Absinthe 2.0 Untethered Jailbreak Released for iOS 5.1.1

The Chronic Dev Team this week released a new untethered jailbreak for devices running iOS 5.1.1.

Looking to install unofficial third-party apps on your newly updated iDevice? You’re in luck. The Chronic Dev Team this week released a new untethered jailbreak for devices running iOS 5.1.1.

“After copious amounts of work and many sleepless nights Absinthe 2.0 is finally here to jailbreak your device,” the group announced in a Friday blog post.

The developers said the jailbreak, dubbed Absinthe 2.0, was a “large collaborative effort between Chronic-Dev Team and iPhone Dev Teams (Jailbreak Dream Team).”

Why jailbreak a device? As most people are aware, Apple is very particular about the apps that it allows in its App Store. Only Apple-approved apps will run on iOS devices, but there are some apps that tech-savvy iPhone users still want. By jailbreaking your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, you can get around Apple’s restrictions and install whatever app you like. Beware, however. Most jailbreaks void any warranties you might have on your device, so Apple won’t help you if you turn your phone or tablet into a brick.

That being said, the dev team said Absinthe 2.0 will work on all iOS devices running 5.1.1, except for the handful of iPad 2s running the 32nm A5 processor. They insisted that it’s one of the “easiest jailbreaks to use (so easy your grandma could do it).”

The download links are available in the blog post, andhere are the directions for installation, according to the dev team:

• Make a backup of your device in iTunes by right clicking on your device name under the “Devices” menu and click “Back Up.”
• Settings > General > Reset > Erase all Content and Settings.
• Open Absinthe and be sure you are still connected via USB cable to your computer.
• Click “Jailbreak” and wait.
• Return to iTunes and restore your backup from earlier. Right click on your device name under the Devices menu in the left panel of iTunes and click Restore from Back Up, then select the latest backup you created before.

Apple released iOS 5.1.1 on May 7 with five fixes, including a bug that could prevent the new iPad from switching between 2G and 3G networks. It also improved the reliability of using the camera’s HDR option from the Lock Screen shortcut, as well as synching Safari bookmarks and Reading Lists.

The release comes about six months after the Chronic Dev Team and pod2g released the first untethered jailbreak for the iPhone 4S and iPad 2.

By Chloe Albanesius, PCMag