Certificates and Jailbreak, all you need to know

Pangu hackers have been determined to mess things up as much as possible making this iOS 9.3.3 Jailbreak a real chaos and users do not know why suddenly their Jailbreak fails, how to fix it and what is that to renew the certificate to be able to Jailbreak. We will go step by step, explaining what is this about the certificates, why do some have to be renewed and others not, so that you can finally find out what this botched Jailbreak is about that our friends from Pangu have left us, and if you still want to use it, let you know how it works to avoid problems. 

What are the certificates

Certificates are necessary to be able to sign applications and thus install them on our iPhone or iPad. These certificates are issued directly by Apple, and cannot (in theory) be forged, so there is no other way to get them. There are three types of certificates:

• Free: this novelty was introduced by Apple not long ago so that any user with an Apple ID can install applications on their device, without needing a developer account, and therefore, without having to pay. The certificates that we can get with these free accounts have an expiration of 7 days, after which the application that we have installed will stop working, we will have to generate another certificate and reinstall the application on our device.
• Individual developer: This is the "normal" developer account, It is priced at $ 99 per year and the certificates we get with it last one year. After that time, it happens as in the previous case: you have to renew the certificate and reinstall the application that we have signed with it.
• Business developer: It is the one used by large developer companies, It is priced at $ 299 per year, and like the individual, its certificates last for one year, after which they will have to be renewed.

Certificates and Jailbreak

What do these certificates have to do with jailbreaking our devices? Well what The procedure involves the installation of an application on our iPhone, and for this we must sign it before. That's where the certificate comes into play, and depending on the type of certificate used, that application will stop working 7 days or a year after installing it. Bearing in mind that every time we restart we will "lose" the Jailbreak and we will have to use the application to recover it again, it is necessary for that application to work, so once the certificate expires, it must be renewed and the application reinstalled. Hence the importance of which certificate we use.

Two methods, two certificates.

Right now we have two methods to jailbreak: the original, in Chinese and only for Windows, which installs the «PP» application on our iPhone or iPad, and which uses a business certificate that lasts for one year. Then the other method came out, which is translated into English, also available for Windows, Mac and Linux, using Cydia Impactor, and which uses the account you specify to generate the certificate.

With the Chinese version, By using a business certificate we ensure that the PP application that is installed will last a whole year, so we can forget about having to renew anything. We will only have to bear in mind that being Semitethered, when we restart we will have to run the PP application again so that Cydia works correctly again. Even if Apple revoked this company certificate, it would not affect those who already have the PP application on their iPhone, which will last a year no matter what. In fact, it has already revoked the previous certificate, the one used in version 1.1, and Pangu has released version 1.2 with a new certificate.

With the English version Pangu use our Apple account. If we are developers there will be no problem, because by using our developer account we can generate a certificate that lasts one year, but if we use an account that is not within the developer program, every 7 days we will have to repeat the procedure of signing the application, install it on our iPhone and run it again for Cydia to work.

What method to use?

Both methods are semitethered, that is, with each reboot, the application (PP or Pangu) will have to be used again for Cydia to work. Thus, what interests us is that this application (PP or Pangu) last as long as possible, so the answer is clear: it is advisable to use the original method, even if it is in Chinese and only for Windows. You have the complete tutorial in this article with video included. Even if you are developers, and therefore you can create a certificate valid for one year, would you give this data to Pangu? My advice is no ... but everyone who acts under their responsibility.