Jailbreaking iOS 4.3.1 with PwnageTool 4.3

PwnageTool and Redsn0w have been updated, and both allow jailbreaking a range of iOS devices without tethering. This walk through covers PwnageTool 4.3, with another covering Redsn0w to follow. The main difference between the two apps is the method of jailbreaking. PwnageTool makes a custom Firmware file that iTunes puts onto the device. Redsn0w jailbreaks a device after iTunes has installed a standard Apple Firmware.

Before starting a jailbreak using PwnageTool or Redsn0w you need the correct firmware for your device. I used a great guide at iClarified that links to every iPhone firmware that has been released. My iPhone is a 3GS so the firmware I wanted was the 4.3.1 (3GS): iPhone2,1_4.3.1_8G4_Restore.ipsw. Once downloaded and placed on my desktop I launched Pwnagetool 4.3.

iOS 4.2.1 Jailbreak released

New Firmware, New Jailbreak. Following yesterday’s release of iOS 4.2.1, redsn0w 0.9.6b4 is now available to jailbreak it. There are some conditions attached, so best read the post at the iPhone Dev Team Blog before attempting the jailbreak.

Another thing to remember is that this is still beta software, so may not work as expected. I followed the instructions the app gives to enter DFU mode, but found redsn0w stopped at the waiting for reboot screen. I got around this problem by putting my iPhone 3GS into DFU mode manually before running redsn0w, then pressing the power button when redsn0w stopped at waiting for reboot.

Once Jailbroken, there are a few more issues. SB settings isn’t currently working for me, and crashes springboard when I try to use it. No doubt this will be quickly fixed, but for now just remember this is new software, so either wait for the jailbreak ecosystem to catch up or enjoy the ride.

Update 25th November – Cydia updated SBsettings Toggles today, and SBsettings is now working perfectly with 4.2.1 on my 3GS.

JailbreakMe.com for iOS4 (and 3.2) devices

The iPhone Dev Team has announced that jailbreakme.com is now live offering a Safari based jailbreak for iOS4 devices, as well as iPads running 3.2.1. Their blog post states the site will jailbreak iPhones, iPod Touches and iPads so it may work with older software versions but details are a little scarce at the moment.

The screenshots above and below show the simple jailbreaking process on my 3.2.1 iPad which now has Cydia installed as well as the marvelous iFile.

Camera Connection Kit with iPad and iPhone Review

The main accesory I wanted to buy with my iPad was the camera connection kit. Unfortunately this was sold out in New York, so I tried again on launch day in the UK. When the kit sold out in a couple of hours here it was time to place an order through the Apple online store and wait three weeks like everyone else. I’ve now had the kit for two weeks and can give some thoughts on it’s use.

The camera connection kit comprises two small adaptors that plug into the iPad dock connector, providing an SD card slot and a USB socket.

The intended use for these two items is to transfer photo and video content from your digital camera to the iPad for viewing, storage and subsequent transfer to a computer. The first thing I tested when the kit arrived was its ability to import media from my Panasonic LX3 camera. Jpeg and RAW images preview and copy to the ipad correctly, and the camera’s 720p video is also fully supported. This wasn’t a huge surprise as much has already been written about the functionality of the kit, but being able to copy party video’s quickly to the iPad for immediate viewing was one of those ‘wow’ moments for the guests.

Jailbreaking a 3GS with iOS4

With the iPhone Dev Team’s release of PwnageTool 4 yesterday (and the 4.01 update today) I was ready to jailbreak my iPhone 3GS. It’s been running the iOS4 beta 4/Gold Master since that was leaked, but being on iOS4 already had prevented the use of the beta jailbreaks available before the public release of iOS4. There were still several steps involved to achieve the jailbreak, as stipulated in this condition from the Dev Team’s blog:

If you have a Jailbroken iPhone 3GS with the OLD BOOTROM and you DID NOT use Spirit to jailbreak then you can create the ipsw with PwnageTool 4.0 and restore with your jailbroken recovery mode

My 3GS uses the old bootrom, so OK there. The requirement for a jailbroken 3GS NOT using Spirit meant the first step was to downgrade the firmware to 3.1.2. That’s an easy step if Cydia has your SHSH stored for the previous firmware, as mine are.

The next step was to jailbreak the 3.1.2 install using redsn0w 0.9.2. Once this was confirmed to be working correctly (just look for Cydia to be installed) PwnageTool 4.01 was used to produce a custom iOS4 ipsw. The iPhone was then put into DFU mode, and iTunes used to pick the custom ipsw to restore.

Both times I restored a firmware during this process a 1015 error was given after the restore. By that time the restore had successfully completed but the iPhone was stuck in recovery mode. The freeware RecBoot utility was used to get out of recovery mode and back to normal startup.

A backup had been made by iTunes before starting the jailbreak, so this was restored once the jailbreak was completed. I now have SBsettings back on my iPhone, giving fast access to 3G and WiFi on/off to help conserve batter power. There’s a few other useful jailbroken apps that haven’t been updated for iOS4 compatibility yet, but hopefully that will be done soon.

Once again thanks to the iPhone Dev Team for redsn0w and PwnageTool, and to Saurik for Cydia and enabling the downgrade to earlier firmware.

iPad Jailbreaking and strange fixes

In the name of research my iPad has been jailbroken using the Spirit app. There hasn’t been much of a need for jailbreaking as the settings app sits in the expanded six place iPad dock, and provides much faster access to settings than the iPhone equivalent. SBsettings is now installed on the iPad, but Winterboard currently has some issues on the iPad. Changing the theme on the iPhone makes it look much better, but the iPad supports wallpapers and the apps look way better without any fiddling so the appeal of theming is much reduced.

There’s not much to report on the jailbreak, it’s just as simple as the recent iPhone attempt and results in Cydia on the iPad desktop. There’s a warning in Cydia that not everything works on the iPad yet, and some iPhone software may cause a crash that needs a software restore to fix.

Trying the iPad’s iPod app yesterday resulted in an instant crash that I initially thought may be related to the jailbreak, but posts on the Apple support forum showed the issue is not uncommon. The unlikely fix of launching the Videos app before the iPod app actually worked for me so all is back to normal.

Apple blocks iPhone jailbreaking with modified boot ROM

Anyone looking to buy an iPhone for jailbreaking may be out of luck until a new exploit can be found. iClarified and many other sites are reporting that new (shipping since last week) iPhones have an updated Boot ROM that is no longer vulnerable to the 24kpwn exploit used to jailbreak the 3GS.

Macrumors speculates that the block on jailbreaking may be linked to software piracy on jailbroken iPhones. While there are genuine reasons for jailbreaking and unlocking, the continued piracy of cheap apps isn’t going to help the cause. Ripping off apps that cost only a few dollars/pounds is just hurting the developers that make the iPhone such a great platform.