Much to Apple’s chagrin, releasing beta versions of forthcoming iOS software for developers to work with also has the unwanted side effect of jailbreakers getting an advance peek at what’s to come -- which is how iOS 5.1 has already been jailbroken, less than 24 hours after its release.
The Dev-Team Blog is reporting that they’ve successfully jailbroken iOS 5.1 already, and have released redsn0w 0.9.1.10b6 for Mac and Windows to make the magic happen. Unfortunately, as is often the case with early releases, it’s not quite ready for the general public since it’s a tethered jailbreak.
A “tethered” jailbreak requires users to connect to their Mac or PC using redsn0w’s “Just Boot” mode every time the device in question is turned on, which makes it rather inconvenient for most of us -- without the tethered boot, the device is essentially unusable without a computer handy nearby. But that’s not about to stop hardcore jailbreakers.
“We realize that some of you non-A5 jailbreakers are itching to get to 5.1, even though there seems to be no compelling new feature there,” the Dev-Team writes. “Because of geohot’s limera1n exploit, those with devices earlier than the iPad2 can test the 5.1 jailbreak waters if they really want to, using redsn0w 0.9.10b6.”
There’s one exception to the tethered dilemma -- iPhone 3GS owners with old bootroms (for example, devices purchased on launch day back in 2009) will actually get the full untethered experience. Unlockers will still need an update to the Dev-Team’s ultrasn0w patch, which will be arriving soon to Cydia. That said, the patch will continue to offer the same older baseband support, since no new unlock exploits have been discovered over the last year or more.
Last but not least, “iBooks won’t work until a future update of redsn0w,” so if you’re addicted to your ebooks, best to stay away from this for now. As always, be sure to thoroughly read the warnings on The Dev-Team Blog -- while your life may not depend on it, the future jailbreaking/unlocking of your iOS device probably does.
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