Game HUD guide: FPS overlay, mod menu, Game Mode and 120 Hz

Game HUD puts a small overlay on top of your games that shows the real on-screen frame rate, CPU load, temperature and memory. Tap it to lock the game to 60 or 120 Hz, record your screen, turn on Game Mode, Boost away the apps sitting in the background, or open Mods to change values like coins and lives in offline games.

Before you start

• A rootless jailbroken iPhone on iOS 16 or 17, such as Dopamine. Not sure which jailbreak fits your iPhone? Use the jailbreak finder.
• Sileo or Zebra with the CarterWare repo added. See Install CarterWare tweaks. Sileo installs the two packages Game HUD needs (ElleKit or Substrate, and PreferenceLoader) for you.
• The frame rate lock and 120 Hz in Games need a ProMotion (120 Hz) display, which means an iPhone 13 Pro or a later Pro model. On other iPhones everything else works and the 120 Hz options are hidden.
• Game Mode and the Record button are new in version 1.2.0. They have been tested end to end on iOS 16; on iOS 17 they are not yet fully tested, so please report anything that misbehaves.
• Mods is new in version 1.3.0. It has been tested end to end on iOS 17; on iOS 16 it is not yet fully tested. It only changes what a game keeps on your iPhone, and changing an online game can get your account banned.
• Game HUD costs $1.99 one-time, or it's included with Tweak Pass. See Buying and restoring.

Set it up

1. Install Game HUD from the CarterWare repo in Sileo, then respring (restart the Home Screen) when Sileo offers it.
2. Open a game. A small dark pill appears at the top center of the screen, just below the Dynamic Island or notch. On a new install the HUD shows only in games; if you updated from an earlier version, it keeps showing in every app until you change Show In.
3. Check the readouts. You should see something like 60 FPS 12% CPU ● 31° C 210 MB APP. On a screen where nothing is moving the frame rate reads IDLE, which means it's working.
4. Tap the HUD. A panel opens with the game's name, the frame rate choices, Boost, Record, Game Mode and Mods. Tap the HUD again to close it.
5. Open Settings → Game HUD to choose where it shows up and to turn on Game Mode.

Common tasks

Read the FPS, CPU, temperature and memory numbers

• FPS counts the frames that actually reach the screen, not a number the game reports. Green is 55 or more, yellow is 30 to 54, red is below 30. IDLE means nothing on screen changed, and -- shows for a moment while the first reading comes in.
• CPU is the load across all of the iPhone's processor cores, not just the open app. It turns yellow at 60% and red at 85%.
• Temperature is the battery's temperature, not the processor's. The dot in front of it is the system's thermal state: green is normal, yellow warm, orange hot and red means iOS is slowing the iPhone down to cool it.
• Memory shows APP (what the open app is using) or FREE (what's available), depending on Memory Shows.

Choose which apps show the HUD

Open Settings → Game HUD → Show In:

• Games shows it in apps the App Store lists as games, plus your Chosen Apps. This is the default on new installs.
• All Apps shows it everywhere.
• Chosen Apps shows it only in the apps you switch on under Chosen Apps.

Apps from outside the App Store usually have no category, so if a game is missed, add it under Chosen Apps. To keep the HUD off app titles, turn off Portrait: it then appears only when the app is sideways, like most games.

Silence notifications while you play with Game Mode

1. Open Settings → Game HUD and turn on Game Mode. Silence Notifications and Keep Screen Awake are on by default.
2. Open a game. If the HUD is showing, it briefly says Game Mode On.
3. Play. Banners and their sounds are held back, and the screen doesn't auto-lock.

Game Mode works in any game Game HUD detects and in your Chosen Apps, and turns itself off when you leave the game or lock the iPhone. Nothing is thrown away: held-back notifications still wait in Notification Center. Calls, FaceTime, alarms and timers, critical alerts, emergency alerts, Find My, and the game's own notifications always come through.

You can also tap Game Mode in the HUD panel to switch it on or off. If you're not in a game, the HUD says Game Mode On in Games.

Run every game at 120 Hz

1. Turn on Game Mode, then 120 Hz in Games.
2. Close the game and open it again. The FPS readout can now climb above 60.

This uses ProMotion in every detected game and Chosen App, from the next time each one opens. A few older games run too fast at 120; set those to 60 Hz in Frame Rate per App, which always wins for that app.

Unlock 120 Hz or hold 60 Hz for one app

1. Open the app and tap the HUD.
2. Under Frame Rate, tap 120 Hz to unlock ProMotion, 60 Hz to save battery, or Default to undo.
3. Tap Relaunch (app name) Now. The app closes and reopens with the new rate.

Games that limit their own frame rate stay at their limit. You can also set rates in Settings → Game HUD → Frame Rate per App.

Record your screen from the HUD

1. Tap the HUD and tap Record. The panel closes and a red dot with a running timer and REC appears in the HUD.
2. To finish, tap the HUD and tap Stop. The HUD says Saved to Photos.

Record uses the same screen recorder as Control Center, so the video lands in Photos like any screen recording. The HUD is part of the video, and the microphone isn't recorded. If the button is missing, screen recording isn't allowed on this iPhone (for example, it's blocked in Screen Time).

Free memory before playing with Boost

1. Tap the HUD to open the panel.
2. Tap Boost. After a second or two the panel says how many background apps it closed and how much memory was freed.

Boost closes apps running in the background, the same as swiping them away in the app switcher, without asking first. It never closes the app you're using, whatever is playing audio, calls and FaceTime, Apple Maps, Google Maps and Waze, or common calling and chat apps such as WhatsApp, Discord, Zoom and Slack. It frees memory; it doesn't make the processor or graphics faster, and the closed apps start from scratch next time.

To Boost automatically, turn on Boost When a Game Opens. It runs once each time a game or Chosen App launches.

Change coins, lives or any number in an offline game

1. Open the game, tap the HUD and tap Mods. The mod menu opens inside the game. The first time, read the warning and tap I Understand.
2. On Search, type a number you can see in the game, such as your coins, pick the type (Int 32 fits most counters) and tap Search.
3. Spend or earn some in the game. Close the menu with the × to play, then tap the HUD and Mods again.
4. Type the new number and tap Search New Value, or tap Went Up, Went Down, Changed or Same. Repeat until one or a few matches are left.
5. Tap a match, type the number you want and choose Set to change it once or Set and Freeze to lock it there. Save keeps it on the Saved tab. When the game is sideways, you pick the option first and then type the number.

On Saved, switch a value on to freeze it so the game can't change it, or tap it to set, rename or remove it. Saved values reset when the game closes, because games put them somewhere new each time they open. If nothing matches, try Float (health bars and timers) or Double (idle and clicker games). Change All… writes one number to every match, for when they're all the same thing.

The first time you open Mods in a game that was already running, the panel says to open it again. Tap Relaunch (app name) Now. Games and your Chosen Apps get the menu from the next time they open; any other app gets it once you've tapped Mods in it.

Patch a game's code or load a mod file

• Patches: on the Patches tab, tap Add Patch and enter the Module (leave it blank for the game itself; Unity games usually use UnityFramework), the Offset and the Bytes from a patch you trust. It turns on right away, is saved for this game and applies every time the game opens while it's on. Switch it off to put the original code back.
• Mod files: put a mod's .dylib file in the folder shown on the Files tab (Copy Folder Path copies it; Filza works). Switch the file on and tap Relaunch to Apply. It loads each time the game opens while it's on.

Only add patches and mod files from sources you trust: they run inside the game with full access to it.

Move the HUD or put it in a corner

• Pick a spot: Position has Top Center, Top Left, Top Right, Bottom Left, Bottom Center and Bottom Right.
• Drag it: press and drag the HUD anywhere; Position switches to Where I Drag It. Portrait and landscape remember separate spots.
• Stop it sliding: turn off Drag to Move.
• Start over: tap Reset HUD Position.

To hide the HUD in the app you're in, tap it and tap Hide Until I Switch Apps.

Settings explained

Everything lives in Settings → Game HUD. Changes apply right away, no respring needed.

Chosen Apps

A searchable list of your App Store and jailbreak apps, each with a switch. With Show In set to Chosen Apps the HUD shows only in the apps you switch on; with Games it shows in them as well as detected games. Game Mode, 120 Hz in Games and Boost When a Game Opens treat them as games too. Apple's built-in apps aren't listed.

Frame Rate per App

A searchable list of your App Store and jailbreak apps. Tap an app and pick Default, 60 Hz or 120 Hz. Apps with a custom rate move to a Custom section at the top, including Apple apps you set from the HUD panel. A new rate applies the next time the app opens.

This row and 120 Hz in Games only appear on iPhones with a ProMotion display.

Troubleshooting

The HUD doesn't appear

• Check that Enabled is on, and check Show In. With Games, it only shows in apps the App Store lists as games and in your Chosen Apps.
• If Portrait is off, the HUD waits until the app turns sideways.
• On the Home Screen it only shows when Home Screen is on.
• If you tapped Hide Until I Switch Apps, open another app and come back.
• The HUD never shows on the Lock Screen or while the screen is off.
• When the Dynamic Island expands over the HUD (the full Now Playing player, a timer or a call), the HUD fades out until the island shrinks again.

The HUD covers a button I need to tap

In portrait, the Top Center spot can sit over the title or button in an app's top bar, and taps on the HUD go to the HUD. Set Show In to Games, turn off Portrait, pick another Position, or drag the HUD away.

120 Hz didn't change anything

• The new rate applies only after the app reopens.
• Some games cap their own frame rate, or can't draw faster than 60. Game HUD can't lift those limits.
• iOS limits the screen to 60 Hz in Low Power Mode.
• Enabled must be on, and for 120 Hz in Games, Game Mode too.

Game Mode or the HUD turns on in an app that isn't a game

A few apps, such as game-streaming apps, are filed under game categories in the App Store, so Game HUD treats them as games. Set Show In to Chosen Apps if that gets in your way.

A game isn't detected

Apps installed from outside the App Store, and some apps filed under another category, aren't detected. Add the game in Chosen Apps.

I still hear notification sounds during Game Mode

Banners are reliably held back. Holding back their sounds hasn't been confirmed on every setup yet. Use the Ring/Silent switch as a backup and send a bug report.

Record says Couldn't Start Recording, or Stop doesn't appear

Another screen recording may already be running. Stop it from the red recording indicator at the top of the screen or the Screen Recording button in Control Center, then try again. If it keeps happening, restart your iPhone and jailbreak again.

Mods found no matches, or my change didn't stick

• Coins, gems and purchases in online games live on the game's servers, so there's nothing on your iPhone to change. Only offline values can be changed.
• Try another type: Float for health bars and timers, Double for idle games. Some games store a number scrambled or multiplied, which a search can't find.
• If a value changes back right away, the game keeps a second copy. Use Set and Freeze, or narrow the search again and change the other match too.

The game closed when I turned on a patch

Some games check their own code and close when it's changed, and a patch with the wrong offset or bytes for this version of the game can crash it. Open the game again, switch the patch off on the Patches tab, and check the patch was made for the version you have.

A mod file says it didn't load

Tap it on the Files tab to see why. Mod files must be built for rootless jailbreaks (arm64) and are only loaded when the game opens, so tap Relaunch to Apply after switching one on.

I can't find Safari or another Apple app in the lists

Chosen Apps and Frame Rate per App only list App Store and jailbreak apps. To lock an Apple app's frame rate, open it, tap the HUD and pick a rate there.

For anything else, use Report a Bug at the bottom of Settings → Game HUD. More fixes are in Troubleshooting.

Questions

Does Game HUD slow my games down?

The HUD updates a few times a second and does no work at all while it's hidden or the screen is off. If you want it even lighter, set Update Every to Second.

Does Game Mode delete my notifications?

No. Game Mode only stops banners and their sounds while a game is open. Every notification still goes to Notification Center, and calls, alarms, critical alerts and the game's own notifications come through as usual.

Is the temperature my CPU temperature?

No. Game HUD shows the battery's temperature, which rises with the rest of the iPhone. The colored dot beside it is the system's thermal state, and red means iOS is already slowing things down to cool off.

Can Game HUD make any game run at 120 Hz?

Often, yes. Many games stay at 60 only because they never asked iOS for more. Games that limit their own frame rate stay at their limit, and you need a ProMotion iPhone (iPhone 13 Pro or a later Pro model).

Can Game HUD give me free coins or gems in online games?

No. In online games your coins, gems and purchases are kept on the game's servers, and nothing on your iPhone can change them. Mods changes values a game keeps on your iPhone, like coins and lives in offline games.

Can I get banned for using Mods?

Yes, in online games. Changing values or code in a game with accounts, leaderboards or multiplayer can get your account banned. Use Mods in offline games.

How much does Game HUD cost?

$1.99 one-time, or it's included with CarterWare Tweak Pass while your pass is active.