iOS 8.2 Jailbreak: Status Update

BY Andy

Published 24 Mar 2015

TaiG jailbreak for iOS 8.2

Ever since Apple released iOS 8.2 (actually iOS 8.1.3), one of the frequently asked question has been, is it possible to jailbreak iOS 8.2So we thought of doing a quick recap of everything we know so far about the jailbreak. 

The short answer to the above question is “No”.

Why can’t I jailbreak iOS 8.2?

It is possible to jailbreak iOS 8.1.2 or lower, but in iOS 8.1.3, Apple patched several vulnerabilities which was used by the TaiG jailbreak and PPJailbreak tools. Apple also patched another vulnerability in iOS 8.2. So it is not possible to use these tools to jailbreak iOS 8.2 or iOS 8.1.3 currently.

Will I be able to jailbreak iOS 8.2?

That is anybody’s guess. But the TaiG team has said they’re confident of releasing a jailbreak for iOS 8.2 when Apple it releases it publicly, so we’re quite hopeful that they do release the jailbreak at the event if not earlier.

It is also being speculated that the TaiG team will release the jailbreak during the 2015 Mobile Security Summit that takes place on Friday, March 27. As we reported earlier, famous iOS hackers such as Comex, Chronic, P0sixninja, and Pimskeks will be speaking at the event, which is being organized by TaiG, the team responsible for jailbreaking iOS 8.1.1 and iOS 8.1.2.

The Mobile Security Summit, or MSS for short, is being dubbed as the Chinese version of the Worldwide Jailbreak Convention (JailbreakCon), which began in 2012. The TaiG team hasn’t said anything since iOS 8.2 has been released to the public, so it is just a speculation at this point.

Lightning port broken

While we’re expecting the jailbreak to be released by the TaiG team, we’ve also heard reports that hackers have cracked Apple’s Lightning port, which could make it easier to debug kernel bugs, and ultimately help in jailbreak iOS 8.2 or later. So things certainly look promising.

What about the new TinyUmbrella beta?

Semaphore, developer of TinyUmbrella, released a new beta version of his tool, which has been written from groundup. TinyUmbrella allows you to save SHSH blobs for your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, which can come handy while downgrading. It has been a while since the SHSH blobs have been useful. But Semaphore is quite confident that you will be able to downgrade in the future. It however seems unlikely that you will be able to downgrade down to iOS 8.1.2 without the SHSH blobs.

So what next?

So the best case scenario is that TaiG releases the iOS 8.2 jailbreak (could be as early as March 27th), with the possibility of downgrading back to iOS 8.2 with SHSH blobs (which is why you should save SHSH blobs for your device if you haven’t already) assuming it is not possible to jailbreak iOS 8.3 or later. Some readers have argued that it makes sense to wait for iOS 8.3 to be released, which seems like a nice update, addressing some of the minor annoyances. We’re quite sure that TaiG or any other team that releases the jailbreak will do so after deliberating over the pros and cons, especially since Apple has already released three beta versions of the software update, and seems to be close to releasing it to the public (probably in April).

Update 1 (March 27):

We’re hearing rumors that TaiG may release a jailbreak for iOS 8.2 today (March 27) at the MMS event. But TaiG hasn’t mentioned anything so far, so seems speculative at this point. We’ll keep you posted.

Update 2 (March 27):

Comex has confirmed that TaiG did not release the jailbreak at the MMS event today:

Update 3:

TaiG team has refuted claims that iOS 8.2 jailbreak has been released. They’ve said that they’re working hard on the jailbreak, but haven’t provided any ETA on when it could be released. Check this post for more details.

As always, we’ll let you know as soon as the iOS 8.2 jailbreak is released or if we get any more details about the jailbreak. So don’t forget to join our Facebook Fan pagefollow us on Twitteradd us to your circles on Google+subscribe to our RSS feed, our Daily Newsletter or subscribe to our all-new push notifications on your Mac for the latest updates on the iOS 8.2 jailbreak.

Are you looking forward to the iOS 8.2 jailbreak? Let us know in the comments below.