Cydia Impactor : Remove jailbreak “unjailbreak” without updating to latest iOS version
A powerful new tool has just been released by saurik, founder of Cydia, It’s called Cydia Impactor, and it lets you restore your device to same iOS version, removing all the data, apps, Cydia, tweaks and jailbreak, without having to use Restore in iTunes and get to the latest firmware version. It’s like unjailbreaking a jailbroken iPhone without losing the ability to jailbreak. In short, Cydia Impactor is a big deal !
This can come in very handy when you want to sell your device, as it allows you to remove the data and all your personal data without having to restore your device. Since restoring your device would mean installing the latest iOS software update, Cydia Impactor gives you the option to remain at the iOS software update that can be jailbroken, which can be very valuable.
The most notable thing about this tool is that it allows you to return to stock without needing to upgrade your device. Say, for example, you wanted to sell your iPhone, but wanted to retain its jailbreak-ability to increase resale value. Normally, if you wanted to perform a full system restore, you’d be forced to upgrade to the latest firmware, and thus lose your jailbreak. With Cydia Impacter, you can restore your device to stock without upgrading.
Cydia Impactor version 0.9.15 is currently in beta for iOS 8.3 and iOS 8.4 only. Keep in mind that before running this tool you should backup your data first via iCloud or iTunes. Cydia Impactor will remove all data, as that is what it’s designed to do.
The tool will work with the following iOS devices:
- iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5 and iPhone 4s
- iPad Air 2, iPad mini 3, iPad Air, iPad 4, iPad 3 and iPad 2
- iPad mini 1 (1st generation iPad mini), iPad mini 2 (Retina iPad mini), iPad mini 3
- iPod touch 5th generation
It won’t work with the new 6th generation iPod touch as OTA updates are not yet available for the device.
You’ll also need to reactivate your device, and go back through the normal setup process. Saurik advises that you don’t touch your device while Impactor is running, and that it should be connected to the Internet and have plenty of battery life to spare.
- saurik also has explained how the tool works :
Impactor uses the firmware archives provided by Apple for its “over the air” update feature. These files are ~2GB large, so Impactor goes to extreme lengths to minimize the amount of data it needs to download: most recoveries will require less than 10MB of transfer.
First, the update’s “bill of materials” is compared against the files on your device, generating a list of changes.
Then, all files on your device that have been modified or otherwise destroyed are downloaded directly from Apple.
In a series of carefully calculated file migrations, all new files are moved to the user partition, and all system data is moved back to the system partition.
Up until this point, the idea is that no changes to your system have been made that are “unsafe”: at any point, if Impactor fails/crashes or your device reboots, you can just run it again later.
Finally, all of the staged changes to the filesystem are “committed”, all user data is deleted, and iOS is told to run its “reset all content and settings”.
The idea is that this “critical window” lasts only the final few seconds of a process that lasts for multiple minutes.
(That said, I still highly recommend not at all “messing with” the app while it is running, and maybe if you have a lot of data this will take longer than I expect.)
When the device reboots, it will look as it did when you first turned it on; it will also no longer be “jailbroken”: if you want to jailbreak it, you will need to do so using a desktop jailbreaking tool.
If you have ever used iLEX RAT, or Semi-Restore, then this tool will remind you of those tools. Considering that’s Cydia Impactor is made by Saurik himself, then I’d say that this is a pretty big deal.
What do you think about Cydia Impactor ? Sound off down below in the comments with your thoughts.