Fans of Apple’s iOS devices have not stopped asking about a jailbreak tool for version 9.2.1 of the operating system, and while there have been some vague promises and rumors, nothing concrete has come out so far. According to reports, the situation is that most of the prominent developers on the jailbreak scene have decided to focus their efforts on the upcoming release of iOS 9.3, and are thus not going to put any serious work on iOS 9.2.1.
Because of this, the possibility of seeing a tool for this version of the operating system is getting slimmer and slimmer, and fans should instead reorient themselves to waiting for iOS 9.3 to get jailbroken. On the bright side, this should give users access to more features and a better, more stable release of the OS. It’s not clear if Apple are planning to take any more drastic measures against the efforts of jailbreak developers, but given the history of the company, it’s not unlikely.
Apple’s stance on jailbreak tools hasn’t changed over time, and if anything, they seem to be getting even more active in shutting down the attempts of jailbreak developers. This has been an ongoing debate among their users and critics, with many claiming that Apple should just open the platform and allow anyone to jailbreak devices if they want to.
But looking at recent developments related to iOS, this might not actually be such a good idea after all. The San Bernardino case showed every one where Apple stand when it comes to the privacy of their users, and it was a clear demonstration of the security capabilities of the iPhone. Allowing users to easily break into iOS devices would likely make this security far less trustworthy, according to experts, so the debate is definitely far from over.
In the meantime, separate developers have come forward with claims that they’ve been able to develop their own jailbreak tools for iOS 9.2.1, with at least one posting screenshots as proof. However, there has been no interest from any of those developers to assist with the creation of a tool for everyone, so for now, users are out of luck, unless they can figure out those techniques themselves.
It’s possible that one of those developers might change their mind and start working on a jailbreak tool for public use at some point, but the closer we’re getting to the release of iOS 9.3, the lower those chances seem. The next major version is still in beta testing, but it doesn’t look like Apple will need much longer to bring it to a polished state, so we expect that talks on the jailbreak scene will soon shift in the direction of iOS 9.3 instead.
For those who don’t want to upgrade yet, that’s definitely not the best news, but on the other hand, there are plenty of people waiting for iOS 9.3 to be jailbroken so they can upgrade and enjoy all its benefits. And there will likely be even more interest from the developer side.
There have been some rumors that Apple might be looking to tighten the grip on the security of iOS in one of the next major releases, and if that’s true, they could eliminate the most common loopholes used by jailbreak developers. Of course, this would probably require a significant rewriting of some parts of the operating system, which could subsequently lead to the development of new, different loopholes that were previously inaccessible.
So the question I have remains:
I am still on 9.2
My phone is nagging me daily to update.
Is there any possibility of a 9.2 jailbreak or should we just expect that they will forget about trying that as well?
I know 9.2.1 patches a lot of security issues, so it stands to reason that 9.2 will be more easy than 9.2.1. But that only matters if there will still be an effort put toward it.
Your thoughts?
Amber, I believe there is already a 9.2 jailbreak out (from Pangu I believe). If a jailbreak comes out for IOS 9.3 you can always backup and restore your device, update it, and install the new jailbreak (assuming one is released for 9.3).
Amber id recommend you update to ios 9.2.1 because the jailbreak will be for 9.2.1 most likely if not 9.3.