SHSH Blobs FAQ

[Mickey330]

SHSH Blobs FAQ - New & Improved for 2012!

It appears this forum has not had a post in a while. Hopefully someone will see this who can answer my questions. I have tried to compile as much knowledge as I could before I posted my question. I have read the "Jailbreaking Explained," "Jailbreaking Methods," and this sticky but I just wanted a quick confirmation of some information. I'll try to give as much as I know and please let me know if I am wrong in any area. I recently bought a used iPad 1 (64 GB, wifi if that matters). I don't know it's iOS/jailbreaking history prior to my purchase. It is not currently jailbroken and it is running iOS 5.1.1. I plan to jailbreak using the Absinthe method. I have read a few places that it is usually the easiest method for users who are not that technically savvy. I don't entirely understand the blobs, do I need to try to save them before I jailbreak or after? As I said, I just bought it and am unaware of its prior history.

Saving blobs are an entirely different process from jailbreaking. Which is to say - you can save them before or after you jailbreak, it does not matter. See this tutorial on saving blobs with Tiny Umbrella: http://www.ipadforums.net/showthread.php?t=42301. Who knows - when you go to save the SHSH blobs for iOS 5.1.1, you might find the iPad has been jail broken before, and thus prior iOS blobs might be available...

Do blobs only enable me to go back to previous versions, or would I also not be able to update should say 5.1.2 (or another newer update) become available? I am really only planning on jailbreaking for one app, so if I would be putting myself at risk as far as keeping my iPad up to date, it might not be worth it for me. And again, if I have made wrong assumptions in anything I've posted, please let me know. Thanks for any and all help! Matt

Blobs are used so you can go to an iOS version not being signed by Apple (this can be up or down in version numbers). The key is that, without blobs, you can only install the iOS version currently being signed by Apple. So, once an upgrade iOS is released, you can go to the upgrade, you won't need blobs to do so (as Apple is signing their new release). The only reason people don't upgrade is because there usually is no jail break for the newest version. So, people wait...

Although, with an iPad1, I would be very surprised if Apple released any more versions. Which would make it so that Apple will continue to sign iOS 5.1.1 for iPad1s. Regardless, you can always save the SHSH blobs for the iOS being supported by Apple (which is 5.1.1 today). Basically, with iOS 5.1.1, your iPad1 is going to be as up-to-date as it will ever get.

Hope this clarifies.

Marilyn

 

[ToetullNoob]

Thanks for the help Marilyn. You've made it seem much less scary.

 

[Janset]

Hi there.
I think this is the right place to ask this question relating to SHSH Blob, so here goes.

My iPad 2 was only today updated from the previous Vers 5 OS to the latest Vers 6.

While still on the Vers 5, I saved the SHSH blob using the latest previous version of Tiny Umbrella. In the tutorial for Tiny Umbrella it was suggested that the user update to the latest version of TU before doing a save of the latest OS version's SHSH .

I have downloaded the latest version and I am ready to install TU Vers6. However, I CANNOT find anywhere in the TU instructions advising me as to whether I should uninstall the previous version of TU installed upon my PC or simply install the latest TU over the top of the previous versiion.

And when I eventually use the latest version of TU, will my previously saved SHSH made under the earlier TU version still be saved and readily accessable?

Regards

 

[f4780y]

SHSH Blobs FAQ - New & Improved for 2012!

You can safely install a new version over an old one. No upgrade or removal of the old one first is required.

 

[Ampress]

Now that ios 6 has been released can I choose to upgrade my ipad2 with 4.3.3 to ios 5.1.1? Cydia shows I have the blobs.

 

[f4780y]

Now that ios 6 has been released can I choose to upgrade my ipad2 with 4.3.3 to ios 5.1.1? Cydia shows I have the blobs.

Not yet. You will need to use the facilities of the new version of redsn0w which has been announced by the dev-team, but not yet released. Stay tuned. We will post details (and likely a tutorial) once the full process is known.

 

[Janset]

You can safely install a new version over an old one. No upgrade or removal of the old one first is required.

Thanks for that info better safe than. Sorry.

Regards

 

[f4780y]

SHSH Blobs FAQ - New & Improved for 2012!

Thanks for that info better safe than. Sorry.

Always

 

[robnet77]

hi all,
I just got my first iPad (the new iPad, iOS 5.1.1) and wonder whether I can save my SHSH blobs for my current OS or it is not possible as iOS 6 is around.
Thanks.

 

[f4780y]

hi all,
I just got my first iPad (the new iPad, iOS 5.1.1) and wonder whether I can save my SHSH blobs for my current OS or it is not possible as iOS 6 is around.
Thanks.

As per the FAQ, you are only entitled to 6.0 at the moment, so that is all you can get. Save them now in any case. You never know if they will be useful in the future, and once the window is closed it is too late...

 

[mefnj]

so, i have a newbie question....

i bought an iPad 3 that had iOS5.1.1 pre-installed

before jailbreaking with Absinthe, i backed up my iPad on iTunes as per the Absinthe instructions

question: if i go to iTunes and restore my iPad using the 5.1.1 backup, will all this SHSH Blobs stuff work itself out? or am i missing something? i am not planning on reversing my jailbreak and going to "normal" 5.1.1 right away, but i want to make sure i can eventually restore and then upgrade to iOS 6 at some point.

thanks,
-m

 

[f4780y]

so, i have a newbie question....

i bought an iPad 3 that had iOS5.1.1 pre-installed

before jailbreaking with Absinthe, i backed up my iPad on iTunes as per the Absinthe instructions

question: if i go to iTunes and restore my iPad using the 5.1.1 backup, will all this SHSH Blobs stuff work itself out? or am i missing something? i am not planning on reversing my jailbreak and going to "normal" 5.1.1 right away, but i want to make sure i can eventually restore and then upgrade to iOS 6 at some point.

thanks,
-m

No, you haven't understood the FAQ. The only blobs you are entitled to at the moment are 6.0. You cannot get blobs for "old" firmwares. It makes no difference what you have installed on the device. You need to get blobs from Apple, and they will only give you what they consider to be the current firmware. iDevice backups don't work like that either. They only contain your settings and data, not the OS.
You should start saving you blobs (with 6.0) today for future protection - http://www.ipadforums.net/jailbreak...01-how-save-your-shsh-blobs-tinyumbrella.html, but if you make a mistake and force yourself to restore, you will have to go to 6.0 and lose your jailbreak as things stand. Without 5.1.1 blobs you have not way of going back to "normal" 5.1.1 at any time.

Hope that clarifies.

 

[mefnj]

No, you haven't understood the FAQ. The only blobs you are entitled to at the moment are 6.0. You cannot get blobs for "old" firmwares. It makes no difference what you have installed on the device. You need to get blobs from Apple, and they will only give you what they consider to be the current firmware. iDevice backups don't work like that either. They only contain your settings and data, not the OS.
You should start saving you blobs (with 6.0) today for future protection - http://www.ipadforums.net/jailbreak...01-how-save-your-shsh-blobs-tinyumbrella.html, but if you make a mistake and force yourself to restore, you will have to go to 6.0 and lose your jailbreak as things stand. Without 5.1.1 blobs you have not way of going back to "normal" 5.1.1 at any time.

Hope that clarifies.

well, when i open Cydia on my iPad it has this listed at the top

SHSH: iOS 5.1.1

however, when i used tinyumbrella to get my blobs (as per an earlier post in this thread, i think), it got something, but it also said something about "not eligible"...

i guess i will just wait for the iOS 6 jailbreak, allow the restore to iOS 6, save my blobs, and then jailbreak again.

all very confusing... why can't Apple just play nice!

-m

 

[f4780y]

SHSH Blobs FAQ - New & Improved for 2012!

well, when i open Cydia on my iPad it has this listed at the top

SHSH: iOS 5.1.1

however, when i used tinyumbrella to get my blobs (as per an earlier post in this thread, i think), it got something, but it also said something about "not eligible"...

i guess i will just wait for the iOS 6 jailbreak, allow the restore to iOS 6, save my blobs, and then jailbreak again.

all very confusing... why can't Apple just play nice!

-m

Ah, well you see, this is why details are important in order for folks to be able to give you accurate advice

If you'd mentioned that Cydia reported your SHSH's were there, and that you saw "something about not eligible", then it would have helped.

Your first post led me to believe you had just jailbroken a 5.1.1 device and were hoping that the SHSH "thing" was just going to "sort itself out". In that scenario it wouldn't.
In the scenario where you jailbroke some time ago when 5.1.1 was still being signed, you have less to worry about.

The good news is you have your blobs for 5.1.1.
You should be able to use those to re-restore 5.1.1 on your device in the future, provided you don't make a move to 6.0 first. However, this will depend on how your device was initialised originally and whether it was ever previously restored. Your APTicket may be OK, it may not (there isn't enough information on how devices with original factory fresh 5.1.1 installs perform under re-restore conditions with the new redsn0w to comment yet). Unfortunately, you won't know until you try and do it, but hopefully you won't need to in any case!
But if you know for sure that you performed a restore on that device at least once in the past (for example, before you jailbroke it), then you will be good to go any time in the future.

The message you saw in TU was likely telling you about all the blobs you were not eligible to get, which is why it is useful to pay attention to the details of what it is telling you But if you followed my tutorial exactly as it is written, you will have retrieved and saved your 5.1.1 blobs from Cydia and 6.0 blobs from Apple on your local hard disk.

But the bottom line is if Cydia says you have 5.1.1 blobs, then you have them. No need to worry about that

 

[mefnj]

Ah, well you see, this is why details are important in order for folks to be able to give you accurate advice

If you'd mentioned that Cydia reported your SHSH's were there, and that you saw "something about not eligible", then it would have helped.

Your first post led me to believe you had just jailbroken a 5.1.1 device and were hoping that the SHSH "thing" was just going to "sort itself out". In that scenario it wouldn't.
In the scenario where you jailbroke some time ago when 5.1.1 was still being signed, you have less to worry about.

The good news is you have your blobs for 5.1.1.
You should be able to use those to re-restore 5.1.1 on your device in the future, provided you don't make a move to 6.0 first. However, this will depend on how your device was initialised originally and whether it was ever previously restored. Your APTicket may be OK, it may not (there isn't enough information on how devices with original factory fresh 5.1.1 installs perform under re-restore conditions with the new redsn0w to comment yet). Unfortunately, you won't know until you try and do it, but hopefully you won't need to in any case!
But if you know for sure that you performed a restore on that device at least once in the past (for example, before you jailbroke it), then you will be good to go any time in the future.

The message you saw in TU was likely telling you about all the blobs you were not eligible to get, which is why it is useful to pay attention to the details of what it is telling you But if you followed my tutorial exactly as it is written, you will have retrieved and saved your 5.1.1 blobs from Cydia and 6.0 blobs from Apple on your local hard disk.

But the bottom line is if Cydia says you have 5.1.1 blobs, then you have them. No need to worry about that

thanks for your patience and clarification.

my "order of operations" so far has only been:
-bought iPad with 5.1.1 pre-installed
-followed Absinthe procedure to jailbreak, including the process of backup and restore apps and settings from iTunes (as you said, that does NOT involve the iOS)
-ran tinyumbrella and see the list below
-i have NOT restored my iPad's iOS before or since jailbreaking

i guess from what you state, i am OK for now, and have all the blobs i am eligible to have

thanks again,
-m