iOS 4.2.1 Untethered Jailbreak Goes Beta

The iPhone Dev Team is looking for brave souls to beta test its new iOS 4.2.1 untethered redsn0w jailbreak. The beta tester phase is open only to iPhone 4, fourth generation iPod touch and iPad owners, but the final shipping version of the hack will be available to older iOS device owners, too.

What? Me worry?Jailbreak beta testing: Only for the brave.

Jailbreaking is the process of hacking an iOS device so third party apps that Apple hasn’t approved for distribution through the App Store can be installed. The untethered jailbreak the iPhone Dev Team is testing doesn’t require users to connect their iOS device to their computer every time it is rebooted to maintain the jailbreak state.

The iPhone Dev Team is warning that this jailbreak is not intended for anyone other than brave beta testers. Bluetooth support has been temporarily disabled, only Mac users can participate, users with unlocked iPhones can’t participate, and the download Web site states “Things can go very wrong, so please don’t even consider testing if you have pictures or other media on your device that you haven’t backed up!”

Users interested in participating in the iOS 4.2.1 jaulbreak beta can learn more at the iPhone Dev-Team Web site.