How can I make a complete backup of jailbroken iPhone 4 with iOS 7?

[xaos]

I tried searching, but this is a pretty unique and complex situation, so I didn't find anything close. I hope there's a solution.

I have an jailbroken iPhone 4 running iOS 7. It's setup to do everything exactly how I want it, and I'm not at all interested in upgrading. Many of the apps I depend on are no longer around, and I have years worth of very important medical data, etc. stored in there. Here's the dilemma:

I have a G5 running Leopard. I also have an early 2015 MacBook Air currently running Yosemite. If I connect the iPhone 4 to the MBA, it just keep vibrating and the iTunes says it can't read the device. So, it's clearly too old to work with it.

If I connect it to the G5, the latest version of iTunes that will run on PPC is 11, and it doesn't support iOS 7. (I never would have "upgraded" to iOS 7, but it I inherited the phone when mine broke, and 7 was already installed with no way back.) I have Windows running on the G5 in VPC, so I can run iTunes 12—sort of. [EDIT: I somehow managed to get everything on to the iOS 7 phone from my old iOS 5 device. How in the world did I do that? I didn't upgrade the OS after I got it. Weird!]

Here's the issue. I need to make a complete backup of EVERYTHING. I have tons of old Cydia tweaks and apps that are no longer around. Same with the non-Cydia apps. I have one in particular that I use for recording all my medications and it's been gone for years.

So, even if I can get it to do an iTunes backup, it's not going to save everything I need. I use Open Backup to store all of my Cydia settings, but I I think I've got a lot of stuff that's not even in the repos any more.

So, is there some way that I can just back up absolutely everything into like a disk image that can be restored if something was to go wrong? I have another iPhone 4 in cold storage in the even something goes wrong with this one, but right now all I have is an old, pre iOS 7 backup on my G5 and current iCloud backups. But if something were to happen, I don't think there would be any way to get all my ancient apps back.

I greatly appreciate the help. I'm not at all interested in any new hardware. Ever since Apple lost Steve Jobs and Scott Forstall, it's been a downhill slide, IMO.

So, what I need is either an old app that will run on the G5 that will back up everything, or something I can run in Windows XP in VPC on the G5. I know this is a tall order. I am greatly, HUGELY appreciative of any suggestions. My life is in that phone!

I don't know if I should post this in the iPad forum, or if there is one solution that will take care of both, but I also have an original iPad that is running iOS 5, and I need to do the same thing. The problem with that is I can't get the Cydia backup app that I have on it to run successfully, so there's no way to backup my Cydia stuff on it.

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[scifan57]

iTunes backups will not contain any jailbroken apps or tweaks.
BTW, your MacBook Air should be able to see and sync with your iPhone.

I know of no utility that would back up everything like you want.

One question, did you make any backups throughout the years you’ve owned the iPhone?

The biggest disadvantage of using an iPhone with that old an iOS version is that you have none of the security updates and patches issued during the last 5 years. That makes all the sensitive data on your iPhone vulnerable to hackers.

 

[xaos]

I'm not at all concerned about the security. I don't go online with it or use it as a phone. It's just an organizer. The only thing that it connects to is the iCloud server, but thank you for the concern!

I was surprised that the MBA wouldn't read it. I tried cables from all different eras and both USB ports, and all it does is vibrate like I just plugged it in over and over and over.

I have one local backup, but I believe it was from my iPhone 4 that was running iOS 5. I broke the screen and was given two replacements, but both had been updated to iOS 7. Somehow I managed to get everything transferred to it, which is mystifying me. I'm assuming it was so long ago that all the apps were still sitting around on Apple servers and Cydia repos. But pretty much everything on it is so old, I'm sure they're gone. I use Open Backup to store all of my Cydia settings in the iCloud backup, but I doubt the apps are anywhere.

It's hard to believe that there isn't anything that can make a disk image of an iPhone's file system. It's just a small hard drive with an OS! So far I haven't had much luck with VPC on the G5, either. VPC shows that the iPhone is connected, but iTunes doesn't see it. This is more than a little scary!

 

[scifan57]

The latest version of iTunes is able to see devices running the earliest versions of iOS. The reverse, however is not true. An earlier version of iTunes will not see or sync with a device running a version of ios that’s too new.

iTunes 10.6.3 is the latest version that will run on Power PC Macs. iTunes 10.6.3 will not see or sync with a device on iOS 7.

Which version of iTunes is on your MacBook Air?

 

[xaos]

iTunes 12.5.1.21 on the MacBookAir, and when I plug in the iPhone, all it does is vibrate like it does when you first hook it up, but it does it over, and over, and over. Then iTunes says it can't connect to that device. All it will do is charge. I tried connecting it to iTunes in VirtualPC on my G5, and VPC shows the iPhone connected when I go to the USB panel in the machine settings, but iTunes never recognizes it. It may have something to do with that machine not being connected to the internet, because iTunes was acting funky. (The WiFi antenna connection is loose, so it wasn't seeing the network. I got that working, but haven't had time to try again.)

I find it hard to believe there isn't some app that will let you make a complete backup of an iPhone! It's just a small computer! I should be able to mount the files system and save it to a disk image or something. I have to find a way to back it up somehow. I have another one just like it in storage, but there are apps that I depend on for my medication that aren't available any more, and I highly doubt that any of the jailbreak utilities I use are still on the repos, if the repos are even still there! There must be a way to do this.

 

[scifan57]

There’s no central file system on an iOS device. All files are held by individual apps which are sandboxed from each other.
Have you tried looking in the App Store for medical apps that can be of help?

 

[NSquirrel]

There is iMazing on both PC and Mac, which seems to back up everything -or so it says. I use it on a PC to back up iPad and iphones. I have looked through the backup, which one can do, and I was able to extract and recover a file.

 

[scifan57]

Search for medication on the App Store and check out the results. You’ll likely be able to find a suitable app to manage your medications.

 

[scifan57]

The only way you’re likely to get that iPhone recognizes by iTunes on your MacBook Air is to put it in DFU mode and restore it as a new iPhone. That would erase everything on the iPhone.
If the apps on your iPhone are so important in regulating your medications why haven’t you been upgrading your iPhone every few years. There are enough medical apps in the App Store that there will almost certainly be one or more that can meet your needs.