How To Install And Set Up SSH On Your Jailbroken iOS Device

SSH is one of the first things you should install and set up on your jailbroken iOS device because it makes securely transferring files to and from your device very easy. Here’s how to do it.

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The video above will walk you through the steps of installing OpenSSH, connecting for the first time, and changing your password, but here’s an outline of each step for your reference:

1. Open Cydia and scroll down the main page to where it says “OpenSSH Access How-To.” Tap that option.
2. On that page, click the blue linked text “Open SSH” in the first step. You’ll be presented with the OpenSSH package page. Click the install button in the top right corner, confirm when it’s finished, and return to Cydia.
3. Open the Settings app from your home screen and go into your Wi-Fi settings. Click the little blue arrow next to the Wi-Fi network you’re currently connected to. Make a note of your IP address in the “IP Address” field (it should start with 10 or 192).
4. To connect to your iOS device from your computer, use an SSH-capable application like Terminal on OS X or puTTy on Windows. Type ssh root@YOUR_IP_ADDRESS (replacing YOUR_IP_ADDRESS with your actual IP address). When prompted, enter your password. It’s alpine by default. Once finished, you’re connected! You can also use an SFTP application like Cyberduck to connect as well, but that’ll limit your interactions to pretty much only file transfers.
5. Lastly, you want to change your password. To do this, type the passwd command. You’ll be asked for a new password. Type it (nothing will show up for privacy reasons) and press enter. Type it in again to confirm it. Assuming you type your password correctly, you will be told it was changed successfully.

That’s it! Enjoy SSH’ing with your iOS device.