@PhiloBanana Yes, you should be able to, but I will forewarn you that it will not be a simple or easy process. If you're up for an adventure and learning a bit about how iOS exploits works:
You will need to use an Arduino Uno and a USB Host Shield debugger device to leverage a BootROM exploit present on Apple A5 SoCs called
checkm8-a5.
Be aware the prep for this exploit involves soldering (on the USB Host Shield, not internally on the iPod). It will also require that you have access to a Mac or Hackintosh capable of running at least macOS 10.9 Mavericks (look into OpenCore Legacy Patcher for info on bumping an old Intel Mac to a newer version of macOS. Macs as old as 2007 can be patched and can be found on Ebay for cheap). Lastly, to make your own job easier pulling off the exploit, make sure to purchase a USB Host Shield that has
headers pre-installed on the board, so you can plug in the Arduino directly.
Once you have finished applying the exploit you should be able to delete iOS's Setup.app from the iPod's filesystem, which will bypass the activation lock and get you into the home screen.
Detailed instructions on using the
checkm8-a5 exploit can be found here:
iOS CFW Guide - Using checkm8-a5
NOTE: Don't use or trust any products or sites advertising they can perform a bypass like this unless they are listed on trusted hacking resource sites like
ios.cfw.guide or
theiphonewiki.com, and don't ever pay for a service like this unless you know for a fact you are paying a real human to perform the process for you and you are okay with that because you don't feel comfortable attempting it yourself. Things like this, as most exploits published by the community, are open source and well documented for everyone to use for free.
CAUTION: There is a non-zero risk of hard bricking your device when using a BootROM exploit like this if you are not careful or it is not done properly. You should also know that using a BootROM exploit like checkm8 or checkra1n to bypass the iCloud Activation lock on a device can leave the device in a
Tethered state, meaning you may have to re-run the exploit to fully boot up the device after a shutdown or restart. This is because deleting core system files from iOS (such as Setup.app) can lead to signature verification checks on the filesystem by the boot loader failing, requiring the exploit to be re-applied the next time the device boots so those verification checks can be disabled to allow iOS to finish booting.
If the device is running iOS 9.3.4 or earlier,
do not update your iOS on the device, restore the device, or otherwise reinstall iOS!
On any firmware prior to iOS 9.3.5, once you have bypassed the activation lock and can get to the Home Screen, you can apply a jailbreak such as Carbon (
iOS CFW Guide - Using Carbon) or EverPwng (
iOS CFW Guide - Installing EverPWNG) to
Untether the device by installing a coldboot exploit that keeps the device perpetually jailbroken, which automatically bypasses those bootloader verification checks I mentioned earlier.
Good luck, and happy hacking!
