Fix iBooks For Jailbroken iOS 5 Devices

In jailbroken iOS 5 devices, users having gained the root access, great possibilities present themselves for installation of applications beyond the ones available on Apple app store. The lure of jailbroken phone and new apps lies in the myriad possibilities they present before the user. The need arises because Apple does not allow access to all kinds of applications. To be fair, the Apple app store has thousands of applications of use for the people. The catch here is that censorship of content does not help matters. People want the right to choose the applications they wish to use. It needs not be dictated by or be limited to what one app store has on offer.

The problem, though, is that tinkering with the device renders some of the Apple applications useless for you. iBooks is a case in point. This e-book application launched in 2010 by Apple Inc needs some tweaking if you are to use it on a jailbroken iOS 5 devices. With this app on your iPhone, the epub content from iBookstore becomes available to you. You may also add your own pdf and epub files for reading. As is the case with most of the applications on the Apple app store, you may sync the content using iTunes. How would you fix the app then for your jailbroken device? Just follow the simple steps mentioned below to get over the hitch.

1. Ensure that the iBooks app is not open post installation. This is critical to the success of this Install the iBooks application on your iPhone. If it is already installed, re-install removing the app from the system.


Image source: itunes.com

2. Use iFile to copy the iBooks application folder. This code is available in the /var/mobile/applications folder. Place the contents in /var/stash/applications or another suitable folder. This effectively removes the folder from the Apple mobile applications folder to another folder. The loading of the application into the memory and the functioning is thus directed from here.

3. Copying is not enough. There is more to be done. The properties need to be changed slightly before we move any further. Tweak the properties of the folder. Change the CFbundleidentifier In the application folder. Access Info.plist for the iBooks app. Mark the CFbundleidentifier as com.Apple.iBooksfix. This replaces the earlier value of com.Apple.iBooks.

4. Respring. Open the iBooks application for use. The application should work well now, at least to the extent of viewing the content.

5. You may replace the square shaped icon you see with another icon by adding the image files to the iBooks.app folder. Originally the icon appears in a rounded form.

6. The iBooks app is now ready for use for you to view the epub content in your iPhone.



With these changes, the iBooks app becomes functional but the functionality is not fully fledged. You cannot access the epub content available on the iBookstore. The well appreciated feature that allows you to sync files using iTunes does not work either in this case. Add more content to your iPhone and get on with reading.

Guest Author: Alia Haley
About Guest Author : Alia Haley is a blogger by profession. She loves writing on technology and lifestyle. Beside this she is fond of gadgets. These days she is busy in writing an article on two varied topics like Digital Cameras Industrial Design Industrial Design.
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