futurerestore

FutureRestore developer discusses state of iOS 16 firmware downgrades, and it doesn’t look good

iOS 16 firmware downgrade

Firmware downgrades are something that jailbreakers have used over the years to thwart Apple’s attempts to stop jailbreaking. Even when Apple stopped signing firmware, jailbreakers found a way around that by saying .shsh blobs and using them to restore to unsigned firmware. But more recently, changes made on Apple’s end appear to have made even this process less than usable.

Latest futurerestore update fixes issue affecting A14 devices on iOS 15, otherwise known as ‘A14 Curse’

With the news of an iOS & iPadOS 15.0-15.1.1-compatible kernel exploit being released, many iPhone and iPad users who’ve been wanting to jailbreak their handset have subsequently started seeking ways to upgrade to iOS or iPadOS 15.1 or 15.1.1 while they still can. While DelayOTA can be a solid option for anyone who hasn’t saved .shsh2 blobs, those who have can alternatively use futurerestore to update to these firmware versions.

New FutureRestore GUI makes unsigned iOS downgrades and upgrades more approachable

The FutureRestore GUI.

Excellent news for those who’ve been wanting to take advantage of futurerestore to downgrade or upgrade to an unsigned version of iOS or iPadOS – you’re no longer limited to using command line interfaces (CLI) to do so.

On Monday, the community was pleasantly surprised by the release of a new user-friendly and Java-based futurerestore application for macOS dubbed FutureRestore GUI (GUI of course stands for graphical user interface).

Guide to futurerestore: Introduction

This is an introductory article which explains what futurerestore is and how it works, as well as how to follow our futurerestore guides to upgrade/downgrade your device.

Before attempting any of the guides, everyone should read this article. It explains whether the guides apply to you, and if they do, which ones you should follow, as well as making sure that you fulfil the requirements for it to work. Not everyone can use futurerestore.

Guide to futurerestore Part 1: How to set a generator

This is Part 1 of a two-part guide on how to use futurerestore.

Before attempting this guide, everyone should read the introductory article, Guide to futurerestore: Introduction. It will explain whether this guide applies to you, as well as making sure that you fulfil the requirements for it to work.

If you currently have a jailbreak and you want to move to a different firmware with futurerestore’s generator mode, you must follow this guide first before following Part 2.

If you currently have no jailbreak, and you want to move to a different firmware with futurerestore’s Apnonce collision mode, you can skip this guide and head straight to Part 2. This method does not apply to most users.

Guide to futurerestore Part 2: How to use futurerestore to restore to unsigned firmwares

This is Part 2 of a two-part guide on how to use futurerestore.

Before attempting this guide, everyone should read the introductory article, Guide to futurerestore: Introduction. This will explain whether the guides apply to you, as well as making sure that you fulfil the requirements for it to work.

If you currently have a jailbreak and you want to move to a different firmware with futurerestore's generator mode, you must follow Part 1 of the guide before following Part 2.

If you currently have no jailbreak, and you want to move to a different firmware with futurerestore's Apnonce collision mode, do only this part of the guide. This method does not apply to most users.

How to save .shsh2 blobs on A12+ devices

With the introduction of the A12 chip, Apple strengthened the security around generating nonces, saving blobs, and restoring in general. The basic process remains the same, but due to a feature called nonce-entanglement (yes, really), there are a few extra hoops we need to jump through to save valid blobs. This tutorial will show you how to do so.

Updates to futurerestore allow unsigned restores to iOS and iPadOS 14 for jailbreakers

If you've been following our recent jailbreak coverage you'll know that there is now a jailbreak available for iOS and iPadOS 14, released by the unc0ver team. Another tool is also on the horizon, being worked on by CoolStar. However, the exploit which it uses will only work on iOS and iPadOS 14.0-14.3, not the current 14.4, nor Apple's upcoming firmware, 14.5.

The problem for would-be jailbreakers had been that iOS and iPadOS 14.0-14.3 are no longer signed by Apple, which means users could no longer move to those firmwares through traditional methods. It therefore looked like anyone who wasn't already on iOS or iPadOS 14.0-14.3 was going to miss out on the first semi-untethered iOS 14 jailbreak.

How to set a generator with nonceEnabler on iOS 9 and 10

First off, this guide is only necessary for 64-bit devices which are currently jailbroken on old firmwares, such as iOS 9 and some versions of iOS 10. The jailbreaks for those firmwares did not always include a way to set a generator for use with futurerestore, and nonceEnabler provides that ability. Nearly all newer jailbreaks provide their own simpler ways of setting a generator, and they do not need to use nonceEnabler, nor this guide. If your device is not currently jailbroken on an old firmware such as the ones mentioned in this guide, and/or has its own method of setting a generator, refer instead to our main futurerestore guides.

Last chance to restore your device to iOS 11.1.2 with futurerestore!

Update: iOS 11.2.6 is now unsigned. You can no longer use futurerestore to restore any device to any firmware below iOS 11.3. Do not attempt the restores mentioned in this article.

With the official release of iOS 11.3, the clock is ticking on iOS 11.2.6 signing. Normally this wouldn't mean much to jailbreakers, who would be staying on a lower jailbroken firmware. This time however, it's different. Many users on iOS 9 and 10 jailbreaks are waiting to see how the iOS 11 tools turn out before making the jump. So far, iOS 11.2-11.2.6 have maintained SEP and baseband compatibility with iOS 11.0-11.1.2 (the last jailbreakable firmwares), which allowed users to make the jump at any point, or wait it out a little longer.

How to downgrade 32-bit devices using futurerestore + libipatcher

As the 32-bit devices have been a little neglected of late, long in the tooth as they are, this new release could help to spice things up a little. Developer tihmstar has updated his futurerestore tool, which we've reported on extensively in the past, with an interesting piece of legacy support.

It now includes all the functionality of the Odysseus downgrade tool, allowing users to levy their saved blobs to upgrade, downgrade, or restore their devices to unsigned firmware, hassle-free. In this guide, we'll show you how.