iPhone Jailbreaking

Good news is here for those anxiously awaiting an iOS 4.3.x untethered jailbreak solution. Ever since Apple stepped up the cat and mouse game by patching recent exploits, the development community has been working hard to find a new way forward. As it turns out, developer Stefan Esser (i0n1c) found a new exploit and has already put it into the hands of the iPhone Dev-Team for testing.

He recently posted a video of the untethered jailbreak in action on an iPod touch running iOS 4.3.1. All eyes are now on the Dev-Team, awaiting confirmation that the method will be incorporated into existing tools and released to the public.

iPhone Dev-Team has packaged the jailbreak solution released by Chronic Dev Team along with some extra features into Pwnage Tool 4.2. This latest incarnation of Pwnage Tool provides an untethered jailbreak on Mac OS X for all recent iOS devices running firmware 4.2.1 and the Verizon iPhone running 4.2.6.

One key advantage of using the Pwnage Tool will appeal to unlockers, as these individuals can safely restore to a custom 4.2.1 IPSW while keeping their current baseband and unlock. Two problems that were reported with the GreenPois0n jailbreak have also been fixed, including iBooks not opening as well as Wi-Fi issues on the Apple TV 2.

Chronic Dev Team has released GreenPois0n RC6 for Mac OS X and Windows. Untethered jailbreaking is now possible on all recent iOS devices including the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and Verizon iPhone 4. GreenPois0n RC6 has added support for Apple TV and doesn't require any saved SHSH blobs. And did we mention that it's untethered?

Jailbreaking an updated AT&T or Verizon iPhone is now an easy process thanks to Chronic Dev Team. The software packages for Mac OS X and Windows can be downloaded directly from greenpois0n.com with a Linux version in the works. With a jailbroken device, users can install and use a variety of apps from independent developers using the Cydia app installer. For those new to the scene, rest assured that iPhone jailbreaking has been declared legal here in the US.

UPDATE (2/14/2011): A jailbreak (not unlock) for Verizon iPhones running iOS 4.2.6 is now available. Click the following link to learn about how to jailbreak the Verizon iPhone.

Since Verizon's iPhone 4 launch announcement yesterday, the web has been rife with speculation on how soon we'll see the Verizon iPhone 4 jailbroken and unlocked. Will the iPhone Dev Team focus on the CDMA iPhone unlock, or just the jailbreak of iOS 4.2.5? If an unlock does become available for the Verizon iPhone, will Sprint embrace the CDMA iPhone? Some say it will happen, some say it won't. Except there's only one problem ... the CDMA / Verizon iPhone 4 isn't locked in the first place. Why? Because CDMA phones aren't locked.

The long awaited untethered jailbreak for iOS 4.2.1 is here, albeit in limited fashion. The instructions below pertain to Redsn0w 0.9.7b1, a beta release of the so-called "backup plan" untethered jailbreak. This release is not the final release and, being a beta, requires a bit more effort than the eventual final release should. This jailbreak is also limited to the iPhone 4, iPad and iPod Touch 4G.

The following provides step-by-step instructions on how to jailbreak your iPhone (or other iOS device) using Redsn0w 0.9.7b1.