Jailbreak for iOS 4.3.1 is out!
A little while ago I wrote a “how to” article on how to jailbreak your iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad running iOS 4.2 and below. A few weeks ago, Apple released iOS 4.3 then more recently iOS 4.3.1. The jailbreak team has been hard at work since the release of 4.3 on a jailbreak and Sunday 4/3 it went live! This jailbreak is a little different than the one that I showed last time. As Apple iOS software updates, so too must the jailbreaking method.
(a quick note, this doesn’t work on iPad2 yet but every other iOS device)
PkgBackup
(If you have not previously jailbroken your device and this is the first time, skip this paragraph)
I mentioned this before but here I want to give you a more in depth how to on this App before you do your jailbreak. If you are already jailbroken, and running a lower iOS version, download this App from the Cydia store and run it before you do the iOS 4.3.1 update. This App costs $7.99 but it is worth EVERY penny, trust me. PkgBackup backs up all of your Cydia Apps, All Folders, All App locations, All Folder locations, etc. When you launch it make sure that you have the “backup” button selected at the bottom of the screen and then press the refresh button right next to it. This will refresh all available packages to be backed up. After the packages have been refreshed, press the backup button in the lower right hand corner of the screen. This will backup all of your packages as a contact. Make sure that you attach your iDevice to iTunes and backup your contacts so that there is a copy of your packages in iTunes as well. Now once you update your iDevice and re-jailbreak it all you have to do is install PkgBackup and hit the restore button.
The Jailbreaking Process for iOS 4.3.1
The makers of the Jailbreaking program have changed. There are now two choices for jailbreaking your devices in the current iOS version. You either have redsn0w or PwnageTool. I prefer the second version for ease of use however it is only for Mac users. You can download it here. If you have a PC you’ll want redsn0w, which can be found here. One more thing you will need to download before you can start this process is the custom firmware for your device/iOS version. You can find it here. I know the list looks intimidating, but just read what each one says. You will want to select your device (iPhone, iPad, iPodTouch) and in our case iOS version 4.3.1. Scroll down the list until you find yours and click it. It will ask you where you want to place the downloaded file, put it in a location easy to remember so we can access it later. All right, we’ve got everything we need and we’re ready to start. I’m going to run you through the process of using PwnageTool but the redsn0w process is very similar.
Make sure that you don’t have your iDevice plugged in and launch PwnageTool. It will look like this:
By default simple mode is selected at the top of the screen. Leave it on this selection. Within the dialog box below select the device that you are planning on jailbreaking. For me it was the iPhone4. Press the blue arrow in the lower right corner to move to the next screen.
PwnageTool will search for the firmware that you downloaded earlier. Once it is found it will show it in the dialog box as shown below.
Select the firmware by clicking it (a green check will be placed on top of the firmware when it is selected) and again, click the blue arrow in the bottom right corner. A dialog box will appear telling you that a custom file will be put on your desktop to restore with. Click ok. You will also see a box asking if you have cell service that you activate through iTunes. Click yes if you are using your normal carrier like AT&T or Verizon.
PwnageTool will then tell you to connect your device to the usb port. Be ready to press buttons on the device. The dialog box will tell you what buttons to press when.
After you follow the on screen prompts your device will become unlocked, a dialog box will appear that tells you to close PwnageTool application, start iTunes and restore with your custom firmware bundle. What it doesn’t tell you is that to do this you need to know a keyboard key combination. When you launch iTunes you will see the RESTORE button in the middle of the screen. While holding the OPTION/ALT key press restore. This will bring up a window allowing you to choose your custom built file from PwnageTool. It will be located on your desktop. Select this file and click ok. This will restore your iDevice with the jailbroken software.
The next step is a screen within iTunes that gives you two options. Setup as a new Phone or Restore from previous settings (this will have your iPhone name under the selection). Choose the second of the two options. After restored, navigate to the Apps tab and sync your Apps. This will take a few minutes to complete but it will restore all of your Apps to your iDevice.
If this is your first time jailbreaking your device, you’re done. If you were previously jailbroken and you followed my advice (you should have) and downloaded PkgBackup you need to restore. This is easy.
First navigate to the Cydia App and launch it. Once inside of the Cydia App you need to select “Who Are You”. Unless you are a programmer, select User then tap done in the upper right corner. Once you are inside of the Cydia manager you press manage account. Choose your method of signing in to your account. Once signed in you will see an option to view installable purchases. (note: if you aren’t able to load your purchases tap on changes and refresh). Under installable purchases install PkgBackup. Launch PkgBackup, press refresh in the lower left corner of the screen. You will see all of your packages for restoring. Press restore in the lower right corner of the screen. Your springboard (iPhone desktop) will be restored.
