Re-Enable Checkra1n Jailbreak After Restarting Your iPhone

Semi-untethered jailbreaks are here to stay, as evidenced by iOS 11's Electra method, Chimera for iOS 12, and even the new bootrom-based Checkra1n tool for iOS 13. While not as convenient as fully untethered, re-enabling a semi-untethered jailbreak is still pretty easy once you get used to the steps involved.

The biggest handicap of a semi-untethered jailbreak is the need to manually kickstart it whenever your phone powers down or reboots. Fortunately, power cycling only disables the jailbreak and associated mods as opposed to being removed outright. Since the jailbreak is merely lying dormant within your iPhone's OS, you just need to reactivate it to get all your tweaks up and running again.

• Don't Miss: How to Jailbreak iOS 13 Using Checkra1n

Step 1: Plug in Your iPhone & Run Checkra1n

Checkra1n requires you to connect your iPhone to your computer in order to reactivate your jailbreak, so open the jailbreak tool on your Mac and connect your iPhone with either a USB to Lightning cable or a USB-C to Lightning cable. Wait for Checkra1n to read your device, then click "Start" once connection has been established.

Checkra1n will prompt to boot your iPhone into DFU mode. But before doing so, the tool will automatically reboot your iPhone, so wait a moment or two for your device to enter Recovery mode.

Step 2: Enter DFU Mode & Re-Enable Jailbreak

After booting into Recovery mode, Checkra1n will present you with on-screen instructions to help you enter into DFU mode. However, you can enter into DFU on your own if you know what to do — Checkra1n will automatically detect your device once it enters DFU mode and automatically re-enable your jailbreak.

So check out the link below if you'd like to know more about entering DFU mode on the iPhone X and iPhone 8. If you just need a refresher on the button combinations required, follow the brief instructions below that correspond with your iPhone model.

• More Info: How to Put the iPhone X, 8 & 8 Plus into DFU Mode in iTunes

iPhone X, 8, or 8 Plus:

1. Quick-press the Volume Up button.
2. Quick-press the Volume Down button.
3. Press-and-hold the Side button until the screen goes black.
4. Release the Side button once the screen blacks out, then ...
5. Quickly press-and-hold both the Side and Volume Down buttons together for 5 seconds.
6. After 5 seconds, release the Side button without letting go of the Volume Down button.
7. Continue holding down the Volume Down button for at least 5 seconds.

iPhone 7 or 7 Plus:

1. Press-and-hold on both the Volume Down and Sleep/Wake buttons until the screen goes black.
2. Press-and-hold on the Sleep/Wake button for three seconds.
3. Press-and-hold on the Volume Down button without letting go of the Sleep/Wake button.
4. Keep holding both buttons for 10 seconds, then let go of only the Sleep/Wake button.
5. Continue holding down the Volume Down button for at least 5 seconds.

iPhone 6S or Below:

1. Press-and-hold on both the Sleep/Wake and Home buttons until the screen goes black.
2. Press-and-hold on the Sleep/Wake button for three seconds.
3. Press-and-hold on the Home button without letting go of the Sleep/Wake button.
4. Keep holding both buttons for 10 seconds, then let go of only the Sleep/Wake button.
5. Continue holding down the Home button for at least 5 seconds.

As mentioned above, Checkra1n will automatically re-enable your device's jailbreak, along with all the tweaks you've set, shortly after you get into DFU mode. So give the tool a minute or two (usually much less) to wrap up the process.

Step 3: Open Cydia & Check for Jailbreak

Once your iPhone reboots, any tweaks you've applied like TinyBarX or iKeyWi 4 will once again be totally functional. Of course, you should also go ahead and open Cydia to make sure your jailbreak is fully working as it should.

As tedious as the process of re-enabling your jailbreak is using Checkra1n, the tool is very consistent in restoring your mods. In fact, it consistently took only one attempt to kickstart jailbreaks on devices we tested: an iPhone SE, iPhone 8, iPad Mini 4, and iPad 6 that were all on iOS 13.2.2. If you encounter an issue, however, be sure to share your experience by posting below.

Cover image and screenshots by Amboy Manalo/Gadget Hacks