If you are a user who doesn’t jailbreak your iOS device then this is not big news, but if you do jailbreak, then you won’t be happy to know that Apple has stopped signing iOS 8.4 firmware. This means that iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users won’t be able to downgrade iOS 8.4.1 to iOS 8.4.
iOS 8.4.1 is not jailbreakable
Apple released its latest operating system iOS 8.4.1 last week, and with the launch, the company patched exploits used by the TaiG jailbreak tool, which allowed users to jailbreak their devices. This means that iOS 8.4.1 users won’t be able to jailbreak their devices until and unless a new vulnerability is found by the TaiG team. Apart from fixing this vulnerability, Apple also fixed 40 other security exploits which could have been used for a future jailbreak.
The good news, however, is that the Pangu team have already demonstrated that they indeed possess exploits that can jailbreak iOS 8.4.1, but they might not release the jailbreak to the public for a minor release like iOS 8.4.1, and might save those exploits for use in iOS 9 which is just around the corner. For iOS hackers, sometimes it is a good idea to not release a jailbreak too early, and save exploits that they have already found.
Stay on iOS 8.4 if you want to run a jailbreak device
Now, a word of caution. If you are already on iOS 8.4 and want to keep running a jailbroken device, then do not update to iOS 8.4.1 as this OS is not currently jailbreakable. So for now, just enjoy your iOS 8.4 and stay there, until and unless a new jailbreak comes for iOS 8.4.1.
It is rumored that Apple will soon release iOS 9 along with the company’s next generation of iPhones, the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. These phones are expected to be announced next month, and then in October, the company may announce new iPad models.
