In the past day or so the new iPad, or the iPad 3, has been jailbroken multiple times using numerous exploits… yet according to MuscleNerd the new 1080p Apple TV 3 is not going to be as easy. The famous iOS hacker tweeted that “Apple’s least expensive iOS device (new AppleTV3,1) will likely be the most secure of the bunch”. That’s mainly because geohot’s limera1n bootrom exploit, used to jailbreak Apple TV 2, doesn’t apply to ATV3.

For those of you who remember the “Great Jailbreak Depression of 2011″, you will also recall that it seemed like our iPad 2 would never be unchained from Apples, ever controlling, grip. Eventually patience, and the never ending work by our developer community, led us to the glorious 5.0 jailbreak! This will be the case with the Apple TV 3, but like the iPad 2, this may take a while.

That said, this news has not come as a great surprise to me and it shouldn’t shock you either. Similar moves were taken by Boxee when releasing the Boxee Box. When these companies officially begin partnering with Content Providers their software must become more “secure”. Granted, Apple has had partners for a LONG TIME, but I take all of this as a good sign of what’s to come. I mean, have you seen the article about their new remote?

That said… hack on MuscleNerd… HACK ON!

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

umOuch (Andrew Brasher)

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Visit What's on iPhone for the best iPad and iPhone app reviews!
Do you want to feel like a wizard? Check the Kymera wand in Amazon: You can control your Apple TV waving a wand!

Two weeks after iOS hacker and Chronic Dev-Team member Pod2g announced an untethered jailbreak for Apple TV 2 running 4.4.3 (and 4.4.4), FireCore made this jailbreak publicly available by releasing an updated version of Seas0nPass that supports an untethered jailbreak of the latest 4.4.4 (iOS 5.0.1) Apple TV software. Obviously, the new Seas0nPass uses Pod2g’s exploit.

All the most popular Apple TV 2 plugins, like NitoTV,  XBMC,  Plex (0.9.0 beta versions only), Remote HD,  Media Player,  Overflow, Couch Surfer, Last.fm, Rowmote, RSS Feeds and Weather are already supported on 4.4.4.

Here is a step by step tutorial on how to jailbreak Apple TV 4.4.4 untethered using Seas0nPass:

Note: If you’re already running a tethered version of 4.4.4 you will need to re-jailbreak using Seas0nPass to take advantage of the new untethered version.

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 AppleTV 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) AppleTV 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. Please proceed to the ‘tethered boot’ section below.

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.

Done!

You may also want to read:
iOS apps running on Apple TV
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FireCore releases aTV Flash (black) 1.0 to supercharge the Apple TV 2
How to install aTV Flash (black) 1.0 on Apple TV 2

Visit What's on iPhone for the best iPad and iPhone app reviews!
Do you want to feel like a wizard? Check the Kymera wand in Amazon: You can control your Apple TV waving a wand!

We don’t want to enter “Jailbreak Wars”, so we will stick to the facts: geohot, a developer who released limera1n jailbreak for iOS 4.1 devices, has just updated his page to announce that “AppleTV is technically supported, but theres no apps yet.” TUAW’s Erica Sadun confirmed that when she put her atv2 into DFU mode she was able to jailbreak it. “But since no AFC services or OpenSSH were installed (let alone APT), there’s nothing that really can be done with it at this time,” she said. Chronic Dev team, that was supposed to release its greenpois0n jailbreak on Sunday, said they will have to delay the release in order to have time to integrate the exploit used in limera1n into greenpois0n to “save SHAtter for future devices that may still be vulnerable to it.”

Update: according to this AwkwardTV page, “limera1n doesn’t work because of ramdisk issues, it never mounts or installs anything, ostensibly not making any changes at all to the AppleTV filesystem.”

Visit What's on iPhone for the best iPad and iPhone app reviews!
Do you want to feel like a wizard? Check the Kymera wand in Amazon: You can control your Apple TV waving a wand!