Jailbreak / tether iPhone while on the go

Why:
You might be on the go and wanting to go ahead and get tethering to work, or to do some exploration of the jailbreak world. I found myself in a car, with wife driving, wanting to get tethering going so I could work on my laptop. The iphone has internet, but laptop does not.

Also these instructions can be used to get any internet-accessible file from your iphone to your computer.

The following instructions were done on a iphone of version 3.1.2, and mac OS X 10.6.2

What you need:

1. iphone with internet access (can be 3g, 2g, or anything)
   
2. mac or pc computer
   
3. USB cable for iphone -> computer
   
4. Willing to jailbreak your iphone (no other way to do it anywmore)
   

How to do it:

1. Download the file to do a jailbreak
   
• Download the free app 'Downloads Lite'
• Open 'Downloads Lite' app and browse to http://www.blackra1n.com
  
• Download the file blackra1n.zip for PC or Mac Note: The download on this site did not work for me. I ended up googling for it and finding it elsewhere. It was like 500-600k in size.
  
2. Get the file to your computer
   
• Now we have to get this file to your computer. The 'Downloads Lite' program has a feature that lets it become a http or ftp server, if its on a wifi network.
  
• On a mac, you can create your own wifi network. Basically, your computer acts as a wifi router.
  
• To do this, click on the wifi icon in the upper right near the clock. It looks like a set of half circles.
  
• Click 'Create Network...'
  
• Give your network any name, such as "MyMacBook"; set channel to "Automatic"; Hit OK
  
• Go to your iphone Settings 'Wi-Fi' button
• Select the network that you made above ex: "MyMacBook"
  
• Open 'Downloads Lite' app and go to the 'Settings' section; Set 'File Sharing' to ON
  
• Note the URL that looks something like "http://blah:8080"; It will have numbers instead of blah
  
• Enter this URL into your computers web browser. I had to use Firefox, not safari.
• Down the blackra1n.zip file to your computer, from the Downloads Lite interface.
  
3. Jailbreak phone
   
• You can verify the zip file on mac by using the command "unzip -l blackra1n.zip" If its good, you will see 8-10 files. If its bad, it will say it couldnt read it.
  
• Unzip the file
  
• Plug in iPhone with USB cable, into computer and phone
  
• Quit iTunes or iPhoto if open
  
• Run Blackra1n application
  
• Click the single button in the program to start the jailbreak
  
• Restart phone, as instructed; now you are jailbroken
  


4. Get needed components
   
• Open the Blackra1n app on your iphone
  
• Have it install Cydia, the popular jailbreak app store
  
• Run newly installed Cydia app
  
• Go to Manage > Add a Repo source
  
• Add http://apt.iphone-storage.de
  
• Browse to the added repo, to see the applications that this repo provides
  
• Browse down to the 'T' section and look for "Tethering 3G"; Install it
  
• Restart iphone
  


5. Install a mobileconfig
   
• On your iPhone, go to http://www.iphone-notes.de/mobileconfig/ in Safari
  
• Choose your country, and appropriate mobileconfig
  
• Install the downloaded mobileconfig once given option
  
• Restart iPhone once again
  


6. Use tethering
   
• Remember to turn off your custom network on your mac or pc. In fact, you wont need wifi on when you tether.
  
• Assure that iPhone is plugged into USB -> computer Note: You can also do this all with bluetooth, but I have not tested this
  
• On iPhone, go to Settings > General > Network > Tethering to turn tethering on
  
• Mac should instantly detect a new network type. You can check this out in System Preferences > Network on a Mac
  
• The new network entry for the iPhone should say that it is connected and list an IP address when clicked-on
  
• You are tethered! Browse to a webpage or open chat!