The entire jailbreak community has been desperately waiting for the iOS 11.3.1 jailbreak release date. CoolStar and the Electra Team have made significant progress in the last few weeks, overcoming numerous technical challenges. The Electra Team has confirmed on Twitter that the iOS 11.3.1 jailbreak release date is just around the corner. The updated Electra tool “will be dropping within a few days.”
Remount for 11.3.1 is complete! Jailbreak will be dropping within a few days
— Electra Team (@electra_team) July 4, 2018
iOS 11.3.1 jailbreak release date: It’s in ‘Packaging’ stage now
The Electra Team has decided to use an in-house APFS bypass to fix a rootfs remount issue that was delaying the public rollout. A few days ago, CoolStar said they would use Chinese researcher Min ‘Spark’ Zheng’s QiLin bypass to resolve the APFS rootfs remount issue. The rootfs remount gives the jailbreak tool read/write capabilities, and it has been one of the last remaining hurdles before developers.
We are not using Spark’s bypass as it was unstable. We are using our own APFS bypass
— Electra Team (@electra_team) July 4, 2018
The Electra Team said they were spending way too much time trying to make Spark’s bypass stable and functional. As it turns out, Spark’s bypass was too unstable to be used in a reliable jailbreak. So, the team shifted their focus from Spark’s QiLin bypass to their own APFS bypass that burns the 0day, which means it could also be useful to the upcoming iOS 12 platform.
Soon after the announcement on Twitter, the official Electra website was also updated. Now you can see a status indicator showing the progress developers have made on the tool. At the time of this writing, the indicator suggests that the tool was on “Packaging” stage. It’s only a matter of packaging and polishing before the Electra tool is pushed out to the public.
CoolStar has confirmed again and again that the updated Electra will support all devices running iOS 11.2-11.3.1 because these firmware versions are vulnerable to Ian Beer’s exploit. The tool will also support older iPhones and iPads with only 16GB storage. However, CoolStar said in a recent tweet that it would support all devices running iOS 11.2-11.3.1 “*Except for the specific devices owned by that one guy who pissed me off 3 days, you know who you are.”
Electra will support all iOS devices on 11.2-11.3.1*!
*Except for the specific devices owned by that one guy who pissed me off 3 days, you know who you are.
— CoolStar (@coolstarorg) July 4, 2018
What is Sileo?
Meanwhile, another tweet by CoolStar has sparked speculations that they could introduce an alternative to Cydia for installing jailbreak tweaks. CoolStar retweeted a post from Atom Developments that talks about the “Sileo” project which promises to “revolutionize something you love doing.” It is unclear what specifically they are referring to, but there has been a lot of talk about a Cydia alternative lately. There is a good chance Sileo could be something entirely different, though.
Sileo: Battle Royale
coming soonhttps://t.co/wxogoH7ZHl
— CoolStar (@coolstarorg) July 3, 2018
If you are interested in jailbreaking your device, be warned that Apple doesn’t like its users liberating their devices from its walled garden. The company recently warned users that liberating iPhones and iPads would eliminate the “security layers designed to protect your personal information and your iOS device.” Customers may also experience adverse effects of jailbreaking such as the shortened battery life, app crashes, vulnerability to hacking, and freezing of services.
Apple has also stopped signing the iOS 11.3.1, meaning users who have upgraded to 11.4 have no way to go back to the jailbreak-compatible firmware. They are stuck until an iOS 11.4 or iOS 12 jailbreak arrives.
