How do I get themes onto my iPhone (firmware 1.1.4 and below)?
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Here are some instructions on how to get themes onto your iPhone and/or iPod Touch. These are instructions for firmware 1.1.4 and below. If you need instructions for firmware 2.x please see THIS post.
If a theme is not available through the installer, you will have to add it manually yourself. First, you will need to use the installer.app and install OpenSSH on your iPhone.
You will then need to install WinSCP on your computer. Macs come with openssh but if you’d like some alternatives check here. To connect to WinSCP you will need to go into your settings on your iPhone into Wi-fi, click on the little arrow next to the Wi-Fi you are connected to and get the ip address. Now open WinSCP on your computer….the Host Name is your ip address (with the periods) the user name is root and the password is alpine. Don’t worry about the Private key file, you don’t need to put anything there. Hit login.
Once WinSCP opens, the themes go into the var/root/library/SummerBoard/Themes folder on 1.1.2 and lower and in the var/mobile/library/SummerBoard/Themes folder on 1.1.3 and above. . Once you are in that folder you will see all the themes that are on your iPhone. This is where you will want to add your new themes.
Create a folder somewhere on your computer that is the title of the theme you would like to add (ex…Chalkwork) then inside of the Chalkwork folder create another folder called Icons (with a capital “I”). Inside the Icons folder put all of the icon images that you would like to have. They must be named the same as the Title of the app, starting with a capital (Ex…Calendar, Customize, SummerBoard, Photos, Stocks….). You can also add a Dock and Wallpaper to the Chalkwork folder, they also need to be capitalized (do not put them in the Icons folder…just in the main Chalkwork folder). Once you have a folder of the theme with a folder of icons inside it you just drag the whole folder, Chalkwork, into Themes on WinSCP and hit Copy. Once it is done transferring you can go on your iPhone into SummerBoard and select the theme you just added. Note: your iPhone has to be on for the file to transfer!
If you are downloading a theme that is in a zip file…you will have to open the zip file and then create a folder on your computer that is the same name as the theme you are trying to download. Then copy the Icons folder from the zip file into the folder you created on your computer. This unzips the file so that you can add it to SummerBoard through WinSCP. You can also copy the wallpaper and dock out of the zip file into the file you created if you would like them too.
If you have any further questions…email help@appleiphoneschool.com
If you would like to add information about this process please use the comments!! Thanks!
























Thanks a lot for this tread (and your answer in the other post).
I changed the dock, but can’t find where are the dock icons… could you help me ?
Thanks
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All icons will be in the Icons folder when you download a theme (if it is a SummerBoard ready theme for version 1.1.1). The stock icons in the dock are Phone, Mail, Safari and iPod. However, you can use Customize to change those icons by rearranging them in the Icon Display Order in Customize.
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xulfi on August 21st, 2008 12:23 pm:
hi..i m frm india..i was wondering can u tell the procedures for uploading themes onto iphones..when the phone is not connected to a wifi network?
What program do I need to use for transfers with a mac?
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mesho on March 4th, 2009 10:08 am:
What do you want to tarnsfer ? from where ? PC i pod or i phone ?
hey, the pictures i chose for the icons aren’t showing up when i put them into the folder, what am i doing wrong? i converted them to .png and made 64×64 and named them the right way and it still didn’t work.
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LTS on March 18th, 2008 1:37 pm:
all my icons appear except Weather. None of the theme I downloaded work
for Weather.
can i put themes or applications from my computer?thanks
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@pau – I’m not sure what you mean… like Windows or OSX themes? They won’t work, only themes made for the iPhone.
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how can i use my computer to put my iphone themes..i followed the new folder etc written above..i have summerboard on my iphone how can i copy it??thanksss…..
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@Pau…Did you try the process above…what part exactly are you having problems with?
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my winscp aint workin is there any other program that u could just connect the iphone and download stuff from there
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what program can i use to transfer the themes from a mac. the winscp abive is an exe file. thank you very much
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You can use iDemocracy for Macs.
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Thank you!
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How to I put the Tinkerbell them onto my iphone? When I unzip there is only a .pkg file there.
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.pkg files do not work with summerboard. You must download the theme files for the program you use to change themes. Like Summberboard or iSwitcher. I’m not sure what .pkg is used for.
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do u need a router to connect
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Yes, to connect via OpenSSH…you need a router.
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hi can any1 tell me where 2 locate the .pkg file on iphone, i downloaded a theme called duracell.pkg through iphone hack tool kit, & would like to remove this file from the phone itself, would be thankful if any1 could guide me in removing it
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Themes are put in the root/Applications/SummerBoard/Themes folder. Just delete it from there!
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NO SE QUE HACER ESTE IPHONE ME DECEPSIONO NO TIENE NADA BUENO NI JUEGOS TIENE PERO NI PARA GRABAR VIDEO!1 NO SSE QUE HAER PARA QUE ME GUSTE Y TAN CARO
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is there a way that I can download themes and games from this site without unlocking my iphone? (my service is with att) thanks for your help.
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@Ali solo jackealo y le puedes poner lo que desees.
- I CAN’T ACCESS TO SUMMERBOARD IN ROOT/LIBRARY/
DOESN’T APPEAR. I HAVE AN 1.1.3 JAILBROKEN!!
ANYONE KNOWS WHY?? I ALREADY INSTALLED IT FROM INSTALLER!!
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keith on February 24th, 2008 6:39 pm:
hey Masuser,
Same thing is happening to me, have you solved this problem? please let me know and could you please hlep me?…thank you
yamman on February 26th, 2008 7:50 am:
im getting the same thing. i do not see Summerboard in Library. I also have 1.1.3 Jailbroken
edse on February 26th, 2008 7:03 pm:
I had the same problem, but i went and install a couple of SB Themes.
Choose anyone, close WinSCP, connect again, and you’ll the SB
folder on WinSCP
when I entered the password on winscp it says access denied… please help
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@beloved – negative big dog, themes and games only work on jailbroken iPhones.
@alyns – 1.1.3 loggin is ‘mobile’ password ‘alpine’ (if i remember correctly)
– but 1.1.2 and earlier is ‘root’ password ‘alpine’
try those and let us know if that helped.
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im very noob to the whole hacking thing i just got my iphone for christmas..i am an at&t customer alrdy…how can i jailbreak my iphone
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is purchasing iphonegeek worth it?
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Ok, after you download your files to change themes where do you go on your phone to change them? I go to SMB and there not there.
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Alex on March 7th, 2008 10:45 pm:
Same question.
I did everything till the copying all the theme folders I want to Summerboard
But after that what do I do?
On my iPhone I can’t find Summerboard to change the theme.
Please help!
hi i have downloaded some themes from “themes (customise) and themes (apps)” but after downloading how do i go about to view or change it on my iphone?
pls help
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hello there …. i need a new source for the maps , weather , notes , stocks an soo on … cuz the applerepo.com is not working pls i need help can u mail me at my email a_3budiii@yahoo i’ll be thanksfull to ur help
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hello there i really need the new source of “”applerepo.com”" pleas if u can help me mail me at this email : “a_3budiii@yahoo.com”
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HELP ME PLEASE
bonjours j ai t
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se non ho una connessione wifi che programma devo usare per collegare l’iphone al pc e vedere le cartelle interne dove mettere i temi?
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I have a jailbroken 1.1.3 iphone and I can’t seem to connect to it using WinSCP. I get a window saying “network error: connection timed out” Are there any specific settings or anything I need to change?
Please Help!
Thank You!
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itsquy, same thing happen to me, i got an error message also saying the same thing. i’ve got a 1.1.3 jailbroken iphone. thanks and somebody help us…
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How do I import .pkg theme files into an iPhone that is jailbroken already? iPhoneHackToolKitv1.0 asks you to jailbreak the phone again and sends a “restore” file to the phone. Will this ‘undo” any changes that I’ve already done to my unlocked phone???
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my winscp is not working pls help me ……im using vista i did everything but i doesnt work at all
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I followed your instructions for adding a theme from a zipped file but I do not see the theme on my summerboard or in installer.
could you help me please?!
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jake on March 19th, 2008 2:51 am:
nvm. i got it to work
OK….don’t know if I am just abnormally stupid or what. I downloaded 2 summerboard themes to my macbook, put them on the desktop, connected to my iphone using Fugu, and dragged the files over…..can’t find the da*n things anywhere! Did I drag to the wrong spot? I know they are there, just can’t find ‘em! Same thing with some themes I got through installer from Apogee….said they installed and then nothing! Any and all help will be appreciated!
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Hi. The theme I copied showed up on my SMB theme list but when I tried using it my theme didn’t change, instead the default icons appeared. Would appreciate your help very much.
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I don’t know why but all the themes that work on my phone wouldn’t show up on the list on WinSCP. Only those that i installed from the installer showed up. Themes that i am trying to add to them would be in the ” non-working folder” and i couldn’t find them in the theme list in summerboard. Does any one know how to fix this problem? Many thanks.
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umm ok. so i tried doing this but when i went to WinSCP it didnt have the summerboard folder.
what do i do now?
oh and also im running of firmware 1.1.4 on my Itouch if that helps anything?
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There seems to be a lot of confusion and half instructions on how to get themes to work. I have a 1.1.4 phone and a 1.1.3 phone currently (one is my fiance’s). First thing is to start from scratch with the whole SMB. Uninstall any themes you may have installed and uninstall SMB and the fix for it as well if it’s installed. Then follow these instructions EXACTLY.
1. Restart your phone (hold power until the slider bar on top shows up and “Slide to Power Off”).
2. Turn the iPhone back on and open the Installer app.
3. Click on the Install option at bottom of screen.
4. Install Summerboard
Now, this is VERY IMPORTANT…
5. Without restarting, install the SMB Themes Fix in the “Tweaks (1.1.3)” folder.
6. Now restart your iPhone (again, Slide it off then back on)
You should now be able to download your themes and then go to SMBPrefs and select the ones you want to use.
It took em a lot of work finding these instructions and I even did the WinSCP (which also worked) but I find that this way is much faster and works for 1.1.3 and 1.1.4 also.
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Bart on April 17th, 2008 2:31 pm:
Please add to this brilliant explanation;
Change the protection on the summerboard folder and all folders recursively to 0757. Only then you find the themes you’ve installed in the menu!!
hope this helps.
ScuBart
i have a problem when i transfer my theme from scp to summerboard it shows up but when i apply the theme it doesnt give me the theme i downloaded it gives my the orginal theme of the iphone
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I’ve started to make a few themes of my own – it’s easy and remarkably relaxing! I can easily install these to my own iPhone using WinSCP, but how do I package them together in order to send them to one of the sources shown in Installer, so that other users can download them? As an example, lets call one of my themes “Outside” – the file structure on my PC is:
In the Outside folder:
[Icons]
Wallpaper.png
Dock.png
So that Wallpaper.png is the – duh!- Wallpaper and Dock.png is the – again, duh! – Dock background. The [Icons] sub-folder contains the various icons for the theme, such as Mail.png for the mail icon, etc. If any icon isn’t in this folder, the iPhone OS merely uses the default icon “hard coded” in the OS. Thus the minimum icons for a theme must be named after all of the applications on your springboard home page (YouTube.png, Mail.png, Contacts.png, Calendar.png, etc).
Anyway, back to my question – in what format are these packaged for the sources and how do I get them there . . .?
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SOMEONE HELP nothin i transfer my wsc to my iphone works i can see them on my phone but when i apply anything it doesnt work!!!?!?!?
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How do i get icons into my iPHONE?
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Douglas on April 2nd, 2008 9:24 pm:
SSH
I did step by step of the tutorial, but still the 2 themes that I placed in the summerboard do not show up in the Theme option of Summerboard. Through winscrp, I can not see the other themes I have installed and working. Any idea where they are stored ???
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I can get the theme on my ipod touch but the icons don’t change
Anyone can help?
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hi I have the iphone and I just want to change my original theme to my own creation but I need a easy way to do it, also i want to know how to remove if I have to go to the repair center one day…
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I need help
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I hav bought a second hand i-phone where there are already themes installed inside. but when i try to install them, it says “host cannot be found.” can you help me?? thanks
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is any of this possible without a WiFi Connection? I have a jailbroken phone, but no connection to wifi.
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My WinSCP will not work. I used my ip address, and all it says is “host has not answered for 15 seconds. Still waiting… ”
Help please!
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var/mobile/Library/SummerBoard/Themes
the above folder is where i found all my SMB themes. Copied the newly created theme to this folder, and it worked like a charm….
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is there a way to change the slider icon?
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Is there any program to organize photos as you take them? i have pictures of my son and pictures of girls doing bad things next to each other. I was hoping to be able to add folders and organize it alittle bit. Thanks
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hey someone knows how can i get vista 3.0 theme
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I’m trying to figure out the whole adding themes to my iphone and I installed WinSCP, but when I put in the user name and password, it won’t authenticate the password. Any ideas?
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redfoot on July 27th, 2008 3:50 pm:
@MHarms
You’re using a WiFi connection right? Go into ‘Settings’, go to ‘WiFi’, click the little arrow to the right of whatever your wifi is called, then click “Static”. Change the IP address one digit higher (so if it’s currently 192.168.1.17, change it to 192.168.1.18), and try to connect again using WinSCP.
Host: 192.168.1.18 (or whatever you put in)
Username: root
Password: alpine
this is great info..thanx a lot. was able to transfer themes to iphone with a fly..
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hello i cant see the thems when i puted on mu iphone why !? i rest the summer bord by default what i can do to see the thems ???
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if i do something wrong.. can i damage my iphone or lock it?
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can’t we use a lot of memory to install applications? instead of using all of it in music and videos??
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how i can uploard my iphone applications to my iphone into my computer
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HELP is there a sourse or something that i can use on youtube because it doesnt work it says “cannot connect to youtube” so if someone knows something please tell meeeeee ok.
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Trying to connect with FUGU and have 1.1.4 on iphone jailbroken. Can not get it to connect. Entered IP address and user of root and also tried user of mobile but it just times out and goes back to connect screen. Never get password screen. Any ideass???
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[...] how to: How do I get themes onto my iPhone? | Apple iPhone School __________________ crxMPG | Benjamin FT Jones | CollegeVegan [...]
network error: connection refused
?
and do i need to put something in port number?
i just want to get customize on my iphone 3g but i find it impossible i cant download installer or cydia because a blue question mark appears on jailbreakme!
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Do i have to have a wi-fi connection? And i tried to install the installer.app on my phone but it didn’t have the right version? because my phone says it has version 2.0.1 or modem firmware 01.48.02 and the install.app says 1.0.0, 1.0.1, & 1.0.2??
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Hey, this has nothing to do with themes but,
When I tried to install something using installer on ipod touch it always says host cannot be found. Please help!!!! I really want to get games onto it, and it doesn’t work. Is there a way to add in the apps manually? Please help!!! Thxx!
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I open the WinSCP and entered my IP Adress and the user name and pass but when i click login it says error connection refused. Any ideas. Help me out here? Thanks
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i have a summerboard theme and i dont know how to remove it and put my photo as a wallpaper i tried it as set as wallpaper but its not going the summerboard
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hey i cant find my var/root/library/SummerBoard/Themes folder on my WinSCP do i need to download or wht?
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[...] How do I get themes onto my iPhone? | Apple iPhone School That’s how to install it. [...]
i downloaded the quickpwn and launched it, i did the steps but its not progressing, is there any other way i can get themes on my iphone?
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i cant jailbreak my iphone on my laptop, im using vista, i tried it many times bbut still dont work, what should i do to jailbreak it?
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what is the ip adress, how do i find it?
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HEy there, Can u help me to Download themes to an A530 iphone that I have bought.. i guess its a replica of the original and am just wondring if I will be able to change the theme…. if so then lets do it..
ash
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Chris on September 3rd, 2009 11:57 pm:
lol… it might sorta look like an iPhone, but there isn’t anything on here that is going to help you with that phone
Oh , shiiiiity.
what a rubbish I have bought then………
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EVERYONE’S PROBLEM SOLVED!!!
THOSE WHO CANT FIND THE THEMES FOLDER IN var/mobile/library/SummerBoard/Themes…GO TO var/stash/Themes.xxx AND PASTE YOUR THEMES THERE!!!
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weiß irgendjemand wo man die themen übersicht herbekommt was für themen es alle bei cydia gibt und wenn das nicht geht wie man gedownloadete themen aufs i phone zieht mit I tunes?? oder wie
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