The first public iOS 13 jailbreak — checkra1n — has finally been released. The jailbreak is based on checkm8 — a bootrom exploit that works on all iPhones and iPads starting from the iPhone 4s to the iPhone X. Checkra1n is compatible with iOS 12.3 – iOS 13.7. If you are looking to jailbreak your iPhone or iPad using checkra1n, follow this guide.
The checkra1n jailbreak tool is still in beta and so it is still a bit buggy. You are likely going to run into some stability issues and bugs after jailbreaking your iPhone or iPad using it. If you are fine with them then go ahead and follow our guide below to jailbreak your iPhone or iPad running iOS 13 and iPadOS 13.
Checkra1n Jailbreak for iOS 13: Things to Know
- The checkra1n jailbreak tool requires you to have access to a PC. For now, the tool is only available for macOS. You cannot jailbreak iOS 13 without a computer.
- A Windows of the jailbreak tool is under development but its release date is not clear. An alternate tool called Ra1nUSB has been released recently which allows users to jailbreak iPhone 5s – iPhone X running iOS 13 – iOS 13.3.4.1 using a Windows PC. It is not very straightforward. You need to create a bootable USB containing ra1nusb which you then need to boot into on your Windows or Linux PC. You can check our article if you need help on how to use Ra1nUSB to jailbreak iOS 13 on a Windows PC.
- This is a semi-tethered jailbreak meaning you will need to have access to a PC to start the jailbreak process.
- Checkra1n only supports the Cydia package manager for now. Support for other package managers is currently underway.
Checkra1n Compatible Devices
While checkra1n works on iOS 12.3 – iOS 13.7, it supports only selected iPhones and iPads:
- iPhone X
- iPhone 8 Plus
- iPhone 8
- iPhone 7
- iPhone 7 Plus
- iPhone SE
- iPhone 6s
- iPhone 6s Plus
- iPad mini
- iPad mini 2
- iPad mini 3
- iPad Air
The current release of checkra1n lacks support for the following devices:
- iPad Air 2
- 5th gen iPad
- 1st gen iPad Pro
These devices will eventually be supported by the tool. However, since checkra1n is based on the checkm8 exploit, it won’t support newer iPhones and iPads launched after the iPhone X such as:
- iPhone XS
- iPhone XS Max
- iPhone XR
- iPhone 11
- iPhone 11 Pro
- iPhone 11 Pro Max
How to Jailbreak iOS 13 – iOS 13.7 on iPhone and iPad Using Checkra1n
Step 1: Download the checkra1n app for macOS from here. Proceed to install it by opening the DMG and dragging the app to the Applications folder.
Step 2: Right-click on the checkra1n app in your Applications folder and select Open. Do not open the app by directly double-clicking on it. Click on Open again from the security dialog that pops up.
Step 3: Proceed to connect your iPhone or iPad to your Mac using a Lightning cable. You might get a prompt on your device to trust the computer. Tap the Trust button and enter the passcode of your device.
Step 4: The connected device should automatically be detected and shown in the checkra1n app. If not supported, you will get a sorry message and the Start button will be greyed out.
If a compatible device is connected, proceed with the jailbreaking process by clicking on the Start button.
Step 5: You will have to put your iPhone or iPad into DFU mode to proceed further. For this, do the following:
- While keeping it connected to your Mac, turn off your iPhone or iPad.
- Press and hold the Side and Volume down button together for at least 10 seconds. You should not see the Apple logo at this point. If you do, restart the whole process.
- Release the Side button but keep the Volume down button pressed for another 5 seconds. The ‘Connect to iTunes’ logo should not come up on the screen. If it does, you held the buttons for too long.
- Your iPhone or iPad should show a black screen while it is in DFU mode. If done right, the checkra1n app will automatically detect your device.
For iPhone X, iPhone 8:
The process to boot into DFU mode is slightly different for the iPhone 8 and iPhone X.
- Keeping your iPhone connected to your Mac, press the Volume Up button. Then press the Volume down button
- Press and hold the Side button until your iPhone displays a black screen.
- Keeping the Side button pressed, go ahead and press the Volume down button for 5 seconds.
- Let go off the Side button after 5 seconds but keep the Volume down button pressed for another 5 seconds.
It is important to note that if your iPhone or iPad has successfully booted into DFU mode, it will display a black screen.
Step 6: Once your iPhone or iPad is detected in DFU mode by the Checkra1n app, it will automatically start the jailbreaking process.
Once done, you should see the checkra1n loader app on your iPhone/iPad’s home screen.
Step 7: Proceed to open the app and tap on Cydia to install the package manager. Once installed, you will be done with the jailbreaking process.
You can now use Cydia to install various jailbreak tweaks on your jailbroken iPhone or iPad running iOS 13. You can find a list of Checkra1n compatible tweaks here.
You can also watch the video below to see the entire process of how to jailbreak iOS 13 on iPhone or iPad using checkra1n.
Let us know you were able to successfully jailbreak iOS 13 – iOS 137. Please feel free to drop a comment if you are facing any issues and we will try to help you out.
Update 1: On December 14, checkra1n team released a new version of the jailbreak tool to add support for iOS 13.3, which was released by Apple on December 10.
Update 2: A new version of Checkra1n has been released with iOS 13.3.1 support.
Update 3: On April 9, checkra1n team released a new version of the jailbreak tool to add support for iOS 13.4 – iOS 13.4.1.
Update 4: On September 2, Apple released iOS 13.7 which can be jailbroken using checkra1n.
This post was last updated on September 3, 2020.
