How To Set Up and Use IAP Cracker

IAP Cracker is a neat tool that helps you get in-app purchases for free. It doesn’t get you free apps, only option purchases from within those apps. You need to jailbreak your iPhone to get it working and install Cydia but once configured, offers access to lots of apps at no cost. Here is how to set up and use IAP Cracker.

In-app purchases aren’t exactly expensive and developers do deserve your support. TechJunke doesn’t condone illegal activity or not paying for what you use but information should be free to all. What you do with that information is entirely up to your conscience.

To use IAP Cracker, you will need to jailbreak your iPhone. There is no right or wrong here. It is your device to do with as you will. There are dangers to jailbreaking and to the apps that you need to jailbreak to use. The phone won’t be as stable, the apps won’t always be stable and there are some apps that you really shouldn’t install. Jailbreaking offers a lot of freedom but also leaves you vulnerable, so use your judgment.

IAP Cracker also doesn’t support every game or app so it might be worthwhile checking to see if the one you are using currently will work before installing or jailbreaking. This IAP Cracker compatibility list is updated regularly.

Read ‘10 Pros and Cons of Jailbreaking Your iPhone or iPad’ if you’re not sure whether you want to dive into jailbreaking or not.

If you want to continue, this guide from British website MacWorld is one of the best I have seen on jailbreaking. It walks you through the entire process from beginning to end in a very straightforward manner.

Set up and use IAP Cracker

IAP Cracker requires Cydia to work which comes with most jailbreak apps. If you don’t have Cydia, you can download it here. Then:

Open Cydia and select Search.
Search for IAP Cracker and your iOS version.
Install the latest version.

Cydia search can be a little hit and miss so there is another way to install IAP Cracker if it doesn’t work. The default repositories in Cydia are regularly updated but are never 100% running, contactable or working. You might be lucky and be able to find the app immediately. I didn’t have quite so much luck.

Open Cydia and add a repository.
Use ‘http://repo.hackyouriphone.org’ as the repository as it has a copy of IAP Cracker.
Search for IAP Cracker and install it.

You will also need AppSync installed for IAP Cracker to function properly. Do a Cydia search for AppSync and install that too. AppSync simulates app signing to make your iPhone think any app you install through Cydia or IAP Cracker is legitimate. Without being signed the iPhone will not run the app.

If the default Cydia installed repos cannot find AppSync the Hackyouriphone.org repository has a copy. Use the second method to download and install it. You may need to reboot your iPhone once everything has downloaded, you may not.

Using IAP Cracker

Once IAP Cracker and AppSync are installed, you should be able to use them both.

Open the IAP Cracker app.
Select any of your installed apps that has in-app purchases and buy something.

You should be taken directly to the download, install or confirmation page rather than the payment page. If you are taken to the payment page as you normally would be, IAP Cracker isn’t working correctly. In that case, make sure AppSync is installed and working. You could also reboot your phone or repeat the above process.

Also be aware that IAP Cracker supports a good number of games and apps but not all of them. Alternative apps that do much the same thing include iAPFree, LocaliAPStore or iAPCrazy. Any of those might support the app you are using.

If you are using the very latest iOS version, there may not be a jailbreak of compatible Cydia version available. You could downgrade to the latest compatible version but that is a lot of work. Cydia currently supports iOS 10.3.3 but as iOS updates, Cydia will always be a short way behind as the developers work to catch up.

Jailbreaking, using Cydia and IAP Cracker is either super-simple or fraught with issues. I had a few issues with mine when jailbreaking and trying to use Cydia that involved having to go through the entire process three times. Fortunately I didn’t brick my phone. Others I know who have done it said theirs worked first time without issue. I guess it must be down to a particular app or something as we were all using the same model phone.

So if you find this tutorial doesn’t work first time, try again. It may not be your fault but something on your phone!