Should I Jailbreak iOS 8.1 Now Or Wait?

It’s best to restore to iOS 8.1 and jailbreak right now. Apple has released a beta for developers of iOS 8.1.1 which apparently fixes at least one of the exploits used by the Pangu jailbreak tool. This means that if you want a jailbroken device on iOS 8.1, it’s best you update/restore your device to iOS 8.1 now incase Apple releases iOS 8.1.1 and stops signinging iOS 8.1 restores!

You can follow a full step-by-step tutorial on how to jailbreak iOS 8.1 here, or scroll to the bottom of this post.

It’s best to restore to 8.1 now if you haven’t already (if you want to jailbreak iOS 8)

Apple has released a beta for developers of iOS 8.1.1, which apparently fixes at least one of the exploits used by the Pangu jailbreak. This means that if you want a jailbroken device on iOS 8.1, it’s best to put your device on iOS 8.1 now, in case Apple releases iOS 8.1.1 soon and stops signing iOS 8.1.

Especially if your device is currently jailbroken and you’re intending to update/restore it to iOS 8.1, it’s best to click the button to “restore” iOS instead of “update” iOS in iTunes – this avoids losing disk space and helps you have a more reliable jailbreaking experience. (You can backup your data with iTunes before restoring and then use iTunes to put your data back on the device after restoring.) If your device was updated to iOS 8.1 via OTA, it’s also best to restore it with iTunes before jailbreaking, so that you’ll have a more reliable jailbreaking experience.

Deciding whether to update to iOS 8 or stay with your setup on iOS 7 is very much up to you – it’s a personal decision. Factors in your decision may include: How much do you care about the security improvements in the newer version? How much do you want to be able to use all of the newest tweaks, since at some point developers often switch to only releasing tweaks for the latest iOS version? Do you care about the new features in iOS 8? Are you willing to wait for your favorite packages to get updated, considering that some of them may not be updated if the developer has moved on to new projects? Like I said, this is up to you!

What if my device is already jailbroken on iOS 8?

If your device is already jailbroken on iOS 8, you do not need to restore and jailbreak again to get the updates in newer versions of the Pangu tool – those updates are all available via package updates in Cydia. If you refresh data and Cydia does not prompt you to upgrade any core packages (Pangu Untether, Cydia Installer, etc.), you’re already up to date.

However, if your device is jailbroken on iOS 8.0.x, it’s a good idea to consider restoring to iOS 8.1 now and jailbreaking again. iOS 8.1 includes feature updates and bug fixes that you might want.

What if my device hasn’t arrived yet?

If you’re waiting for a new device to arrive soon, it’ll probably have iOS 8.0 or 8.1 when it gets to you. (There’s some lag time between new iOS updates and when new devices start shipping with them.) Even if Apple has released iOS 8.1.1 and is no longer signing iOS 8.1, you can still jailbreak your device if it arrived with iOS 8.0-8.1.

Issues you may be frustrated or confused by after jailbreaking

Most of the initial problems have been fixed. (After jailbreaking, it’s safe to enable a passcode/TouchID and Find My iPhone. launchd should no longer use a lot of CPU on 32-bit/older devices. Safari should no longer randomly respring.)

Remaining issues:

#1: Many packages don’t work yet. For example, WinterBoard hasn’t been updated yet; it has basic functionality left over from iOS 7 (it can theme icons and so on), but if you have SummerBoard mode enabled, you’re headed to Safe Mode. Safe Mode itself even looks a little weird. For another example, Veency is not yet compatible with iOS 8. The MobileTerminal package on BigBoss isn’t working on iOS 8; you may want to SSH into your device instead.

#2: Only sort of an issue: long boots. Sometimes boots can take a longish time with the Pangu jailbreak – 40 seconds or so. This may be worrying the first time, but it’s OK.

#3: Not really an issue: updating App Store apps. If you click “update” in the App Store and it just directs you to the app, that seems to be a bug in iOS instead of a bug related to the jailbreak – it’s been happening on non-jailbroken devices as well. A couple workarounds: you can go to the app’s page in the App Store and click “Update” there, or update your apps using iTunes on your desktop computer.

What to install after jailbreaking

After jailbreaking, it’s not a great idea to just install the huge list of tweaks you liked on iOS 7. It’s likely that many aren’t compatible. You can check a tweak’s package page in Cydia for clues, such as a note about compatibility.

You may want to check this very unofficial spreadsheet listing which tweaks are compatible with iOS 8 – but keep in mind that it can be full of errors and outdated bits since it’s community-reported (and generously maintained by a volunteer). It’s best to view it as a set of tips to experiment with instead of a reliable list.

If you’re waiting for updates for your favorite tweaks and themes, you can ask Cydia to let you know when they’re updated, without having to install them. Go to the package’s page in Cydia, tap “Change Package Settings” at the top, and tap “Show All Changes”.

You can also follow your favorite developers and designers on Twitter for news about what they’re working on. There’s a community-edited list here: iPhoneDevWiki.

General troubleshooting advice

If you can’t tell whether a tweak is causing a problem or whether the jailbreak itself is causing a problem, try rebooting with Substrate disabled (by holding the volume up button while booting). If things are fine with Substrate disabled, the problem is probably a tweak – try rebooting again into normal mode and uninstalling a few to see if that helps.

 

How to jailbreak iOS 8.1 using Pangu

Before you get started, you’ll need to download to download the Pangu software from here. (All download links have been collected together at the end of this post). You should also restore to a fresh version of iOS 8 before jailbreaking; you can download the IPSW file from here.

At the time of writing this tool is only available for Windows – but a Mac and Linux version are on the way and the steps below should be the same.

Before starting, please disable your passcode and Find My iPhone if you have them enabled.

Step 1: Run the tool by either mounting the DMG on Mac or opening the EXE file on Windows.

Step 2: Connect your iDevice via USB to your computer. We encountered bugs if we had more than one iDevice connected so it is recommended you have only one device connected whilst following these steps.

Step 3: Wait for your device to be recognized, then hit the Jailbreak button.

Step 5: Follow the steps on-screen and follow any prompts.

Step 6: Now the process will complete automatically and your device will reboot.

 

 

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