Enabling "Secret" Multitasking Gestures on the iPad 1

[richsadams]

EDIT: As of the 10 November 2011, with the upgrade to iOS 5.0.1, Multitasking Gestures were added to the iPad 1

To upgrade to iOS 5.0.1 simply connect your iPad to your computer, open iTunes if it doesn't open automatically, click on your iPad in the iTunes left-hand menu and under the Summary tab click on the "Check for Updates" button. Follow the directions. More here:

Updating your iOS device

Here's a list of tips to follow prior to your upgrade or if you run into any issues:

iOS 5 Upgrade Troubleshooting

The good news is that this feature can also be implemented on older iOS versions without jail breaking your iPad. Skill level is medium.


MULTITASKING GESTURES FOR THE ORIGINAL iPAD RUNNING iOS 4.3.5 (or earlier):

NOTES: This modification does not require jailbreaking your iPad This works on the original iPad and the iPad 2 running iOS 4.3 and 4.3.5.

SUMMARY: The iPad is capable of additional multitouch gestures which are in the developer stage but haven't been included in a publicly released version of iOS yet. They include:

• Swipe four or five fingers—to the left or to the right—to navigate through open applications.

• Swipe four fingers up to access the running apps tray and playback buttons, including Airplay controls.

• Pinch with all your fingers to go to the home screen from any app, without touching your home button.



These gestures are fairly easy to activate and AFAIK nothing you can do will "break" your iPad but of course, running a full backup prior to doing anything like this is a very good idea. Also, I take no responsibility for anything that might go wrong...I'm just sharing some information that's been out there for a while now. I did it, and it's working great!

For anyone wanting to try it themselves...here are the details for Mac users (PC users see below) as listed on Gizomdo:

Gizmodo, the Gadget Guide

Here's how to do it:

1. Obtain Xcode 4 and install it.

NOTE: This "hack" was accomplished with Xcode 4.0. Xcode 4.2 is available from Apple on the App Store (at no cost), however I have not tried doing this with 4.2 so it may or may not work. Some have reported being able to use Xcode 3 which is widely available but according to another member's post, if you're running iOS 4.3.1 or above you'll need Xcode 4.

2. Launch Xcode and connect your iPad to your computer. It will appear in the Xcode's devices list.

3. Click on the "Use for development" button.

4. When it asks you to enter your iOS developer credentials in the dialog box, click cancel. It will give you an error. Disregard it.

5. Once the developer mode activation is completed, go to your iPad general preferences menu and turn on the new multi-gestures.

That's it!

Here's a good demo video with all of the steps...(Although the author fails to note that you need to have your iPad connected to your Mac )

Once installed you'll have a new feature option in your iPad's general settings...



BTW, after installing the multitasking gestures program I found the slide lock to be totally unresponsive. After a hard reboot (turn the iPad completely off and then back on) and sync with iTunes all was good again. Phew!

FWIW I had no use for Xcode after the installation and noting that it takes up 10+GB of space I uninstalled it by typing this command in terminal:

sudo /Developer/Library/uninstall-devtools --mode=all (type "exit" and hit Return after the process is done)

PC USERS: I haven't tried it, but here are instructions for PC users:

Enable Multi-touch Gestures on iPad without jailbreaking (Thanks Annie!)

Looks a bit more complicated, but if you're the adventurous type!

As noted on another thread the time it takes for an open app to become active using the four-finger left/right swipe can be slightly longer (up to 2 seconds) than when an app is directly accessed by the multitasking bar. I'd expect that will be resolved once the feature is in public release.

I've gotten very spoiled with the new gestures and can imagine an iPad without a home button one day.

Hope that helps, please let me know if I've missed anything...and enjoy!

[Ads]

[32gb3gwifialicious]

It's free if you jailbreak. And it is awesome.

[Max]

Since when did they start charging for Xcode?

I registered as a developer (free) and have access to Xcode without charge....Did they change that aswell?

[BangBangAnnie]

I did it with a PC from instructions: Enable Multi-touch Gestures on iPad without jailbreaking
A little different then your link, don't need jailbreak or Cydia.

[MSaxatilus]

I see that the xcode takes up 10gb on your Mac, but does having this ability installed on your iPad take up any additional iPad memory?

MSax

[DontUnderstandMyIpad]

I see that the xcode takes up 10gb on your Mac, but does having this ability installed on your iPad take up any additional iPad memory?

MSax

Yep. It will take up a few additional Bytes, so nothing to worry about.

Btw. as soon as the gestures are activated, you can delete XCode from your Mac, thus saving you some space.

[richsadams]

Since when did they start charging for Xcode?

I registered as a developer (free) and have access to Xcode without charge....Did they change that aswell?

There's no charge for Xcode if you're a registered developer...but the method posted above side-steps all of that.

[richsadams]

I did it with a PC from instructions: Enable Multi-touch Gestures on iPad without jailbreaking
A little different then your link, don't need jailbreak or Cydia.

Excellent! I took the liberty of editing my post and included your link. Check's in the mail.

[Mav777]

I was able to do this on my pc using ibot, works great!

Sent from my iPad using iPF

[32gb3gwifialicious]

Well I think it would be easier to jailbreak then edit the plist files right on the iPad using ifile rather than backing up then editing then restoring. If you have to change another plist it's going to be a pain having to backup every time and then restore.