GeoHot

GeoHot Jailbreaks the iPhone 4

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated July 25, 2014

Geohot, the little genius behind blackra1n and blacksn0w is back at it again. In a blog post he wrote today, Geohot showed us a picture of a jailbroken iPhone 4 running Cydia.

Geohot says that he won't however release the jailbreak to the public and made it clear that the limera1n jailbreak we talked about before was nothing more than a website with no specific goal.

Got one of these in the mail today and figured I'd give it a shot.

As far as a release goes, it probably won't happen from me. limera1n is little more than a raindrop on a website; it was never mentioned by me previous to this post. pwned4life is a complete invention of some blogger in a basement somewhere. When I said pwned for life, I was referring to the original iPhone, 3G, and Touch; which of course are, by the aptly named PwnageTool.

Again, please don't ask for release dates. Every person that does makes me want to release a little bit less.

Did you read this last sentence well? I understand Geohot doesn't want to harassed with questions about a possible release date, which lets us hope he might be willing to release an iPhone 4 jailbreak one day or the other.

If I had a guess, I'd say that Geohot is working on this jailbreak right at this moment and that he will do everything he can to release a jailbreak for the iPhone 4 before the Dev Team or Comex do..

What do you think?

GeoHot Discovers Exploit That Will Pwn All iPhones for Life

Sébastien Page ∙ June 21, 2010

We hadn't heard from GeoHot in a while. The little genius hacker might come back to the front of the stage with a new exploit called pwned4life. At Nuit du Hack, a hacking convention held in Paris, GeoHot indeed mentioned that he had found a new exploit that can pwn all iPhones for life, including the yet-to-be-released iPhone 4.

I'm not sure yet what pwnedforlife will do exactly but that sure sounds like some good news. Check out this video for more details.

[via Redmond Pie]

GeoHot: I Have So Much To Finish Before I Work On The Jailbreak

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated January 23, 2016

Yesterday I was telling you about LimeRa1n, a new potential jailbreak by GeoHot for all iPhones and iPod Touch. It seems that many people have gotten in touch with GeoHot by phone or even by showing up at his house (this info can be found in the whois records of his websites), asking for the jailbreak.

Apparently, and for obvious reasons, GeoHot wasn't particularly pleased, and I guess he's growing tired of people bugging him about a new jailbreak.

He made this clear today by saying on Twitter that we shouldn't be expecting a jailbreak from him anytime soon.

What do you guys think of all this? Do you think he's trying to mislead us to surprise us better soon? Or is he just not working on a jailbreak after all?

LimeRa1n: A New Jailbreak-It-All By Geohot

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated October 9, 2010

A few weeks after teasing us with a video showing an untethered jailbreak for all devices, an iPad jailbreak and an iPhone 4.0 jailbreak, GeoHot is now rumored to be releasing a new jailbreak called LimeRa1n in the next few days.

The rumor started when iHackinTosh got tipped about a new website called LimeRa1n.com. After checking the whois info, it appears that registrant info for both LimeRa1n and BlackRa1n is in the name and address of GeoHot.

The questions on everybody's lips is now when will GeoHot release LimeRa1n and what device will it allow to jailbreak? LimeRa1n should be available in the next few days and it should work on all devices, including the iPhone and iPod Touch 3.1.3, as well as the iPad.

A jailbreak for these devices has been around for a while now but they've never been released in order to prevent Apple to patch the exploits in a future OS update.

While, LimeRa1n has no set release date, you can still jailbreak you iPhone with BlackRa1n, PwnageTool, and RedSn0w.

Excited about LimeRa1n?

UPDATE: LimeRa1n is making the headlines again. Check our LimeRa1n page for all the latest information about this jailbreak.

UPDATE 2: LimeRa1n jailbreak for iOS 4.1 released.

iPhone OS 4 Jailbreak: GeoHot Reveals BlackRa1n

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated February 5, 2016

Just a few days after showing proofs of a jailbreak for iPad, GeoHot is back at it, this time with an iPhone OS 4 jailbreak with BlackRa1n.

The wonder kid tweeted this image of an iPhone running iPhone OS 4 with the BlackRa1n and Cydia icons on it. It is not the first proof of a jailbreak for iPhone OS 4. Recently, the Dev Team released a video clearly showing a jailbroken iPhone OS 4 and there are still talks around Spirit, the jailbreak for iPhone 3.X which supposedly works for OS 4 and the iPad as well.

If you look at this image more closely, the Cydia icon looks very prominent which makes it a little suspicious. What makes this image even more suspicious is that it's just an image. Why didn't GeoHot shoot a video like he did for this iPhone OS 3.X untethered jailbreak?

Real or fake, you decide.

GeoHot Reveals BlackRa1n iPad Jailbreak

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated January 23, 2016

Things are going fast in the jailbreak world these days. One day after MuscleNerd announced the Dev Team had jailbroken iPhone OS 4, it's GeoHot turns to impress us with a jailbreak for the iPad.

Ealier today, GeoHot posted a tweet with a picture showing verbose mode running on his iPad. For info, verbose mode basically shows everything that your iPad is doing on bootup. It's a clear sign that the iPad has been jailbroken.

As if it wasn't clear enough, GeoHot posted a more straightforward picture on his blog minutes ago showing a jailbroken iPad with the BlackRa1n and Cydia icons.

When the picture was first posted on GeoHot's blog, it had a caption under it saying that "The new app will not be called blackra1n". This caption has since then been removed.

The name doesn't matter. Of course what really matters here is that GeoHot is once again the first to find a new jailbreak, this time for the iPad.

There is no estimated release date but if I had a guess, I'd say that this new iPad jailbreak should hit the streets pretty soon. It seems like multitasking might come to the iPad earlier than Steve Jobs would want to after all...

Thoughts?

Geohot to Release Untethered Jailbreak

Sébastien Page ∙ March 25, 2010

Geohot is back at it, this time with an untethered jailbreak for iPhone OS 3.X.

This is what he wrote on his blog just minutes ago:

The jailbreak is all software based, and is as simple to use as blackra1n. It is completely untethered, works on all current tethered models(ipt2, 3gs, ipt3), and will probably work on iPad too.

Don't ask about a release date. You won't make it happen any sooner.

I'd like to give you more details but I'm currently writing this from a car between Hanoi and Ninh Binh, Vietnam with obviously limited resources.

It does look like this new jailbreak tool won't be ready anytime soon, bu it's still a good news for those of you who have to kickstart their iPhones with BlackRa1n everytime they reboot.

Thoughts? Comments?

Behind The Exploits: The Dev Team

Cody Lee ∙ Updated July 24, 2016

Wow, where do you start with these guys? They are probably the reason most of you have iPhones, and they are definitely the reason Sebastien and I are writing to you guys all the time. You certainly couldn't "liberate your iPhone" without these guy's transcendent work.

Known to each other by their IRC names like "musclenerd" and "pytey", and known to everyone else as simply, The Dev Team. They are a group of dedicated programmers and hackers, each with their own set of unique but advanced skill set, that come together to bring us jailbreak programs like RedSn0w and PwnageTool and unlocks like UltraSn0w.

From all around the world, these guys meet on IRC and work during their free time. With so many members in different time zones, The Dev Team's work on the iPhone is almost constant, especially after Apple releases a new update.

But don't think these guys are one trick ponies. Several of them are doing work with the upcoming Android platform, and these guys have actually entered hacking contests. Chaos Communication Congress Capture The Flag Competition in Berlin to be exact. Live and in person, The Dev Team actually won the competition by a a hefty margin. They have come a long way, enduring many accomplishments and evolution.

Although there have been several changes within The Dev Team, both in personnel and policy, one thing remains the same, they continue to lead the fight against Apple's tight user restriction policies. Without their software, users like us would not be able to customize our backgrounds, our icons, hell our phones!

One thing I continue to respect about these guys is that they're not looking to make money. Whether it's for legal or moral reasons, these guys maintain an ad free blog site that "Pytey" of The Dev Team told Mobile Crunch receives in the neighborhood of 3.5million hits around a jailbreak/unlock release date. They also continue to turn down cash offers to those sleazy overnight jailbreak startup websites that charge you for "their" software.

In fact they publicly have despised these websites in an effort to warn users of their sketchy practices. This might also have something to do with their dispute with a Jody Sanders, of West Midlands, UK. Seems this gentleman was using a large amount of The Dev Team's work in his software and was making quite a profit. I don't know that I would wanna piss off guys with these kinds of skills, they sound like they've already uncovered a lot of information about him and posted publicly on their blog asking for more help tracking him down.

With publicly followed drama of almost celebrity status (well among popular iPhone and gadget blogs) The Dev Team's former member George "GeoHot" Hotz and his former colleagues didn't see eye to eye on a lot of things. It seems a lot of the problems began when Hotz went public with his completely unlocked iPhone, having worked with The Dev Team just months before. They actually referred to him as the "self appointed media front man" that led a "media circus" in 2007.

For those of you that don't recall, Hotz was given a new Nissan 350z and other things in return for his jailbroken iPhone. A year later their dispute resurfaced as GeoHot obtained a copy of the exploit used to jailbreak iphone 2.0 firmware for 1st gens and 3G, from a Dev Team member and threatened the Dev Team with releasing his own jailbreak software, using that exploit if they didn't release PwnageTool at a sooner date.

So why do they continue to put up with the pressure of hitting release dates, scammers that steal their work, and others that throw stones at them when they don't conform. It's a hobby. Some people relax by fishing or reading, these guys really get down on soldering and disassembling things, especially iPhones.

Since their initial software releases in 2007, the Dev Team has continued with this game of cat and mouse with Apple. They find an exploit, use it, Apple covers it up in an update, and then they start all over again. Until recently, Apple has been relatively quiet about jailbreaking and the hackers behind the software.

Their license agreement of their latest developer kit (suite of software and info released to app developers as often as software is updated) actually adds a clause forbidding developers to work on jailbroken equipment. But as developers continue to find reasons or are forced to leave Apple's App Store, the jailbroken platform gains more and more momentum. Especially as Apple has yet to see any success on fighting the users right to do what they want with a product they purchased.

Regardless it appears things are going to get interesting and The Dev Team isn't going anywhere. Their latest blog notes that this recent firmware update 3.1.3 was released just to flush out exploits before the release of a major update, probably iPhone 4.0. Obviously, being the tricky tricksters they are, The Dev Team aren't biting. Their current release of Pwnage Tool uses old, ported exploits and they aren't releasing anything new until they see Apple's next move. Man this stuff could be in movies.

P.S. @Dev-Team : you guys gonna make my iPad cooler?

What Is Unlocking?

Cody Lee ∙ February 21, 2010

Unlocking is an extremely easy concept to explain, sort of . Unless stated otherwise, cell phones purchased from carrier retail stores are "locked" to that specific carrier. For instance, a Blackberry storm from Verizon won't work on an AT&T calling plan. The Sprint Palm Pre won't work on T-mobile. Even your iPhone from AT&T is "locked" to that infamous blue-mapped carrier.

So what do you do if you want to purchase a phone you like but use it with a different carrier, perhaps one that costs less or gets better reception in your area? For most folks I'd say " eh fa-gettaboutit ! " (in a pretty sweet Brooklyn/Italian accent might I add). But for those of you lucky enough to have apples on the back of your phones, there are ways to relieve your beloved iPhone from AT&T's struggling network.

Hardware Unlock Vs. Software Unlock

Technically, there are 2 ways to go about unlocking your iPhone. There is a hardware unlock, which is invasive (you have to open the phone), that I don't recommend that anyone tries unless they've got a pretty extensive background in some kind of electrical engineering.

The 2nd, much easier way, the software unlock, could be done on your lunch break by your 6th grader. Just like jailbreaking, this can be as easy as hooking your iPhone up to the computer and clicking 'start'. However the requirements for unlocking and the rules you must follow are very different.

Things to Consider Before Unlocking

There are guidelines to follow when thinking about unlocking your iPhone.

First off you need to make sure that the carrier you are wishing to go to supports the iPhones technology. I'll save everyone here stateside some time and just let the cat out of the bag. If you unlock, really your best option is T-Mobile, the other major wireless GSM carrier. Other, smaller CDMA carriers (any centennial wireless users out here??) have had users confirm the unlock to work, but chances are if your reading an article on unlocking, they are referring to T-Mobile (at least here in the states).

Secondly, you need to know your firmware version and modem firmware version (or baseband as its often referred to). This is easily discovered by popping into your iPhone settings and opening the 'about' window. Now if you can't seem to find it, I'm scared for you, but I'm here for you, I've provided some pictures below to help you out.

These 2 things are important to know, as they determine whether you can unlock your iPhone or not. If you are even thinking of jailbreaking or unlocking, best practice is to stay away from updating your iTunes or iPhone software, as the war between the Dev Team and Apple rages on, each new update could disable or prevent future unlocks.

I always check http://blog.iphone-dev.org/ to see the latest unlock available. As you can see right now, they have one working for firmware version 3.1.3 and baseband 05.11, but if you have updated your iPhone recently and have the 05.12 baseband, you're out of luck for the time being. An unlock is in the works but the ETA field is empty so, don't hold your breath.

Finally if you meet the above requirements and are ready to unlock, you must first jailbreak. Now as you can see from all the hyperlinks in this article, I wrote an article on jailbreaking, and I know Sebastien's got great tutorials in the blog's 'tutorials' section, so if you haven't done that, check that stuff out, meet me back here in 5.

Who Comes Up With Unlocks?

The last part of our segment today on unlocking is software, pioneered by the great Dev Team and the prodigy kid from New Jersey GeoHot. GeoHot, who recently announced hacking the PS3, actually received media attention for his iPhone unlock and was given a new Nissan 350z by the co founder of Certicell, not bad eh.

But the backbone of the jailbreak/unlock community, the Dev Team, have been the steady frontrunners ever since. Their software QuickPwn, RedSn0w, and PwnageTool have been staples in the iPhone hacking community for years.

Generally when you're using these programs to jailbreak they ask you if you'd like to unlock in one of the steps it takes you through. Here lately though, 1 task programs like UltraSnow have been relevant, also done by the Dev Team, also available in our downloads section.

Conclusion

Well that's unlocking in 10 minutes or less, the key really is what version your firmware/modem firmware you're running, and understanding there's no unlock for 3.1.3 firmware if you have 05.12 modem firmware (baseband).

The model of your iPhone matters as well, whether it is the iPhone 3G , 3GS, or original version. Model compatibility for any unlock software is generally noted in the description of the download. And if I haven't completely crushed your dreams yet, there's no way to downgrade your baseband (let us know if you get Fuzzyband to work, we hear the bootloader's to high). What am I talking about bootloaders, basebands, you guys should probably get out of here before things get really crazy.

Make sure to hit us up with any questions or comments.

Is Geohot Working on Unlocking Baseband 05.12.01 for iPhone 3.1.3?

Sébastien Page ∙ February 21, 2010

Did Geohot change his mind? A few weeks ago he said that he would not work on OS 3.1.3 but what he tweeted yesterday suggests otherwise.

Apparently Musclenerd and Geohot are talking to each other to figure out whether his exploit is the same as the one discovered by Sherriff a few days ago.

This unlock would sure be a life saver to the many iPhone owners who "accidentally" updated their device to 3.1.3.

GeoHot Says “No Jailbreak For You”

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated January 23, 2016

When GeoHot talks, you listen because you never know what he's up to. Earlier today he gave some pretty disappointing news on Twitter by basically saying that there was no way to jailbreak the latest iPhone 3GS and iPod Touch models on OS 3.1.3, and that there was not much hope for an untethered jailbreak.

But we all know GeoHot and how he likes to be challenged. I'd bet you that he's dissecting OS 3.1.3 as we speak and looking for some exploit. That's what I think anyways.

In the meantime, the Dev Team has been working hard on redsn0w (see tutorial) and has found some workarounds to jailbreak older models.

Do you think GeoHot will show up and save the world again?

I Guess Geohot is Not Working on an Untethered Jailbreak After All

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated January 23, 2016

It seems that I missed a tweet by Gehot a few weeks ago in which he made it clear that he was not going to work on an untethered version of BlackRa1n.

I don't know if you remember but Geohot said a few weeks ago that he would give us an untethered jailbreak if he won some kind of contest. Well he lost! And we all lose too!

I don't know how I feel about that. I mean, the kid is completely in his right to not develop an untethered jailbreak. But somehow, I feel like when you have such a great gift as he has, you kinda have a responsibility towards the community.

Again, he's free to do whatever he wants but I think it's very childish to say "I''l give you what you want IF I win this stupid contest" and have us hold our breath. Then of course we're all disappointed when we realize that he lost the contest and he's not going to give us what we want.

One thing is sure: the Dev Team will not let us down. The Dev Team will not play game with us and they will not have us wait and hope in vain. As I said in an article a few weeks ago, I believe the Dev Team is up to something and might very well surprise us.

What do you think about how Geohot is acting?