Is there anyway to restore data (ie. SMS, photos, settings, etc) after jailbreaking with redsn0w? I only know blackra1n being capable of jailbreaking without the need of restoring, but it doesn't work with 3.1.3. Thanks.

Originally Posted by userix

Is there anyway to restore data (ie. SMS, photos, settings, etc) after jailbreaking with redsn0w? I only know blackra1n being capable of jailbreaking without the need of restoring, but it doesn't work with 3.1.3. Thanks.

Redsn0w also can jailbreak without restoring. You can generally skip the restore step in redsn0w tutorials.

Originally Posted by Olethros

Redsn0w also can jailbreak without restoring. You can generally skip the restore step in redsn0w tutorials.

Oh, so redsn0w doesn't completely restore the phone during jailbreaking? I erroneously assumed it worked similar to pwnagetool, which requires the user to shift click+restore the rebuilt IPSW. So, if I forgo the initial restoring of original firmware and go directly to using redsn0w, all my settings, sms, contacts, etc will remain just as before? Thanks for the reply.

Correct. redsn0w jailbreaks your existing installed/flashed OS on the iPhone, vs. PwnageTool which creates the custom firmware and flashes the device. Your SMS, contacts, call logs, photos, and settings should remain untouched.

THAT SAID -- I always, always, ALWAYS, ALWAYS recommend doing a full backup of the iPhone via iTunes before doing something like this. Sure, the odds of anything crazy happening are infinitely small -- but my luck really is that bad.

I would make sure you have your contacts synced with your machine and have a recent backup to ensure your SMS database, call logs, and settings are stored. I'd also make a manual copy of the photos from the iPhone by connecting to USB and just copying off.

But that's just me -- all of that is borderline unnecessary, though good practice. The answer to your question is that by design, redsn0w does not impact any of the data on your device -- so all of that will remain after the jailbreak process.

Is there any security flaws I need to patch after jailbreaking with redsnow? Like the root password alpine for the subsystem?

Originally Posted by userix

Is there any security flaws I need to patch after jailbreaking with redsnow? Like the root password alpine for the subsystem?

Only if you've installed OpenSSH. By default this is not installed. If you did install it, I recommend installing MobileTerminal as well then set a password, su root, then set the root password.

I have backed up my 2G and 3GS by logging into SSH, and backing up folders under /private/var/mobile/Library/ (i think)

After every restore, I will set up my phone fresh, and then...SSH everything back.

Just make sure that the permission for the folders are correct