Exploit found to bypass iOS 5 activation allowing non-developers to install

Before we even start, obviously this is something that isn’t covered by warranty and may destroy your phone.  Once you go to iOS 5, you cant go back. APPLE WILL LIKELY FIX THIS IN AN UPCOMING iOS 5 UPDATE AND YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO USE YOUR DEVICE (until iOS 5 final is released or a developer adds your phone to his or her device list).

Gizmodo posts a video on how to activate an iPhone on iOS without having your device ID provisioned by a developer/Apple.  The exploit uses a combination of Voiceover and the pull down notifications to activate the phone.  The user that found this exploit says the device continues to work after restarts (so you won’t need to activate it every time you restart).  The steps are below:

1. Download the iOS 5 IPSW file from the web (it’s easy and readily available. Just Google it and torrent it down).
2. Update your iPhone using iTunes. To do this, connect your iPhone to your computer, click on the Check for Update button with theOption (Mac) or Shift (PC) key pressed. Select the iOS 5 IPSW file from the place you downloaded it to.
3. Wait until it upgrades. A new activation screen will appear.

Activate iOS 5

1. Triple click the home button. This will activate the Voice Over.
2. Triple click the home button and Emergency Call will appear.
3. Click on Emergency Call and, while it’s switching, swipe with your three fingers down.
4. The Notification Center will appear!
5. Click on the Weather widget. The Weather app will load.
6. Click on the home button to exit to the iPhone’s springboard.

Related articles

• That was fast: iOS 5 has already been jailbroken, MuscleNerd confirms (9to5mac.com)
• iOS 5: Home screen pinch is back, custom gestures spotted (9to5mac.com)
• iOS 5 on iPhone 3GS: What’s missing? (9to5mac.com)
• WWDC 2011: Apple shows off Twitter integration in iOS 5 (9to5mac.com)
• WWDC 2011: iOS devices now iTunes-free, over-the-air updates now possible (9to5mac.com)
• Apple to offer automatic App Store app updates in iOS with ‘Automatic Download’ (9to5mac.com)