One of the more substantial caveats that plagues jailbreaking an A11 chip-equipped handset running iOS 14 via checkra1n is that you can’t use a passcode. Affected devices include the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and even the coveted iPhone X. But perhaps not anymore…
The checkra1n team still hasn’t managed or released an official patch for this, but iOS developer Kritanta has just this weekend released a new jailbreak tweak dubbed lockdown beta that appears to miraculously restore native passcode functionality on A11 handsets that have been pwned with checkra1n — at least while jailbroken, that is.
That last tidbit is particularly important to remember, as someone could just reboot your device and it would no longer necessitate a passcode to get in. That’s because checkra1n is a semi-tethered jailbreak, and upon rebooting your handset, tweak injection halts until you can get to a computer to run the checkra1n jailbreak tool again.
Fortunately, most people don’t know any better. How many people do you know that would think to turn an iPhone off and on again just to reset the passcode if it has been jailbroken with checkra1n? We’re willing to bet probably not many… if any.
It should be noted that lockdown beta doesn’t re-enable native biometric authentication like Face ID or Touch ID on these same devices at this time, but that’s something that could come in the future. If that’s something you’re looking for, then you might try a combination of lockdown beta and BioProtect XS for the time being, as the latter can harness the power of biometric authentication to safeguard various facets of your operating system, like launching certain apps.
The lockdown beta tweak doesn’t have any options to configure. In essence, installing the tweak is all you need to do to enjoy native-esque passcode functionality while in a jailbroken state. In my opinion, while it’s not foolproof due to the reboot thing we touched on earlier, it’s still a breath of fresh air to know that there’s at least one additional barrier between my device and an unrecognized user.
If you’re interested in giving lockdown beta a try, then you can purchase it for $0.99 from Kritanta’s personal repository via your favorite package manager app. Keep in mind that the tweak is only intended for A11 devices that are running iOS 14 and that have been jailbroken via checkra1n, as no other device configuration would require such an add-on.
Those who aren’t already using Kritanta’s personal repository can add it to their package manager of choice via the following URL:
https://repo.krit.me/
Do you plan to re-enable native passcode functionality on your A11 device post-checkra1n with the new lockdown beta tweak? We’re excited to read why or why not in the comments section down below.