It now sports a multi-touch display which allows double tap to zoom and a two finger gesture to rotate. It’s 46% smaller and 42% lighter than the previous model and has volume buttons on the side along with a clip on the back. The battery will last you 24 hours of audio playback but seems there is no sign of video playback and the camera has gone.

So overall you gain the multi-touch display but lose video playback and video recording using the built-in camera on the 5th generation nano. Prices are set at 8GB for £129/$149 and £159/$179 for 16GB, pre-orders are being taken now.

Update: It seems that according to Apple Reps the iPod Nano isn’t running the iOS just a OS that is very similar in appearance.

Apple Demoes iOS 4.2 for iPad

Apple is set to release iOS 4.2 in November this year, however it’s an iPad only firmware and brings all the iOS 4 features such as printing, multitasking etc. to the iPad. The most interesting new feature is AirPlay, it allows you to stream music and video straight to your iPad over WiFi (with an iPad even acting as host for the new Apple TV).
As mentioned before printing has been brought to iOS 4 with the iPad using the Printer Center applet that sits in the dock and lets you manage print jobs.

Apple Ships 120 Million iOS Devices

Since the release of the iPhone, Apple has sold 120 million devices running the iOS, this includes iPhones, iPod Touches and iPads. Not only have 120 million iOS devices but every second 200 apps are being downloaded from the App Store, which results in 6.5 billion total downloads from a catalog of over 250,000 total apps, 25,000 of which are for iPad.

FaceTime uses 3MB of Data/Minute

The folks over at 9to5mac have found that FaceTime uses just under 3MB of data per minute. To be able to use FaceTime over 3G you need to jailbreak your iPhone 4 and then download the My3G app from Cydia. Then you can ‘trick’ the iOS into thinking it’s on WiFi when it’s actually using the 3G cellular network. Obviously this has it’s upsides such as using FaceTime where ever you like or watching high quality YouTube videos on the go. Bear in mind if your using FaceTime on 3G then take into your bandwidth cap into consideration. On O2 in the UK currently most iPhone 4 users have a 500MB+ cap. So if your on the 500MB plan then you can use FaceTime on 3G for a total of around 2 1/2 hours a month, that’s just on FaceTime. So make sure if you are using FaceTime on 3G that you don’t use it too much.

The Return of the JailbreakMe.com Jailbreak

Back in the 1.x days JailbreakMe.com was the simplest way to jailbreak your device. And now comex and Dev-Team have released the latest userland jailbreak which exploits a PDF flaw in MobileSafari. This means you can jailbreak any iOS device, including the iPhone4 on the 4.x firmware. Because the exploit that was used it public I’m sure it won’t be too long until Apple fix the flaw and then a new exploit will have to be used. As always remember to backup your SHSH files so that you can restore to your current firmware and keep on using JailbreakMe.com in the future.

To jailbreak just open up the site JailbreakMe.com and then slide to jailbreak and then just wait. It’s that simple!

iOS 4 GM Download

As promised below are the download links for all the iDevices, that support iOS 4. Along with the beta of iTunes 9.2 which is required to upgrade to the GM release (build 8A293). These have been tested and will work and I’ve read that you don’t need your UUID to be linked to a developer account for it to work. Also there is a jailbreak for the GM release.

Download iOS 4 GM (build 8A293) for iPhone 3G
Download iOS 4 GM (build 8A293) for iPhone 3GS
Download iOS 4 GM (build 8A293) for iPod Touch 2G
Download iOS 4 GM (build 8A293) for iPod Touch 3G
Download iTunes 9.2 Beta

If you want to jailbreak then:
Download Redsn0w 0.9.5b4-2

View iOS 4 GM Folder (Contains all downloads)

These are just the files that can be used however use at your own risk as by downloading the files you accept full responsibility for any damages caused. If your looking for a jailbreak guide then I won’t be posting one here just the files. If you search for a guide there are plently, just give Google a search.