Untethered jailbreak emerges for iOS 5.0.1 devices
updated 09:40 am EST, Tue December 27, 2011
iPad 2, iPhone 4S still excluded
Hacker pod2g has released the first public version of an untethered jailbreak for iOS 5.0.1, according to the unofficial iPhone Dev Team. The Dev Team has built the technology into redsn0w 0.9.10 and PwnageTool. A separate team, Chronic, has meanwhile implemented it into a Cydia package. The pod2g technique involves "two separate exploits and a few other 'tricks'," the iPhone Dev Team explains.
Going untethered allows a person to use a jailbroken device without connecting it to a computer for each boot. The new hack is still limited though, mainly in running only on hardware without an A5 chip; this excludes the iPad 2 and the iPhone 4S. And while a person can generally update to Apple's version of iOS 5.0.1 and then apply the jailbreak, a custom v5.0.1 IPSW file is needed if a person unlocks via ultrasn0w or gevey. Similarly, people with hybrid v5.0/5.0.1 setups must do a sync and restore to v5.0.1 before trying the new jailbreak.
pod2g is said to be looking to extend his method to A5-based devices. The obstacle is that geohot's limera1n exploit can't be used to inject the untethered code onto them, meaning that new exploits will have to be developed.
