Unlock iOS 7 Lock Screen In Style Using Taps: Unlockr Cydia Tweak

The iOS 7’s lock screen is a major improvement over the previous versions. It looks neater, plush and animates better. What I like the most about the new lock screen is that unlike iOS 6 and the versions prior to it, on iOS 7 the clock and unlock slider do not have a translucent background at the back. This means the screen is visually more pleasing and gives more estate to the wallpaper.

Also the unlocking animation is better as instead of the slider, the entire lock screen moves when you perform a swipe. Could there be any better way to unlock? To me, there isn’t but iOS developers think you can add style to the iOS 7 lockscreen and redefine the unlocking process.

unlockr is a new tweak available on Cydia that lets you unlock the iOS 7 lock screen using simple taps. Yes, no swipes just taps. The tweak is priced at $1.99 and is hosted on BigBoss repo.

How To Use unlockr On iOS 7

• Step one is to purchase the package, install it and respring your device.
• Once you have done all that, unlock your device and go to Settings.
• Find the unlockr settings page and open it.

• On the settings page you will see a couple of toggles. Enable unlockr first using the top most toggle and select the number of taps for the pattern (I will talk about the unlock pattern soon). I would advice you to keep the number of taps as 4, which is also the default number, and once you understand how the app works you can increase the number of taps to make your lockscreen pattern complex.

• Also enable the ‘Show Taps on Lockscreen’ option as this is the first time you are using the tweak. You can also change the colour scheme to Dark if you want using the toggle given at the bottom.
• After making all the changes, lock your device and try out the new lock screen.

When you unlock the device you would see a disc/ball at the bottom (take a look at the first image). Tap on the round button and it will slide to the center of screen and divide the screen into four rectangular sections/buttons. Now you need to set a new pattern.

Since I selected 4 taps, I had to create a sequence by tapping four times on any of the rectangular buttons randomly. Remember the order in which you tapped on the buttons and repeat it to confirm the pattern. This will set a new tap-pattern for unlocking your device and now only you can unlock it as you know the correct tap-order.

NOTE: Every time you change the number of taps, you will have to set a new pattern.

How Well Does unlockr Work

I used the tweak for a couple of days and I really like the way it works. The integration is seamless and the activation button on the lock screen looks nice too.

Question is, does the tweak justify it’s price tag?. I think the $1.99 is a bit too much for a tweak like this and it should have been somewhere around a dollar. Keeping the price aside, the unlockr is a wonderful tweak that adds style to iOS 7 lock screen. Go ahead and install the tweak.