iOS 8.1.1

Interview: TaiG team offers elusive answers to important questions

Sébastien Page ∙ December 30, 2014

The first time we heard about TaiG was a year ago, when the evad3rs released the evasi0n7 jailbreak, bundling the Chinese installer to their jailbreak utility for users in China. Long story short, TaiG wasn't what the evad3rs thought it was, as it was clearly an installer that facilitated piracy. A backlash followed, which led to evad3rs unbundling TaiG from their tool. But it was too late. Damage was done. Reputation was tarnished. TaiG then stuck in our heads as the embodiment of piracy in a country we culturally don't understand.

Fast-forward to November 2014 and the unexpected release of the TaiG jailbreak for iOS 8.1.1. It came out of nowhere and surprised everybody, and despite the sour taste TaiG had left in the community a year before, we were all quick to forget all about it. For most people, having a jailbreak for the latest software version was all that mattered.

If the TaiG jailbreak was one of the most popular of the year, the company behind it still remains quite a mystery, at least here in the US. Who is the team behind the TaiG jailbreak? Maybe more importantly, what is TaiG, the company, and what does it do? What are its goals?

We reached out to the TaiG jailbreak team, comprised of a single member, and tried to ask those embarrassing questions. As you can see below, the answers are short and don't address the main points, usually avoiding the question altogether. Besides a few elusive replies to important questions, we do get a few interesting answers about the future of the TaiG jailbreak.

Apple brings the iOS 8.1.1 signing window to a close

Jeff Benjamin ∙ December 17, 2014

I've got good news and bad news. The bad news is Apple is no longer signing iOS 8.1.1. That means that anyone wishing to upgrade or downgrade to iOS 8.1.1 can no longer do so. Users will now be forced to upgrade to iOS 8.1.2.

Fortunately, there's good news. The good news is that Apple is of course signing iOS 8.1.2 being that it is the latest publicly available firmware. Since iOS 8.1.2 is jailbreakable with the latest version of the TaiG jailbreak, jailbreakers need not be overly concerned.

You can still downgrade to iOS 8.1.1

Sébastien Page ∙ December 10, 2014

I'm not sure why one would want to do that, but here is a friendly public service announcement to let you know that you can still downgrade to iOS 8.1.1 should you choose to. Following the release of iOS 8.1.2 yesterday, Apple still hasn't closed the signing window of iOS 8.1.1, which means that if for some reason you have issues with iOS 8.1.2, you can still downgrade to iOS 8.1.1 and enjoy a stable jailbreak with TaiG.

TaiG jailbreak and website now available in English, team launches official Twitter account

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated November 29, 2017

TaiG today launched an English version of its jailbreak tool and official website, making it easier for users to follow through the steps to download and use the utility to jailbreak their iOS devices running iOS 8 to iOS 8.1.1. In an effort to make communication with non-Chinese speakers better, the team has also launched a Twitter account, available in English as well.

The English version of the site can be found at TaiG.com/en. The download link, jailbreak tool UI, tutorial, and changelog pages have all been translated in English. Although the translation of the website and the jailbreak tool aren't perfect, this move will definitely make it less intimidating for users who haven't used TaiG yet to take the plunge.

TaiG talks about iOS 8.2 jailbreak support, possible cooperation with Pangu Team, Mac support, and more

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Lots of interesting information is now available about the TaiG jailbreak for iOS 8.1.1, and it comes straight from the horse's mouth. First, TaiG has posted an FAQ of sorts for their jailbreak where they answer some of the most pressing questions.

In the FAQ, we learn why the team decided to roll with the iOS 8.1.1 jailbreak as opposed to waiting it out. We also learn that iOS 8.2 is indeed supported in the jailbreak (it's just disabled for the time being). Along with that, additional interesting tidbits have surfaced regarding the Mac version of TaiG. Yes, a Mac version is being worked on, and it could possibly be released in the future.

Step inside for more details. It paints an interesting picture of who the TaiG team really is.

Apple stops signing iOS 8.1, downgrade now impossible

Jeff Benjamin ∙ December 1, 2014

iOS 8.1's day has come and gone. Today, in fact, just a few minutes ago, Apple stopped signing the firmware.

If you missed out on iOS 8.1, there is no way to either upgrade to it, or downgrade to it. Instead, you'll have to go directly to iOS 8.1.1.

Fortunately, like the firmware it replaces, iOS 8.1.1 is jailbreakable as well. Check inside to see what this means for the future of jailbreaking iOS.

MuscleNerd vouches for the TaiG iOS 8.1.1 jailbreak

Jeff Benjamin ∙ December 1, 2014

Good news for would be jailbreakers running iOS 8.1.1: MuscleNerd, the famous hacker and one of the leaders of the jailbreak movement, has granted his blessing to the TaiG jailbreak.

As you'll recall, this weekend, TaiG came out of nowhere to release and iOS 8.1.1 jailbreak. As a result, and because relatively little is known about TaiG, many people felt it better to wait before some of the more well-known hackers could take a look at the package.

In a series of tweets, MuscleNerd has vouched for the safety of the TaiG jailbreak, effectively opening the floodgates to the masses. Have a look inside for the details.

How to jailbreak iOS 8.1.1 and iOS 8.1.2 with TaiG

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

iOS 8.1.1 is now officially jailbroken, and it's one of the easiest jailbreaks that I've experienced in my long history of jailbreaking. As we first noted, the TaiG team, not the Pangu team, is responsible for the iOS 8.1.1 jailbreak, which was released for Windows users early this morning.

I've personally tested out the TaiG jailbreak tool for iOS 8.1.1, and can report that it works. In fact, it installs Cydia straight out of the box, and it's super easy to follow along, even though the tool hasn't been translated to English. In this tutorial, we will show you how to use TaiG to jailbreak iOS 8.1.1.

Update: This tutorial was written for iOS 8.1.1, but you can follow the same directions to jailbreak iOS 8.1.2. Simply make sure you use the latest version of TaiG.

A few observations about the TaiG iOS 8.1.1 jailbreak

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

In what seems to be the rule more than the exception these days, a jailbreak was released out of the blue with basically no prior warning, catching us all by surprise. It's great to be surprised by something so random, but it's also a tad disconcerting and tends to send us scrambling to dissect details and separate fact from fiction.

As you've seen already, we've personally tested out the TaiG jailbreak tool for iOS 8.1.1. Should you take the plunge now? Here's what we know thus far.

TaiG releases jailbreak for iOS 8.1.1

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

TaiG released a jailbreak for iOS 8.1.1 devices this morning, roughly two weeks after Apple closed the latest Pangu jailbreak by releasing iOS 8.1.1. For those unfamiliar with the TaiG team, they were behind the third-party Chinese app store-evad3rs controversy last fall.

It's surprising that the team chose to release at this time, given that the previous jailbreak has only be defunct for a few weeks, and Apple is in the middle of testing iOS 8.2. But long-time jailbreak community patriarch MuscleNerd speculates that it likely had something to do with money.

How to downgrade to iOS 8.1

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

If you want to jailbreak iOS 8.1, but you're running iOS 8.1.1 or the new iOS 8.2 beta, you can downgrade your firmware to iOS 8.1 and jailbreak as long as Apple is still signing the iOS 8.1 firmware. As of this post, 8.1 is still being signed, but that will change in the future, so use this post to determine whether or not this tutorial is still valid.

If Apple is signing iOS 8.1, it's extremely easy to downgrade your device, even if you're running the iOS 8.2 beta or iOS 8.1.1. Neither of those firmwares are jailbreakable at the moment, but iOS 8.1 is jailbreakable, hence the need to downgrade. Follow our simple tutorial after the break to downgrade your device back to iOS 8.1.

iH8sn0w shows off untethered iOS 8.1.1 jailbreak

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Well known iOS hacker iH8sn0w has posted a new video on his YouTube channel of an iPad 3 (J2a model) running an untethered iOS 8.1.1 jailbreak. This is significant because 8.1.1 patched 3 of the Pangu team's exploits, effectively killing the latest jailbreak.

As usual, just because we have proof that a firmware can be jailbroken, doesn't mean that we're guaranteed to see a public release anytime soon. In fact, it's worth pointing out that iH8sn0w has in the past demonstrated jailbreaks that never saw the light of day.