Steph Deschamps / 3 June, 2020
From an era when they were almost generalized, jailbreak on iOS and root on Android have today become marginal. In either case, it is a question of using a system flaw in order to grant yourself additional privileges and thus exceed certain imposed limits. This allows in particular to further customize its interface, including at the level of certain parts usually impossible to modify by the very nature of the OS, in particular in the Apple ecosystem.
However, some teams are still working on it, and one of them has just given birth to unc0ver 5, a tool for jailbreaking your iPhone with iOS 13.5 (since iOS 11). Here's everything you need to know about this new hack.
WHAT ARE THE DEVICES COMPATIBLE WITH JAILBREAK?
Unc0ver currently supports a wide range of smartphones and tablets, as well as the latest iPod touch. Here is the complete list of devices - in theory - supported by this new jailbreak:
iPhone: 11 Pro Max, 11 Pro, 11, XS Max, XS, XR, X, 8, 8 Plus, 7, 7 Plus, SE, SE (2020), 6s, 6s Plus, 6, 6 Plus;
iPad: 7 (2019), 6 (2018), 5 (2017), Mini 5, Mini 4, Mini 3, Mini 2, Pro (1st, 2nd and 3rd gen), Air 3 (2019), Air 2, Air;
iPod touch 2019.
The team performed numerous tests to ensure the proper functioning of the jailbreak on a wide range of devices, including the iPhone, on different versions of the system. However, some less tested devices may have more bugs.
WHAT VERSIONS OF IOS AND IPADOS CAN BE JAILBREAKED?
Currently, the versions that are compatible with unc0ver are:
iOS 13.0 to iOS 13.5
iOS 12.4
iOS 12.0 to iOS 12.2
iOS 11.0 to iOS 11.4.1
iPadOS 13.0 to iPadOS 13.5
One of the hack developers also said that a version for tvOS should be arriving soon.
IS A UNC0VER A JAILBREAK TETHERED OR UNTETHERED?
There are several types of jailbreak: tethered (which could be translated as "attached to the cord"), untethered (not attached) and semi-untethered. Unc0ver falls into the latter category.
More concretely, the difference between these 3 types of jailbreaks is played when the device is restarted. Depending on the type of flaw used, restarting the iPhone may "break" the jailbreak. We're usually looking for an untethered hack, which keeps all the changes no matter what. Conversely, tethered requires reconnecting the device to a computer to restart the jailbreak after each reboot.
Unc0ver 5 being a semi-untethered jailbreak, it loses its privileges during a restart, but it is possible to jailbreak it again directly in a few clicks from the device by relaunching the unc0ver application. So you won't need to reconnect your iPhone to a computer to take advantage of your changes.
Note in passing that even without restarting your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, the jailbreak expires after 7 days. A small manipulation is therefore necessary each week.