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How to SSH into your iPod touch on a Mac

Normally we’d install AFPd and simply mount our iPod touch on our Desktop to manipulate its content as if it’s a flash drive. Unfortunately AFPd version 0.2 is not compatible with firmware 1.1.3. A newer version 0.3 that is supposingly 1.1.3 aware is out, but it needs more work as I can’t get it to work on my iPod touch at all.

So here’s how manipulate the content of your iPod touch using sFTP.

First, you need to install the OpenSSH package by Ste into your iPod touch if you haven’t already done so. It’s available in the Installer, under the “System” category.

Next, download and install the Cyberduck (it’s open source) FTP client, unless you already have a FTP client that supports the sFTP (not just FTP) protocol.

Launch Cyberduck and click on “Open Connection”, and fill in the table as shown below:

Select SFTP as the protocol.

Replace the Server Address “192.168.123.88” with your actual iPod touch’s IP address, which you can find under Settings -> Wi-Fi -> Your Wi-Fi Network -> DHCP: IP Address.

Fill-in the password as “alpine”.

Click on “More Options” and fill in “/” as the path.

That’s it. Click on “Connect” and momentarily you’ll find a Finder-like interface to navigator around your iPod touch.

Checklists

  • Don’t let your iPod touch fall asleep while you are manipulating its content. Set the “Auto-Lock” function to “Never”.
  • We log in as “root” but use the iPod touch 1.1.3 as the “mobile” user. Thus the path “~/” when we SSH in is actually /private/var/root/ when apps expects /private/var/mobile/ .

60 Comments

  1. Thanks Rupert. That works great but just one more question. I can’t seem to find where I should be putting the theme folder? I went through all the folders.

  2. Regarding AFPd: copy the version 0.3 into the Applications-folder on the iTouch, cd into it’s directory through SSH in terminal; delete the complete src-directoy (not needed); use the command “chmod 4755 afpdcontrol” followed by “reboot”. That’s all – very easy as I might say.

    My iTouch is now mounted on my iBook through AFPd and using one of your icons! 😛

  3. @Andre

    You’ll upload the “Gee (iPod touch)” folder that is in the downloaded zip file into:

    /private/var/mobile/Library/SummerBoard/Themes

  4. @BOK

    Wow, it really works! You don’t know how much I miss AFPd.

    I’m so happy to see the partitions mounted; there are three now! Yes, I’m gonna change their icons for easy identifications.

    Thanks BOK!

  5. I actually just installed AFPd from the installer after i upgraded to 1.1.3 and it worked like a charm, it was what I used to determine if i had the real file structure or nate true’s file structure.

  6. @Brendan

    Which method of jailbreaking did you used? Also, does your iPod touch shows up on your desktop with 3 partitions, viz.,

    Mobile’s Home Dir,
    Root File System, and
    Root’s Home Dir.

    I want to find out why AFPd 0.3 failed to work in mine until I made the changes suggested by BOK. Thanks.

  7. Thanks a lot BOK!!

    I had the same problem as RupertGee.

  8. How can i install Afpd 0.3 manually? Because i can’t even SSH into my jailbroken 1.1.3 using the username “mobile” or “root” with the passwort “alpine” (or “dottie”)…but “mobile” with “alpine” should work right?

    I’m using cyberduck but it always gives me an error message (“unexpected end ofsftp stream”)

  9. @MaDDiN

    Did you install the OpenSSH package in the Installer’s System category first?

    Do that and use Cyberduck to sftp into your iPod touch. Be patient, the first attempt will take close to a minute to get in. If not, try again and usually you’ll get in right away.

    You can log in as root with the password alpine.

  10. Hey I jailbreaked my iPod Touch again but before I updated to 1.1.3 I installed Open SSH. The first time i didn’t do that.

    But now i have another Problem. I have Afpd 0.3 in the Applications folder but when I try to enable it, it automatically disable itself right after i enabled it.

    And yeah..I think thats pretty cool that you help other people. I’ve never seen a Blog where the author answers directly to to someone who needs help! I really appreciate that! Keep up the good work!

  11. I just installed Afpd Bonjour and it works fine..except that i can’t activate the mBroadcasy option.

    How come I have only about 30mb of free space in var/mobile/ ?

  12. You should somehow put in an edit function for the comments here because it’s already my 3rd comment in a row ^^.

    Right now im jailbreaking my iPod again because i installed somehing that made the wiggling effect not working correctly o.O

    The icons are just wiggling for a second and that’s it. Im not even able to move the icons.

    Do you know why that happened?

  13. @MaDDiN

    Grin.

    The no broadcast option issue can be solved with BOK’s of chmod 4755.

    30mb is a lot! I only have about 8MB after all the apps installed.

    No worries; we can magically get more space when we really need it, ok?

  14. But i don’t really get how BOK did it o.O
    im sry but what do have to type in terminal? I have to use the terminal.app on my Mac right?
    But what commands do I use? Why doesn’t it work with Cyberduck?

  15. The BOK Method to fix AFPd version 0.3

    There are 4 steps to be carried out in your Mac’s Terminal.app (It’s in the /Applications/System Utilities/ folder). Copy and paste them one full line at a time, and hit the Return key to execute the command. You must replace 192.168.123.88 with your iPod touch IP address and enter “alpine” when prompted for password. If you want to manually type in the commands, they are cAsE sensitive. The 4 lines of commands are as follows:-

    ————————–
    ssh -l root 192.168.123.88
    cd /Applications/AFPd.app
    chmod 4755 afpdcontrol
    reboot
    ————————–

  16. @MaDDiN

    I’ve written out BOK’s Method in full for you and others who might not know how to do it.

    CyberDuck only lets you access your iPod touch. It can’t run UNIX command. For that, you can use the Terminal.app in your Mac, or install one available in the Installer). Then simply type in the first line of command of BOK’s Method to get in and issue UNIX command subsequently.

  17. So, wouldn’t installing OpenSSH on a 1.1.3 iPod Touch (where you can’t change the password) be opening a LARGE security hole???

    If so, can I selectively turn it on/off when needed/not needed?

  18. Yes, I believe you can turn it off using Ulctl and BossPrefs, just to name two.

    But… what’s in the iPod touch that gets it hacked? 🙂

  19. Likewise I’m having the same problem with OpenSSH that MaDDiN is having. Connecting with Cyberduck gives the i/o error Unexpected end of sftp stream.

    I tried with the terminal (both sftp and ssh) using mobile and alpine as the username and password. It connected and immediately logged me out again. When I tried to log back in again, it gave me a message telling me when the last login was before closing the connection.

    Any ideas? I’m on an iPod Touch 1.1.3 (jailbreak using the Offical Dev Team Method).

    Also thanks very much for the truly awesome walkthrough of the jailbreak process. You deserve a medal!!

  20. Rupert sir!!

    Is it possible to upload/change files and folders without internet connection?

    I mean, can I create my own network between my MacBook and the ipod? I’ve tried but couldn’t get the settings right, it seems…

    Thanks!

  21. @TroyG
    I found out that you can change the password for the iPod. Although I was usuing version 1.1.1, I sshed into the iPod and went to /ect/passwd. It allowed me to change the root password.

  22. @RupertGee

    Any comments about AFPd in 1.1.4? Mine does not works anymore (previously fine in 1.1.3). I’ll try the Bok method…

  23. No good… can´t even connect as root or mobile, via Terminal or via Term-vt100. Is AFPd compatible with 1.1.4 at all? It worked like a charm in 1.1.3, but now even with AFPd 0.3, it is not working at all (no server detected, but the iPod shows up in Finder, I even can change its name)… well, I´ll keep on trying.

  24. Alright, I’ve got a jailbroken iPod touch, 8GB, firmware 1.1.4, and I’ve installed OpenSSH and BSD Subsystem. I’ve downloaded Cyberduck (I’m on a MacBook), and I’ve followed the directions here. I’ve got nothing. The SSH connection times out every time, and gives the message “I/O error connection failed, the kex timeout expired”. I’m at a bit of a loss here; someone throw me a bone!

  25. Mike,

    got the same problem. Any help… please???

  26. Hi All,

    just tried with FUGU applications on a Pb 17″.

    It works great! Much easier than cyberduck and it is a freeware!

    Just use the settings suggested in this blog.

    Greetz,
    Blacksheep

  27. Does anyone know where the partially downloaded files or residual files are located that are created by the Installer app? I want to know how much crap is left around by this program, and how to do some housekeeping (if necessary).

  28. Hi Rupert,

    I have a strange openSSH-issue, too. iPod Touch 8 GB (came with 1.1.1) updated to 1.1.2 + jailbraked.

    Installed openSSH – worked. I’m on a Mac, using Transmit or Fugu to connect. Then I updated to 1.1.3/jailbraked and every connect stopped with an timeout. Updated to 1.1.4/jailbraked – same issue. Seems the password is broken.

    root (or dottie) with alpine is a nogo here. (Re)installed BSD Subsystem, openSSH, Full-Restore etc. – nothing. I checked the (invisible) folder .ssh in my home-folder and found… nothing.

    Than I found the software ‘iPhone PC Suite’ which works on PC (also with Parallels). This gave me full access to all folders on my iPod. The only solution I found – may be it helps some others.

    http://rs243.rapidshare.com/files/95672159/iPhone_PC_Suite.zip

  29. The AFP Server works for 1.1.4!!!!! Or at least on my Mac Book Pro Running the newest version of Leopard.

  30. My IPhone 1.1.3 can’t connect via SSH.I’ve tried everything.install.re-install.uninstall.software but seem not to work like 1.1.2 firmware.

  31. SSH on 2.0 working now:) thanks for the guide

  32. I have the 3g iphone and have installed open SSH via cyidia. but when i use cyberduck, terminal or transmit i keep getting connection failed or connection refused. i’ve reinstalled ssh, etc, but still get the same problem. any help appreciated. Thanks.

  33. I have the same problem

  34. >Greg

    Normally it connects nearly instantly but on *first* connection, it can take up to 1-2 minutes. So please be patient and wait it out.

  35. I keep getting failed messages too… Cyberduck tells me “the kexTimeout (30000 ms) expired”. Terminal just spits out “Bus error”. Any idea what’s going wrong?

    iPod running 2.0.1 with a Cydia-installed OpenSSH, and Cyberduck 3.0.2

  36. >thegpc

    2 possibilities; your ssh is not enabled, and your cyberduck timed out too soon.

    To turn on SSH, I’d install and use BossPref. If your SSH is enabled, your iPod touch’s IP address will be shown.

    As for CyberDuck, see if you can change its time out to 120 seconds. Alternatively, you might want to use the Terminal.app to connect. The command is:

    ssh 192.168.123.88 -l root

    You’ll have to enter the correct IP address. The password is good ol’ alpine.

    Good luck!

  37. Hmm… Keep getting stuck with problems.

    Whenever I try CyberDuck, it times out. I pumped the timeout time to maximum, but it only gave 1 minute, which I think is too short for it to connect.

    Whenever I try Terminal, I keep getting the same response: a couple of seconds worth of processing the command, then “Bus error”.

    Don’t understand what’s going on. Any insight?

  38. Maybe you want to try Transmit.It lets you set the time-out up to 2 minutes.

    http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/6771/transmit

    However I’m begining to think its a software issue. I’d reinstall OpenSSH to see if it helps.

  39. Thanks Gee. I’ll try that and check back in.

  40. Reporting in…

    Transmit just sends back an immediate error: “Permissions denied”. Which makes me think its a chmod-type permissions problem or something, but I don’t know where to go from there. Even after re-installing SSH.

  41. >thegpc

    Hey, I gotten the same “Permission denied” error right after I re-did PwnageTool 2.0.3.1 just now.

    What I did was changed the IP address of my iPod touch to a new one, and reboot. Then I also quit Transmit and try again. Voila!

  42. Still getting nothing. This is a real dilemma… Hmm…

  43. Update: You know, for some reason, Cyberduck just decided to start working. Works fine now. Thanks for the advice.

  44. HEy Rupert! Glad to have you back.
    Haven’t had net for 3 or so weeks due to moving house and miniature phone companies too lazy here…

  45. It’s nice to be back, Vanya.

    I’m rolling my eyes wondering if they have little people in the miniature phone companies of your home town…. 🙂

  46. I’ve had the exact same problem as many people, but on PC. This leads me to believe it could be a problem with the iPod Touch. I’m running 2.1 (just restored), and have installed/reinstalled openSSH and Boss Prefs dozens of times. Any ideas?

  47. >Salem

    You didn’t describe exactly what’s the problem. I can use SSH on my 2.1 iPod touch with no problem at all.

  48. Thanks rupert!
    It works

  49. Thanks for the reminder! …’S been a while…

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