Yesterday, the famed iPhone hacker George Hotz released his OS 3.1.2 jailbreak for Windows called 'blackra1n.' Blackra1n is a "30 second ALL device 3.1.2 jailbreak" for Windows, and will jailbreak any iPhone or iPod Touch device running on 3.1.2 firmware (the third generation iPod Touch jailbreak is tethered and will require you to rerun blackra1n every time you reboot).
Blackra1n is only the latest innovation from George Hotz, who recently turned twenty, and is perhaps most famous for being the first person to unlock the iPhone for use on other carrier networks.
Hotz traded his unlocked 8GB iPhone to the founder of Certicell, in exchange for a tricked out Nissan 350Z and three more 8GB iPhones. Hotz landed some serious loot at the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair; winning twenty grand for his
Holodeck-inspired invention that allows people to see holograms from all angles. Two years earlier, at the same Intel Fair, Hotz was a finalist for his robot called the "Googler."
Hotz works for Google now, working on the
search engine's street view. Hotz took a break from studying biotechnology at Rochester Institute of Technology to work for Google, where he was able to hack the magnetic strip on his student ID -- allowing him access to
any door on campus.
Hotz - more commonly known by his online handle "geohot" - had a brief stint working for the iPhone Dev-Team, playing a crucial role in the release of
yellowsn0w. In yellowsn0w's code, you will find: "thanks geohot for alt+stkprof 02.28 injection vector." In July, however, Hotz created the website yiphone.org and on it threatened to release his own iPhone 2.0 firmware hack if the Dev-Team didn't hurry up with yellowsn0w. In response to Hotz, the Dev-Team put up ihazsupper.com, which featured a satirical depiction of the Last Supper. In the Dev-Team's drawing, Hotz is featured as the betraying Judas Iscariot and is wearing a Google shirt. He is also pictured
blowing Steve Wozniak at the table. The other diners are still-esteemed members of the Dev-Team, with halos and robes.
On Sunday, October 11, 2009, George Hotz posted to his
blog:
"As many of you already know, I am releasing a jailbreak called blackra1n. What many of you don't know is that I'm releasing it tonight! At 4AM EST, I want to see the topic "#blackra1n" trending on twitter. Once I see it trending, I'll put the download link up on blackra1n.com ... Isn't viral "marketing" cool :-)"
It didn't take long for Hotz's blackra1n to become the number one trending topic on Twitter, and shortly after, blackra1n was officially released.
How to use blackra1n:
Note:
Do not upgrade to OS 3.1.2 if you want to unlock your iPhone for use with other carriers. blackra1n is best for users who have upgraded to or have a device that came with OS 3.1 or 3.1.2, but it will NOT allow you to unlock your device. As of now, blackra1n is only available for Windows users. A Mac version is reportedly on the way.
Step 1: Read ALL the instructions first.
Step 2: Make sure you have the latest version of iTunes installed.
Step 3: Download the latest firmware 3.1.2.
Step 4: Download blackra1n for Windows
here: http://blackra1n.com/ (Click the Microsoft icon) and reboot your PC.
Step 5: Connect your device to your computer and launch the blackra1n app.
Step 6: Click "make it ra1n" and let the application run. A picture of George Hotz will appear while your device is in recovery mode.
Step 7: Wait until your phone automatically reboots. A new blackra1n app icon will appear on the springboard. Click the blackra1n icon to launch blackra1n on your device.
Step 8: From here you will be able to install Cydia, Rock, or Icy on your device.
(Do not install more than one installer on your device)
Step 9: After your selected installer app appears on the springboard, you may uninstall blackra1n from your device by launching it and chosing "uninstall blackra1n."
Step 10: Reboot your device.
Let us know how blackra1n worked for you in the comments section.
