The palera1n checkm8 bootrom exploit-based jailbreak tool for A9-A11 chip-equipped iPhones and iPads running iOS or iPadOS 15 or 16 has piqued substantial interest, as it’s currently the only publicly available jailbreak tool for the aforementioned device and firmware combinations. But it’s worth noting that the tool is currently intended for developers and is fully Terminal-based, as made evident in our step-by-step tutorial.
Early Friday morning, a third-party graphical user interface (GUI) for palera1n started making rounds on Twitter and was later shared on /r/jailbreak. Worthy of note, however, the palera1n team now cautions users to avoid using any third-party GUIs.
The initial warning came by way of palera1n team member Mineek via the palera1n team’s official Discord channel, shown below:
From what we can gather, the reasons to avoid using a third-party palera1n GUI include how it over-complicates the jailbreak process, which could lead to confusion, and the fact that an official GUI is currently underway. In addition to this, iDB warns that third-party GUIs aren’t officially supported by the palera1n team, so if something went wrong, then you would obviously be on your own.
The palera1n team’s confirmation that an official GUI was in the works is a huge one, as many prospective jailbreakers have shied away from using palera1n due to it being a command line interface (CLI)-only jailbreak at this time. As it turns out, some people aren’t comfortable with using Terminal in case of making mistakes while writing out commands.
Obviously, the palera1n team hasn’t confirmed when it plans to release a GUI, as an ETA wasn’t provided. It’s also unknown if the GUI would only be macOS and Linux-based just like the CLI version is, or if it would support Windows as well.
A Windows version of checkra1n, another jailbreak that utilizes the checkm8 exploit, never materialized due to USB-related complications and the lack of time to contribute to fixing those complications and completing the GUI.
All in all, the primary takeaway here is that while a GUI is more convenient than a CLI, users shouldn’t download or try to use third-party options. It’s always best to wait for the official release, as it will be the most reliable and come with more support should something go wrong.