New jailbreaks are always exciting, especially when the people who actually created the jailbreak come together to bring persistent status updates regarding it (yay, @pod2g!). This is the case with tomorrow’s iOS 5.1.1 untethered jailbreak. One huge feature of this upcoming jailbreak is the ability to jailbreak the new iPad in all of its hardware varieties. Continue reading this post for information, tips, and recommendations surrounding this great jailbreak. I recommend reading the entire post before actually doing some of the things that are mentioned.

Information

Since this jailbreak is compatible with iOS 5.1.1, feel free to update to that version of iOS. If you aren’t on a tethered jailbreak, you can simply update OTA via Settings > General > Software Update.

Next, you’ll probably be interested in knowing which devices that this jailbreak will be compatible with. Fortunately, @pod2g himself made a simple blog post that details this. Here’s the list of compatible devices:

• iPad 3 (Wi-Fi, CDMA, GSM)
• iPad 2 (Wi-Fi, CDMA, GSM)
• iPad 1
• iPhone 4S
• iPhone 4 (CDMA, GSM)
• iPhone 3GS
• iPod touch 4G
• iPod touch 3G
• Apple TV 2G

As you can see, this essentially covers all recent iOS devices that’s capable of running iOS 5.1.1. However, the new Apple TV, the one that supports 1080p video output, currently isn’t supported.

Next, many of you probably remember the “Absinthe” jailbreak that was released in late January. This jailbreak was compatible with iOS 5.0/5.0.1 for the iPhone 4S and iPad 2. Tomorrow’s iOS 5.1.1 jailbreak is actually an updated version of Absinthe, as many of the elements will still remain.

Lastly, some of you may already be jailbroken on iOS 5.1.1 thanks to a “tethered” jailbreak. If this is you, you’ll be able to run the Absinthe jailbreak over your existing jailbreak to automatically make it untethered (credit: @Dubless_Joe. However, tinkering with anything jailbreak related can cause your device to go into a state which will require you to restore to scratch in iTunes. In a nutshell, I’m warning you to backup all of the content on your device before doing that, should something go wrong.

Ready for the jailbreak?! Great! To be honest, I’ll stick with my current iOS 5.0.1 untethered jailbreak. I personally see absolutely no reason to restore to iOS 5.1.1 and waste 2 hours getting everything setup the way I already currently have it. With that being said, many people would like to be on the latest version of iOS. I used to have been like this, but it’s just not worth the time. I currently see this jailbreak being useful for those who “mistakenly” updated to iOS 5.1.1, or have received devices that came with iOS 5.1/5.1.1 installed.

Tips + Extras

This new jailbreak opens the door for new jailbreakers. Because of this, there’s a lot of things that you should be aware of (if you happen to be new to jailbreaking, or if you’re just interested in reading about something that you may not already be aware of).

Start Clean

To prevent any problems, it’s usually best to start completely clean. Don’t restore from any backups. Start by restoring to iOS 5.1.1 in iTunes. Next, jailbreak. Don’t even allow iCloud to restore your settings, and don’t even allow your iTunes App Store applications to be installed. After jailbreaking, get all of that setup. Lastly, get your jailbreak tweaks setup.

Disable Your Passcode

As noted by @mathewrice, having a passcode lock enabled can potentially cause problems during the jailbreaking process. To prevent any problems, simply disable this passcode lock. Once the jailbreak is finished, feel free to re-enable it.

iOS 5.1.2

The number one rule of jailbreaking: NEVER update when a new version of iOS is released. Apple is most certain to release iOS 5.1.2 within hours of the jailbreak being released. When this happens, your jailbroken version of iOS 5.1.1 will still alert you of this update, and ask you to perform the update. Don’t do it! This will immediately prevent your iOS device from booting up, which means you’ll have to do a restore.

Restoring

That also means that, should you ever have to restore your device, you may not actually be able to restore to iOS 5.1.1 once iOS 5.1.2 is released (credit: @FreeManRepo). Apple controls which firmwares you can downgrade to, and if they close the restore period for iOS 5.1.1, you’re screwed until someone comes up with a way to make use of your SHSH blobs.

Downgrading/SHSH Blobs

Speaking of SHSH blobs, they’re basically small files that allow you to downgrade your device. Most of the time, Cydia backs these up automatically, however the millions of new copies of Cydia tomorrow will most likely slow the backup servers down to a crawl, which makes the process take quite a long time. If your blobs don’t get backed up by Cydia, you can still back them up via TinyUmbrella. Again, just because your SHSH blobs are backed up doesn’t mean that you can actually perform the downgrade. Apple’s constantly stepping up their security, so it takes a long time for hackers to figure out workarounds. Backing up your SHSH blobs, either locally on your computer or automatically via Cydia, is an important step and should be done no matter what.

Backing Up

Quoting the great @dnwrld, “don’t be an idiot. backup your device. did i mention don’t be stupid?” If you’re an experienced jailbreaker, then you’re already aware of how to backup your device. iCloud, iTunes, AptBackup, etc. There are so many different yet efficient ways of backing up your device, so you might as well take advantage of one of them. I personally just rely on iCloud for my entire device. I don’t have too many packages installed from Cydia, so I can easily remember what I have installed should I have to restore and start over.

Clean Your Sh*t!

Seriously… Take this time to go over all of your App Store application to see which ones you absolutely don’t need. This saves room on your SpringBoard (not that it matters once jailbreaking), as well as the actual amount of space available to you on your device.

Rely on an unlock?

If so, don’t update. At this time, a software-based unlock (ie. ultrasn0w) currently isn’t available. There’s no telling when one will be released, so if you rely on an unlock to use your iPhone on a GSM carrier of your choice, then stay on the version of iOS that you’re on. Paid options are available, such as Gevey, but they currently aren’t working on the latest version of iOS. Unlocking tends to be a bit complicated.

Noteable Jailbreak Tweaks

When you jailbreak, you want something to install. WinterBoard and, sadly, Installous, are some of the ones that jailbreakers immediately installed.

What else?

Just a few days ago, a free and simple tweak called “Unfold” was released, and it allows you to fold to unlock. You’ll find a screenshot of Unfold here.

For constant Notification Center users, many widgets & tweaks have become available, including IntelliScreenX.

Other noteable tweaks include Reveal, HUDChanger,  Zephyr, FullForce, and Spire.

That’s it!

If you have anything that you’d like to add, feel free to leave them below in the comments section.

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