Semaphore aka notcom, developer of TinyUmbrella, a tool that allows users to save SHSH blobs, had released a new beta version of the tool for iOS 8.2 and iOS 8.1.3.
Before we go into the details on how to save the SHSH blobs, and other details, here is some background about SHSH blobs, and why they’re important.
As you probably know, Apple allows you to restore to the latest iOS versions only to prevent users from downgrading to an older iOS version, which would have made it easier to jailbreak the iOS device. For example: If Apple allowed users to downgrade their device, they could downgrade back to iOS 8.1.2, which can be jailbroken using TaiG and PPJailbreak.
Apple stops signing the firmware files (by not providing SHSH blobs) for older iOS versions to prevent users from downgrading to the older version. Tools like TinyUmbrella allowed you to save the SHSH blobs while the firmware is still being signed, so you could use it to create (stitch) a pre-signed IPSW file using tools like Redns0w, which could then be used to restore your device with an iOS version that Apple was no longer signing. However, Apple has closed the loophole that allowed users to use the SHSH blobs to downgrade to an older version in newer devices (iPhone 4S and later) and also in iOS 7 or later. So you cannot restore to 6.x or higher using SHSH blobs except on iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, and iPod touch 4G (and iPad 2 to iOS 5.x if you have iOS 4.x and iOS 5.x SHS blobs).
But the good news is that Semaphore has said that SHSH blobs will be relevant again thanks to a new exploit discovered by iH8sn0w, developer of Sn0wbreeze and Posixspwn jailbreak tools, indicating that it will be possible to downgrade to an older iOS version using SHSH blobs.
How to save SHSH blobs using the new TinyUmbrella beta:
- Download the new TinyUmbrella beta from this link (click on the download link in the right sidebar under Downloads/Links). It is available for both Mac and Windows.
- TinyUmbrella requires Java installed, so download it from this link and install it on your computer.
- Launch TinyUmbrella.
- Now connect your iOS device to the computer. TinyUmbrella should automatically recognize it and begin downloading all of the available SHSH blobs.
You can also check our video tutorial:
That’s it. You’ve successfully downloaded the SHSH blobs for your iOS device.
Answers to Frequently asked questions:
- TinyUmbrella will automatically download the SHSH blobs for firmware files that are currently being signed by Apple, so you will notice that it will download the SHSH blobs for iOS 8.1.3 and iOS 8.2, which are being signed currently. So if you’re on iOS 8.1.2 then it won’t download the SHSH blobs for iOS 8.1.2.
- You can also fetch SHSH blobs from your device on iOS 8.1.2 or earlier using TinyUmbrella, check this post for more details.
- The SHSH blobs are saved at the following location: ~/.tu/.shsh. You can check the folder to see if it has been saved.
- Unlike the previous version, all the SHSH blobs are saved in a single file.
- There are three types of SHSH blobs namely: Update (Restore), Erase (Restore) and OTA. We’re assuming it is meant for different types of actions.
- TinyUmbrella keeps a record of the known devices in ~/.tu/.known_devices folder. If you can delete the file in that folder if you want to clear the history.
- It is important to note here that you won’t be able to downgrade currently, though Semaphore seems quite bullish about the ability of downgrading in the future. We’ll let you know as soon as we get any further updates.
- You can’t use SHSH blobs of another iOS device. SHSH blobs are unique for a device, so it is important to download the SHSH blobs for your device.
Let me know how it goes, and feel free to drop me in a line in the comments if you’ve any other questions.
