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If i erase the phone from settings, will that remove jailbreak from privious owner?

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baronsull1

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 12, 2018
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Hi. I have a question i need to ask about iphone x my mom recently bought from friends. Now i myself am Apple user for some time now but i am not really a tech guy. When we took the phone i used Erase everything option from settings on the device. That restored it to factory settings with the white welcome screen. My mom set up the phone as new, created apple id and she is now using her social media and work accounts. Recently we noticed that someone tried to access one of her accounts (it has two factor authentication so the intruder couldn;t get in) We changed the password ofcourse but that never happened to any of us. Ofcourse, she sometimes gets in her accounts from work so someone from there may somehow got it, since she uses quite simple passwords. Anyways i started to wonder if it's possible the iphone to have been jailbroken? I've read about it and i now realize that we were suppose to recover the devices through Itunes, like totally reinstall the firmware. Instead, we only used the settings erase option. The phone belong to a friendly family's kid so he probably is aware of these things.
So, to make the question simple, is what we used- Erase everything from settings, and since it worked and the phone started as new, do we need to worry that it may still been jailbroken?
Thanks :)
 
Download the latest version of iOS to you computer. Use iTunes to restore the full version of iOS and don’t restore from backup.
 
That i will,although my mom refuse to give up her phone. Apart from that she already logged to all her accounts so she will problably need to change all the password.
Now i will tell her to do that, but still do you really think there is danger that the iphone may still be jailbroken even after it succesfully was erased and restored as new? I mean from what i read it will cause the phone to stuck on the apple logo if it was jailbroken and i try to erase it? Or it doesn't work like that. Do you believe there is a even slightest chance that even that we erased the phone and set it as brand new, it could still be jailbroken?
 
baronsull1 said:
That i will,although my mom refuse to give up her phone. Apart from that she already logged to all her accounts so she will problably need to change all the password.
Now i will tell her to do that, but still do you really think there is danger that the iphone may still be jailbroken even after it succesfully was erased and restored as new? I mean from what i read it will cause the phone to stuck on the apple logo if it was jailbroken and i try to erase it? Or it doesn't work like that. Do you believe there is a even slightest chance that even that we erased the phone and set it as brand new, it could still be jailbroken?
Click to expand...
Do a DFU Reset if you are worried, google the process. Put it into DFU Mode, plug the phone in, on itunes update and download the lastest iOS version. Enjoy new phone
 
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The thing is my mom says as long as the phone came with the welcome screen she doesnt want me to touch it up. So basically do you believe there is chance that the phone can return to factory settings and remain jailbroken? Is this possible, because apart from doing Itunes restore i would also need to change all passwords of the accounts she used on her phone, becuase if the was jailbroken and bugged, i cant take chances.
So have you ever encountered jailbreak that will survive the settings Erase option?
 
Jailbreaking a phone compromises the security. You don’t know what was on it as you bought it used. If you’re worried about the security of the device then you need to wipe it. Use the DFU method that has been mentioned, it’s the best method to put the phone back to factory standard. Outside of that we really can’t say if the device is compromised or not.
 
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No it was not jailbroken.

If you used reset all content and settings on a jailbroken device, you would not be seeing a welcome screen. Instead you’d be greeted with infinite boot loop.

So no it was not jailbroken.
 
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I’d tell your mom she would be wise to change all her passwords to ones that are more secure instead of easy to guess. Even if you DFU restore, someone who has her password or passwords will still be able to mess with her data. As @EM2013 stated, if you saw the welcome screen when you booted up, it’s not jailbroken
 
Absolutely it came with the Welcome screen, and just to be 100% i started it, didn't set it up and directly Erase everything again just to make sure. The devices restored itself to welcome screen all over again and then we've set it up. Also, i know that if the device is jailbroken, the update screen stucks on checking for update, instead, her's shows its up to date till the last update. The account that was tried to be breached was working one so people from her work may know the password. She changed it ofcouse. I was just worried if it was possible somehow that friends family kid to have somehow hacked the device but as you suggested there should be no need for itunes rocovery, if it was me i would at the moment but she believes she is safe. Thats why i need to be sure asking here :)
 
Mabus51 said:
Jailbreaking a phone compromises the security. You don’t know what was on it as you bought it used. If you’re worried about the security of the device then you need to wipe it. Use the DFU method that has been mentioned, it’s the best method to put the phone back to factory standard. Outside of that we really can’t say if the device is compromised or not.
Click to expand...
It does.

But once an Erase and Install happens a jailbreak gets broken at most and wiped at best.

In other words, do an Erase and Install and a jailbreak will not survive the process. Unless, of course, OP's mother is a government target for surveillance which would then involve military and professional grade software that is hardened against this.
[doublepost=1523717798][/doublepost]
EM2013 said:
If you used reset all content and settings on a jailbroken device, you would not be seeing a welcome screen. Instead you’d be greeted with infinite boot loop.
Click to expand...
This was true of jailbreaks from iOS 6 to iOS 9.1. But everything since 9.1 is a semi-untethered jailbreak. Meaning a device on those firmwares boots in an unjailbroken state and an app is then run to jailbreak it on the device.

Hence an Erase and Install won't cause a bootloop on these devices.

As a method to wipe a jailbreak though it's the least desirable. DFU mode, restore and upgrade is the method I much prefer.
 
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eyoungren said:
It does.

But once an Erase and Install happens a jailbreak gets broken at most and wiped at best.

In other words, do an Erase and Install and a jailbreak will not survive the process. Unless, of course, OP's mother is a government target for surveillance which would then involve military and professional grade software that is hardened against this.
[doublepost=1523717798][/doublepost]
This was true of jailbreaks from iOS 6 to iOS 9.1. But everything since 9.1 is a semi-untethered jailbreak. Meaning a device on those firmwares boots in an unjailbroken state and an app is then run to jailbreak it on the device.

Hence an Erase and Install won't cause a bootloop on these devices.

As a method to wipe a jailbreak though it's the least desirable. DFU mode, restore and upgrade is the method I much prefer.
Click to expand...

Hi there. So when you erase all content and restore factory settings from SETTINGS on IOS later than 9.1, it will simply break or wipe the jailbreak, there is no way the device to remain jailbroken or any cracked apps to reappear after that?
I understand that The itunes Recovery is the best but we already erased it the old-fashioned way and mother refuses to give away the device. She is not government targeted, but a local doctor and someone hacking her around isn't the best thing that could happen to her. The previous owner of the device was spoiled kid our family friends, so i kinda dont trust him that much.
[doublepost=1523730543][/doublepost]Also, i read that 11.3.1 is coming really soon, if she manages to update OVER THE AIR, will that prove no jailbreak exists and clear it up anyway?
 
baronsull1 said:
Hi there. So when you erase all content and restore factory settings from SETTINGS on IOS later than 9.1, it will simply break or wipe the jailbreak, there is no way the device to remain jailbroken or any cracked apps to reappear after that?
I understand that The itunes Recovery is the best but we already erased it the old-fashioned way and mother refuses to give away the device. She is not government targeted, but a local doctor and someone hacking her around isn't the best thing that could happen to her. The previous owner of the device was spoiled kid our family friends, so i kinda dont trust him that much.
[doublepost=1523730543][/doublepost]Also, i read that 11.3.1 is coming really soon, if she manages to update OVER THE AIR, will that prove no jailbreak exists and clear it up anyway?
Click to expand...
You said your phone was up to date which is 11.3 and there is no jailbreak for 11.3 so it is not jailbroken.
 
Its up to date. But i freaked out when you said that Erase everything from settings may not be enough. I can't imagine how can the device preform the settings erase, show up with the Holla screen and still be jailbroken. If the firmware was compromised, there is no way in my mind it can remain compromised after erase and reset all setings (Done from Settings). It will either fail to erase (stuck somewhere), or it will wipe it and restarts as new. If it successfully happened, ins't that secure enough?
 
Guys thanks for the help but i still cant understand if there is a ground to worry. The phone was never compromised and we never did anything on it from the moment we've set it up. Before that we erased it from settings till the welcome screen appeared.
I am asking simply if there is any danger the phone to be still jailbroken (if it was at all) after that factory erase. Is there any point of me wiping it again from itunes if its not possible to survive the erase everything option. I am having no other concerns about the device or passwords :)
 
baronsull1 said:
I am asking simply if there is any danger the phone to be still jailbroken (if it was at all) after that factory erase.
Click to expand...

Again, there is no jailbreak for 11.3

The phone is not jailbroken and never was.
 
EM yes i understand that. I am asking more of curiousity right now. Lets say i buy a used iphone in future, that comes with the welcoming screan In this case is there any need to recover it through itunes, is it possible the phone to come as new and still be jailbroken somehow? I don't think it could be possible, even if it comes with older IOS?
 
baronsull1 said:
So basically do you believe there is chance that the phone can return to factory settings and remain jailbroken?
Click to expand...

i've seen hundreds of jailbroken phones and I've never seen one that would actually erase using "Erase all settings" and correctly reboot.

your mother likely got shoulder surfed or phished.

if you are worried about future phones somehow magically having a jailbreak that steals your passwords then you need to restore it before you load your info.
 
But doesn't newest version of jailbreak survive the erase all settings?
[doublepost=1524451677][/doublepost]I belive the repair guys from my mobile carrier hacked my device when they restored my firmware because i was angry towards them when i left the device i suspect they did it as revenge but i have no MAC or PC to restore again
 
Wait. Instead of doing restore trhough Itunes, wchich i wont because i dont trust my computer, is it possible for me to wait till summer or whenever 13.4 arrives. Updating to 13.4 if it works that means no jailbreak is still active right? Is it possible for the jailbreak to survive Over the air update? No i think. So i need to wait till 13.4 before singin in with my social media accounts, but can i be sure then?
 
peterlockee said:
Wait. Instead of doing restore trhough Itunes, wchich i wont because i dont trust my computer, is it possible for me to wait till summer or whenever 13.4 arrives. Updating to 13.4 if it works that means no jailbreak is still active right? Is it possible for the jailbreak to survive Over the air update? No i think. So i need to wait till 13.4 before singin in with my social media accounts, but can i be sure then?
Click to expand...

13.4??? dude we are on iOS 11. you won't see 13 anything until Fall 2020
 
Sorry i meant 11.4. Will updating to 11.4, and after that erasing the settings again assure me that everything is gone, even governmental level spywares? Becuase i've never heard of jailbreak surviving update. Even android rooting is disabled when you securely update the firmware?
 
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