How to Restore to iOS 8.1.2 To iPhone Without Losing Jailbreak

By Prateek

| Published: Tuesday, February 17, 2015, 18:33 [IST]

If you need to restore your iPhone, but can't afford to lose your jailbreak (especially since iOS 8.1.3 isn't jailbreakable), here's how to restore your iPhone without losing your iOS 8.1.2 jailbreak.

Whether you want to just start from the beginning, you're selling your jailbroken iPhone, or you haywired something up on the software end, you'll want to completely restore the device. However, restoring your iPhone through iTunes will force you to update to iOS 8.1.3, and since this latest update isn't jailbreakable yet, you'll want to stick with iOS 8.1.2.

Semi-Restore and iLEX RAT are two of the best options to use when it comes to wiping your iPhone while keeping the jailbreak intact, and I'll show you how to use these apps to restore your iPhone within minutes without destroying the jailbreak.

Luckily, there's a way to restore your iPhone while keeping your iOS 8.1.2 jailbreak intact.

Semi-Restore

All you need to do is download the Semi-Restore program onto your computer and run it with your iPhone plugged in.

Restore

Once the Semi-Restore program is downloaded, extract the .ZIP folder and you'll see that there are two files. One is a .DLL file and the other is an .EXE file. Double-click on the .EXE file to open up the program. Make sure your iPhone is plugged in and then click Restore.

Done

Let the program do its thing, and your iPhone will eventually reboot and restore. You'll then see the iOS Setup Assistant appear to indicate the device has been officially restored to factory settings, while still keeping the jailbreak intact.

iLex RAT

Install iLEX RAT from Cydia. To do this, you'll need to add a repo first, if you don't already have it. Open up Cydia and tap on the Sources tab at the bottom, then tap Edit in the top-right corner. Now tap Add in the top-left corner and type in the following URL into the text box: http://cydia.myrepospace.com/ilexinfo/. Tap on Add Source to officially add it to your repo list.

Restore

Now search for iLEX RAT in Cydia and several options should pop up. Be sure to select the one that just says iLEX R.A.T.. Once installed, open up the app and tap on iLEX RESTORE to begin the restoring process. You'll get a warning pop-up that tells you that you'll lose all of your data and settings. If you're okay with this, just tap Yes to begin the process.

Reboot

Your iPhone will reboot and you'll eventually be brought to the iOS Setup Assistant. Go through this process to get to the home screen and make sure that you see the Cydia icon on the home screen. Sometimes, iLEX RAT will hide the icon for some reason, but it will still be installed.