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Jailbreak (iPhone)
Encyclopedia
iOS jailbreaking, or simply jailbreaking, is the process of removing the limitations imposed by Apple on device
s running the iOS
operating system
through use of custom kernels
. Such devices include the iPhone
, iPod Touch
, iPad
, and 2nd Gen Apple TV. Jailbreaking allows users to gain root access to the operating system, allowing iOS users to download additional applications, extensions, and themes that are unavailable through the official Apple App Store. A jailbroken iPhone
, iPod Touch
, or iPad
running iOS can still use the App Store, iTunes
, and other normal functions, such as making telephone calls.
Unlike rooting
an Android device, jailbreaking is necessary if the user intends to run software not authorized by Apple. A tethered jailbreak requires that the device be connected to a computer each time it needs to be booted; an untethered jailbreak allows the device to be powered without computer assistance. Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act
, jailbreaking Apple devices is legal in the United States, although Apple has announced that the practice "can void the warranty".
, an application for finding and installing software for jailbroken iOS devices. Since software programs available through Cydia do not have to fit App Store guidelines, many of them are not typical self-contained apps but instead are extensions and customizations for iOS and other apps.
Some users look to software outside the App Store to express opposition to Apple's censorship of content through the app approval process
: in early 2010, Apple banned an app submitted by Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist, Mark Fiore
, because it "ridiculed public figures", in violation of Section 3.3.14 of the iPhone Developer Program License Agreement. Apple later called Fiore and asked him to resubmit his app for approval. In late 2010, Apple banned the use of apps that allowed users to donate money to non-profit organization and charities. Apple also banned the controversial WikiLeaks
app, stating it "violated their developer guidelines". As the list of banned apps continues to grow, some users have found jailbreaking to be a viable alternative to Apple’s censorship
of content.
Installing unapproved software has the potential to affect battery life and system stability, especially if the software is poorly optimized or if the software runs resource-draining services (such as 3G or WiFi).
worm
, iKee, appeared in early November 2009, created by 21-year-old Australia
n technical college
student Ashley Towns of Wollongong
. He told Australian media that he created the worm to raise awareness of security issues; jailbreaking allows users to install a SSH
service, which is often left in a de facto unsecure state. In the same month, F-Secure
reported on a new malicious worm compromising bank transactions from jailbroken phones in the Netherlands
, similarly affecting devices where the owner had installed SSH without changing the default password.
On July 15, 2011, Apple released a new version of iOS that closed the exploit used in JailbreakMe
3.0. The German Federal Office for Information Security
had reported that the "critical weakness" uncovered by JailbreakMe meant that iOS users could potentially have their information stolen or unwittingly download malware
by clicking on maliciously-crafted PDF files. Before Apple released a fix for this security hole, jailbreak users had access to a fix published by the developer of JailbreakMe.
, the U.S. Copyright Office
explicitly recognized an exemption to the DMCA to permit jailbreaking in order to allow iPhone owners to use their phones with applications that are not available from Apple's store, and to unlock their iPhones for use with unapproved carriers. Apple had previously filed comments opposing this exemption and indicated that they did consider jailbreaking to be a violation of copyright (and by implication prosecutable under the DMCA). Apple's request to define copyright law to include jailbreaking as a violation was denied as part of the 2009 DMCA rulemaking. In their ruling, the Library of Congress affirmed on July 26, 2010 that jailbreaking is exempt from DMCA rules with respect to circumventing digital locks. This exemption must be reviewed and renewed every three years or else it will expire.
Tim Wu
, a professor at Columbia Law School
, argued that jailbreaking is "legal, ethical, and just plain fun." Wu cited an explicit exemption issued by the Library of Congress
in 2006 for personal unlocking, which notes that locks "are used by wireless carriers to limit the ability of subscribers to switch to other carriers, a business decision that has nothing whatsoever to do with the interests protected by copyright" and thus do not implicate the DMCA. Wu did not claim that this exemption applies to those who help others unlock a device or "traffic" in software to do so. As of July 26, 2010, the U.S. Copyright Office has approved exemptions to the DMCA that allow iPhone users to jailbreak their devices legally. These exemptions also allow phone users to unlock their phone in order to switch carriers. It is still possible Apple may employ technical countermeasures to prevent jailbreaking or prevent jailbroken phones from functioning, but they will not be able to sue users who jailbreak. It is also unclear whether it is legal to traffic in the tools used to make jailbreaking easy.
.
Many different developers and developer teams have produced free jailbreaking tools, collectively able to jailbreak almost all iOS devices on most versions of iOS.
A few days after the original iPhone became available in July 2007, developers released the first jailbreaking tool for it, and soon a jailbreak-only game app became available. In October 2007, JailbreakMe
1.0 (also called "AppSnapp") allowed people to jailbreak iPhone OS 1.1.1 on both the iPhone and iPod touch, and it included Installer.app
as a way to get software for the jailbroken device.
The iPhone Dev Team
has released free desktop-based jailbreaking tools for versions of iOS from 2.0 to 5.0 on most devices. They released a version of PwnageTool
in July 2008 to jailbreak the new iPhone 3G on iOS 2.0 as well as the iPod touch, newly including Cydia
as the primary third-party installer for jailbroken software (PwnageTool continues to be maintained for more recent releases of iOS up to 4.3.3). The iPhone Dev Team released QuickPWN to jailbreak iOS 2.2 on iPhone and iPod touch, also including options to enable functionality that was possible but disabled by Apple on certain devices. After Apple released iOS 3.0, the Dev Team published redsn0w as a simple jailbreaking tool usable on Mac and Windows, and also updated PwnageTool (now primarily intended for expert users making custom firmware, and only for Mac). They continue to maintain redsn0w for jailbreaking most versions of iOS 4 and for iOS 5.0 on most devices except the iPad 2 and iPhone 4S.
George Hotz
, who had developed the first iPhone unlock, released a jailbreaking tool for the iPhone 3GS on iOS 3.0 called purplera1n
, and blackra1n
for iOS version 3.1.2 on the iPod touch 3rd generation and other devices. In March 2010 he released limera1n, a low-level boot ROM exploit that permanently works to jailbreak the iPhone 4 and is used as part of tools including redsn0w.
comex has released multiple jailbreaks for iOS devices, beginning in May 2010 with the Spirit
jailbreak for iOS version 3.1.2 on devices including the iPad for the first time. In August 2010, comex released JailbreakMe
2.0, a web-based tool that was was the first to jailbreak the iPhone 4 (on iOS 4.0.1). In July 2011, comex released JailbreakMe 3.0, a web-based tool for jailbreaking all devices on certain versions of iOS 4.3, including the iPad 2 for the first time (on iOS 4.3.3). He was hired by Apple as an intern in August 2011.
Chronic Dev Team initially released greenpois0n
in October 2010, a desktop-based tool for jailbreaking iOS 4.1 and later iOS 4.2.1 on most devices including the Apple TV, as well as iOS 4.2.6 on CDMA (Verizon) iPhones.
Device
-Computing and electronics:* A component of personal computer hardware* Peripheral, any device attached to a computer that expands its functionality* Electronic component-Other uses:* Appliance, a device for a particular task* Device...
s running the iOS
IOS
iOS is an operating system for iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, and Apple TV.IOS may also refer to:-Companies and organisations:* Illinois Ornithological Society, American state-based bird club...
operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
through use of custom kernels
Kernel (computing)
In computing, the kernel is the main component of most computer operating systems; it is a bridge between applications and the actual data processing done at the hardware level. The kernel's responsibilities include managing the system's resources...
. Such devices include the iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
, iPod Touch
IPod Touch
The iPod Touch is a portable media player, personal digital assistant, handheld game console, and Wi-Fi mobile device designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The iPod Touch adds the multi-touch graphical user interface to the iPod line...
, iPad
IPad
The iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010 by Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs. Its size and...
, and 2nd Gen Apple TV. Jailbreaking allows users to gain root access to the operating system, allowing iOS users to download additional applications, extensions, and themes that are unavailable through the official Apple App Store. A jailbroken iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
, iPod Touch
IPod Touch
The iPod Touch is a portable media player, personal digital assistant, handheld game console, and Wi-Fi mobile device designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The iPod Touch adds the multi-touch graphical user interface to the iPod line...
, or iPad
IPad
The iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010 by Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs. Its size and...
running iOS can still use the App Store, iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
, and other normal functions, such as making telephone calls.
Unlike rooting
Rooting (Android OS)
Rooting is a process that allows users of mobile phones and other devices running the Android operating system to attain privileged control within Android's Linux subsystem with the goal of overcoming limitations that carriers and manufacturers put on some devices...
an Android device, jailbreaking is necessary if the user intends to run software not authorized by Apple. A tethered jailbreak requires that the device be connected to a computer each time it needs to be booted; an untethered jailbreak allows the device to be powered without computer assistance. Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act
Digital Millennium Copyright Act
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act is a United States copyright law that implements two 1996 treaties of the World Intellectual Property Organization . It criminalizes production and dissemination of technology, devices, or services intended to circumvent measures that control access to...
, jailbreaking Apple devices is legal in the United States, although Apple has announced that the practice "can void the warranty".
Reasons for jailbreaking
One of the main reasons for jailbreaking is to expand the feature set limited by Apple and its App Store. Most jailbreaking tools automatically install CydiaCydia
Cydia is a large genus of tortrix moths, belonging to the tribe Grapholitini of subfamily Olethreutinae. Its distinctness from and delimitation versus the tribe's type genus Grapholita requires further study....
, an application for finding and installing software for jailbroken iOS devices. Since software programs available through Cydia do not have to fit App Store guidelines, many of them are not typical self-contained apps but instead are extensions and customizations for iOS and other apps.
Some users look to software outside the App Store to express opposition to Apple's censorship of content through the app approval process
Approval of iOS apps
Applications are subject to approval by Apple, as outlined in the SDK agreement, for basic reliability testing and other analysis. Applications may still be distributed "ad-hoc" if they are rejected, by the author manually submitting a request to Apple to license the application to individual...
: in early 2010, Apple banned an app submitted by Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist, Mark Fiore
Mark Fiore
Mark Fiore is an American political cartoonist specializing in Flash-animated editorial cartoons, whom the Wall Street Journal recently called the undisputed guru of the form....
, because it "ridiculed public figures", in violation of Section 3.3.14 of the iPhone Developer Program License Agreement. Apple later called Fiore and asked him to resubmit his app for approval. In late 2010, Apple banned the use of apps that allowed users to donate money to non-profit organization and charities. Apple also banned the controversial WikiLeaks
Wikileaks
WikiLeaks is an international self-described not-for-profit organisation that publishes submissions of private, secret, and classified media from anonymous news sources, news leaks, and whistleblowers. Its website, launched in 2006 under The Sunshine Press organisation, claimed a database of more...
app, stating it "violated their developer guidelines". As the list of banned apps continues to grow, some users have found jailbreaking to be a viable alternative to Apple’s censorship
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
of content.
Installing unapproved software has the potential to affect battery life and system stability, especially if the software is poorly optimized or if the software runs resource-draining services (such as 3G or WiFi).
Security
The first iPhoneIPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
worm
Computer worm
A computer worm is a self-replicating malware computer program, which uses a computer network to send copies of itself to other nodes and it may do so without any user intervention. This is due to security shortcomings on the target computer. Unlike a computer virus, it does not need to attach...
, iKee, appeared in early November 2009, created by 21-year-old Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n technical college
Technical and Further Education
In Australia, training and further education or TAFE institutions provide a wide range of predominantly vocational tertiary education courses, mostly qualifying courses under the National Training System/Australian Qualifications Framework/Australian Quality Training Framework...
student Ashley Towns of Wollongong
Wollongong, New South Wales
Wollongong is a seaside city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. It lies on the narrow coastal strip between the Illawarra Escarpment and the Pacific Ocean, 82 kilometres south of Sydney...
. He told Australian media that he created the worm to raise awareness of security issues; jailbreaking allows users to install a SSH
Secure Shell
Secure Shell is a network protocol for secure data communication, remote shell services or command execution and other secure network services between two networked computers that it connects via a secure channel over an insecure network: a server and a client...
service, which is often left in a de facto unsecure state. In the same month, F-Secure
F-Secure
F-Secure Corporation is an anti-virus and computer security software company based in Helsinki, Finland. The company has 18 country offices and a presence in more than 100 countries, with Security Lab operations in Helsinki, Finland and in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...
reported on a new malicious worm compromising bank transactions from jailbroken phones in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, similarly affecting devices where the owner had installed SSH without changing the default password.
On July 15, 2011, Apple released a new version of iOS that closed the exploit used in JailbreakMe
JailbreakMe
JailbreakMe is a series of jailbreaks for Apple's iOS mobile operating system that take advantage of flaws in the Safari browser on the device, providing an immediate one-step jailbreak unlike more common jailbreaks, such as Blackra1n and redsn0w, that require plugging the device into another...
3.0. The German Federal Office for Information Security
Federal Office for Information Security
The Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik is the German government agency in charge of managing computer and communication security for the German government...
had reported that the "critical weakness" uncovered by JailbreakMe meant that iOS users could potentially have their information stolen or unwittingly download malware
Malware
Malware, short for malicious software, consists of programming that is designed to disrupt or deny operation, gather information that leads to loss of privacy or exploitation, or gain unauthorized access to system resources, or that otherwise exhibits abusive behavior...
by clicking on maliciously-crafted PDF files. Before Apple released a fix for this security hole, jailbreak users had access to a fix published by the developer of JailbreakMe.
United States legal issues
In response to a request by the Electronic Frontier FoundationElectronic Frontier Foundation
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is an international non-profit digital rights advocacy and legal organization based in the United States...
, the U.S. Copyright Office
United States Copyright Office
The United States Copyright Office, a part of the Library of Congress, is the official U.S. government body that maintains records of copyright registration in the United States. It is used by copyright title searchers who are attempting to clear a chain of title for copyrighted works.The head of...
explicitly recognized an exemption to the DMCA to permit jailbreaking in order to allow iPhone owners to use their phones with applications that are not available from Apple's store, and to unlock their iPhones for use with unapproved carriers. Apple had previously filed comments opposing this exemption and indicated that they did consider jailbreaking to be a violation of copyright (and by implication prosecutable under the DMCA). Apple's request to define copyright law to include jailbreaking as a violation was denied as part of the 2009 DMCA rulemaking. In their ruling, the Library of Congress affirmed on July 26, 2010 that jailbreaking is exempt from DMCA rules with respect to circumventing digital locks. This exemption must be reviewed and renewed every three years or else it will expire.
Tim Wu
Tim Wu
Tim Wu is a professor at Columbia Law School, the former chair of media reform group Free Press, and a writer for Slate Magazine. He is also a former Bernard L. Schwartz and Future Tense fellow at The New America Foundation...
, a professor at Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School, founded in 1858, is one of the oldest and most prestigious law schools in the United States. A member of the Ivy League, Columbia Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Columbia University in New York City. It offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. degrees in...
, argued that jailbreaking is "legal, ethical, and just plain fun." Wu cited an explicit exemption issued by the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
in 2006 for personal unlocking, which notes that locks "are used by wireless carriers to limit the ability of subscribers to switch to other carriers, a business decision that has nothing whatsoever to do with the interests protected by copyright" and thus do not implicate the DMCA. Wu did not claim that this exemption applies to those who help others unlock a device or "traffic" in software to do so. As of July 26, 2010, the U.S. Copyright Office has approved exemptions to the DMCA that allow iPhone users to jailbreak their devices legally. These exemptions also allow phone users to unlock their phone in order to switch carriers. It is still possible Apple may employ technical countermeasures to prevent jailbreaking or prevent jailbroken phones from functioning, but they will not be able to sue users who jailbreak. It is also unclear whether it is legal to traffic in the tools used to make jailbreaking easy.
History of iOS jailbreaking tools
For a chronological list of jailbreak history, see History of iOS jailbreakingHistory of iOS jailbreaking
iOS jailbreaking, or simply jailbreaking, is the process of removing the limitations imposed by Apple on devices running the iOS operating system through use of custom kernels. Such devices include the iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, and 2nd Gen Apple TV...
.
Many different developers and developer teams have produced free jailbreaking tools, collectively able to jailbreak almost all iOS devices on most versions of iOS.
A few days after the original iPhone became available in July 2007, developers released the first jailbreaking tool for it, and soon a jailbreak-only game app became available. In October 2007, JailbreakMe
JailbreakMe
JailbreakMe is a series of jailbreaks for Apple's iOS mobile operating system that take advantage of flaws in the Safari browser on the device, providing an immediate one-step jailbreak unlike more common jailbreaks, such as Blackra1n and redsn0w, that require plugging the device into another...
1.0 (also called "AppSnapp") allowed people to jailbreak iPhone OS 1.1.1 on both the iPhone and iPod touch, and it included Installer.app
Installer.app
Installer.app was a free software installer for the iPhone created by the development team RipDev, first released in summer 2007 and maintained until summer 2009. Installer allowed users to install third-party applications into the iPhone's Applications directory where native applications are kept...
as a way to get software for the jailbroken device.
The iPhone Dev Team
IPhone Dev Team
The iPhone Dev Team is a group of engineers in the 'iOS' community which has developed a number of tools to enable use of applications not authorized by Apple Inc on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad and to enable use of the iPhone on GSM carriers not contracted by Apple...
has released free desktop-based jailbreaking tools for versions of iOS from 2.0 to 5.0 on most devices. They released a version of PwnageTool
Pwnagetool
PwnageTool is an iPhone jailbreaking application for Mac OS X that creates custom iOS firmware images to user-defined specifications. These firmware images often contain the APT interface Cydia as well as additional APT packages.-Models supported:...
in July 2008 to jailbreak the new iPhone 3G on iOS 2.0 as well as the iPod touch, newly including Cydia
Cydia
Cydia is a large genus of tortrix moths, belonging to the tribe Grapholitini of subfamily Olethreutinae. Its distinctness from and delimitation versus the tribe's type genus Grapholita requires further study....
as the primary third-party installer for jailbroken software (PwnageTool continues to be maintained for more recent releases of iOS up to 4.3.3). The iPhone Dev Team released QuickPWN to jailbreak iOS 2.2 on iPhone and iPod touch, also including options to enable functionality that was possible but disabled by Apple on certain devices. After Apple released iOS 3.0, the Dev Team published redsn0w as a simple jailbreaking tool usable on Mac and Windows, and also updated PwnageTool (now primarily intended for expert users making custom firmware, and only for Mac). They continue to maintain redsn0w for jailbreaking most versions of iOS 4 and for iOS 5.0 on most devices except the iPad 2 and iPhone 4S.
George Hotz
George Hotz
George Francis Hotz , alias geohot, million75 or simply mil, is an American hacker known for unlocking the iPhone, allowing the phone to be used with other wireless carriers, contrary to AT&T and Apple's intent...
, who had developed the first iPhone unlock, released a jailbreaking tool for the iPhone 3GS on iOS 3.0 called purplera1n
Purplera1n
purplera1n is a utility that jailbreaks version 3.0 and up of the iPhone OS. It achieves this by patching the firmware of the device "on the fly", meaning it edits the firmware located on the device whilst in DFU mode. It allows users to install either Cydia or Rock App, a Cydia alternative...
, and blackra1n
Blackra1n
blackra1n is a program that jailbreaks versions 3.1, 3.1.1 and 3.1.2 of Apple's operating system for iDevices, known as iOS.The program uses a bug in the USB code of the firmware for iDevices, allowing unsigned code to be executed. Blackra1n uses this exploit to patch the firmware of the iDevice...
for iOS version 3.1.2 on the iPod touch 3rd generation and other devices. In March 2010 he released limera1n, a low-level boot ROM exploit that permanently works to jailbreak the iPhone 4 and is used as part of tools including redsn0w.
comex has released multiple jailbreaks for iOS devices, beginning in May 2010 with the Spirit
Spirit (iOS jailbreak)
Spirit is an untethered jailbreak for iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad running iOS 3.1.2 through 3.2. It was developed by Wii homebrew developer comex. Spirit allows users to install software not approved by Apple on their iDevices. It is available for the Windows, Linux, and Mac platforms...
jailbreak for iOS version 3.1.2 on devices including the iPad for the first time. In August 2010, comex released JailbreakMe
JailbreakMe
JailbreakMe is a series of jailbreaks for Apple's iOS mobile operating system that take advantage of flaws in the Safari browser on the device, providing an immediate one-step jailbreak unlike more common jailbreaks, such as Blackra1n and redsn0w, that require plugging the device into another...
2.0, a web-based tool that was was the first to jailbreak the iPhone 4 (on iOS 4.0.1). In July 2011, comex released JailbreakMe 3.0, a web-based tool for jailbreaking all devices on certain versions of iOS 4.3, including the iPad 2 for the first time (on iOS 4.3.3). He was hired by Apple as an intern in August 2011.
Chronic Dev Team initially released greenpois0n
Greenpois0n
Greenpois0n is an untethered jailbreak tool to jailbreak iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 GSM, iPhone 4 CDMA, iPod touch 2G, iPod touch 3G, iPod touch 4G and iPad. It is capable of Jailbreaking iOS versions 3.2.2-4.1 and iOS 4.2.1-4.2.6...
in October 2010, a desktop-based tool for jailbreaking iOS 4.1 and later iOS 4.2.1 on most devices including the Apple TV, as well as iOS 4.2.6 on CDMA (Verizon) iPhones.
List of first jailbreaks
| Device/OS | Release date | Date of first jailbreak | Tool | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone IPhone (original) The iPhone—retroactively labeled the original iPhone, iPhone 2G, or iPhone EDGE—was the first generation of iPhone designed and marketed by Apple Inc. and was succeeded by the iPhone 3G. It was announced on January 9, 2007 after months of rumors and speculation. It was introduced in the United... /iOS IOS iOS is an operating system for iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, and Apple TV.IOS may also refer to:-Companies and organisations:* Illinois Ornithological Society, American state-based bird club... 1.0 |
June 29, 2007 | July 10, 2007 | Ziphone | |
| iPhone 3G IPhone 3G The iPhone 3G is the second generation of iPhone designed and marketed by Apple Inc.. It was the successor to the original iPhone, and is succeeded by the iPhone 3GS. Introduced on June 9, 2008 at the WWDC 2008 at the Moscone Center, San Francisco... /iOS 2.0 |
July 11, 2008 | July 20, 2008 | PwnageTool | iPhone Dev Team IPhone Dev Team The iPhone Dev Team is a group of engineers in the 'iOS' community which has developed a number of tools to enable use of applications not authorized by Apple Inc on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad and to enable use of the iPhone on GSM carriers not contracted by Apple... |
| iOS 3.0 | March 17, 2009 | June 19, 2009 | PwnageTool | iPhone Dev Team |
| iPhone 3GS IPhone 3GS -Camera:The iPhone 3GS features an improved 3 megapixel camera manufactured by OmniVision. In addition to the higher megapixel count, it also features auto-focus, auto white balance and auto macro and is capable of capturing VGA video... |
June 19, 2009 | July 3, 2009 | purplera1n | George Hotz |
| iPad IPad The iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010 by Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs. Its size and... |
April 30, 2010 | May 3, 2010 | Spirit | comex |
| iOS 4.0 | June 21, 2010 | June 21–23, 2010 | PwnageTool | iPhone Dev Team |
| iPhone 4 IPhone 4 The iPhone 4 is a touchscreen slate smartphone developed by Apple Inc. It is the fourth generation iPhone, and successor to the iPhone 3GS. It is particularly marketed for video calling , consumption of media such as books and periodicals, movies, music, and games, and for general web and e-mail... |
June 24, 2010 | August 1, 2010 | JailbreakMe 2.0 | comex |
| iPad 2 IPad 2 The iPad 2 is the second and current generation of the iPad, a tablet computer designed, developed and marketed by Apple. It serves primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, presentations and web content, and is available in black or white... |
March 11, 2011 | July 5, 2011 | JailbreakMe 3.0 | comex |
| iOS 5.0 | October 12, 2011 | October 13, 2011 | redsn0w | iPhone Dev Team |
Details of recent releases of jailbreaking tools
| Software Name | Release Date | Hardware | Firmware | Untethered? | Notes | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JailbreakMe 3.0 JailbreakMe JailbreakMe is a series of jailbreaks for Apple's iOS mobile operating system that take advantage of flaws in the Safari browser on the device, providing an immediate one-step jailbreak unlike more common jailbreaks, such as Blackra1n and redsn0w, that require plugging the device into another... |
July 5, 2011 | The Verizon CDMA iPhone 4 ran on iOS 4.2.5 to 4.2.10, with incremental updates being bugfixes that were simultaneously applied from 4.3.1 to 4.3.5. |
Uses a flaw in PDF Portable Document Format Portable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems.... file rendering in Mobile Safari Safari (web browser) Safari is a web browser developed by Apple Inc. and included with the Mac OS X and iOS operating systems. First released as a public beta on January 7, 2003 on the company's Mac OS X operating system, it became Apple's default browser beginning with Mac OS X v10.3 "Panther". Safari is also the... . |
comex | ||
| seas0npass | c. October 18, 2011 | 2nd generation Apple TV |
4.3 | Firecore | ||
| redsn0w Redsn0w redsn0w is a free iOS jailbreaking tool developed by the iPhone Dev Team, capable of executing jailbreaks on many iOS devices by using low-level boot ROM exploits... 0.9.9 beta 8 |
c. November 3, 2011 | 4.1–5.0.1 | Jailbreak for old-bootrom iPhone 3GS models are untethered on all versions, because of the use of 24kpwn, which exists only in the MB models of the iPod touch 2G and iPhone 3GS old boot-rom. | iPhone Dev Team IPhone Dev Team The iPhone Dev Team is a group of engineers in the 'iOS' community which has developed a number of tools to enable use of applications not authorized by Apple Inc on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad and to enable use of the iPhone on GSM carriers not contracted by Apple... |
See also
- Hacking of consumer electronicsHacking of consumer electronicsHacking has expanded from applying strictly to computers to consumer electronics in general. Hacking provides users with the ability to customize and modify their devices...
- iOS version history
- Privilege escalationPrivilege escalationPrivilege escalation is the act of exploiting a bug, design flaw or configuration oversight in an operating system or software application to gain elevated access to resources that are normally protected from an application or user...
- Rooting (Android OS)Rooting (Android OS)Rooting is a process that allows users of mobile phones and other devices running the Android operating system to attain privileged control within Android's Linux subsystem with the goal of overcoming limitations that carriers and manufacturers put on some devices...