Re-enable DFU mode detection in Mac OS X 10.5.6

01 Feb 2009 0 Comments

Update 2009/08/10: Please note that the DFU Mode Detection bug was fixed in later releases of the operating system; this process isn’t required on Mac OS X 10.5.7 and onwards.

Part of the iPhone Jailbreak / Unlock process requires that the iPhone be put into DFU Mode to install the custom firmware created by PwnageTool:

Hold the Sleep / Wake and Home buttons for exactly 10 seconds, then let go of the Sleep / Wake button but keep holding down the Home button until iTunes picks up the device.

As of Mac OS X 10.5.6 Apple disabled DFU Mode detection. If you’ve Jailbroken / Unlocked your iPhone with PwnageTool before, you can install new custom firmware packages by putting the device into Recovery mode:

Connect the iPhone to iTunes, then switch the device off. Hold down the Sleep / Wake and Home buttons until you see a logo appear, then release the Sleep / Wake button but keep holding down the Home button until iTunes picks up the device.

However, if you’re Jailbreaking / Unlocking a fresh iPhone, DFU Mode is a necessity and you’ll need to use a workaround to enable it.

You can try connecting the iPhone to your Mac through a USB hub, although this only seems to work sometimes. If iTunes is still unable to detect the device, you’ll need to revert your IOUSBFamily Kernel Extension to the version used in OS X 10.5.5.

A good explanation of how to go through this process is available on iClarified.com. Keep in mind that even though the Automator script mentioned on iClarified makes a backup of the original 10.5.6 AppleUSBHub.kext and IOUSBCompositeDriver.kext files on your Desktop, performing such system modifications without proper technical knowledge could be dangerous.

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