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Jailbreak your iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad and Apple TV Step by Step

  • Jan 03, 2015

In this study you will find everything you need to know about Jailbreaking your devices. There are common questions asked about how it is performed and the effects in comparison of usefulness of the device before and after the process. iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Apple TV runs with variable types of firmware versions to protect the devices from manufacturing stage. In order to jailbreak we will be assessing all aspects and provide detailed guidance on how to jailbreak your device. As new firmware versions are being released frequently we will be adding new details about these continuously on this page so you will benefit from following our updates in future.

Definition of Jailbreaking:

All users of iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad and Apple TV probably heard the sophisticated word Jailbreaking before and searched what really it means, in order to enlighten your knowledge more about how it is done and what it is used for. The analysis will be based on benefits and disadvantages to bring you an unbiased approach to jailbreaking. A lot of conversations about jailbreaking build on the concept of piracy, we commonly listen people talking about jailbreaking since they would like to download applications from official Apple Store free of charge, this of course may well be a reason to jailbreak undisputedly. However the main purpose of Jailbreaking is surely not piracy. The Jailbreaking allows you to form the best functional device for your own preferences and make it your own, in other words it is about innovation and freedom to design the device as you wish to use it.

After Jailbreaking process is performed you are open to endless possibilities of new functions and versions on different applications for your own convenience and usage, this may be from taking pictures, displays on screen or even typing functions. This is similar to modifying your car as one of the best examples, since all restrictions of the manufacturer is removed the device is open to function as you would like it to function. iOS functions in iPhones, iPads, iPod Touches or Apple TV are set by the manufacturer company Apple and we have limited options on performing some functions. Modification can be on functionality as well as the looks of the homescreen, titles or any other detail you may consider, jailbreaking allows you to change everything you want according to your needs and preferences. Modifications on cars are done by changing the way it looks, performance tools, technological tools and many more, it is exactly the same as this process and we do this with passion since we love to express our personality by changing the way our belongings look and be different the same applies to our iPhones, iPads, iPod Touches or Apple TV.

World of jailbreaking and what’s on offer in this opportunity pool?

We already analysed many reasons of why we would jailbreak our iPhones, iPads, iPod Touches or Apple TV but there are more to investigate about how it affects the devices and why we really do jailbreak. We will be listing mostly best rated reasons of jailbreaking below and they will be individually assessed. Many tweaks are offered in Cydia, you can see the top rated tweaks from our Best Cydia Tweaks page.

Great modifications available for texting; we have a general form of stock messaging on iOS devices and there are many options and changes available when device is jailbroken, many people needed the modifications to operate typing the way they want, Cydia tweaks for typing are changing many things such as being able to reply to texts inside an application, having to change keyboards by adding new functions to the regular keyboard that is in the iOS already, delaying messages or displaying contact pictures and many more is possible, if you are interested we can recommend BiteSMS tweak to get all these additional functions as one of the best rated tweak for texting fans.

No limit on Applications: There are restrictions on how many applications or folders can be placed on the dock or on a specific range, these limits can be removed by using tweaks of Infinifolders or Infinidocks and you can place as many applications you like in the folders since scrolling functionality also added you will be even able to add more rows and columns on your homescreen.

The user interface customization: Using different themes on your iPhones, iPads, iPod Touches or Apple TV can be fun and the most used tweaks for these are WinterBoard or DreamBoard. Jailbreaking your device allows you to set the themes for your own taste and personal choices. The themes similar to ones in Android and windows phones can also be optional alongside of thousands of different themes. If you would like to change only some functions of your interface that is also possible and you can do very basic changes to extraordinary single colour interface, changing the slide to unlock text or status bar colour. Springtomise 2 tweak is also one of the best to get your personalised interface on your iOS device.

Custom Widgets: One of the obstacles faced by using iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch or Apple TV is no widget availability as in Android or windows phones, jailbreaking will make this possible on your device using tweaks like Dashboard X, enables widgets like weather, music controls or toggles to be displayed on your homescreen.

New Tricks for Siri Function: Siri is a smart function of our devices and believe it or not it can learn new tricks by jailbreaking. There are so many Cydia tweaks for Siri from translating words or phrases to different languages or activating Siri hands free without any touch and most surprisingly activating your car with Siri if your vehicle has a remote starter function installed.

Convenience to access Toggles: Toggles we use frequently are normally entered from the settings page but with tweaks that can be downloaded after jailbreaking your device the toggles becomes easier to access, if you need to switch to airplane mode, turn on Bluetooth, activate WiFi access these functions will be performed with simplest form of action required by specific modifications available in Cydia. As most of the toggles are displayed on the top of the notifications board when you need another toggle to be listed there it can be a complicated task to perform, tweaks like SBSettings can be useful at these options with a single swipe on the status bar or a pop-up screen can carry all your chosen toggles.

Emulators: Emulators are softwares that duplicates the functions of one system to another system and if you are a fan of Nintendo or PS games and would like to use them on your iOS device by help of emulators jailbreaking becomes your life saver. Emulators can be a representative of the decisive function to jailbreaking on iOS operator system devices such as your iPhones, iPads, iPod Touches or Apple TV. Most of emulators work flawless on your device and the range differs from Nintendo 64 to Gameboy Advance.

Hardly Scratching the Surface of your device: The possibilities included by jailbreaking can be stunning such as facial unlocking, Safari Downloads, torrent downloads, iPhone tethering, screen recording or FaceTime over 3G. One your iPhones, iPads, iPod Touches or Apple TV is jailbroken all of the mentioned functions can be performed on your device.

We have tried showing you how things can change around when your iPhones, iPads, iPod Touches or Apple TV is jailbroken and it is well worth of performing. We will be analysing the Apple TV jailbreaking in a separate article to evaluate all benefits and one the best known source for this is developed by FireCore nominated as the top modification for Jailbroken Apple TV and allows users to reach further beyond the iTunes, browse the web, access media anywhere and many more.

Frequently asked questions about Jailbreaking

In many different ways jailbroken has been misunderstood and not explained properly for the full functionality of the concept for users. Having searched many sources for information we have acknowledged that many users taken wrong information granted about jailbreaking and in this section we will be clearing your doubts about jailbreaking with best possible clarifications.

Is Jailbreaking legitimate function to perform on devices?

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of United States confirmed by WIPO stated that smartphone jailbreaking is legal. The misconception about jailbreaking occurs due to lack of information on legality of jailbreaking in other countries, since there is no valid statement to stop you jailbreaking you are free to do so. If device is legally purchased there is no boundaries about what we can do with it and if manufacturer Apple Inc. would be having to interfere into a legal war about jailbreaking that would not be against individual users but developers only.

Would warranty be void on device after jailbreaking?

This is a frequently asked question by users since they would like to use the benefits of the manufacturer warranty when required and here is the best way of avoiding any problems that may arise with the warranty. In terms of status when device is jailbroken the warranty becomes void but if you need to use your warranty you can very easily restore your device to factory settings in iTunes and gain your warranty assurance just like before jailbreaking since Apple cannot identify jailbroken devices after restored from iTunes to factory settings.

Could there be any damage to my device after Jailbreaking?

Again this is one of the most asked questions when users are considering jailbreaking on iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touches or Apple TV. Unlike other modification types on all other electronic devices the modification that jailbreaking performs on your iPhones, iPads, iPod Touches or Apple TV operating system only. The best explanation is if you experience errors on your device due to jailbreaking simply restore your device through iTunes and it will go back to normal, although we state this it is very rare that you will ever experience this.

Is there any disadvantages to consider about Jailbreaking?

The maintenance of your jailbreak can be complex if you wish to update your device to the new released firmware version that Apple announces, meaning that when your firmware is updated to the latest iOS version your jailbreak becomes invalid and you lose the functions that you had with jailbreaking. Obviously developers are putting their best efforts to bring compatibility to the new iOS every time a new release is available but it takes weeks or even months to develop the new version of jailbreaking. When jailbreaking performed on the device sometimes you will not be experiencing the benefits of the new iOS improvements until developers release the compatible version of the jailbreak. Comparing what options becomes available to your device by jailbreaking and new versions of iOS shows clearly that jailbreaking is on the top for the endless possibilities rather than keeping only restricted options and following new iOS releases. It is very significant to know that we are keeping up with the new systems with great developers and now day’s new releases for new iOS upgrades are being released very shortly after announcement and upgrading to the latest firmware does not seem like a huge problem for jailbreakers at all. The main downside of the jailbreak is that tweaks and all modifications you have previously installed will need to be manually re-installed unless backed up using a utility like Aptbackup.

Tethered or untethered jailbreaking? Which one is better and why?

This is about mainly how debvelopers created the jailbreak and if they had hard time creating the exploit or not, in basic terminology tethered jailbreaking requires you to connect your device to a computer while jailbreaking and if device is powered off you need to reconnect it to the computer to turn it back to normal functionality status and after plug-in re-running the RedSn0w will be necessary but no data will be lost. Untethered jailbreaking is rather way too simple compared to tethered jailbreaking, device runs smoothly and normal straight ahead once jailbroken. The main question asked is why there is still a need for tethered jailbreak, as understandable at some stages developers face difficulties to place the jailbreak and it needs connection to the computer but most commonly if a tethered jailbreak is developed at a later date untethered version becomes available once developers firmly grasps the exploitation grounds of their work.

Can Apple store still be used to download applications when jailbroken?

The answer is absolutely. IPhones, iPads, iPod Touches or Apple TV can be used as normal after jailbroken, it does not effect any download from the Apple store or iTunes just works normal.

How to install tweaks and third party applications on jailbroken devices?

Once jailbreaking is performed on your device there will be a new application displayed on your homescreen called “Cydia” this is the application store for all tweaks and third-party applications that can be downloaded to your device, it looks very similar to the official Apple store and easy to use, if you have no difficulty using the Apple store there will be no issues using the Cydia at all.

Device and iOS Compatibility for Jailbreaking:

Nearly all models of iPhones, iPads, iPod Touches or Apple TV are supported for jailbreaking. The only thing to consider for compatibility is new models and newer iOS system operated devices, where it may take time to develop the jailbreak for those new operator systems. If your current device is not supported make sure you follow the updates to be informed when a Jailbreak is available for your version.

Jailbreak The iPhone

iPhone 6 PLUS: iOS 8 (iOS 8.1)
iPhone 6: iOS 8 (iOS 8.1)
iPhone 5: iOS 6 (iOS 6.0, iOS 6.0.1, iOS 6.0.2, iOS 6.1, iOS 7.0, iOS 8.0, iOS 8.1)
iPhone 4S: iOS 5 (iOS 5.1.1, iOS 5.0.1, iOS 5.0)
iPhone 4: iOS 6 (iOS 6.0,6.0.1) + iOS 5 (iOS 5.1.1, iOS 5.1, iOS 5.0.1, iOS 5.0) + iOS 4 (4.3.5, 4.3.4, 4.3.3, 4.3.2, 4.3.1, 4.3, 4.2.10, 4.2.9, 4.2.8, 4.2.7, 4.2.6, 4.2.1, 4.1, 4.0.2, 4.0.1, 4.0)
iPhone 3GS: iOS 6 (iOS 6.0, 6.0.1) + iOS 5 (iOS 5.1.1, iOS 5.1, iOS 5.0.1, iOS 5.0) + iOS 4 (4.3.5, 4.3.4, 4.3.3, 4.3.2, 4.3.1, 4.3, 4.2.1, 4.1, 4.0.2, 4.0.1, 4.0) + iOS 3 (3.1.3)
iPhone 3G: iOS 4 (4.2.1, 4.1, 4.0.2, 4.0.1, 4.0) + iOS 3 (3.1.3, 3.1.2, 3.1, 3.0.1, 3.0) + iOS 2 (iOS 2.2.1, 2.2, 2.1, 2.0.2, 2.0.1, 2.0)
iPhone 2G: iOS 3 (3.1.3, 3.1.2, 3.1, 3.0.1, 3.0) + iOS 2 (iOS 2.2.1, 2.2, 2.1, 2.0.2, 2.0.1, 2.0) + iOS 1 (iOS 1.1.4, 1.1.3, 1.1.2, 1.1.1, 1.02, 1.0.1, 1.0.0)

Jailbreak The iPod Touch

iPod Touch 5G: iOS 6 (iOS 6.0, iOS 6.0.1, iOS 6.1)
iPod Touch 4G: iOS 6 (iOS 6.0, 6.0.1) + iOS 5 (iOS 5.1.1, iOS 5.1, iOS 5.0.1, iOS 5.0) + iOS 4 (iOS 4.3.5, 4.3.4, 4.3.3, 4.3.2, 4.3.1, 4.3, 4.2.1, 4.1)
iPod Touch 3G: iOS 5 (iOS 5.1.1, iOS 5.1, iOS 5.0.1, iOS 5.0) + iOS 4 (iOS 4.3.5, 4.3.4, 4.3.3, 4.3.2, 4.3.1, 4.3, 4.2.1, 4.1, 4.0.2, 4.0.1, 4.0) + iOS 3 (3.1.3, 3.1.2, 3.1.1)
iPod Touch 2G: iOS 4 (iOS 4.2.1, 4.1, 4.0.2, 4.0) + iOS 3 (iOS 3.1.3, 3.1.2, 3.1.1, 3.0) + iOS 2 (iOS 2.1.1)
iPod Touch 1G: iOS 3 (iOS 3.1.3, 3.1.2, 3.1, 3.0) + iOS 2 (iOS 2.1.1, 2.2, 2.1, 2.0.2, 2.0.1, 2.0) + iOS 1 (iOS 1.1.5, 1.1.4, 1.1.3, 1.1.2, 1.1.1)

Jailbreak The iPad

iPad Mini: iOS 6 (iOS 6.0, iOS 6.0.1, iOS 6.0.2, iOS 6.1)
iPad 4: iOS 6 (iOS 6.0, iOS 6.0.1, iOS 6.1)
iPad 3: iOS 5 (iOS 5.1.1)
iPad 2: iOS 5 (iOS 5.1.1, 5.0.1) + iOS 4 (iOS 4.3.3)
iPad 1: iOS 5 (iOS 5.1.1, iOS 5.1, iOS 5.0.1, iOS 5.0) + iOS 4 (iOS 4.3.5, 4.3.4, 4.3.3, 4.3.2, 4.3.1, 4.3, 4.2.1) + iOS 3 (iOS 3.2.2, 3.2.1, 3.2)

Jailbreak The Apple TV

Apple TV 3G: Not Supported Yet
Apple TV 2G: iOS 5 (iOS 5.1, 5.0.2, 5.0.1, 5.0) + iOS 4 (iOS 4.4.4, 4.4.3, 4.4.2, 4.4.1, 4.4, 4.3, 4.3/4.2.2, 4.3/4.2.1, 4.3/4.2, 4.2.1/4.1.1, 4.2/4.1, 4.1/4.0)

How to jailbreak iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad or Apple TV?

After all the analysis we have made above you can decide easily and check all the compatibility before starting to jailbreak your device. Probably you haven’t got any doubts in your head and would like to start jailbreaking straight away for your iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad or Apple TV. In the earlier times when jailbreaking become a phenomenon the process was complex since it involved typing commands into the terminal directly and that was not something many people feel confident of processing with less expertise in the area. Today jailbreaking is much easier and even one click can be enough to do.

There are different tools available to jailbreak your iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad or Apple TV the most popular we can mention and recommend are Pangu (Pangu just released an update for iOS 8.1), Redsn0w, Absinthe and Sn0wbreeze. Since this is something very new to you please place all your worries away from your mind since we will provide all the guidance you need for every tool you will choose to jailbreak your device. All guidelines provide detailed information about how it will be processed step by step and very easy to understand and compare for variety of iOS firmware versions. Please check the list and choose the most convenient for your device compatibility.

We need to make you aware about taking some pre-installation care for your data and device before starting to jailbreak your device to avoid losing important data and reading carefully about jailbreaking your device guideline to perform perfect jailbreak without any problems. During the process you need to make sure your iTunes are closed and you do not touch your device or the computer to prevent any interruption. Most importantly don’t forget the rule of jailbreaking; never update to the new iOS versions before an untethered jailbreak compatible with that version is released.

Jailbreaking iOS 8.1.1 and iOS 8.1.2 by using TaiG

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