QuickPwn tested, screenshots

The iPhone Dev Team today released an update to their beta QuickPwn tool complete with GUI by poorlad. It’s now compatible with iPhone and iPod 2.0.2 firmware, so for those brave enough to try beta software and running Windows it’s great. This is a bit of a turnaround to previous tools the Dev Team have released which always seemed to see Mac versions first. Fortunately I have a hard drive with Windows installed in my hackintosh for occasions such as this.

The first step after rebooting into Windows XP was to install iTunes. Since my XP install is mainly for games it doesn’t have much in the way of media tools. Running QuickPwn gave an error message ‘The application failed to initialize properly (0xc0000135)’. A web search revealed this was due to .net not being installed. Version 1.0 went on, and running QuickPwn gave another message that it needed version 2. Ah, now I remember why I use a Mac.

That was the error messages taken care of, and QuickPwn now started fine. The first step was to select the device and point the installer at the firmware. I had previously updated the iPod Touch using iTunes on my hackintosh so I copied the firmware to my server before rebooting. The next step was new, you now get to choose if you want Cydia, Installer and Replacement boot logo’s.

After that you just click the Go button and the CLI tool takes over.

The next part is a little fiddly, and after shutting down the iPhone or iPod you need to get it into DFU mode. The text in the Command Prompt window talks you through the process so it’s not too difficult.

That’s the end of the manual intervention, as the rest of the process is just waiting for QuickPwn to finish. The status display is not very descriptive of what’s going on but the important thing is that it worked. I’m now running an iPod Touch with 2.0.2 jailbroken, Cydia installed and not problems so far. The Mail and wallpaper issues I had with 2.0.1 after jailbreaking haven’t returned.

One of the best things about QuickPwn is that it doesn’t wipe everything on the device. iTunes will always re-install all your settings and App Store software of course, but I didn’t have to wait for all my music to be copied again. All that needed to be installed was the software and themes from Cydia. This saved me around 40 minutes of waiting for the media to copy, so a big improvement over the PwnageTool.

QuickPwn with GUI is a step up from PwnageTool, and the new features like Cydia/Installer selection are welcome. I’m hoping future versions will be released for Windows and Mac together, if only to save the time having to reboot into Windows.