Exploit discovered that could allow A5 devices to downgrade from iOS 5.1

Folks with newer devices on iOS 5.1 will be happy to hear that

iH8sn0w has uncovered a new exploit that could potentially allow users to downgrade their A5 gadgets to the more jailbreak-friendly iOS 5.0.1 in the near future.

As noted by Gadgetsteria, the Sn0wBreeze creator announced yesterday via his Twitter account that he has uncovered a “loophole” in Apple’s APticket system that allowed him to downgrade his iPad 2 from 5.1 to 5.0.1…

Here’s the tweet:

iH8sn0w@iH8sn0w

Found a loophole in Apple's apticket system. Restored my iPad 2 to 5.0.1 from 5.1. Works on all A5 devices. :)

25 Mar 12

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This is actually a pretty big deal, considering there isn’t currently a jailbreak available for A5 devices (untethered or otherwise) on iOS 5.1. Nor is there a method of downgrading the firmware on these devices at this time.

Chances are you’ll need saved SHSH blobs from iOS 5.0.1 for whatever hardware you’re looking to downgrade, but we won’t know anything for sure until we see an official release. And unfortunately, we don’t have any kind of ETA.

As always, we’ll let you know more as soon as we do. So stay tuned.

Sn0wBreeze v2.9.3 released to jailbreak iOS 5.1 on Windows

Hot off the heels of Thursday’s RedSn0w iOS 5.1 compatibility update
comes Sn0wBreeze v2.9.2, which makes the popular Windows jailbreak tool compatible with iOS 5.1.

If you’re familiar with previous iterations of Sn0wBreeze, then you’re not going to find any surprises here. It’s still about creating a custom IPSW and restoring via iTunes to accomplish the jailbreak.

One of the advantages that you have with Sn0wBreeze is that it will preserve your baseband for those interested in maintaining an existing unlock.

This updated for Sn0wBreeze is compatible with A4 devices and below, and is of course, a tethered jailbreak. Check out more details inside…

Here is the change log for ih8sn0w’s latest jailbreak tool update:

• Added Tethered Jailbreak support for 3GS/iPod Touch 3/A4 Users on iOS 5.1 (9B176)
• iPhone 3GS old-bootrom users are untethered on 5.1/9B176 (as usual).
• Bug Fixes (Specifically with the iPad baseband and iPhone 2G).
• Re-added the iPhone Dev-Team’s iPhone 2G permanent unlock ‘BootNeuter’.

Again Sn0wBreeze is not compatible with A5 devices such as the iPhone 4S or the iPad 2. The reason for that is described below:

A low level (DFU/iBoot/LLB) exploit is required to start the restoration of custom IPSWs. The past two jailbreaks (JailbreakMe & absinthe) for the A5 worked within iOS itself. These exploits are not capable of bringing the iDevice into a state where it will accept custom IPSWs. Therefore, an A5 device cannot currently downgrade to an iOS revision that Apple is no longer signing (even with SHSH blobs) and it cannot preserve the baseband when updating to a newer iOS revision.

Download the new Sn0wbreeze from our Download-section.

Head over to ih8sn0w’s blog for more info on this latest update.

Are you going to jailbreak your device on iOS 5.1, or are you staying put on an older firmware?

FireCore updates its aTV Flash (black) software to version 1.4

FireCore published a blog post earlier today announcing a new update

to its aTV Flash (black) suite. The software package can add a lot of functionality to your jailbroken Apple TV, including an integrated web browser and non-iTunes content support.

The update, which brings the software to version 1.4, includes a number of new features and bug fixes. Keep reading for the full change log…

• New Center channel audio boost (+6dB and +12dB) for 5.0 and 5.1 audio tracks
• New Finish, German, Japanese, Norwegian, Polish, Russian, and Swedish translations
• New ’4:3 Crop’ and ’4:3 Stretch’ zoom options
• New support for M3U and PLS playlists
• New EyeTV folder detection
• New TrueHD audio (downmixed)
• New 24-bit and 32-bit audio (downmixed)
• New enhanced downmixing for 5.1 AC3 audio (Dolby Pro Logic II)
• New support for embedded Mp3 covers
• New Automatic EXIF-based image rotation
• New Mp4s embedded subtitles
• New Clock added to main menu
• Improved poster art quality in list and grid view
• Improved buffering logic for DVD files
• Improved cover art fetching from Last.fm
• Improved DVD menu highlighting
• Improved Photo viewer & slideshow
• Improved adjusted slideshow to match native Flickr style
• Improved Danish, Dutch, French, Greek, Italian, Brazilian, Portuguese, and Spanish translations
• Improved minor UI improvements
• Fixed downmixing issues for specific audio tracks
• Fixed playback issues for specific audio tracks
• Fixed Increased AFP login timeout to 30 seconds
• Fixed metadata issues for files that contain “/” in folder or file name
• Fixed operation of the photo slideshow on iOS 4.x
• Fixed issue with favorites removal when share password is changed
• Fixed incorrect navigation in grid view on iOS 4.*
• Fixed issue with DVD marked as watched after view menu
• Fixed rare issue with incorrect pre-playback screen layout
• Fixed rare crash in libdvdnav when playing DVD files
• Fixed rare DVD playback error
• Fixed rare ‘Bad URL’ error

The update is available to current aTV Flash (black) owners for free. Just visit Maintenance > Manage Extras in the software to download. FireCore also says that it plans to make the app compatible with the new 5.0 Apple TV update as soon as possible.

Heed the warnings from the iPhone Dev Team regarding jailbreaking

We’ve heard so many sad stories in the past about ones who accidentally lost

their jailbreak, or thought they could go back to a previous firmware when they couldn’t.

As jailbreak aficionados that truly saddens us. Hence, whenever we can help get out a warning, we’re all about it.

The iPhone Dev Team, the folks responsible for tools like RedSn0w, PwnageTool and more, have sounded a loud warning about the iOS 5.1 firmware, and its implications on jailbreaking.

If you’re at all concerned with jailbreaking, we highly recommend you listen up…

In a blog post entitled “March Mayhem” the Dev Team outlines the specifics regarding each device and how they are impacted by the release of iOS 5.1.

In a nutshell, unless you absolutely need the features included on iOS 5.1, don’t update if you care about jailbreaking. Absolutely nothing good comes from updating your device if you care about jailbreaking.

While you can still jailbreak older devices like the iPhone 4, iPod touch, or original iPad with the latest version of RedSn0w, you will lose your untethered status by doing so (not including 3GS old bootrom).

If you update the iPhone 4S, it is flat out impossible to jailbreak, or downgrade to jailbreak the 5.0.1 firmware once Apple stops signing the older firmware. Stay away!

For iPad 2, while it’s still possible to downgrade to iOS 4.x if you have your 4.x blobs saved, (theoretically allowing you to jailbreak iOS 4.3.3 with JailbreakMe) you cannot and will not be able to go back to iOS 5.0, or iOS 5.0.1, even if you have your blobs saved for those firmwares.

For more information, we highly suggest you read the Dev Team’s entire blog post. Even if you’re an experienced jailbreaker, it’s worth looking over as a refresher.

What will you do? Will you stay were you are, or update to iOS 5.1?

How to jailbreak iOS 5.1 with Redsn0w 0.9.10b6

iOS 5.1 has finally dropped, and for the most part we totally recommend

staying away from the update if you care anything about your jailbreak, as does the iPhone Dev Team.

That being said, for those with older A4 devices, it is possible to enjoy a tethered jailbreak on iOS 5.1 and still downgrade back to previous firmwares if you have your SHSH blobs for those firmwares.

With A5 devices like the iPad 2, and the iPhone 4S, it is impossible at the moment to downgrade to any older iOS 5.x firmware, even if you have your SHSH blobs saved. So don’t upgrade to 5.1, especially if you care about your iPhone 4S jailbreak.

If you have an iPhone 4, iPod touch, iPhone 3GS, or original iPad, then check inside for a tutorial on how to perform a tethered jailbreak on iOS 5.1…

Step 1: Download RedSn0w 0.9.10b6 from our downloads page and run it.

Step 2: Place your iPhone 4, or iPod touch, etc. into DFU mode.

Step 3: Click jailbreak on RedSnow, and it will go through the process of finding the necessary firmware. It will then ask you to install Cydia, make sure that is selected and click next.

Step 4: You should see a lot of scrolling text on your device, and eventually you will be back to your Home screen. You will see a Cydia icon but it will be white. That is because you have to perform a tethered boot.

Step 5: Place your iPhone 4, or iPod touch, etc. back into DFU mode.

Step 6: Click back on redSn0w and select Just boot. This will perform a tethered boot, and once your device returns to its Home screen, you will see a usable Cydia app icon. Open Cydia, and enjoy your jailbreak.

Note: Each time you reboot your device, you will have to perform steps 5 and 6 again to perform a tethered boot.

Again, we can’t stress enough how important it is to stay away from iOS 5.1 if you care at all about your iPhone 4S jailbreak. iPad 2 owners will also be impacted, so don’t update either, though, you can still downgrade to older 4.x firmware if you have your blobs for iOS 4.x.

Are you going to jailbreak your iPhone 4, iPod touch (4th generation), etc?