geteilt von: https://lemmy.giftedmc.com/post/850522

Hi folks, I’m a tinkerer and like to hack old devices. Currently running postmarketOS on an old oneplus6. Now I want to try to repurpose my old ipad 3 with LTE.

For that purpose I have tried:

  • https://jailbreaks.app/legacy.html -> phoenix (Error: app could not be installed at this time)
  • windows VM (I’m on linux) with usb connect, I can see the ipad in device manager and open the harddrive but neither itunes nor sideloadly will connect to it. impactor also wont recognize the device
  • exchanging the cable for a different (newer) one, also no change
  • resetting the ipad to factory settings to free up space, no change
  • reinstalling itunes, icloud, sideloadly
  • restarting between each step

I’m kind of running out of ideas at this point. I generally have a debug device which I could try and use on the ipad but I struggle to find resources on lower level hardware hacking for the ipad. Let me know if you have any other ideas.

Have a good one!

  • haui@lemmy.giftedmc.comOP
    2·
    3 months ago

    Sad. But thanks for chiming in. I really hate apple for their walled garden approach. running a rooted android phone is far less problematic and therefore is making huge progress. since nobody seems to be able to reliably even jailbreak apple devices, its more likely they will stay locked until the landfill. Apple should be broken up about this.

    • SturgiesYrFase@lemmy.ml
      2·
      3 months ago

      Apple should be broken up about this.

      Goddamn right!
      Not sure if you meant upset at the environmental costs, or being literally broken up into a bunch of smaller companies. I agree in both ways.
      They talk big about “doing their part” to bring down e-waste, but if you look at their actions… it’s clear that they’re doing at most the bare minimum.
      It’s performative.

      running a rooted android phone is far less problematic

      Google is changing that. There’s been difficulties with running a rooted android for ages now, mainly with certain apps (banking apps most frequently) either not running, or not running correctly, on a rooted phone/unlocked bootloader/running a custom ROM. Google is now putting through app checks so developers can tell if an app was installed via the Play Store or sideloaded.
      Here’s an article about it.

      Anyway, back to iDevices. I’d say it’s definitely worth it to keep trying on your iPad, if I have time and patience this weekend I’ll have a shot at jailbreaking mine again, and report back if I’m able to get it working and how.

      • haui@lemmy.giftedmc.comOP
        2·
        3 months ago

        thank you for chiming in. i’m a little further along now and my ipad is now reachable on ssh. it has been a problem because it uses sha1 cyphers which seems to be pretty bad.

        the system partition is only 3GB in size and only has 100MB in empty space.

        i will therefore attempt to move larger files to the /var folder. sadly, the staging app doesnt work on 9.3.6.

        i think the tethered jailbreak is going to be an issue since i dont know how many files I can move.

        • SturgiesYrFase@lemmy.ml
          1·
          2 months ago

          i think the tethered jailbreak

          If I recall correctly Phoenix is only semi-tethered. And has to be renewed every power down and once every 30 or 45 days if not powered down. Once you have it jailbroken the first time it’s pretty easy, just tap the Phoenix icon, still a bit of a faff though.

          I believe the first full tether break is on 10

          • haui@lemmy.giftedmc.comOP
            2·
            2 months ago

            the jailbreak I’m using is kokeshi iirc but i’m not knowledgeable enough to really talk about this yet. and yes, it is only semi tethered. i do need to find out how to open the bootloader though.

              • haui@lemmy.giftedmc.comOP
                2·
                2 months ago

                i have no idea how they differ. I’ll have a look at checkmate next and see if I can exploit the bootrom. that would enable me to run linux on it.

                • SturgiesYrFase@lemmy.ml
                  1·
                  2 months ago

                  Ouuuuuu! Do let me know if you get that running, I’ve been looking for a way to get Linux on that iPad. It would just be more functional hopefully for certain projects.

                  • haui@lemmy.giftedmc.comOP
                    2·
                    2 months ago

                    Thanks for the encouragement. I will update. Can you give me a quick dump what you did with the device so far? in case I learn anything.