SHSH blobs

The famous downgrade tool TinyUmbrella was recently updated to a new beta version, despite the fact that downgrading iOS 8.x is not yet possible. Saving firmware SHSH blobs is always a safe bet, as one never knows when they might be needed should a downgrade solution be released.

For the time being, jailbreakers are warned to avoid updating iOS. Moving to iOS 8.2 will result in the loss of any installed jailbreak. While TinyUmbrella developer semaphore sees downgrade possibilities on the horizon, at the present time backing up SHSH blobs locally is just insurance. Until a downgrade is released, here are instructions on how to save iOS SHSH blobs with TinyUmbrella:

A new beta version of TinyUmbrella has been released, to easily save SHSH blobs for jailbroken iOS 8 devices. The software has a long history in the community, previously used to facilitate downgrading to earlier (jailbreakable) versions of iOS. Apple has prevented this practice with its latest security procedures, including signing firmware. So why save SHSH blobs now?

The developer of TinyUmbrella, semaphore sees a future in SHSH blobs and has spent time and energy rewriting the firmware umbrella tool with the expectation that downgrading will once again be possible. Of course, this does not mean jailbroken devices can be upgraded at the moment. Updating iOS will result in a stock device, and the jailbreak will be lost.

Good news for owners of the iPhone 4S and iPad 2 looking to downgrade from iOS 5.1. iH8sn0w announced the discovery of a loophole that makes it possible to downgrade any A5 device to iOS 5.0.1. Not only this, but the developer has successfully restored an iPad 2 to iOS 5.0.1 using the procedure.

Found a loophole in Apple's apticket system. Restored my iPad 2 to 5.0.1 from 5.1. Works on all A5 devices. :)

— iH8sn0w (@iH8sn0w) March 25, 2012

Downgrading an iPhone, from iOS 5 to 4.3.3 for example, requires saved SHSH blobs since Apple stops signing older firmware when an update is released. It's likely that the loophole iH8sn0w has found will also require saved SHSH blobs to work.

Apple isn't playing nice with the jailbreaking community and has recently started blocking devices from restoring to older firmware. If you accidently updated to 5.0.1 and want to restore your device, hacker iH8sn0w has a new solution for you. iFaith v1.4 allows you to save your iOS device’s SHSH blobs which should allow you to downgrade your device in the future.

Unfortunately it doesn't support A5 devices. Meaning if you recently purchased an iPhone 4S, or upgraded to iOS 5.0.1, you're still out of luck for now. A4 owners are being urged by the jailbreaking community to download the latest update of iFaith and to save their SHSH blobs immediately.