Apple released iOS 5 couple of days back, which includes more than 200 features for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch users.

iPhone Dev team had released Redsn0w, which allows iPod touch users to jailbreak iOS 5.

In this guide, we will take you through the step by step procedure to jailbreak iPod touch running iOS 5 using Redsn0w.

Here are some important points to note before you proceed.

• This guide is meant for iPod touch 4G and iPod touch 3G users. iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS users can checkout this guide, while iPad users can checkout this guide.
• Please go through our latest status update on jailbreaking iOS 5 to figure out if you should jailbreak iOS 5.
• Redsn0w 0.9.9b5/Redsn0w 0.9.9b4 only supports a tethered jailbreak, which means that you need to connect your iOS device to the computer on every reboot.
• Please note that jailbreaking your iPod touch may void your warranty and hence proceed with caution and at your own risk.
• Please do not forget to backup your iPod touch before you proceed. You can refer to this post for instructions on how to backup your iPod touch.
• If you’ve jailbroken your iPod touch then you can use jailbreak apps such as AptBackup, PkgBackup or xBackup from Cydia to take a backup of all the jailbreak apps and tweaks so you can reinstall them easily after successfully jailbreaking your iPod touch rather then installing them individually. However, if you’re moving from iOS 4.x to iOS 5, it may be a good idea to reinstall the jailbreak apps to avoid compatibility issues.
• After the jailbreaking process is complete, do not forget to checkout our article on tips to keep your iPod touch secure.
• Please ensure you are running latest version of iTunes i.e. iTunes 10.5 or later.
• Known issue: iBooks keeps crashing after jailbreaking iPod touch using this method. Dev team is currently working to fix the issue.

You can follow these step-by-step instructions to jailbreak your iPod touch 4G or iPod touch 3G:

Step 1: Download Redsn0w 0.9.9b7 for Windows from this link and Redsn0w 0.9.9b7 for Mac from this link and save the application in a folder named “Redsn0w” on your desktop.

Step 2: You need to download both the iOS 5 firmware file (use Firefox or Chrome to download the firmware file instead of using Internet Explorer or Safari):

iOS 5 firmware file for iPod touch 4G from this link (iPod4,1_5.0_9A334_Restore.ipsw)

iOS 5 firmware file for iPod touch 3G from this link (iPod3,1_5.0_9A334_Restore.ipsw)

Step 3: Double click the Redsn0w zip file and extract the application to the Redsn0w folder.

Step 4: Connect your iPod touch to the computer, which should automatically launch iTunes.

Skip steps 5 and 6, if your iPod touch has already been upgraded to iOS 5.

Step 5: From the ‘Devices‘ section on the left pane of iTunes, select your iPod touch. Now, hold down the Shift button (Option button for Mac users) and click the ‘Restore‘ button.

Step 6: Navigate to the Redsn0w folder on the desktop and select the downloaded iOS 5 firmware file (iPod touch 4G users – please select iPod4,1_5.0_9A334_Restore.ipsw and iPod touch 3G users – please select iPod3,1_5.0_9A334_Restore.ipsw). Click on the ‘Choose‘ button to let iTunes update your iPod touch with the required firmware. You will be asked to setup your iPod touch either from a previous backup or setup as a new iPod touch, select the backup you want for your device (ideally should be the most recent one). Wait for iTunes to finish.

Step 7: Navigate back to the Redsn0w folder and launch the Redsn0w application.

Note:

Windows users will have to manually select the iOS 5 firmware file. After launching Redsn0w, click on Extras, then click on Select IPSW. Here select the iOS 5 firmware file (iPod touch 4G users please select iPod4,1_5.0_9A334_Restore.ipsw and iPod touch 3G users – please select iPod3,1_5.0_9A334_Restore.ipsw) that you had downloaded in step 2. You need to do this just once. Mac users can skip this step as Dev team has added the public URLs to Redsn0w 0.9.9b5.

Windows 7 users should run the exe in Windows XP compatibility mode (right-click on the Redsn0w exe and select Properties, then select the Compatibility tab and select Run this program in compatibility mode for Windows XP). Windows XP and Windows 7 users should run Redsn0w as ‘Administrator’ (right-click on the Redsn0w exe and select ‘Run as an Administrator’).

Step 8: Click on the Jailbreak button.

Step 9: You will now be prompted plug your iPod touch to the computer and switch it OFF. Follow the instructions and click on ‘Next‘ to move to the next screen:

Step 10: You will now need to put your iPod touch into the DFU mode. Redsn0w will take you through the necessary steps:

(a) Hold the Power button on iPod touch down for 3 seconds:

(b) Now simultaneously hold the iPod touch and keep the two buttons pressed for 10 seconds:

(c) Now release the Power button while keeping the Home button pressed until Redsn0w detects the device:

Step 11: Your iPod touch should reboot now. Please remember to release the Home button.

Step 12: Redsn0w will now start preparing the jailbreak data.

Step 13: You will now be prompted to select the jailbreak options you would like. Make sure Cydia is selected and select ‘Next‘ to continue.

Step 14: You iPod touch will be rebooted again and Redsn0w will now begin uploading the new RAM disk and kernel.

Step 15: You will now be notified once the jailbreaking process is complete. Click on the ‘Finish‘ button to exit the application.

Step 16: Your iPod touch will reboot once again (which could take approximately 5 minutes). After it has rebooted, your iPod touch should be successfully jailbroken. You should find Cydia jailbreak app on your iPod touch’s home screen.

If you’re new to the jailbreaking world and wondering what to do after jailbreaking your iPod touch, checkout our jailbreak apps category page to find out the apps you can install on your iPod touch using the Cydia app. Please note that some of the jailbreak apps and tweaks are still not compatible with iOS 5 so please be cautious while installing them.

Note: Once Redsn0w has finished jailbreaking your iPod touch, you will need to boot it tethered, which means that if you need to reboot your iPod touch it will be stuck on the Apple logo. All you need to do is rerun Redsn0w and this time click on Extras and then click on Just boot from the list of options and follow the on screen instructions to reboot your iPod touch.

Troubleshooting:

How to fix the White/Blank Cydia icon issue:

If you notice the white Cydia icon (which fails to launch) after successfully jailbreaking your iPod touch. Then follow these steps to fix the issue.

• Launch Redsn0w again.
• Click on Extras and then click on Just Boot from the list of options.
• You will now be prompted to plug your iPod touch to the computer and switch it off. Follow the instructions in the correct sequence and click on ‘Next‘ to move to the next screen:
• You will now need to put your iPod touch into the DFU mode. Redsn0w will take you through the necessary steps:
• Hold the Power button on iPod touch down for 3 seconds.
• Now simultaneously hold the iPod touch and keep the two buttons pressed for 10 seconds.
• Now release the Power button while keeping the Home button pressed until Redsn0w detects the device.
• Your device will reboot and you will see the Pwnage icon on your iPod touch’s screen for few minutes.
• After your iPod touch is successfully rebooted, you will see the regular Cydia icon (brown). You should now be able to launch Cydia without any issue.

Hope this helped. Please don’t forget to let us know how it goes in the comments and drop us a line if you hit any issues.

Update:

Download link for Redns0w has been updated with the latest version – Redsn0w 0.9.9 beta 7.