Following the release of Apple TV software update 5.2.1 (iOS 6.1.3 – 10B329a), FireCore has updated Seas0nPass to provide a tethered jailbreak for Apple TV 2 running the latest firmware. Released in March, a minor Apple TV software update – 5.2.1 – added support for Music in the Cloud in Japan and Israel and included improvements for software update, subtitles, and general performance.

Here is a step by step tutorial on how to tether jailbreak Apple TV 2 5.2.1 using Seas0nPass:

NOTE: This is a TETHERED jailbreak. This means every time there is a need to reboot your Apple TV, you have to connect it to a computer. Functionally, both tethered and untethered jailbreak are identical.

NOTE 2: The current version of Seas0nPass doesn’t provide a jailbreak for the Apple TV 3.

Pre-launch checklist

1. Download and install the latest version of iTunes (check for updates through Software Update located in Apple menu).
2. Download Seas0nPass for Mac [10.6 or later] or Windows [XP or later].
3. A micro USB cable will be required to complete the jailbreak.
4. Disconnect any iPods, iPhones, and iPads from your computer.

Jailbreaking

Step 1: Unzip the ‘Seas0nPass.zip’ file and launch Seas0nPass.

Step 2: Select the ‘Create IPSW’ button to start the jailbreak process.

Step 3: The latest Apple TV software will be downloaded and used to create a custom ‘jailbroken’ software file.

Step 4: When prompted, connect your Apple TV using a micro-USB cable (leave power disconnected).

Once the light on the front of the Apple TV begins to flash rapidly, point the remote at the AppleTV and hold both the MENU and PLAY/PAUSE buttons for 7 seven seconds.

Note: This step will require the silver (aluminum) Apple TV remote that was included with the ATV2. The older, white (plastic) remotes will not work.

Step 5: iTunes will open automatically and start the restore process.

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Following the last week’s release of evasi0n iOS 6.0-6.1 jailbreak, FireCore has updated its Seas0nPass to provide an untethered jailbreak for Apple TV 2 running the latest 5.2 (iOS 6.1) firmware. Released in January, Apple TV software update 5.2  for the 2nd and 3rd generation Apple TV added Bluetooth keyboard support, iTunes in the Cloud and AirPlay audio for videos.

Some 3rd party plugins such as Plex, Remote HD and Rowmote are not yet compatible with the 5.1+ Apple TV software. The developer of Plex client is already working on getting its plugin working on the latest Apple TV firmware.

Update: XBMC now available on iOS 6.1 for Apple TV

aTV Flash (black) has also been updated and now supports Apple TV 5.2.

NOTE: The current version of Seas0nPass doesn’t provide a jailbreak for the Apple TV 3.

Here is a step by step tutorial on how to untether jailbreak Apple TV 2 5.2 using Seas0nPass:

Pre-launch checklist

1. Download and install the latest version of iTunes (check for updates through Software Update located in Apple menu).
2. Download Seas0nPass for Mac [10.6 or later] or Windows [XP or later].
3. A micro USB cable will be required to complete the jailbreak.
4. Disconnect any iPods, iPhones, and iPads from your computer.

Jailbreaking

Step 1: Unzip the ‘Seas0nPass.zip’ file and launch Seas0nPass.

Step 2: Select the ‘Create IPSW’ button to start the jailbreak process.

Step 3: The latest Apple TV software will be downloaded and used to create a custom ‘jailbroken’ software file.

Step 4:When prompted, connect your Apple TV using a micro-USB cable (leave power disconnected).

Once the light on the front of the Apple TV begins to flash rapidly, point the remote at the AppleTV and hold both the MENU and PLAY/PAUSE buttons for 7 seven seconds.

Note: This step will require the silver (aluminum) Apple TV remote that was included with the ATV2. The older, white (plastic) remotes will not work.

Step 5: iTunes will open automatically and start the restore process.

Step 6: iTunes will confirm the restore when complete – your Apple TV is now jailbroken.

Note: To confirm the jailbreak was successful a (temporary) red FC logo will appear in the lower right corner of the screen – as shown below.

Enjoy!

Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Google+ for the latest updates on Apple TV 3 jailbreak status.

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FireCorehas just announced on its forum that they are “hard at work” on a new version of Seas0nPassthat takes advantage of the evasi0n jailbreak. They expect to have it available “soon”.

aTV Flash (black) seems to be almost ready for 5.2 but there is still a lot of work ahead for the developers of other Apple TV software/plugins:

Please keep in mind that while the FireCore plugins will work on Apple TV 5.1, a few minor adjustments (which are currently in progress) are needed to ensure things continue to run smoothly on Apple TV 5.2. Things like Plex and XBMC do not yet work on Apple TV 5.1 and later, and will likely require A LOT of work by their respective developers in order to be compatible.

@thomashw, the developer of Plex client for Apple TV, has already confirmed on Plex forum that he will work on getting Plex working on the latest Apple TV software.

You can jailbreak your Apple TV 2 running software version 5.2 using recently updated Sn0wbreeze 2.9.8 but jailbreaking is a bit pointless at this moment as most of the plugins are still not combatible with the latest Apple TV firmware.

We will let you know once any of ATV tweaks/plugins is updated for iOS 6 and available.

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This time we didn’t write a word on a new jailbreak until we had everything double checked. And so, as we have just jailbroken our Apple TV 2 running 5.2 firmware, we can now confirm that the recently updated Sn0wbreeze 2.9.8 does bring the untethered jailbreak for Apple TV 2 on iOS 6.x.

Most of the software like XBMC, aTV Flash (black), Plex, etc. is not yet compatible with Apple TV 5.1 – 5.2 and the device constantly crashes when attempting to install additional software from nitoTV, so we definitely don’t recommend updating to iOS 6.x.

Other known bug/issues:

• First boot on an AppleTV 2 for 5.1/5.2 firmwares has funky glitches. Should be fixed by updates pushed via repos.

If for some reason you still wan’t to update to iOS 6 and then jailbreak using Sn0wbreeze, you can download it from here (Windows only).

We will let you know once any of ATV tweaks/plugins is updated for iOS 6 and available.

Sn0wbreeze doesn’t support Apple TV 3.

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UPDATE: Although it has been confirmed by @MuscleNerd that evasi0n would support Apple TV 2, it seems that it doesn’t. Based on earlier news from evad3rs team, we believed their jailbreak was compatible with Apple TV 2 when publishing the below post just a few minutes after evasi0n went live. We are very sorry for causing confusion. We now have to wait for Seas0nPass to be updated with iOS 6.x support for Apple TV 2. We believe it won’t take long.

UPDATE 2: How to jailbreak Apple TV 2 5.2 (iOS 6.1) using Seas0nPass (untethered; Mac & Windows)

Evad3rs, a group of four top iOS hackers (@pod2g, @musclenerd, @pimskeks and @planetbeing) has just released a long-awaited evasi0n jailbreak for all iDevices running iOS 6.0 through 6.1, that include Apple TV 2 running software version 5.1, 5.1.1 or the latest 5.2. This is an untethered jailbreak, meaning you will be able to reboot your Apple TV without attaching it to a computer. Evasi0n jailbreak doesn’t support Apple TV 3 (however, there is some hope that it will in the future).

Here are the direct download links:

• evasi0n jailbreak for Mac OS X
• evasi0n jailbreak for Windows
• evasi0n jailbreak for Linux

Official mirrors.

Requirements:

• 5 minutes of your time
• A computer running Windows (XP minimum), Mac OS X (10.5 minimum) or Linux (x86 / x86_64)
• An Apple TV 2 running iOS 6.0 through 6.1 (Apple TV firmware 5.1 through 5.2)
• A micro USB cable to connect ATV to the computer

Apple TV 2 running iOS 5.x (atv software version 5.0.2 and earlier) can be jailbroken using Seas0npass.

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I can host websites on my Apple TV! Jealous? It is no secret that with a lot of tinkering, your little gadgets (iPhones, iPods, iPads, and even your Apple TV’s) can be converted into a great many things, including servers. You can take one of your extra Apple TV’s 2 and, with a bit of tinkering, get it set up as your very own, private, web based server for hosting websites and much more.

This is not a new idea, necessarily, but it has always been a bit of a long process to enable these types of features, and/or functionalities, on your device. Well, that was until now. We were recently informed of a new package – iOS-WebStack, which is now available in Cydia, that makes this process as easy as one repo, and one install. So, before I go on, let’s hear from the developer - Jason Anrugas – himself:

Because I would like host some web content with my jailbroken Apple TV 2, I 
have compiled a whole web stack composition with Lighttpd, PHP and MySQL. 
Regarding security issues and restrictions on software dependencies, all 
the software packages are up to date.

With this iOS WebStack I can host web content like on an Linux server. I 
don’t have unresolved dependencies as with the packages from the major 
repositories. Like XAMPP or LAMP you can install my Lighttpd/PHP/MySQL iOS WebStack with 
one click in Cydia or NitoTV.

The 99$ AppleTV mutated into a full web server. 
The iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch can also be used.

Now you can host own Cloud, WordPress, TYPO3, Contao, WebsiteBaker, 
myPhpAdmin, GetSimple, Dokuwiki, all on your iDevice. User can have their own personal wiki, hobbyists can run their own cheap 
web server, web designer can work without an internet connection.

To take advantage of this release you will simply need to add http://ios-webstack.tk/cydia to your Cydia installation. For the Apple TV users, simply make sure your Apple TV 2 is already jailbroken and you have NitoTV installed. This will enable you to add this address into Cydia with three easy steps:

1. Launch the Terminal app (Mac) or PuTTY (Windows)

2. Connect to your Apple TV via SSH using the following command

ssh root@apple-tv.local

echo “deb http://ios-webstack.tk/cydia/ ./” > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ios-webstack.list

apt-get update

For more details, visit the developer’s official support site, where you can find a  detailed GETTING STARTED guide.

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Do you have more than one Apple TV in your house? Are you the techy in your community, forced to install and set up XBMC on Apple TVs for all those people you know and love? What if there were an easy way to simply clone the XBMC installation from one device to multiple others? Well, you can. This process can be used for a variety of reasons, but the most popular would absolutely be:

• Backing-up your current XBMC set up (allowing you to restore to it at any time)
• Building an XBMC template (if you will) to help setting up other Apple TV’s quicker & easier
• Creating a standard of XBMC, including add-ons, for installing on your other iDevices (iPad, iPhone, etc.)

Whatever your reasons, this is a worthwhile skill to have. For the sake of clarity, for those of you who do not know, the Apple TV 1 and the Apple TV 2 differ from each other in that they bother run on different operating systems. The Apple TV 1 was originally build on the OSX platform, same as the older MACs. The Apple TV 2 on the other hand is built on the iOS platform. Same as the iPad, iPhone, & iPods. These differences will cause the process of cloning your Apples to vary dependent on which devices you own. That said, grab your ATV, your computer and let’s go:

Requirements

If you are using a Windows Machine

• WinSCP – File Manager
• PuTTY – Terminal App

If you are using a MAC machine

• CyberDuck – File Manager
• Terminal App (preinstalled)

[Extract The Items Needed For Cloning]

Step 1: We first need to open your File Manager. You will be met with either an option to open a Connection, if so select this option, or a group of boxes requiring input. Fill out the boxes using following sample. Note yours may look different but the information will be the same.

• At the top you will likely see a drop down menu that says “File Transfer Protocol.” Here you will need to select the option that says “SFTP” or “SSH”
• Server: Here you need to enter the IP address of your Apple TV
• Apple TV 1 (SILVER BOX) = Username: frontrow & Password: frontrow
• Apple TV 2 (BLACK PUCK) = Username: root & Password: alpine

Step 2: Now we will need to navigate to the following file location, and save a copy of the folder titled “XBMC” to your desktop, or any other location that you will remember. This will take some time as this file contains EVERYTHING pertaining to your XBMC installation:

• Apple TV 1 (SILVER BOX) = /Applications/XBMC.app/Contents/Resources/XBMC/
• Apple TV 2 (or any iDevice) = /private/var/mobile/Library/Preferences/XBMC/

[REMEMBER] this is your CLONED XBMC folder. It is important that you take good care of this item as this is what we will use on the next machine… or your current machine should you simply be making a backup. Once this is done, all following steps will take place on the device you want to install the CLONED FOLDER on.

Installing The CLONED XBMC Folder

Step 1: Start with a blank canvas:

• Factory restore your target device (making sure you don’t upgrade to an un-jailbroken firmware)
• Jailbreak the Apple TV again
• Do a fresh Install of XBMC on the device.

Step 2: Launch XBMC… THEN EXIT XBMC… on the same device.

Step 3: Connect to your to the Apple TV using the File Manager as we did in beginning of this guide.

Step 4: Navigate to the following file location:

• Apple TV 1 (SILVER BOX) = /Applications/XBMC.app/Contents/Resources/XBMC/
• Apple TV 2 (or any iDevice) = /private/var/mobile/Library/Preferences/XBMC/

Step 5: Once you can see the XBMC folder on your current machine we need to do two things:

• Rename the XBMC folder, on the Apple TV, to “OLDXBMC”
• Upload the CLONED XBMC FOLDER, from your desktop, that we saved on your computer earlier in this guide. This may take some time to upload as this file contains EVERYTHING pertaining to your XBMC installation. So give it time

Step 6: Now we will need to connect to our device via the Terminal App, via SSH, using the following commands.

• ssh root@[Your Apple TV’s I.P. Address]
• Example: ssh root@192.168.2.18
  • This can be found under General/Network on your ATV’s main menu
  • Note:Should you receive an “Authentication Error,” copy and paste the following command into the Terminal window and press Enter, then continue.
    • rm ~/.ssh/known_hosts

Step 7: Once connected we will input one command.

• chown -R mobile:mobile /private/var/mobile/Library/Preferences/XBMC/

Step 8: Reboot and Enjoy

Congratulations! Not only do you have a safe backup of your XBMC installation, but you can now set up twice as many devices in a quarter of the time.

Read also: Top 10 best XBMC addons for Apple TV 1 and Apple TV 2.

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It now seems as if it has been years since we began the wait for an Apple TV 3 jailbreak! The truth is, I have grown tired of the wait and decided to look into what I could do with my existing Apple TV 1 & Apple TV 2. What I found was an tool known as OpenELEC 2.0! OpenELEC is one of the projects that aims to give users the ability to install XBMC as a standalone operating system for a wide variety of devices. What OpenELEC has done is build a stable version of XBMC using Linux and then create an installable package, integrated with a host of drivers, for a growing number of machines, including: old & new laptops, old & new desktop computers, raspberry pi boxes, and, yes, even your old Apple TV 1! Sadly, due to the software/hardware, the Apple TV 2 is not supported.

OpenELEC is not, necessarily, new to the Apple TV scene. What is new is that they have recently released OpenELEC 2.0, a stable version of their software based on XBMC Eden. This gives the Apple TV a strong and stable, standalone, XBMC experience. With it being an Eden build, it even offers your little silver box AirPlay! The team has added a few functionality increases to XBMC and even has a custom group of add ons and services that are made available to OpenELEC users only. These tools alone, make this a project worth looking at! If you are interested, you can find more specific information for this project at openelec.tv. To save you the visit, here are some of the key points made by their team:

What is OpenELEC?

Open Embedded Linux Entertainment Center, or OpenELEC for short, is a small Linux distribution built from scratch as a platform to turn your computer into a complete XBMC media center. OpenELEC is designed to make your system boot as fast as possible and the install is so easy that anyone can turn a blank PC into a media machine in less than 15 minutes.

Key Features:

• It’s completely free
• Full install only 80-125MB
• Minimal hardware requirements
• Trivial install onto HDD, SSD, Compact Flash, SD card, pen drive etc
• Optimized builds for Atom, ION, Intel, Fusion etc
• Simple configuration via XBMC
• Plug and Play external storage
• File sharing out of the box

Required?

1. Mac, or Linux, computer
2. USB Stick,with at least 1 Gig of memory (to be on the safe side)
3. Apple TV 1
4. Remote Control
5. 10-20 minutes

STEP 1:
Connect the USB key to your machine, then open your Terminal app (For Mac it is located in /Applications/Utilities) and cut/paste the following commands to download the AppleTV SwissArmyKnife USB creator script for Mac OS X:

• curl -O http://chewitt.openelec.tv/atv_swissarmyknife_osx.sh
• chmod +x atv_swissarmyknife_osx.sh
• sudo ./atv_swissarmyknife_osx.sh

STEP 2:

The script will ask you confirm the /dev/disk# for the USB Drive. It runs with root privileges so please be careful with your selection! You will see a list of all current drives available on your machine… so simply look for the name and size of your thumb drive. Once the target device has been confirmed the script will repartition the USB Stick, download files needed to boot the AppleTV (11MB) and then install them to the thumb drive. It should take no more than a couple of minutes to complete, at best.


PLEASE NOTE: If you choose the wrong drive, you could accidentally delete important content. Make sure you read the list of available devices carefully. Mine, for example was a 2 GIG drive that I named UMOUCH-ATVH. Once I knew the drive, I entered “/dev/disk2″ and hit Enter. You are then prompted to confirm the election… type in “Y” for yes. When complete, your output will match the image below:.STEP 3:
Power the AppleTV OFF and then connect the USB Stick to the single USB port, between the Ethernet port and the Power Cable on the back of your device.

STEP 4:
Power the AppleTV ON (Plug it in). After 10-15 seconds you should see the Grey/Blue OpenELEC logo on the screen, then the “SwissArmyKnife script” will start and confirm the current keyword function. The default keyword is “install”. This is where the device will download the OpenELEC software from the OpenELEC website.

STEP 5:
Before anything destructive is done, the installer will pause for roughly 30 seconds, and display a warning message; this ensures you enough time for you to power the AppleTV off (remove the power cable) before anything is changed. After the 30 second wait the installer continues. 

What is Happening  (advanced):

Once it completes, a message will be displayed telling you it is safe to remove the USB key and reboot.

That’s It! If you followed the steps correctly, you should have XBMC running as your standalone operating system! If you had any troubles with the process, openELEC has a great source for troubleshooting any, and all, issues: Troubleshooting USB Key Creation & Opperating System!

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The Apple TV 3 jailbreak isn’t out yet, but FireCore, the maker of Seas0nPass jailbreaking tool for Apple TV, has just shared some info on the status of this jailbreak:

As you may recall we were very optimistic about the ATV3 when it originally launched back in March, and while this optimism remains unchanged it’s clear things have not progressed as quickly as anyone would have liked. The biggest hurdle that has yet to be overcome is also the most essential – the jailbreak. While we tend to think of ourselves as pretty resourceful, the security related expertise that is required in order to release a jailbreak for iOS based devices like the ATV is just not in our wheelhouse, and we’re simply left to encourage the capable few as best we can. No one is more anxious than us to get the ATV3 opened up to 3rd party apps, but due to the reasons mentioned above we’re not able to provide any kind of release timeline right now.

Back in August we reported that there was a group of “very bright and talented individuals” working on “a lead that could result in a usable jailbreak for the 3rd gen Apple TV”.

At JailbreakCon 2012, nitoTV announced that there has been some progress made with the injection vector, but no further specifics were offered an no further details have been shared since then.

Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Google+ to be first to know when the Apple TV 3 jailbreak comes out.

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Making my Apple TV sexy is one thing I am passionate about. Whether you are want to change the background, adjust the location of your menu options, or even change the complete look and feel of your operating system, XBMC allows you to do it all! If you are a regular visitor to our site, you know that we are fans of XBMC and what it can do for you, and your Apple TV. Of all the benefits it offers, my favorite has to be the fact that XBMC offers skins. These skins are free to download, free to install, and free to design.

There are roughly 30 skins available today at XBMC.org. XBMC has “stable” skins that can be added via their repo, they have “stable “ skins that you can add via third party repositories, and they have skins that are in development that you can add, test, and play with.

This is the area of XBMC that I find myself playing with on a regular basis month to month. So, first-things-first: how do we change a skin with in XBMC?

Prerequisites:

• Decide what skin you would like: you can find a complete list of XMBC skins here.
• If needed, add the repository for that skin (click for help with repos)

Changing Your Skin:

Step 1: Navigate to the “Settings” menu under “SYSTEM” in XBMC.

Step 2: Select the “Appearance” tab on the left side bar.

Step 3: Under the “Skin” field on the right side of the window, select the name of your current skin. It should display “Confluence” by default.

Step 4: Select the name of the skin which you wish to use, I’ve chosen “Quartz” as an example (I will tell you why after we get through the HOW TO facet of this article).

Step 5: You will then see, after a few seconds, the interface change completely.

Things to consider:

The Apple TV is a unit with limited power. XBMC is a tool of tremendous power! If you are trying to use the fanciest skins, with the most abundant features, you will find that the Apple TV will begin to move at a snails pace. It is important when looking at skins to consider the effect it will have on your OS. That said, I have tested every skin you can find… yes, EVERY SKIN YOU CAN FIND and I can give you a little help on what skins offer a great experience without costing you performance:

(in no specific order)

• Quartz
• reFoucs
• refocus BIG (MODDED VERSION)
• XEEBO

The best place to go, if you want to investigate yourself or need some help with XBMC skins would be the official SKINS thread at XBMC.org.

(This article is also available in Spanish / Este artículo también está disponible en español)

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