Reminder: Jailbroken Users Should Install OpenSSH on Their iOS 7 Devices Now!

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Posted March 11, 2014 at 7:51pm by iClarified

We strongly recommend that all iOS 7 users with jailbroken devices install OpenSSH immediately. Why is this important? Since Apple just released iOS 7.1, there is no going back or restoring to iOS 7.0.6, even with SHSH blobs.

So, if your jailbroken iPhone ever ran into any software issues that prevented it from booting up, and you did not have OpenSSH installed, you would be forced to restore to a stock firmware, thus causing you to lose your jailbreak. However, if you had OpenSSH installed, you could simply connect your phone to your computer and try to resolve the issue and hopefully fix the device.

Additionally, CoolStar's SemiRestore has just been released for Windows (Mac coming soon) with iOS 7 support and it too requires OpenSSH to be installed beforehand. SemiRestore lets you restore your device to a clean state, without losing your jailbreak. It is not a full iTunes restore, but does erase all content and settings. SemiRestore also has the ability to repair system files if they ever become corrupt and prevent your iPhone from booting up. However, this too requires OpenSSH to be installed beforehand.

A common misconception among jailbroken users is that OpenSSH causes a battery drain. However, since OpenSSH is simply a launch service, it does not affect battery life as it only runs when you are connected to a device. We strongly recommend that you change your SSH password for better security (the default password is alpine).

As always, be sure to only install packages from trusted developer and repositories! However, if you ever run into any issues, try holding the volume-up button on your device during boot, which prevents disables MobileSubstrate tweaks from running, allowing for a safe-mode boot. If that doesn't work, you can always try SemiRestore or use OpenSSH to try to fix the problem yourself.

For those who don't know how to install OpenSSH, you can follow this tutorial for instructions.

Reminder: Jailbroken Users Should Install OpenSSH on Their iOS 7 Devices Now!

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What The Duck - March 13, 2014 at 7:41am

Why is it even needed? if Your phone has problems booting because of something you installed with cydia just boot the phone holding volume up. It will boot phone with mobile substrate safe mode and u can uninstall it again using cydia.

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KevinC - March 13, 2014 at 12:04am

If the phone cannot boot, then how the heck is one gonna run OpenSSH!?

johngilbert - March 12, 2014 at 5:29am

Is there an effective way (GUI or Unix) to clone the iOS as there is for desktop/laptops e.g. SuperDuper or CarbonCopyCloner? That might help if there's ever a serious problem with the iOS. I regularly clone my other machines and it's saved me hours of time, headaches, and trouble when a serious problem occurs.

nobody2014_2 - March 12, 2014 at 12:59am

Already done!!!

Henry485 - March 11, 2014 at 9:40pm

You should also install ssh switch to turn on/off ssh in flipswitch.

thevmaxer - March 11, 2014 at 9:52pm

Why???...OpenSHH doesn't drain battery. And, as long as you change your default password, nobody can hack it. PLUS, if you have it turned off and you can't boot your iphone, you can't turn the switch on so you can use WinSCP or SemiRestore.

Huh - March 11, 2014 at 11:23pm

How could it be that it takes no power to run? It actively listens on a port for an SSH connection. That means it's a memory resident program, which means it uses cycles listening to the port. Turning SSH off defeats the purpose because you take it out of being loaded and listening for a connection.

Greg - March 11, 2014 at 8:10pm

This is why I read iclarified! Thanks :)