Redsn0w Untethered Jailbreak for iOS 4.2.1 in Need of Beta Testers

The iPhone Dev Team is looking for beta testers to try out the new untethered redsn0w jailbreak for iOS 4.2.1. Requirements for the beta program are as follows:

• You will need a Mac
• Your iPhone must not be unlocked or need the ultrasn0w unlock for iOS 4.2.1
• You have a copy of iOS 4.2b3 IPSW on your Mac
• You have stored a copy of your 4.2b3 SHSH hashes with Cydia

Update 2: A second and more stable beta has been released as redsn0w 0.9.7b2, however it is still not recommended for the average user.

Update: The beta is now released to the public, you can download Redsn0w 0.9.7b1 to try out the untethered jailbreak, however it is not for the faint of heart.

Note that you won’t need to restore to iOS 4.2b3, you only need a copy of the IPSW file for redsn0w to access. iOS 4.2b3 would be available to those in the Apple iOS Developer Program, and the DevTeam is asking that everyone else do not pirate the beta version.

If you fit the requirements and are interested in participating in the untethered redsn0w beta program, you can follow redsn0w_testers on Twitter and request more information.

Windows users will have to wait for the untethered redsn0w release, but according to iPhone Dev Team member MuscleNerd, “(if) all the Mac testers give good feedback, then the Win port will follow very soon.”

The difference between a tethered vs untethered jailbreak is that a tethered jailbreak requires the iOS device to be connected to a computer and booted with the aid of the jailbreak app. For iOS 4.2.1 it is currently the iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, and iPod Touch 2G that are untethered jailbreaks, which can be achieved with redsn0w 0.9.6b6. Other iOS hardware can be jailbroken with redsn0w 0.9.6b6, but it remains tethered.