Jailbreak

I adore my iPhone. But it's still missing a few useful features, and the one that I've come to rely on most is a Voice Memo application. (It's great to have while driving.) So as methods to open up the iPhone, metaphorically, to the installation of additional software have been discovered (this is popularly referred to as a "jailbreak"), I'm usually willing to try them — provided that process is made reasonably simple (and reasonably risk-free).

I can't claim any particular expertise in this — I'm just good at following step-by-step instructions, I try not to be intimidated by the stuff I don't understand, and I'm willing to try.

At first, this was all very simple. But as the software that operates the iPhone has been updated, and vulnerabilities eliminated, the process has become more and more complex.

I spent several (occasionally frustrating) hours yesterday following a lengthy series of instructions designed to open up the latest version of the iPhone software so additional applications can be installed. I had to repeat this process four or five times — I think the first two times, I missed a crucial step, and then when I did complete the process there were other problems that came up, but using my limited knowledge in an attempt to solve them only made matters worse, so I had to start the process again from the beginning. But somehow, I was finally able to sort everything out.

And after all that? My Voice Memo application doesn't work, after all. It needs to be updated.