evasi0n, the first untethered iOS 6 jailbreak, has been released

The first untethered jailbreak for the iPhone 5 and iPad Mini has finally been released. Called evasi0n, the jailbreak will persist through the phone losing battery or being restarted, something isn't true of untethered jailbreaks. Once installed, the jailbreak will allow access to the Cydia software repository, which in turns lets users to customise their device's appearance and install apps unavailable in the Apple store. While this is a minor security risk, it's a worthwhile step for many power users looking to extend the look and functionality of their devices.

The jailbreak is compatible with any iPod Touch, iPhone, iPad Mini and iPad that runs iOS 6.0 or iOS 6.1. To get started, first you'll need to back up your iOS device in iTunes / iCloud to ensure if anything goes wrong you won't lose your data. Next, disable any passcode lock on the device. Finally, download the jailbreak for your computer's OS (Linux, Mac OS X or Windows) from the evasi0n.com website. Run the program and just follow the instructions.

If you're interested in how the app works, you can have a look at Forbes' interview with one the developers. They break down the specifics of the jailbreak, including the multiple layers of security that need to be defeated before root access can be achieved.

The developers of the jailbreak, a group called evad3rs, have released the jailbreak just one week after Apple's iOS 6.1 update was released. The timing is no accident - just as the case with the iPhone 4S, the developers have been sitting on this particular exploit for a while in order to maximise the amount of time before it is patched out.

Apple have since announced an iOS 6.1.1 update, and it's not known if that update will remove the exploit and prevent further jailbreaks via this method. MuscleNerd, one of the foremost jailbreak developers in the Apple scene, has warned users to not install the update at this time.

So far, the update has proven quite popular. It's estimated that 1.7 million users performed the jailbreak within the first two days of its release. The developers also reported 270,000 simultaneous users on their website, and the app repository Cydia was down or incredibly slow for a 24 hour period following the jailbreak's release.

Are you planning to jailbreak your iOS 6 device, or have you already done so? Let us know in the comments below. Thanks for reading and have a good one!