New yalu102 betas released with support for iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, and more

Following on from the initial release of yalu102 a few days ago, today saw two more betas posted to Luca Todesco’s webpage. And for those who have been patiently for support for their device, this is welcome news.

In our previous article, we mentioned that the main drawback of the first beta was that it only supported devices with a 16k memory page size, that is to say, the iPhone 6s and above. All that has changed with betas 2 and 7, which add support for 4k devices, including the iPhone 6 and iPhone 5s. They bring the current supported devices to all 64-bit devices except for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.

In full, the list is as follows:

  • iPhone 6s and 6s Plus: 10 – 10.2
  • iPhone SE: 10 – 10.2
  • iPhone 5s: 10 – 10.2
  • iPhone 6 and 6 Plus: 10 – 10.2
  • iPad Pro: 10 – 10.2
  • iPad Air : 10 – 10.2
  • iPad mini 2 and 3: 10 – 10.2
  • iPod touch 6th generation: 10 – 10.2
  • iPad Air 2: 10 – 10.2
  • iPad mini 4: 10 – 10.2

Beta 3 brings fixes for interfacing with the Apple Watch, and adds tihmstar’s nonceenabler tool into the jailbreak as a default patch. This bodes well for using the tool in future. Commits have also been added to the GitHub project to patch the vulnerability used by yalu102. This will mean (once the changes have been merged into the tool) that after jailbreaking with the yalu102 tool, you will not be vulnerable to similar attacks from less reputable sources. It’s likely that these changes will come in Beta 4.

We have already put together a guide which shows how to jailbreak with yalu102. The process with these new betas has not changed, simply download the newest beta from Luca Todesco’s site, and then follow our guide to install it. Using this method, you will need to re-sign the application every seven days unless you have a paid developer account, however as the betas are coming fast, you will likely be re-loading the tool faster than that anyway in the short term. There is no word on whether a more permanent solution will eventually be available to avoid these certification requirements.

As always, we advise that you try out beta tools with caution. Whilst iOS 10.2 is still signed the risks are small, because in an emergency you can restore safely. Once signing has closed think carefully about what you install and from where. If you are hesitant, simply wait a week more for a stable tool before jumping in.

If you can’t wait, just make sure to follow our guide, and have a blast!