iOS 5 Jailbreak UPDATE: After Tethered, Untethered, It's Now Semi-Tethered [GUIDE]

As of now, we do have a tethered jailbreak for the latest Apple iOS 5. Named as Redsn0w version 0.9.9b5, this tethered jailbreak is compatible with all devices running iOS 5 -- except for the iPad 2 and the iPhone 4S.

When it comes to untethered jailbreak, nothing has been developed so far with different reports, however, iOS hackers and jailbreakers have found a way to make an untethered iOS 5 jailbreak. Hence, if you want to jailbreak iOS 5 at present, the only tools available provide a tethered jailbreak.

A tethered jailbreak means that the user needs to reconnect the device to a Windows or Mac computer each time it needs to be booted. It may be annoying if the battery dies, as the device has to be reconnected to a computer to recover the jailbreak application. Apart from an untethered jailbreak, which is not yet available, what about another alternative that can provide a way out?

Introducing SemiTether

According to the latest reports, the BigBoss group that hosts various packages and themes in Cydia has come up with a solution called SemiTether or semi-tethered jailbreak. It has been claimed that the semi-tethered jailbreak can help you protect your tethered iOS 5 jailbreak from making your iPhone unusable during a crash or unplanned reboot. It lets you re-boot a device that's been jailbroken by using a tethered message without getting stuck at the boot logo.

According to a report by iPhone Help, with a semi-tethered jailbreak you would be able to make the most out of your JailBroken iDevice on iOS 5. The report added that SemiTether is still in beta stage and has only been tested on iPhone 4 GSM with iOS 5 installed.

A post on the BigBoss Web site says:

This version will take about 90 seconds after it first boots up and then your device will respring again. This timing was the only way to get some of the launch daemons to properly relaunch.

This version should fix issues for some of you folks where:

1) Device does not sync with itunes and only errors. Hopefully solved.

2) Device reboots after 2-3 minutes.

3) App sync issue - this is unworkable. Appsync hard patches system files and does not even use mobile substrate. I had to conflict with it. For now, semi-tether boot is impossible with appsync. You guys need to bug those guys to fix appsync to use mobile substrate (like everyone else uses).

Quirks to the SemiTether Package:

There are some issues related to the semi-tethered jailbreak that you need to know before going ahead with it.

- Users cannot use the native mail app.

- Users cannot use the mobile Safari browser.

- For access to jailbreak apps and Cydia, users need to get back to their computer to boot tethered.

After installing the semi-tethered package, the device will take a longer time to boot than it normally takes using redsn0w from Device Firmware Update (DFU) mode. This is because, when the user reboots, it has to reload every service.

What Users Can Do When in Semi-Tethered Reboot State:

- Can use phone, sms (text messages).

- Can use every other stock app on iphone.

- Can use other appstore web browsers such as the atomic web browser.

You must also keep in mind that while in the semi-tether booted state, no jailbreak tweak should be installed. Otherwise, your device will be stuck in a respring loop until you boot it tethered from the tool.

You can find the instructions to install the SemiTether package on iPhone FAQ. Here's a video with an explanation of how to apply the semi-tethered jailbreak.