Tuesday, February 4, 2014

How To Downgrade iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad And Apple TV: Everything You Need To Know!

How To Downgrade section! In this section you will learn how to downgrade your iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad and Apple TV to a lower firmware version (e.g. iOS 6, iOS 5, iOS 4) than the one you are currently running. Additionally, you will also learn the best way to save your SHSH blobs which will allow you to downgrade your iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Apple TV firmware version in the future. Simply scroll through our How To Downgrade section for the firmware version you are trying to downgrade to, and read one of our easy to follow how to guides on downgrading your iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Apple TV or even PlayStation.

Note #1: We will be updating this page with the latest how to downgrade guides when new firmware versions are released, so make sure you come back soon!
Note #2: This is not some magical section of guides that will allow you to downgrade your iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad or Apple TV 2G without having your SHSH blobs saved for prior firmware versions. Meaning you had to have saved your SHSH blobs for the firmware version you are trying to downgrade to, or downgrading will not work.

How Apple Prevents Downgrading

Downgrading your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad to a lower firmware version is indeed possible, but unfortunately has become harder and harder over the years. In the early days you could downgrade your iOS device to any firmware version you wanted to and not run into many troubles. This is because firmware restores never had to be approved by Apple, but starting from iOS 3.0 onwards Apple implemented a technology called SHSH blob.

What Is An SHSH Blob?

You see, when you restore your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad through iTunes your device phones home and ensures that it is allowed to be restored to a specific firmware version. In order to enforce this limitation SHSH blobs were introduced, which is a hash signature system. Although this is getting technical, an SHSH is created by an SHSH formula with 3 or 4 TSS keys (say with me).
  1. The device model (example: iPhone 4 GSM)
  2. The firmware version being signed (example: 6.0.1)
  3. The device’s ECID, a unique identifier for every Apple device.
On every device shipped by Apple a Plist file is present, this file contains SHSH blobs for different parts of the firmware. These blobs are essentially gatekeepers and control whether or not a firmware is restorable. Whenever you upgrade or downgrade your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad, new SHSH blobs have to be generated because one of the parts to the SHSH formula is the firmware version.
In order to prevent firmware restores Apple only signs one firmware version at a time, which is obviously the latest firmware version available. If you try to restore to a lower firmware version, you will get an error because Apple is not signing that specific firmware version anymore. What is happening is Apple refuses to generate the new hash during the downgrade, meaning the new SHSH blobs cannot be generated.

What Is An APTicket?

In case this wasn’t a big enough limitation to downgrading iOS devices, in the iOS 5 firmware generation Apple introduced yet another technology to prevent downgrading called APTickets. What APTickets are is essentially the next generation of SHSH blobs. APTickets are much more secure however, because when you try to restore or upgrade your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad a request is sent to Apple’s servers to confirm the APTicket. Unlike SHSH blobs which would submit the same one already stored on the server, a brand new APTicket is generated using a random string. In the future APTickets will completely replace SHSH blobs, this will happen once the iPhone 4S stops being supported.

How To Go About Downgrading

The good thing is there is indeed still a way to downgrade your iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad or even Apple TV, but it relies on you saving SHSH blobs. You see, when Apple is still signing a firmware version you can save the SHSH signature so that in the future if you wish to downgrade back to that firmware version it is indeed possible. This is essentially performing a replay attack, in the fact that data is being fraudulently retransmitted.
If you are Jailbroken then most of the times your SHSH blobs are already saved on Cydia’s server automatically and you shouldn’t have to back them up manually. Sometimes Cydia doesn’t back up your SHSH blobs on your Jailbroken device however, and you might even prefer to do a local backup of your SHSH blobs. To do this you can use tools like TinyUmbrella (download here) and iFaith (download here). It is important to keep in mind that these tools can even save the SHSH blobs of non-Jailbroken devices.
Once you have your SHSH blobs signed, as stated previously, if you upgrade to a new firmware version and decide you don’t like it you can downgrade back to the firmware version which you have saved SHSH blobs for. There is unfortunately some restrictions that need to be kept in mind though.

iOS Downgrading Restrictions

For the most part, older iOS devices with an A4 chip can be downgraded to any firmware version as long as you have saved SHSH blobs and APTickets. This includes the iPhone 2G, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad 1G, iPod Touch 1G, iPod Touch 2G, iPod Touch 3G and the iPod Touch 4G.
Newer devices like the iPad 2, iPad 3, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5 and iPod Touch 5G has different restrictions however, because they are not vulnerable to the limera1n exploit and are governed more-so by APTickets. These devices can only be downgraded on the iOS 5 firmware generation and require saved SHSH blobs and APTickets for the iOS 5 firmware version you are currently running and are trying to get to. The only exception to this is that iPad 2 owners with any saved iOS 4 firmware generation SHSH blobs can downgrade to  to any firmware that they also have saved SHSH blobs for. Downgrading devices with the A5, A5X and A6 chip on the iOS 6 firmware generation is not possible at this time.
Just like how Jailbreaking is becoming more and more difficult on newer Apple devices, so is downgrading. As new exploits are constantly being found however, keep an eye on our list of how to guides shown below that will give you step-by-step instructions on how to downgrade your iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad or Apple TV to a lower firmware version. If you are looking for more information on how to save SHSH blobs and APTickets you will want to visit our How To Save SHSH Blobs section.

Note: Keep in mind that if you find a guide for a previous firmware version and don’t see one for your current situation, most of the time these guides are all-purpose. This means that the instructions are the same for all firmware versions, so you can usually just follow the instructions and just use the firmware versions for your current situation.

Downgrade iOS 6.0.1 To iOS 5.1.1

Downgrade iOS 6.0 To iOS 5.1.1

Re-Restore A5 Devices On iOS 5.x

Downgrade iOS 5.1 To iOS 5.0.1 / iOS 5.0

Downgrade iOS 5.1 To iOS 4.3.5 / iOS 4.3.3 / iOS 4.x

Downgrade iOS 5.0.1 To iOS 5.0

Downgrade iOS 5 To iOS 4.3.3

Downgrade iOS 4.3.5 To iOS 4.3.3

Downgrade iOS 4.3.4 To iOS 4.3.3

Downgrade iOS 4.3.3 To iOS 4.3.2

Downgrade iOS 4.3.3 To iOS 4.3.1

Downgrade iOS 4.3.3 To iOS 4.3.0

Downgrade iOS 4.3.3 To iOS 4.1

Downgrade iOS 4.0.2 To iOS 4.0.1

Downgrade iOS 4.0 To iOS 3.1.3

Downgrade iOS 3.1.3 To iOS 3.1.2

How To Unlock iPhone: Everything You Need To Know! [How To]

 

Welcome to iJailbreak’s How To Unlock section. In this section you will learn how to unlock your iPhone running a variety of baseband (e.g. 01.59.00, 04.26.08, 05.11.07, 05.13.01, 05.12.01, 06.15.00) and firmware (e.g. iOS 4, iOS 5, iOS 5.0.1, iOS 5.1.1, iOS 6, iOS 6.0.1) combinations. Simply scroll through our how to unlock section for the iOS firmware you are trying to unlock, and follow one of our easy to follow how to guides on unlocking the iPhone (e.g. iPhone 5, iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G) using UltraSn0w, UltraSn0w Fixer and other unlocking solutions.
Note #1: Your iPhone needs to be jailbroken in order to unlock it by using UltraSn0w or UltraSn0w Fixer. Visit iJailbreak’s How To Jailbreak section for all your jailbreaking how to’s, tutorials and guides!
Note #2: We will be updating this page with the latest how to unlock guides when new baseband/firmware versions are released, so make sure you come back soon!

The Different Methods To Unlock An iPhone

Unlocking the iPhone is a process where the iPhone is modified to accept the SIM card of any carrier. Unlocking your iPhone is not the same thing as Jailbreaking your iPhone. When you Jailbreak your iPhone you are not unlocking it, rather opening it up to 3rd party tweaks and applications. For more information on Jailbreaking you can visit our Jailbreaking section. It is important to keep in mind however, that to software unlock your iPhone it is indeed required for it to be Jailbroken.
If you purchase an iPhone on a contract then it is locked to that carrier until your contract runs out. This is usually for a period of 2-3 years. When you purchase an unlocked iPhone, meaning you pay the full price for the iPhone, then it can be used with any carrier and there is no-commitments in the length you must stay with that particular carrier. What you should be taking away from this is that there is no real middle ground. You either have a locked iPhone or an unlocked iPhone. Thanks to some workarounds however, it is indeed possible to unlock a locked iPhone.
The first method to unlock an iPhone would be a hardware unlock (obviously out of scope for most people). At this time it is not possible to hardware unlock your iPhone. This entails actually modifying the internal components of your iPhone. When the original iPhone was released this was indeed possible, but long gone are those days.
The next method for unlocking your iPhone is a software unlock. The two software unlocking solutions for the iPhone that are currently available are UltraSn0w and BlackSn0w. UltraSn0w was developed by a group of developers by the name of the iPhone Dev-Team, where BlackSn0w was developed by an individual by the name of Geohot. The only problem with software unlocks are that they require a Jailbreak and are only supported on a limited number of older baseband versions.
Another method of unlocking an iPhone involves purchasing some sort of passthrough card or SIM interposer. When you purchase one of these special passthrough cards you will be required to place it between your SIM card and the baseband hardware (it essentially sits on top of your SIM card). In order to maintain this sort of unlock you must always keep the card between your SIM card and baseband hardware. This method of unlocking has become more popular because it supports newer baseband versions. Example’s of companies who create such passthrough cards include Apple N Berry and RSIM-7. The price of one of these cards is anywhere from $20 – $40.
The last method for unlocking your iPhone is an IMEI unlock. Although this method of unlocking the iPhone is more expensive than buying a passthrough card/SIM interposer (it will run you anywhere from $50 to $200), it is more convenient. When you IMEI unlock your iPhone it is unlocked for forever and you can update to new iOS versions, without worrying whether it will effect your unlock or not. IMEI stands for International Mobile Equipment Identity and it is a string of numbers which Apple uses to categorize iPhone’s as lock or unlocked. When you purchase an IMEI unlock for your iPhone it is placed into the latter category. There are many online services available for IMEI unlocking your iPhone, which you can find yourself.

Which iPhone Unlocking Method To Choose

Essentially you have three options when it comes to unlocking your iPhone.
  1. Software Unlock
  2. Passthrough Card/SIM Interposer
  3. IMEI Unlock
The benefits of a software unlocking solution are of course that they are free. The obvious downfalls included limited iPhone generation and baseband support, as well as the requirement of being Jailbroken. The Passthrough card/SIM Interposer method is indeed better because it supports newer generations of the iPhone and newer baseband versions, but it isn’t always compatible with new iOS firmware versions. If you can afford it the obvious winner here is the IMEI unlock as it is not limited to specific baseband or iOS versions.

Software iPhone Unlock Compatibility

Unfortunately software iPhone unlocking solutions are no longer compatible with newer iPhone generations or baseband versions. If you happen to be in possession of an older iPhone with one of the compatible baseband versions shown below however, you can indeed unlock it for free. Keep in mind that if a new baseband exploit is found and one of these software iPhone unlocking solutions is updated we will update this list.

UltraSn0w Supported Baseband Versions

iPhone 5: Not Supported
iPhone 4S: Not Supported
iPhone 4: 1.59.00 (GSM only)
iPhone 3GS: 4.26.08, 5.11.07, 5.12.01, 5.13.04, and 6.15.00 (special iPad baseband)
iPhone 3G: 4.26.08, 5.11.07, 5.12.01, 5.13.04, and 6.15.00 (special iPad baseband)
Repo: http://repo666.ultrasn0w.com/

BlackSn0w Supported Baseband Versions

iPhone 5: Not Supported
iPhone 4S: Not Supported
iPhone 4: Not Supported
iPhone 3GS: 5.11.07
iPhone 3G: 5.11.07
Repo: http://blackra1n.com/

How To Software Unlock The iPhone

Unlocking your iPhone with UltraSn0w or BlackSn0w is extremely simple and only requires your iPhone to be Jailbroken. For those of you that do not know how to Jailbreak your iPhone you can visit the How To Jailbreak Section. We have detailed how to guides for unlocking almost all supported firmware and baseband combinations. You can browse through the tutorials listed below or if you are more technically inclined simply add the repository for one of the software unlocking solutions (shown in the compatibility section) and then install the package to your iPhone.

Unlock iOS 6.0.1

Unlock iOS 6.0

Unlock iOS 5.1.1

Unlock iOS 5.0.1

Unlock iOS 5

Unlock iOS 4.3.3

Unlock iOS 4.3.2

Unlock iOS 4.3.1

Unlock iOS 4.3

Unlock iOS 4.2.1

Unlock iOS 4.1

Unlock iOS 4.0.2

Unlock iOS 4.0.1

Unlock iOS 4

Other Unlocking Solutions

How To Save SHSH Blobs For iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch And Apple TV: Everything To Know! [How To]

Welcome to iJailbreak’s How To Save SHSH Blobs section. In this section you will learn how to save SHSH blobs for your iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad and Apple TV. Simply scroll through our How To Save SHSH blobs section for a guide that corresponds to your iOS device, and read one of our easy-to-follow how-to guides on saving SHSH blobs on your iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad or Apple TV.
Note #1: We will be updating this page with the latest how-to-save-SHSH-blobs guides when new firmware versions are released, so make sure you come back soon!
Note #2: You can save SHSH blobs only for firmware versions that Apple is currently signing.

Why To Save SHSH Blobs

If you have a jailbroken iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad or Apple TV, then saving SHSH blobs is an extremely important habit to develop. When you save your SHSH blobs you are guaranteeing that you can downgrade to that firmware version if you accidentally update to a newer firmware version that you don’t like or that does not have a jailbreak available for. Unfortunately downgrading isn’t always this simple, and for more information on downgrading, visit the How To Downgrade section.
The reason you need to save SHSH blobs is that they are a technology implemented by Apple which restricts the ability to downgrade to a lower firmware version. Whenever you upgrade or restore your iOS device, a request gets sent to Apple’s servers to verify that the firmware version your are upgrading to or restoring to is the same or newer than the firmware version you are currently running. When you save your SHSH blobs, you can trick Apple into thinking that the firmware version you want to downgrade to is indeed valid.
If you do not save your SHSH blobs, then you will never be able to downgrade your iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad or Apple TV. Obviously downgrading isn’t necessary for non-jailbroken devices because there is no reason one would really want to downgrade, but for Jailbreakers, maintaining the ability to downgrade is always a smart thing to do.
Now that you understand why saving SHSH Blobs is important, what exactly is an SHSH blob in technical terms?

What Is An SHSH Blob?

You see, when you restore your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad through iTunes your device phones home and ensures that it is allowed to be restored to a specific firmware version. In order to enforce this limitation SHSH blobs were introduced, which is a hash signature system. Although this is getting technical, an SHSH is created by an SHSH formula with 3 or 4 TSS keys (say with me).
  1. The device model (example: iPhone 4 GSM)
  2. The firmware version being signed (example: 6.0.1)
  3. The device’s ECID, a unique identifier for every Apple device.
On every device shipped by Apple a Plist file is present, this file contains SHSH blobs for different parts of the firmware. These blobs are essentially gatekeepers and control whether or not a firmware is restorable. Whenever you upgrade or downgrade your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad, new SHSH blobs have to be generated because one of the parts to the SHSH formula is the firmware version.
In order to prevent firmware restores Apple only signs one firmware version at a time, which is obviously the latest firmware version available. If you try to restore to a lower firmware version, you will get an error because Apple is not signing that specific firmware version anymore. What is happening is Apple refuses to generate the new hash during the downgrade, meaning the new SHSH blobs cannot be generated.

What Is An APTicket?

In case this wasn’t a big enough limitation to downgrading iOS devices, in the iOS 5 firmware generation Apple introduced yet another technology to prevent downgrading called APTickets. What APTickets are is essentially the next generation of SHSH blobs. APTickets are much more secure however, because when you try to restore or upgrade your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad a request is sent to Apple’s servers to confirm the APTicket. Unlike SHSH blobs which would submit the same one already stored on the server, a brand new APTicket is generated using a random string. In the future APTickets will completely replace SHSH blobs, this will happen once the iPhone 4S stops being supported.
With newer firmware versions when you save your SHSH blobs you are also technically saving your APTickets. Unfortunately with the implementation of APTickets however, it makes downgrading much more difficult, if not impossible. Thanks to the vibrant Jailbreaking community however, new exploits are always being found and it will only be a matter of time before downgrading devices on newer firmware versions is indeed supported. As such it is still important to save your SHSH Blobs and APTickets regardless of at a specific time it is possible to downgrade or not.

How To Save SHSH Blobs

There are many tools that can be used to save SHSH blobs on your iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad or even Apple TV. The most common are TinyUmbrella, iFaith and RedSn0w. Both TinyUmbrella and RedSn0w can be used to save your iOS device’s SHSH blobs if Apple is signing the firmware you are currently running. Apple only signs the latest firmware version available, so if you are running iOS 6.0 and Apple releases iOS 6.0.1 you would not be able to use TinyUmbrella or RedSn0w to save your devices SHSH blobs because Apple is no longer signing the iOS 6.0 firmware. In this specific situation you would only be able to save SHSH blobs for the iOS 6.0.1 firmware.
If you indeed find yourself in this situation then you will need to use a tool called iFaith. iFaith uses a different method to save your SHSH blobs that allows it to save your SHSH blobs regardless of whether Apple is signing it or not. In some cases iFaith is more reliable when it comes to downgrading as well.
We have written numerous guides on how to save your SHSH blobs on your iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad or Apple TV using TinyUmbrella, iFaith, RedSnow and some other applications that run directly on Jailbroken devices. You can look through the list below and find one that suits your current situation. Keep in mind that even if a guide mentions an older firmware version than you are running, the process is still the same. We are not going to release a new guide for every firmware version because it would be too repetitive.

Save SHSH Blobs With RedSn0w

Save SHSH Blobs With TinyUmbrella

Save SHSH Blobs With iFaith

Save SHSH Blobs With iSHSHit

Samsung’s Galaxy S5 To Launch By April And Could Include An Eye-Scanner To Take On Touch ID

If you are a Galaxy S5 fan then you will be glad to know that it has been reported by Bloomberg Businessweek that Samsung is looking to launch its flagship Android Device by April to compete with Apple’s iPhone 5S.
url
Lee Young Hee, Executive Vice president of Samsung’s Mobile Business sat down with Bloomberg Businessweek recently and revealed some interesting details about the products that will be launched in 2014.
“We’ve been announcing our first flagship model in the first half of each year, around March and April, and we are still targeting for release around that time,” Lee said. “When we release our S5 device, you can also expect a Gear successor with more advanced functions, and the bulky design will also be improved.”
She also admitted that the difference between the S4 and the S3 was very minuscule and that Samsung would be ensuring to tackle areas like the display and casing with the S5.
“When we moved to S4 from S3, it’s partly true that consumers couldn’t really feel much difference between the two products from the physical perspective, so the market reaction wasn’t as big,” she said. “For the S5, we will go back to the basics. Mostly, it’s about the display and the feel of the cover.” 
We also know that Samsung is considering the possibility of including Iris recognition technology in its Galaxy S5, likely to counter the iPhone 5S’ fingerprint sensor. She wasn’t sure whether or not it would be included, though, but did state that Samsung planned to launch its second-generation Galaxy Gear smartwatch alongside the Galaxy S5 with “with more advanced functions, and the bulky design will also be improved.”
Among other things it was also hinted that the Galaxy Note Note 4 is expected to be launched in the second half of this year, and will come with a three-sided or wraparound display, which will allow users to read messages from an angle.
“We are targeting consumers who want more professional use and tend to be willing to pay more for handsets,” Samsung’s Lee said. 
It will be interesting to see how the Galaxy S5 fares in the market alongside the iPhone 5S. Right now sales of the Galaxy S4 have slowed down due to the iPhone 5S, so the Galaxy S5 will be very important for the Korean company.

Samsung Galaxy S5 May Feature A Fingerprint Sensor Instead Of Iris Scanner

Since Apple released the iPhone 5S the ball has essentially been dropped in Samsung’s court. It can now see what features Apple has implemented in the iPhone 5S and try to top it. Two of the flagship features of the iPhone 5S are its 64-bit chip and fingerprint scanner.
galaxy-S5
Rather than implementing a fingerprint scanner, however, Samsung has been rumored to be looking into an Iris scanner. According to a recent report from The Korea Herald though the Iris scanner is now being downplayed in favor of fingerprint scanning technology. Samsung is said to have been testing biometric scanners, but ultimately considered Iris to be an “unintuitive” one.
Just imagine getting your eye close to the front of the device every time you want to unlock it. Now imaging doing so in a dark room, cinema or when you’re wearing sunglasses. Such a scanner will also involve placing a new, long-range, camera module inside the device – either one for selfies and one for scanning or a more elaborate one for both tasks.
Another reason for not implementing an Iris scanner has to do with the fact a separate, long-range camera module, that would be required which would make the device more bulky.
Other than biometric security the Galaxy S5 is expected to feature a 2k display, a 16MP camera and a 64-bit eight-core Exynos processor. It would certainly shape up to be a powerhouse.
Hopefully Samsung actually gets the hint this time around people don’t want a cheap plastic backplate.

Microsoft Appoints New CEO And Bill Gates Steps Down As Chairman

Since Steve Ballmer stepped down as CEO of Microsoft in August 2013, the Redmond company has since been searching for a suitable replacement. It looks like today, however, that search is now over.
Microsoft has announced that it now has a new CEO and his name is Satya Nadella. Nadella was previously the Executive Vice President of Microsoft’s Cloud and Enterprise group and doesn’t come as a surprise. There had been weeks of speculation that hewas one of the front runners for the job.
Satya Nadella, executive vice president of Microsoft’s Cloud and Enterprise group, is seen in this undated Microsoft handout photograph
Nadella joined the company back in 1992, and the now 47-year-old executive was responsible for building and running Microsoft’s computing platforms, developer tools and cloud services supporting Bing, Xbox, Office and other services.
Microsoft is one of those rare companies to have truly revolutionized the world through technology, and I couldn’t be more honored to have been chosen to lead the company,” Nadella said in a statement this morning. “The opportunity ahead for Microsoft is vast, but to seize it, we must focus clearly, move faster and continue to transform. A big part of my job is to accelerate our ability to bring innovative products to our customers more quickly.”
In addition to the CEO news, Microsoft also announced that its founder Bill Gates will step down as chairman of the board and take on a new Technology Advisor role to “devote more time to the company.” John Thompson, who led the new CEO search, will take Gates previous position on the board.
You can take a look at Bill Gates welcome message to Nadella as Microsoft CEO below:
The entire press release from Microsoft can be found here.

HOW To Temporarily Fix OS X Mavericks Mail Problems

Ever since the release of OS X Mavericks some users have experienced issues with the stock Mail app that prevents the app from receiving any new messages until its quit or reopened. “For some email providers, new email messages in Mail may only appear to arrive when Mail is first opened,” writes Apple. “No new email arrives until Mail is quit and reopened.”
mavericks_mail
For anyone still experiencing issues you will be glad to know Apple has posted a bandaid fix to its website until the full issue is resolved. The document is titled “OS X: New email messages not received until Mail is quit and reopened.”
In order to bandaid fix the issue all you have to do is:
  1. Choose Mailbox > Take All Accounts Offline.
  2. Choose Mailbox > Get All New Mail.
Due to the fact you will probably end up doing this multiple times in a day you can also create a shortcut placed within the toolbar for one-click quick access.
  1. Choose View > Customize Toolbar.
  2. Drag the Take All Accounts Offline button to the Toolbar if it is not there already.
  3. Drag the Get Mail button to the Toolbar if it is not there already.
  4. Click Done
Now whenever you experience issues with your mailboxes not refreshing simple click the Take Offline button followed by the Check Mail button. It’s not perfect, but until the bug is addressed in a software update it is the only solution