Hack the iPhone

How to change any graphic with a custom one

(Windows XP / Vista)

What I used: iPhone with 1.1.1 firmware




You can change any graphic on the iPhone with any other graphic you want provided the dimensions are the same and you use the .PNG format with a transparent background. The instructions are the same for any graphic you want to change, the only difference is the path on the iPhone where the graphic must go. The list I've compiled for the most common graphics is right here. The graphics in this list are right off the iPhone. They are the correct size and in the correct format so you can use them if you want without a problem.

Note: with the 1.1.1. firmware I know the name of the iPod icon has changed from icon.png to icon-MediaPlayer.png. I have not verified any other icon names. Just poke around the various folders and experiment, if switching out the usual graphic name does not result in the graphic changing upon reboot.

Attention

I'm assuming you've already performed the Step 1, Step 2 and Step 3 tutorials. If not, you'll need to.






One of the most popular graphics to switch out seems to be the AT&T carrier name at the top of the screen. In this case there are two versions of this logo: one in white that looks good on dark backgrounds, and one in black that looks good on white backgrounds.




Here are some operator graphics I found floating around the 'net. I try to list the name of the creator when it's available. If you have graphics you want to submit, send them my way and I'll post them right here and give you the credit for it. Click the images below to download the files for that design. If you want to look through a collection of various graphics for the iPhone, check out ModMyiFone.com.








Here are the stock graphics on the iPhone for AT&T, Cingular, T-Mobile and Vodafone.






If you download the stock carrier graphics above, you'll see there are two images. The image in black is called Default_CARRIER_ATT.png (substitute ATT for Cingular, T-Mobile or Vodafone as needed), the image in white is called FSO_CARRIER_ATT.png (substitute ATT for Cingular, T-Mobile or Vodafone as needed).

Step 1.

Put the graphics you want to swap into a special folder so you can keep track of them. Depending on what carrier you use on your iPhone, ensure your replacement graphics match the carrier name. If you are someone who uses multiple SIMs in your iPhone, you'd need to swap out every pair of carrier graphics with your custom ones, otherwise they will default to the stock graphic when you swap SIMs.

Launch WinSCP. Navigate to the /System/Library/CoreServices/SpringBoard.app/ folder. Drag and drop your replacement files.




Click "Copy" to confirm where you want the graphic to go.




Confirm the overwrite by clicking "Yes".

Step 2.

Turn off the iPhone then turn it back on. Check your work.

Ok, let's switch out a couple more graphics...

If you'd like to see what other graphics you can change out, and what images I have ready for download, then check out this page.

I'm going to show you how to change a couple springboard icons now. Here's the tricky part, most applications on the iPhone use the name icon.png for the icon that you see displayed on the springboard. There are only two exceptions to this rule: the camera icon is called icon-Camera.png and the photos icon is called icon-Photos.png because they are placed in the same folder, the MobileSlideShow.app folder. I will post the names of the folders at the end of this tutorial.

Step 1.

The best way to deal with changing out a lot of graphics, is to make subfolders for each application and put those into your special folder. I'm going to change out the following icons: calculator, camera, iPod, mail, maps, notes, phone, photos, Safari, settings, and stocks. Notice all the new folders in my folder below.




And here's one of the icons inside the folder, just so you can see what it's going to look like.

Step 2.

This time I've navigated to the /Applications/Calculator.app folder on the right.




Now double click the calculator folder in your special folder to get to the icon. Just drag and drop the icon.png file over.




Click "Copy" to confirm where the file is going to.




Now confirm the replacement by clicking "Yes".




Now just repeat the process for all the other icons you want to switch out. In this screen shot I'm in the camera folder, and the /Applications/MobileSlideShow.app folder. Note, this is one of the exceptions to the naming rule, this is where the camera icon and the photos icon go. Neither one of them is named icon.png.





Here's my before and after of my springboard.

Here's the location of all 17 icons that are on the home screen and dock:

Note: with the 1.1.1 firmware I know that the iPod icon's name has changed from icon.png to icon-MediaPlayer.png. I have not verified any other icon names. Just poke around the folder if switching out the icon.png does not result in the graphic changing.

/Applications/Calculator.app/
/Applications/Maps.app/
/Applications/MobileCal.app/    This is the calendar.
/Applications/MobileMail.app/
/Applications/MobileMusicPlayer.app/icon-MediaPlayer.png    This is the iPod
/Applications/MobileNotes.app/
/Applications/MobilePhone.app/
/Applications/MobileSafari.app/
/Applications/MobileSlideShow.app/icon-Camera.png
/Applications/MobileSlideShow.app/icon-Photos.png
/Applications/MobileStore.app/icon.png
/Applications/MobileSMS.app/
/Applications/MobileTimer.app/    This is the clock.
/Applications/Preferences.app/    This is Settings.
/Applications/Stocks.app/
/Applications/Weather.app/
/Applications/YouTube.app/