How can I back up my SHSH blobs / ECID SHSH before jailbreaking?

It's important to back up your device (iPhone / iPad) SHSHs before jailbreaking. If your iPhone is upgraded to a newer firmware and the ability to jailbreak is lost, you'll need SHSH blobs to downgrade the OS. Downgrading to the previous firmware will restore your jailbreak option.

Cydia will back up your SHSH blobs but there could be a delay in the TSS queue. Saving your SHSH blobs locally to your computer guarantees you have a copy on hand.

TinyUmbrella will save your SHSH blobs automatically. For more information on how to back up your SHSH blobs using TinyUmbrella 5.0 click here.

If your iPhone is already jailbroken:

1. Launch Cydia.
2. Check for a message that says "this device has SHSHs on file for iPhone OS..."
3. If this message exists and has the latest firmware listed, you're all set.
4. Otherwise, scroll down on the Cydia home page to the button that says "Make my life easier, thanks!"
5. Touch this button to save your ECID SSH to Saurik's server.
6. Close Cydia, relaunch the app and check for the message in step 2.

For devices that are not yet jailbroken use the utility Firmware Umbrella on a Mac or Windows computer to make a local copy of your SHSH blobs.

First get your ECID. Mac OS X:

1. Back up your device. Download and run Firmware Umbrella.
2. Put your iPhone/iPad into recovery mode. Connect the device to your computer with the USB cable and turn it off, then press and hold the sleep and home buttons until the iTunes icon appears.
3. Navigate to Applications -> Utilities -> System Profiler.
4. Choose Hardware -> USB -> Apple Mobile Device (Recovery Mode).
5. Copy the 16 digit number following ECID.
6. Skip to Firmware Umbrella instructions below.

First get your ECID. Windows:

1. Back up your device. Download and run Firmware Umbrella.
2. Put your iPhone/iPad into recovery mode. Connect the device to your computer with the USB cable and turn it off, then press and hold the sleep and home buttons until the iTunes icon appears.
3. Download and run the utility USBView.
4. Navigate to Options -> Config Descriptors.
5. Press F5. Look for Apple Mobile Device (Recovery Mode).
6. Copy the 16 digit number following ECID.
7. Skip to Firmware Umbrella instructions below.

Firmware Umbrella instructions:

1. Enter your iPhone/iPad ECID.
2. Firmware Umbrella will save an SHSH file to its directory.
3. Exit recovery mode on your device by unplugging and reconnecting the USB cable. The device will reboot to normal mode.

Keep this SHSH file backed up just incase you ever need to downgrade the iPhone firmware.