Convert a Tethered Jailbreak to an Untethered for iOS 6 & iOS 6.1

Nobody likes a tethered jailbreak, which is part of why it’s such a big deal when an untethered variety like the recent Evasi0n tool arrives. But not everyone was patient enough to wait, and some users have to use jailbreaks for various reasons which leaves them with no option but to jump ahead on the tethered varieties. Recently, this included a redsn0w tethered jailbreak for iOS 6.1 and the same thing for 6.0.1 and 6.0, and this simple solution is for those individuals. What you will do is install the evasi0n untethered exploit through Cydia. a process that is both easy and familiar.

To reiterate: this is not necessary if you used the Evasion tool to jailbreak your iDevice in the first place. This solution is aimed at iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, and iPod touch 4th gen users who used the aforementioned Redsn0w releases and are tired of using the computer-based boot assistance tools when the phone reboots or turns off.

Untethering a Tethered Jailbreak with Evasi0n for iOS 6, iOS 6.0.1, and iOS 6.1

This is only necessary if the iOS device is currently tethered and on a compatible version of iOS.

• Open Cydia and tap on “Search” in the lower right corner
• Search for “evasi0n” and install the “evasion 6.x Untether” package
• When finished installing, reboot the device

and you should be untethered

It is that simple. The iOS device should reboot completely untethered, freeing the device from connecting to computers and using the redsn0w app for boot assistance.

One More Thing: Patch the Evasi0n Untether with UIKIt Tools

After the device reboots with the new Evasi0n untether, you may find some apps not working 100% or being prone to crashing upon launch, notably the Weather app tends to crash immediately. These issues weren’t present with the Redsn0w tether, but the good news is they are very easy to fix on your new Untethered jailbreak, and the resolution is just a matter of installing a new package called UIKit Tools:

• Open Cydia, go to “Changes” and install the new UIKit Tools update
• OR: Search Cydia for “UIKit Tools” and install it that way

Either approach resolves the Weather app bug.

If there was any ambiguity regarding what the Evasion Cydia package is or looks like, it’s shown below in full size as would be found in search.

Why is Evasi0n for 6.1 Untethered but Redsn0w for 6.1 is Not?

Redsn0w and Evasi0n are different tools and use different ‘exploits’, that is, ways to gain root level access to the iOS device and make modifications to the system software, which allows for the jailbreak to be installed. Because each exploit is used and enabled differently, not all jailbreaks will be of the ‘untethered’ variety. A recent Forbes profile delves into this a bit more and discusses how Evasi0n works with one of it’s founding members “planetbeing”. That interview offers some insight into the technical workings behind the software and what makes the aforementioned Evasion tool and Cydia package function as an untethered jailbreak vs the tethered variation:

“evasi0n changes a file called launchd.conf that alters the configuration of launchd so that the changes evasi0n makes to it are repeated every time it runs. That’s what will make the jailbreak “persistent”: The user won’t need to re-run the program over a USB cable every time the device boots.”

Even if you’re not interested in actually jailbreaking a device, the topic can still be fascinating from a purely technical standpoint. No matter how you look at it, the evasi0n exploit is an extremely complex feat of engineering, as Forbes puts into some perspective:

“According to David Wang, one of the evad3rs’ four developers, the program takes advantage of at least five distinct, new bugs in iOS’s code. (For reference, that’s one more than Stuxnet, the malware built by the NSA to destroy centrifuges in Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities.)”

Impressive to say the least, whether jailbreaking is your thing or not.