This is a text-only version of the following page on https://raymii.org:
---
Title : I had to jailbreak my iPhone to change the default browser...
Author : Remy van Elst
Date : 24-05-2020
URL : https://raymii.org/s/blog/I_had_to_jailbreak_my_iPhone_to_change_the_default_browser.html
Format : Markdown/HTML
---
The title of this article says enough. To change the default browser on an iOS
device you need to jailbreak your device (root it). It's 2020 and Apple does
not allow you to switch Safari with Firefox.
![defaultbrowser][6]
> This default browser change screen requires a jailbreak of your iOS device.
Imagine yourself ten years ago and being told, in 2020, Microsoft actively
develops a way to run Linux on Windows, [including GUI applications][2] and
Apple does not allow you to change your default browser on their mobile OS.
If you would have told me, I would ask you what you were smoking. Ten years ago
[Microsoft created BrowserChoice.eu][3] because of ongoing anti-competetive lawsuits
regarding Internet Explorer as their default browser. Nowdays, [even Google][4] is
busy with default browser selection, but Apple? No of course not.
<p class="ad"> <b>Recently I removed all Google Ads from this site due to their invasive tracking, as well as Google Analytics. Please, if you found this content useful, consider a small donation using any of the options below:</b><br><br> <a href="https://leafnode.nl">I'm developing an open source monitoring app called Leaf Node Monitoring, for windows, linux & android. Go check it out!</a><br><br> <a href="https://github.com/sponsors/RaymiiOrg/">Consider sponsoring me on Github. It means the world to me if you show your appreciation and you'll help pay the server costs.</a><br><br> <a href="https://www.digitalocean.com/?refcode=7435ae6b8212">You can also sponsor me by getting a Digital Ocean VPS. With this referral link you'll get $100 credit for 60 days. </a><br><br> </p>
### Switch the default browser
![jailbreak1][5]
> All the steps I had to take to change the default browser...
[Recently][1] a new jailbreak for iOS was released which support the lastest
firmware, 13.5. I currently have an iPhone SE 2020 running 13.5, the jailbreak
was a welcome addition to fix some small and some big annoyances with iOS.
The biggest being the default browser. I dislike how Safari shows tabs and I
use Firefox's bookmark sync. I also use Firefox extensions, but that is also
prohibited by Apple and not fixable with a jailbreak.
You can install another browser on iOS but not set it as default. That means
you need to copy the link from Safari, switch or open Firefox and paste the
link. Way to many extra steps.
Using [Unc0ver][7] you can jaibreak your device. You also need [Altstore][8].
When you have jailbroken your device, you need to add the [packix][9] repository
to Cydia, after which you can install `BrowserDefault`. You can also manually
install the [.deb from the github repo][10], the code is open source.
Then, finally, you can go to `Settings`, open `Default Browser` and switch.
### Jailbreak in 2020?
Next to switching the default browser, I have an adblocking hosts file set up
for better privacy and less resource usage. Furthermore a local terminal plus
a C/C++ compiler and iCleaner Pro, to switch off unused system services (like
airprint, Chinese Wifi Network, Healthkit, Game Center and Homekit) to save
battery usage.
Remember to change the root password from `alpine` to something else if you
intend to run an OpenSSH server on your iDevice.
[1]: http://web.archive.org/web/20200525090840/https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/24/21268945/apple-hackers-jailbreak-iphones-ios-13-5
[2]: http://web.archive.org/web/20200525091245/https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/19/21263377/microsoft-windows-10-linux-gui-apps-gpu-acceleration-wsl-features
[3]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BrowserChoice.eu
[4]: http://web.archive.org/web/20200525091729/https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/03/20/google_revives_browser_choice_ballot_as_eu_remedy/
[5]: /s/inc/img/jailbreak-1.png
[6]: /s/inc/img/jailbreak-2.png
[7]: https://unc0ver.dev/
[8]: https://www.altstore.io/
[9]: https://repo.packix.com/
[10]: https://github.com/LorenzoPane/browserdefault
---
License:
All the text on this website is free as in freedom unless stated otherwise.
This means you can use it in any way you want, you can copy it, change it
the way you like and republish it, as long as you release the (modified)
content under the same license to give others the same freedoms you've got
and place my name and a link to this site with the article as source.
This site uses Google Analytics for statistics and Google Adwords for
advertisements. You are tracked and Google knows everything about you.
Use an adblocker like ublock-origin if you don't want it.
All the code on this website is licensed under the GNU GPL v3 license
unless already licensed under a license which does not allows this form
of licensing or if another license is stated on that page / in that software:
This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
(at your option) any later version.
This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
GNU General Public License for more details.
You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
along with this program. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
Just to be clear, the information on this website is for meant for educational
purposes and you use it at your own risk. I do not take responsibility if you
screw something up. Use common sense, do not 'rm -rf /' as root for example.
If you have any questions then do not hesitate to contact me.
See https://raymii.org/s/static/About.html for details.