How To Restore Apple iPhone On iOS 7.0.6 Without Losing Jailbreak: Semi-Restore And 3 iOS Cydia Tweaks

With the release of Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iOS 7.1 this week came the end of the ability to jailbreak iPhone 5S, iPad Air, iPad Mini and other devices compatible with iOS 7.

This mainly affects users who already updated their devices to iOS 7.1 to trade their jailbreak for additional tweaks, fixes and features of the latest version of iOS 7. Users of iOS 7.0.6 and below running their iPhone or other iOS device jailbroken face a different problem.

While it is possible to keep an iPhone, iPad Air, iPod Touch and any other iOS device jailbroken by not updating to iOS 7.1, keeping those same jailbroken iOS 7 devices running in the best state is more of a challenge.

Prior to the release of iOS 7.1, jailbreak users who wanted to refresh their iOS device merely had to restore their device in iTunes and then re-jailbreak. Since Apple no longer signs or authorizes restores for iOS 7.0.6 and below, users will have to turn to other methods to keep their iOS device running at its best, ranging from minor cleanup software to restore software that mimics a standard iOS restore while preserving an iOS device's jailbroken state.

Here's a look at four ways to keep your jailbroken iPhone 5S, iPad Air, iPod Touch and other iOS devices running at their best without losing your jailbreak.

Note: International Business Times is not responsible for any damage caused by running jailbreak tweaks, mods or other unofficial software on iOS. Proceed at your own risk.

Semi-Restore

While a “proper” restore is not an option for iOS 7.0.x Evasi0n 7 jailbreak users, there are a couple solutions available to get your device to a restored state. For Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows users, Coolstar, a Windows and iOS developer, released his latest update to Semi-Restore.

Semi-Restore attempts to alleviate the problem of not being able to fully restore iOS 7 without losing its jailbroken state by removing all mods, tweaks and software packages installed by Cydia, erasing user data, fixing permissions and other issues. What Semi-Restore doesn’t do is jailbreak stock iOS devices or fix broken system files.

Semi-Restore is currently available for Microsoft Windows, with Mac OSX and Linux versions currently in development.

iLEX RAT

iLEX RAT functions similarly to Semi-Restore in the sense that it reverts your iOS device to a “like new” state while preserving an iOS jailbreak. However, there’s no requirement to connect your iOS device to a computer. iLEX RAT’s restore functions are done entirely on your iOS device through a software package installed on Cydia. The iOS 7 beta version of iLEX RAT can be installed by adding its app repository in Cydia and then downloading the app.

While problems aren’t necessarily expected by running Semi-Restore or iLEX RAT software, it is highly recommended that iOS jailbreak users take all necessary precautions by backing up all essential data.

iCleaner

For those looking for a less drastic way of cleaning up a jailbroken iOS device, iCleaner serves as a middle ground by cleaning up cache files, log files and leftover temporary files. iCleaner also has the ability to clean iMessage attachments for users who are looking to preserve their old text messages while freeing up space on iOS 7.

iCleaner is available through the BigBoss app repository on the Cydia app.

Nitrous

Apple’s built in Safari browser is able to take advantage of the Nitro JavaScript engine for faster JavaScript performance on iOS devices. But non-Apple apps that use a full screen web browser cannot utilize this engine, which significantly speeds up Web browsing. Nitrous fixes this by enabling Nitro for all iOS Apps that utilize browser functions. It can also be customized to apply the tweak to individual apps that may have compatibility issues with the tweak.

Nitrous is available in the Cydia store for 99 cents.