iOS 17 drops support for iPhone X, iPhone 8, and iPhone 8 Plus in major blow to jailbreaking

In April, there were conflicting reports concerning whether the upcoming iOS 17 software update would drop support for the aging iPhone X, 8, and 8 Plus or not. Following the WWDC 2023 keynote, Apple confirmed the company’s decision to ditch those devices in a press release.

iPhone X on top of a box.

In what can only be described as a sad day for jailbreakers, Apple will no longer launch firmware updates for the iPhone X, 8, and 8 Plus, perhaps with the exception of critical security patches. This means iOS 17 and later won’t be easily jailbroken by way of the hardware-based checkm8 bootrom exploit that many have come to know and love over the years thanks to jailbreaks such as checkra1n and palera1n from iOS 12 to 16 on A5-A11 devices.

The ramifications of such a decision were spelled out in a detailed synopsis post that we published in April, and while there were a lot of naysayers at the time who thought Apple wouldn’t possibly kill the iPhone X so soon, today’s news is a reality check, and confirmation that Apple didn’t want checkm8 to be relevant anymore — at least not on its iPhones.

It’s an unfortunate move for owners of these devices because the iPhone X appears to handle iOS 16 rather smoothly. At first glance, it even seems to have the capacity to handle additional firmware updates, as it boasts powerful hardware inside, and looking at iOS 17 post-announcement, it doesn’t even add a lot of new features that we think would choke the iPhone X up.

Having said that, we wouldn’t be surprised if this move on Apple’s part was deliberate to bury checkm8 on the iPhone for good, as it’s the only reason that we even have an iOS 16 jailbreak today. Given that checkm8 was a hardware-based exploit that Apple couldn’t patch with a software update, ending support for those affected devices was literally the only way the company could stop it, and so they did.

Fortunately, owners of the iPhone X, 8, or 8 Plus, these devices may continue to keep their iOS 16 installation jailbroken for life, and this should include any future iOS 16 updates so long as the palera1n team continues to update their tool.

With today’s decision, iOS 17 will only support the iPhone XS & XS Max and later. The full list of supported devices includes the following:

  • iPhone 14
  • iPhone 14 Plus
  • iPhone 14 Pro
  • iPhone 14 Pro Max
  • iPhone 13
  • iPhone 13 mini
  • iPhone 13 Pro
  • iPhone 13 Pro Max
  • iPhone 12
  • iPhone 12 mini
  • iPhone 12 Pro
  • iPhone 12 Pro Max
  • iPhone 11
  • iPhone 11 Pro
  • iPhone 11 Pro Max
  • iPhone XS
  • iPhone XS Max
  • iPhone XR
  • iPhone SE
    (2nd generation or later)

On the flip side, the following checkm8-susceptible devices will still get the iPadOS 17 and tvOS 17 updates per checkm8 author @axi0mX, but it remains to be seen if anyone will jailbreak them:

Supported checkm8 devices iPadOS 17 and tvOS 17.

Are you sad to see that the iPhone X, 8, and 8 Plus won’t support Apple’s upcoming iOS 17 firmware? Let us know in the comments section down below.