Troubleshooting "Non-Working" or Crashing Hacks & Cheats

DiDA · February 11, 2016

In this topic, we're going to cover all the reasons why a hack might not be working and a way to fix it. We will start off from downloading the hack and all the way to actually seeing the hack in action in-game. Let's get started.

How do I download a hack/cheat?
Hacks on iOSGods are separated into topics. Each topic has a download link or a Do-It-Yourself Tutorial on how to hack x app. Most download links and tutorials are hidden inside the "Hidden Content". To be able to see the hidden content, all you need to do is simply reply to the topic which has the hack you want, or react to the topic. Please follow our posting guidelines and read our tutorial on how to unlock the hidden content for more information.

Once you can see the hidden content, you should also see a download link to the .deb hack (depends on the topic). Some download links require you to wait x seconds before you can proceed or 'Skip Ad'. Those are ad-links to support the author of the cheat. More info on them can be found in our FAQ Topic.

Once you go to the real download page, you should look for a button or text which let's you download the file. Usually reads something like: "download now", "slow download", "free user download" etc. In order for the download to proceed on your iDevice, you will need to install iFile or Filza from Cydia. Or, any download managers such as Safari/Chrome Download Manager or Chrome/Safari Downloader+.

If you have issues downloading from the website, try using a different browser, clearing your cache and cookies, going into private mode, using a VPN, etc.

How do I install the downloaded hack/cheat?
Each hack topic has instructions and requirements inside it for you to follow. If it doesn't, make sure you have iFile/Filza, Cydia Substrate and PreferenceLoader from Cydia installed on your iDevice and once you downloaded the file using Safari/Chrome, you will get the option to "Open in iFile/Filza". Tapping that will lead you to the downloaded deb file and with a popup showing a few options. You will need to tap on the 'Installer' option for the .deb to install. In Filza, it's on the top right of the popup 'Install'.

iFile Result Codes. What do they mean?

Finished with Result Code: 0 -> This means the installation was successful. In some cases, postinst/preinst may fail to execute and give you a result code 0 but that doesn't usually happen.

Finished with Result Code: 256 -> This means that the .deb did not get successfully installed. The reason may be one of these:

Missing requirements. Most hacks require Cydia Substrate and PreferenceLoader installed. If you're missing a requirement, the missing requirement will appear on the screen along with the error message.
Trying to overwrite one deb with another. If two debs have the same filenames inside, and are by different authors, the 2nd deb will fail to install because it can't overwrite the 1st installed deb. A simple way to fix this is to uninstall the 1st deb (the conflicting deb's name will be mentioned along with the error) before installing the 2nd deb. There are also ways to keep both installed but I won't cover that here.
Installation scripts return an error. This error is something you can't really fix depending on the actual issue. But like the others, each error gives you information on what's going wrong so try to read that and see if there's a way to fix it on your end. If not, you will need to contact the author or make a support topic.
Since iOS 9.3, Apple changed the app's location again so most old hacks might not install properly. You will need to follow this tutorial.
Corrupted deb file. If the deb file is corrupted, it will also state so inside the error message. "dpkg-deb: `/var/mobile/Documents/xxx.deb' is not a debian format archive". You can try re-downloading the deb using another browser or download on your PC and install it on your iDevice to fix this.

Finished with Result Code: 512 -> This result code usually comes with a message saying "dpkg: status database is locked by another process." which essentially means that dpkg is being used by another app. To fix this, simply close all your apps from multitasking (mainly just Cydia) and try again. If you still get that error, reboot your device and try again.

*Sometimes, a respring is useful/necessary after the iFile/Filza installation succeeds.

Deb Installation was successful, now what?
After the deb installs, depending on the hack, you will either need to activate the features in your iDevice Settings (Patcher) or simply open the app (Tweak). The difference between a patcher and a tweak has been explained here. In some cases, the hack could also be an In-Game Mod Menu. Always read the hack's topic and the instructions.

Please note that some apps require you to use x feature in-game in order for the hack to activate. In some topics, the author will mention that in order to see unlimited Gems/Keys/Currency in-game, you need to buy something or use said currency in order for the hack to activate/work.

App crashes as soon as I try to open the app?
This can be due to a few reasons:

1. The hack is for an older version of the app and it does not support the latest version. Always check the topic to see if the version in the title is the same as the latest App Store app version. Another reason could be that you have another hack installed which is conflicting with the new one. Check your installed packages in Cydia.

2. The hack may be causing the crash due to x features. This is usually not the case since most hacks are tested before release but try disabling some features. Test each feature one by one. Also CrashReporter from Cydia will help immensely to troubleshoot your app crashes.

3. Corrupted and broken binary/executable. This is 90% of the time the reason why an app crashes as soon as you open it after installing a hack. To fix this:

If you're using iPhone 3GS/4/4s/5 or iPad 1/2/3/4/Mini 1 (ARMv7), all you need to do is reinstall the app from the app store.
If you're using iPhone 5s/6/6s/6+/6s+/7/7+ or iPad Air 1/Air 2/Pro/Mini 2/Mini 3/Mini 4 or later then you will need to thin your binary manually using one of these tutorials:

How to Easily Thin/Patch your Binary on Mac/PC/iOS / How to perform a binary patch / How to thin you binary / How to crack and thin the binary on iOS 9 (if you're on iOS 9 or higher, except iOS 11, you will need to download and install the app using iTunes before thinning your binary)

4. Since Apple introduced App Slicing on iOS 9, some hacks may cause the app to crash because of the thinned binary being applied. An easy fix for this is to install the IPA using iTunes on your PC or find a cracked version (or crack it yourself) and install it then proceed to install the hack.

You can download the IPA using iTunes and install it using iFunBox/iTools onto your iDevice.
If the IPA is cracked, you need to have AppSync package installed from Cydia also.

5. Sometimes, if the app crashes after installing the hack, try re-opening the app again a few times. This usually happens to hacks that have additional security added to them. The additional security that some cheaters use on their hacks does not work well with "weak" & old ARMv7 devices.

Hack was successfully installed but has no effect on my app?
This can also be due to these reasons:

1. The hack is for an older version of the app and it does not support the latest version. Always check the topic to see if the version in the title is the same as the latest App Store app version.

2. The hack is only for x64 (ARM64) or x32 (ARMv7) and your iDevice is not supported. (Frequently Asked Questions)

3. The hack is only for x32 (ARMv7) and you have a x64 (ARM64) iDevice. To fix this, you will need to manually thin you binary using one of these tutorials:
How to Easily Thin/Patch your Binary on Mac/PC/iOS
How to perform a binary patch / How to thin you binary
How to crack and thin the binary on iOS 9
(if you're on iOS 9, you will need to download and install the app using iTunes before thinning your binary. Also, use Clutch2 or Rasticrac from Cydia)

4. In some cases, some hacks may require you to downgrade your Cydia Substrate version to v0.9.6110 for them to work. If it does, it will say so on the topic.

5. Check your app's bundle ID and the hack's bundle ID and make sure they match. This usually means that the hack is for the American version of the app and you may have installed the Australian version of the app. This is rare but some companies like BANDAI NAMCO do this.
Application Bundle ID is located inside the Info.plist file inside the app's folder.
Hack Bundle ID is usually written inside the topic, if not, after installing the hack, the bundle ID will be found in /Library/MobileSubstrate/DynamicLibraries/HACKNAME.plist. Verify the bundle ID inside the hack matches the one located in your app's Info.plist. If it doesn't, that means you may have to download the app from a different App Store region and reinstall the hack so it can apply properly. You can check the Bundle ID differences using App Info.

6. In some rare cases, you may have 2 of the same apps with the same folder name which may confuse the .deb. So instead of applying the hack to the correct folder, it applies it to the first folder it finds thus causing crash on the other app. Like for example, most Com2Us & Gamevil games use the same folder & binary name so the deb gets confused. To fix this, you need to find the apps you have installed with duplicate folder names and remove them and just keep the one you're installing the hack for.

I read and did all the above but the hack still won't work or crashes my app?
This is the "ultimate solution". It's not suggested you do this without trying everything else mentioned above first. This was found by @Crazy8Ball and it has worked for others. This involves uninstalling Cydia Substrate so this will also uninstall all your tweaks. It might be dangerous for some.

These are the instructions:

1. Uninstall Cydia Substrate from Cydia -> Manage -> Installed -> Find Cydia Substrate and remove it.

Note: This will uninstall everything that depends on it. Which is most tweaks you have on your device. You have been warned.

2. Run iCleaner. Install iCleaner from this Cydia repo and then click on 'Analyze' then 'Clean' inside the iCleaner app. Once it's finished, let it respring.

Note: This iCleaner step might be unnecessary.

3. Re-install Cydia Substrate from Cydia and respring or reboot.

4. Install the .deb hack once again.