Cydia, despite being the de facto standard tool for installing non-Apple-approved applications on jailbroken iDevices, it has a major drawback: it won’t run in the background. That means you can’t keep using the phone while you’re installing an app, which can be quite tedious, especially when you’re on the road, and most likely in a hurry. Here’s how you can modify your iPhone to your wildest dreams and still check your email while you do it.

Cydia

This tweak, as well as Cydia itself, requires you to jailbreak your phone first, since, just like any OS modifications, it’s not approved by Apple. It’s recommended that you have basic skills on how to restore your device, in case something goes wrong. You can follow our step by step guide to jailbreak your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch on iOS 4.3.1 with Redsn0w, PwnageTool 4.3 (untethered|tethered) on Mac, or with Sn0wbreeze on Windows, or on iOS 4.3.2 with Redsn0w, PwnageTool 4.3 (tethered), or with Sn0wbreeze on Windows, or on iOS 4.3.3 using Redsn0w, PwnageTool andSn0wbreeze.

Multitasking

In order to perform this, you’ll need to modify Cydia, which will involve accessing your phone’s file system. In order to do that, you must attach the device to your computer and use file browser, such as iPhone Explorer, or if you’re feeling more adventurous, make the changes directly from your iOS device using an app like iFile. Once you’re ready, please do the following:

1. Navigate into /var/stash/Applications/Cydia.app and open Info.plist.

Cydia (3)

2. Near the end of the fie, you’ll find the following line:

Cydia (4)

UIApplicationExitsOnSuspend

You must set the value, or the last bit of text, to “false”, like so:

UIApplicationExitsOnSuspend

3. Whether you’re modifying the file from your desktop or your device, make sure you’ve saved your changes and reboot. If everything goes as expected, Cydia should now be able to run on the background, even if you hit your home button.

Such a perk doesn’t come without its kinks. Cydia doesn’t allow this feature by default for a good reason: aside from eating up its far amount of RAM and processing power, which will slow down all your tasks, some modifications might fail when other processes are running and may even force an unpleasant restore. If you have an older iOS device, you might have a hard time getting anything done while performing installations, due to even slower hardware.

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