I went ahead and dove into the steps on my iPhone 4. It does access a hidden area of your iphone so proceed with caution. What we do in the name of technology! Your iPhone does not need to be jailbroken and the process is simple.

I’m not sure if it works for all iPhone models or in all countries for that matter, but if you would like to see the results for yourself, here are the steps:

Step 1: Dial *3001#12345#* on your iPhone then press Call.

Step 2: You’ll now enter Field Test Mode. You’ll notice a signal strength indicator on the upper left hand corner of your screen. You can toggle between signal strength bars and a number by simply taping on it. At this point, press the home button to exit the app or if you would like the feature to be permanent, continue on. Don’t worry, the process is completely reversible.

Step 3: Hold down on the Power button until you see the ‘slide to power off’ bar.  Do not power off the device.

Step 4: Press down on the Home button until the app closes and you return to your home screen.

That’s it. Even when restarting the iPhone, the signal strength can be toggled between bars and numbers. The closer your number is to zero, the stronger your signal is.

To return to the default bars permanently, follow these steps:

Step 1: Dial *3001#12345#* on your iPhone then press Call.

Step 2: Press on your Home Button once.

This is a perfect port of SIRI and no words have been said on the activation of SIRI. This means that you can get SIRI on your iDevice but you cannot connect to Apple’s server. The activation of SIRI is in progress and it said to be released soon.

After reading the above statement, follow the steps below:

Step#1:

1. Your iDevice must be on iOS 5.0 or 5.0.1
2. The Device must be Jailbroken
3. You must have some knowledge about SSH or how to use iFunbox (WINDOWS) or Cyber Duck for (MAC)

If you are on the above stated things, so you can proceed further.

Step#2:

Download iFunbox or Cybder Duck on your PC or MAC. Then install iFile from Cydia.

Step#3:

After you have downloaded the above files, now download the original SIRI file from here.

Step#4:

Once you are done with Downloading, now get ready for some real work. Before you proceed, make sure that you are near any PC or MAC.

Now open iFunbox or CyberDuck and connect your iDevice. Once the iDevice is connected, it will show you a menu like this:

Now navigate to Raw File System

Ste#5:

When you are in Raw File system you will see the above folders. Now navigate to VAR folder or stay on the Root. All you have to do is place the Downloaded file in one of the locations. We would suggest you to place the file on the ROOT.

Step#6:

Now go into your iPhone and open iFile. Once iFile is opened find the file you putted from iFunbox into iPhone.

Like we have saved the file in VAR. We would reccomend you to save the file on Root. It would be easy to find.

Step#7:

Press and hold the file. Now it will give you some options. From all of those select installer and give your iPhone a minute or so to install the file on your iPhone. Once the installation is done, Done will appear on your upper left corner in blue,. Press that and you are not done yet.

Step#8:

The last step is to boot tethered. When the iPhone boots up. Voila! you are done now and you will have SIRI on your iPhone 4.

Go into Settings and it will be there.

Now simply go into SIRI and turn it on and enjoy the demo of SIRI.

Once again SIRI wont work properly because it is not yet activated. Means that is not yet connected to Apple’s server, So SIRI will say that it is having trouble while connecting to the network.

Downgrade 5.0.1 to 4.3.3 / 4.3.5 – Requirement :

Before we show you how to downgrade 5.0.1 to 4.3.3 / 4.3.5 or any iOS version please keep in mind that you can only downgrade your iOS version only if you have saved your SHSH blobs (for the older iOS version) using either Cydia or TinyUmbrella (or even the “copy from /tmp during restore” method for advanced users).

iPhone 4S downgrade still not available as it can’t be jailbroken so far.

How to downgrade 5.0.1 to 4.3.3 / 4.3.5 – iPhone 4, 3GS, iPod Touch 4G, 3G, iPad:

Step 1: Make sure that you have downloaded the version of iOS which you gonna downgrade to (4.3.5, 4.3.3 or any iOS version).
4.3.3:

• iPhone 4 (GSM)
• iPhone 4, iOS 4.2.8 (Verizon)

4.3.5:

• iPhone 4 (GSM)

Step 2: Navigate to :
Windows Users:Windows > System 32 > drivers > etc
Mac Users :etc

Open hosts file with the text editor then add the following code to the end of the file :

74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com

Alternatively: Use TinyUmbrella to make iTunes look at Cydia’s Server in the Advanced options.

Step 3: Plug your iOS device and switch it off

Step 4: Put your iOS device in DFU mode. I am sure anyone who is reading this guide knows how to enter DFU mode.

Step 5: Select the firmware you gonna downgrade to manually to restore your deice. (Shift on Windows, and option on a Mac)

iTunes will till you that it will talk to Apple servers but actually it will talk to Cydia servers.

Step 6: You may receive 10xx error, but don’t worry, this is normal and has a quick fix. You must download a program like TinyUmbrella or Fix Recovery, open it up and click on Exit Recovery to get out of the error.

Now you have ended your downgrade successfully. If you have any question let us know below.

When Apple released the iOS 5 GM not that long ago, I instantly noticed that my iPhone 4′s battery life was lasting roughly half of what it was before. A coincidence, I thought. It’ll sort itself out, I presumed. After getting the iPhone 4S, the problem persisted. Twitter and forums on the web over lit up with similar problems, and a few fixes were suggested, mostly to no avail.

There may be light at the end of the tunnel. Switching one little toggle in iOS 5′s Settings app may hold the key to curing your iPhone 4S battery…

Head over to Settings, then Location Services, and finally System Services. Right at the bottom you’ll find a toggle switch for “Status Bar Icon.” Switch that on, and watch to see if your location icon pops up in the status bar. If it does, we might be on to something. If not, well, follow the rest of the guide just in case.

The second part of the test requires you to now switch off  ”Setting Time Zone.” Did the icon disappear? I’m betting it did, and if that’s the case, you’re in luck.

See, it appears that iOS 5′s GM release introduced a bug that causes the Setting Time Zone function to keep the location tracking circuitry running constantly, draining battery power considerably. Switching it off may mean that your iPhone will no longer set its own time zone when you travel, but that’s a small price to pay for having your iPhone last more than 12 hours on a full charge.

Leave the rest of the location settings on. There’s no need to cripple such essential functionality, and it appears that the Setting Time Zone option is the one that causes the hit on battery life.

We have tested this method on 4 different iPhone 4s handsets, including an iPhone 4 and an iPhone 3GS. All have reported drastically improved battery life after switching “Setting Time Zone” off.

Interestingly, there appears to be no rhyme or reason as to why some handsets seem to have the issue, with not all iOS 5 installations apparently causing the bug to manifest itself in the same way. As I said earlier, it’s still worth switching the setting off just in case, and we’ve had one or two reports of it making a considerable difference, regardless.

So what kind of difference are we talking about? The screenshots below, taken using my own iPhone 4S before and after the change, tell their own story.

We’ve had very similar stories from other people around the globe as well.

Give this a try yourself and let us know the results. If this doesn’t work, you can always read our 10 ways to save battery life.

With the Cupertino company’s latest smartphone – the eagerly awaited iPhone 4S – due in just two days’ time, we will have to wait a little while before we can experience Siri – Apple’s system wide virtual voice assistant which, if the hype’s anything to go by, is set to be the real clincher of this release. For those not investing in Apple’s refreshed iPhone, there are still many great new features to enjoy and mull over.

Forget the new toys such as Siri, Find My Friends and Newsstand momentarily, and remember the number one problem with iOS 4.x. Apple’s celebrated mobile operating system wasn’t missing a bionic woman looking after us, yet another way for us to stalk our friends, or another digital reading app. The main issue; the pet peeve; the number one, single biggest annoyance amongst iOS users was this:

Thankfully, with a little help presumably from Peter Hajas, the guy behind the MobileNotifier jailbreak tweak, iOS 5 introduces a Notification Center, complete with unobtrusive updates which don’t block out whatever they so please, as depicted above. One small tab will notify you with a tap on the virtual shoulder, as opposed to the full on slap in the face of an iOS 4.x notification.

As well as the highly sought after Notification Center, Apple’s iMessage service enables those using iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices to send and receive free instant messages – in a similar way to that of Research In Motion’s BlackBerry product range. It goes without saying that a data connection of some description will have to be present, but it will surely save consumers a buck or two, as well as engaging the entire touch-screen iDevice range through one communicative service.

Apple’s head honchos tells us that there are 200+ total improvements in this release (including the ability to update future iOS 5.x updates Over-the-Air), and new ones are being discovered daily, so if you do happen to stumble across anything interesting, give us a tip and it could be featured here at It’s My Phone!

Here are the official download links to iOS 5:

• iPhone 4S
• iPhone 4 (GSM)
• iPhone 4 (CDMA)
• iPhone 3GS
• iPad 2 WiFi
• iPad 2 GSM
• iPad 2 CDMA
• iPad
• iPod touch 3G
• iPod touch 4G
• Apple TV (4.4)

And here is the link to download iTunes 10.5 for Windows and Mac.

Download it, install it, and leave your feedback on our Facebook fanpage!

Much like iOS 5, iTunes 10.5 has seen several beta releases seeded over the last couple of months for developers to play around with, and now the final release is ready for the downloading pleasure of end-users. A staggering nine beta releases in the past months, now that’s a record breaker if you’re asking us!

There are quite a few new features as you might expect in this version, with iTunes Match and iCloud being the two main focal points; and it will be of much interest to see how they both fare amongst consumers. The services promise much, but we’ve all seen in the past how sketchy the Cupertino company’s web-based projects can be. It appears that Apple has plugged the lingering issues with beta versions which have been prevalent right up until the ninth and last beta released some ten days ago.

It’s advisable that you do update to iTunes 10.5 – especially if you plan to run iOS 5 when it’s released this coming Wednesday. It’s compulsory that iOS 5 users run this latest iTunes release, so if you want to be completely prepared, download and install iTunes 10.5.

Apple gives us a full list of the updated in its changelog:

What’s new in iTunes 10.5

• iTunes in the Cloud. iTunes now stores your music and TV purchases in iCloud and makes them available on your devices anywhere, any time, at no additional cost.
  • Automatic Downloads. Purchase music from any device or computer and automatically download a copy to your PC and iOS devices.
  • Download Previous Purchases. Download your past music, TV, app, and book purchases again, at no additional cost. Previous purchases may be unavailable if they are no longer on the iTunes Store.
• Sync with your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iOS 5.
• Wi-Fi Syncing. Automatically sync your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iTunes any time they’re both on the same Wi-Fi network.

You can download iTunes 10.5 for Windows and Mac straight from Apple’s official website by heading over to this link, or simply launch the Apple Software Update app on your PC or Mac, and there you should see an update for iTunes 10.5, hit the Install button and you’re all set!

Apple seeded iOS 5 GM this morning to developers which can be downloaded from Apple’s Developer Program. There are also reports that iOS 5 GM is actually the public build. However, we suggest to all common users of iDevices to wait just few more days as iOS 5 public build is coming out on October 12th.

As usual Reds0w 0.9.9 b3 provides tethered jailbreak on iOS 5 GM, meaning you have to connect your device with PC, run Redsn0w and select the “Boot Tethered” option after every reboot to put the device into jailbroken state and to bring the cydia apps (some native apps too like Safari) in working condition. Read the following update note from iPhone Dev Team.

Update #11:  redsn0w has been updated to 0.9.9b3 to auto-detect iOS5 GM firmware.  Remember:  it’s still tethered for all devices except for iPhone 3GS with old bootrom.  If you don’t use redsn0w to “Just boot” at power up, all jailbreak apps  (and even some native ones like MobileSafari) will fail to launch.

If you already jailbroke the GM by pointing an older redsn0w at the beta7 IPSW, there’s no need to re-run the full jailbreak step again…just use this newer one to make the tethered boot easier

All those users who rely on unlock must not update their devices to iOS 5 GM and even to public build. In fact iOS 5 GM will also update the baseband of your device and you might lose the unlock ability permanently or at least for some period until iPhone Dev Team releases a new unlock tool to support iOS 5.

The iOS 5 jailbreak procedure is very simple. Dowload Redns0w 0.9.9b3 and iOS 5 GM on your PC. Run Redns0w 0.9.9b3 and follow the on-screen instructions.

We will also post the step by step iOS 5 jailbreak tutorial later.

Download Redsn0w 0.9.9b3:

• Download Redsn0w 0.9.9b3 for Windows
• Download Redsn0w 0.9.9 b3 for Mac

Download iOS 5 GM:

Download iTunes 10.5 beta 7 which is required to install the iOS 5 GM on your device.

Download iTunes 10.5 beta 7 for Windows 64 bit (link)

Download iTunes 10.5 beta 7 for Windows 32 bit (link)

Download iTunes 10.5 beta 7 for Mac (link)

Enjoy!