This article shows you how to perform an untethered jailbreak and unlock for iPhone 3G, 3GS and iPhone 4 on 4.2.1 firmware. If you have recently jailbroken your phone using RedSnow, you might have done a tethered jailbreak, this means whenever you reboot you need to jailbreak it again.
With RedSnow available for jailbreaking and unlocking iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 on firmware 4.2.1, several users performed a tethered jailbreak without even worrying about its consequences. As a result, whenever such users reboot their iPhone , they need to connect their iPhone to the computer and re-jailbreak their iPhone again. If I had been through such a situation, this would have meant a lot to me as re-jailbreaking is fine, but who’s going to re-install all the apps again? Apart from this, you might also lose all your iPhone data. So, there are many consequences; not just one.
This article is for my fellow readers who have earlier performed a tethered jailbreak and now want to untether their iPhone. Yes, you heard me right. Tethered iPhones can be untethered again in a few simple steps. Continue reading the article…
Note: These instructions are for iPhone 4, iPod Touch 4 and iPad users with firmware 4.2.1 and on MAC. You may also encounter Bluetooth related issues as this is still in Beta and the fix might not be available until Jailbreak for iPhone 4.3 is out.
Make sure that you make a backup of your iPhone before following the process mentioned below. Also, you must save your iPhone’s SHSH file, without which you will not be able to restore your iPhone to the previous state. If you don’t save the SHSH file and move to the new firmware, you will never be able to get back to the previous state.
To save your iPhone’s SHSH files, you can use TinyUmbrella. To do so, follow this tutorial:
Save iPhone SHSH file using TinyUmbrella
Requirement: You need to download the following:
You must have a tethered jailbroken iPhone 4 with firmware 4.2.1. This tutorial has not been tested on an untethered jailbroken iPhone. So, please do not try to test it on an untethered jailbroken iPhone. If you do so, you are solely responsible for your actions.
Important: iPhone O.S 4.2b3 is available only to developers. However, I managed to get one and that is why, the link provided in this tutorial might fail after a period of time. So, please make sure you keep a copy of it on your local computer or upload to a file sharing website to help other iPhone users. Also, the RedSnow link keeps getting updated as soon as a new version is out. The above comment applies to RedSnow as well.
How to Untether a Tethered Jailbreak
Step 1: Launch RedSnow and click the Browse button on the RedSnow application screen. Select the iPhone 4 Firmware 4.2.1 file that you just downloaded and wait while RedSnow verifies the firmware file.
Step 2: After RedSnow has verified the file, click the Next button to continue. RedSnow will now perform certain processes and after a while you will see a screen with a list of options.
From the available options, select Install Cydia and Jailbreak Monte (untether). As you select the Jailbreak Monte (untether), you will be asked to select iPhone 4 O.S 4.2b3 file. Select the iPhone 4 O.S 4.2b3 file that you just downloaded.
Step 3: Connect your iPhone to the computer and follow the instructions given on the RedSnow application screen. Alternatively, you can also read the tutorial in order to put your iPhone in DFU mode .
Step 4: After your iPhone is in DFU mode, RedSnow will perform the untether jailbreak process on your iPhone. After RedSnow has completed the untethered jailbreaking process, you will notice the “Done!” word on the RedSnow screen. Press the Finish button to exit the RedSnow application.
RedSnow will now restart your iPhone to complete the process.
To unlock your iPhone follow this tutorial: Unlock iPhone 4.2.1 firmware .
iPhone O.S 4.3 or O.S 5
Note: Since, this tutorial is for iPhone 4, iPad and iPod Touch 4 users, other iPhone users need not feel depressed as the iPhone O.S 4.3 Beta version is out and is available to iPhone developers. Very soon, Apple will launch the new iOS 4.3 version via iTunes.
As promised by DEV team, as soon as the new OS update is out, you can expect iPhone 4.3 Jailbreak and unlock.
Remember, not to update your iPhone to the new OS unless, and until, you find a 100% effective jailbreak and unlock process for it.
Also, there are rumors that Apple is planning to launch iOS 5 for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch users, which has a number of features and improvements over previous OS versions. We’ll have to wait and see on that score. For some speculation on what might be in iOS 5 check that link.
