How to Jailbreak the iPhone 4S and iPad 2 on Linux

Now that the Linux version of Absinthe has been released, all major platforms have access to the jailbreak tools needed to jailbreak their iPhone 4S and iPad 2.

We’ve already covered how to jailbreak on OS X and Windows in depth, but we didn’t want to leave our Linux readers out in the cold.

Since there is no iTunes for Linux, things can be slightly more tricky, but it’s still extremely easy to apply the Absinthe untethered jailbreak on Linux.

Step 1: If you haven’t already, install the libimobiledevice package on your Linux distribution. This will allow Linux to talk to your iPad 2, iPhone 4S, and other iOS devices.

Installing this package is fairly easy. I’m on Ubuntu, and all I did was the following:

• In terminal type: sudo add-apt-repository ppa:pmcenery/ppa
• accept any warnings and install.
• Next type: sudo apt-get update
• Visit the Ubuntu software center and search for libimobiledevice, and install libimobiledevice-utils. It might then ask you to reboot. Do so, and upon reboot Linux should recognize your device.

Again, this could differ depending on your Linux distro, so just take this as a loose guide. For other distributions or more information, visit http://www.libimobiledevice.org/

Step 2: Download Absinthe v0.3 from our downloads page, and unpack on your desktop.

Step 3: If you’re on a x86 machine double click absinthe.x86, if you’re on a 64-bit machine (likely) double click absinthe.x86_64 to run Absinthe.

Step 4: Ensure that your device is powered on, and that Absinthe detects your device, then click Jailbreak.

Step 5: Let Absinthe finish the entire process, no user intervention is needed until then end. Once the loading bar is complete, find the Absinthe icon on your iDevice’s Home screen, and launch it to complete the jailbreak.

Step 6: Once your device reboots, you should see the Cydia icon on your desktop.

That’s it folks, easy peezy.

If you’re a Linux user, by all means sound off in the comments about Absinthe, jailbreaking, and iOS support in Linux in general, we’re interested in hearing your perspective on things

Jailbreaking May Soon Become Illegal Again

It was in July 2010, the United States government ruled that the jailbreaking and unlocking of Apple iPhones, as well as the rooting of Android devices was to be deemed a legal act, as long as the process wasn’t being carried out with the intention of circumventing copyright. We ran with an article directly after the ruling was made which outlined the full details of the new DMCA legislation which once and for all set to rest the misconceptions surrounding the legalities of jailbreaking a device.

 Apple understandably remained tight lipped on the situation at the time, choosing to make a short statement, which drew attention to the fact that jailbreaking, whilst officially legal, would still void any official Apple warranties:

Apple’s goal has always been to insure that our customers have a great experience with their iPhone and we know that jailbreaking can severely degrade the experience. As we’ve said before, the vast majority of customers do not jailbreak their iPhones as this can violate the warranty and can cause the iPhone to become unstable and not Work reliably.