Cydia is an iOS app that was developed by Jay Freeman (aka “saurik”) as an alternative to Apple’s App Store. Cydia Download is only available for jailbroken iOS devices like iPhone, iPad, & iPod Touch. Unlike the App Store, Cydia offers thousands of apps, interfaces, system extensions, themes, ringtones, tweaks, wallpaper, …etc, that will allow you to do unlimited customization, improvements, and add-ons to your iOS device.

For the French version of this article please click on Cydia.

Also by using Cydia you will be able to save the digital signature called SHSH Blobs for your current iOS firmware version, which will enable you later on to downgrade your device iOS firmware version from the latest firmware to the one you want to downgrade to (the one you saved the SHSH Blobs for).

SHSH Blobs is used by Apple to prevent users from downgrading their iOS firmware version to anything older than the latest iOS version.

Cydia Download

In order to be able to download and install Cydia on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch, you must jailbreak your device first. So what is jailbreak? Jailbreak is the process that allows you to gain root access to the command line of the iOS system for your device, which will naturally remove any limitations imposed by Apple, and allow you to download Cydia which will open the window for unlimited possibilities to customize your jailbroken iOS device.

To jailbreak iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch you must find the right jailbreak software for your specific device, because each jailbreak software is developed only for specific models, iOS, and, baseband versions, and in some cases jailbreak software at one point or another may not be available for your device. For Jailbreak Compatibility << click here.

Cydia FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

• How do i download Cydia? First you must know your device model, and iOS firmware version, then go to our jailbreak compatibility web application and check to see if a jailbreak is available for your device, after that sign up or login to our members zone, and follow our easy and step by step instructions to jailbreak your device. (few minutes process)

• What are Cydia Repositories? Repositories (aka sources) is the online hub in which cydia developers store their apps, games, themes, tweaks,…etc. Cydia already comes with few repositories that includes thousands of free & paid apps. But there is a lot more repositories that can be added, that includes even more apps. Here is a list of the Top Cydia Repositories (sources):
  • 4PP13 Team Repository >> http://apt.123locker.com
  • A-steroids >> http://a-esteroids.com/cydia/
  • AppleNewsFR >> http://apple-news.fr/repo/
  • BigBoss & Planet-iPhones >> http://apt.bigboss.us.com/repofiles/cydia/
  • Bloc Apple en Catalá >> http://apple.blocks.cat/repo/
  • Clubiphone >> http://www.clubifone.org/repo
  • comcute&gecko; >> http://gecko.pri.ee/cydia/
  • CZ&SK; >> http://csid.tym.cz/repo/
  • Darvens Repository >> http://apt.guardiansofchaos.com/
  • David Ashman >> http://david.ashman.com/apt/
  • EasyWakeup >> http://easywakeup.net/rep/
  • Epelle6 >> http://elpelle6.com/repo
  • FilippoBiga Repo >> http://filippobiga.me/repo/
  • Free Coder >> http://iphone.freecoder.org/apt/
  • Hack&Dev.org >> http://iphone.hackndev.org/apt/
  • Hackulo.us >> http://cydia.hackulo.us
  • hkvls.dyndns.com >> http://hkvls.dyndns.com/downloads/debian
  • Howett >> http://howett.net/cydia
  • i-Apps >> http://cydia.i-apps.pl/
  • iAcces >> http://www.iacces.com/apt/
  • iBlueToothProject >> http://ibluetoothproject.com/cydia
  • iClarified >> http://cydia.iClarified.com
  • iFon Norway >> http://c.iFon1.no
  • iFoneguide.nl >> http://cydia.ifoneguide.nl/
  • iJailbreak.com >> http://www.ijailbreak.com/repository
  • IngiliZanahtari >> http://apt.ingilizanahtari.com/
  • Intelliborn >> http://intelliborn.com/cydiav/
  • iPhone Video Recorder >> http://www.iphonevideorecorder.com
  • iPhone-patch (Bulgarian) >> http://mc2.iphoneall.org/
  • iPhone-patch >> http://mspasov.com/
  • iPhone.ir Repo >> http://ir-iphone.ir/cydia/
  • iphone.org.hk >> http://www.iphone.org.hk/apt/
  • iphonehe.com >> http://iphonehe.com/iphone/
  • iphoneIslam >> http://apps.iphoneislam.com/
  • iPhonemmod.br >> http://cydia.iphonemod.com.br/
  • iPhones-notes.de Repo >> http://apt.iphone-storage.de/
  • iPuhelin.com >> http://ipuhelin.com/cydia/
  • iRom gba/Apps >> http://iromrepo.com/Cydia/gba/
  • iRom Genesis Roms >> http://iromrepo.com/Cydia/genesis/
  • iRom SNES Roms >> http://iromrepo.com/Cydia/snes
  • iSoftRu >> http://ir-iphone.ir/cydia/
  • iSpazio >> http://ispaziorepo.com/cydia/apt
  • lHackers.nl >> http://apt.hackers.nl/
  • Macbury >> http://macbury.jogger.pl/files/
  • ModMyiFone >> http://apt.modmyi.com/
  • MyApple >> http://cydia.myapple.pl/
  • Niklas Schroder >> http://apt.paperclipsandscrambledeggs.com
  • PwnCenter >> http://apt.pwncenter.com/
  • Ranbee >> http://ranbee.com/repo/
  • Redwolfberry >> http://redwolfberry.com/rupertgee/cydia/
  • RichCreations >> http://www.richcreations.com/iphone/apt/
  • SiNfuL iPhone >> http://www.sinfuliphonerepo.com
  • Sleepers >> http://repo.sleepers.com/cydia
  • SOS iPhone >> http://cy.sosiphone.com/
  • Ste Packaging >> http://repo.smxy.org/cydia/apt/
  • Steffwiz >> http://apt.steffwiz.com/dists/steffwiz/main/binary-iphoneos-arm/
  • Telesphoreo Tangelo >> http://apt.saurik.com/
  • TouchMania >> http://cydia.touch-mania.com/
  • urbanfanatics.com >> http://urbanfanatics.com/cydia/
  • Vwallpapers >> http://i.danstaface.net/deb/
  • WeHo >> http://weho.ru/iphone/
  • Weiphone Source >> http://app.weiphone.com/cydia/
  • xSellize >> http://cydia.xsellize.com
  • XSellize >> http://xsellize.com/cydia/
  • XSellize VIP >> http://xsellize.com/cydia/usuario-password
  • yellowsn0w >> http://apt9.yellowsn0w.com/
  • Zodttd & MacCiti >> http://cydia.zodttd.com
  • ZodTTD >> http://www.zodttd.com/repo/cydia/
  • Zuijlen >> http://zuijlen.eu

• How to Install Repositories? How to add Sources? Installing Repositories is done using standard steps that applies to all Repositories, so you can use the instructions in the following link to Install Cydia Repositories, just replace the Repository in the tutorial with the Repository you want to add from the list above.

• Top 10 Cydia Applications: Here is a list of the Top 10 Apps that you can download through Cydia (NOT available in Apple apps store):
  1. Winterboard (to customize the look of of your device)
  2. iFile (file manager)
  3. Activator (adds gestures, hardware button, and shortcut management for iOS)
  4. BiteSMS (customize  your device SMS)
  5. Safari Download Manager (download manager)
  6. SBSettings (adds extra settings control)
  7. Kill Background (kill running apps quickly)
  8. MyWi 5.0 (use your iOS device as Hotspot)
  9. FolderLock (password protect folders)
  10. OpenSSH (edit system files)

• How to Install an App from Cydia? To install any app you can use the instructions in the following link Install Apps in Cydia.

• I cannot find the app that i installed through Cydia? Most of the apps that you download through Cydia does not have an app icon similar to the apps you download from the Apple app store. Most of those apps are extensions, themes, customization, tweaks, so you will need to read the description for the app before you download so you know how to access the cydia app and use it.

• What are Softwares that are available through Cydia? Cydia offers a wide range of free and paid iOS apps that are unavailable in the Apple apps store, including apps, games, themes, tweaks, add-ons, extensions, wallpaper, ringtones, …etc.

• Can i transfer my Cydia purchased apps to new device? Yes if you ever remove Cydia and then add it again to your device or if you are using it on a different device, you can still access and download your purchased apps by logging into your account with Cydia.

• Fix stuck in Safe Mode issue! Getting stuck in safe mode mostly occurs when adding or downloading broken sources, so to fix this issue, remove any recent sources you added, restart your device, and start adding them one by one to see which one is causing the issue, and eliminate it.

• What is SHSH blob? SHSH Blobs are like a signature of your device.  They actually exist because Apple are used to control the manual software downgrade of iOS devices.  These Blobs are unique for each device, & iOS version. Once you jailbreak your device and install Cydia, it will automatically save the SHSH Blob for your device, and your current iOS version, so you can downgrade to this version in case you need to in the future.

• Compatible devices with Cydia? Since you cannot have Cydia unless you jailbreak your iOS device, downloading Cydia on your iOS device, depends on if a jailbreak software is available for your specific device and iOS firmware version or not. To check if you can install Cydia on your iOS device please click on the following link, Check Cydia Compatibility.

• How to Remove Cydia? This is an easy task, just keep in mind if you decided to remove it, you will lose all the apps you downloaded through Cydia, and you will also lose your jailbreak. If you still want to remove it, all you have to do is to restore your device through iTunes to the latest iOS firmware version, and that will remove Cydia for you, make sure to backup your iOS device first.

• How to Hide Cydia? Please follow the steps below:
  • Open Cydia, tap Search and search for SBSettings
  • Tap Install, then Confirm.
  • Launch SBSettings & configure it to Hide Cydia.

As you can see Cydia, is a must have app for iOS devices, because it pretty much free your device from its virtual jail cell, and it releases it to the outside world, where your jailbroken iOS device, can be all, it can be.

I would love to hear your feedback, thoughts, experience, and questions on this article, please use the comments section below.