The team that created the Checkra1n” jailbreaking tool for iOS claims to have successfully used the tool to jailbreak Apple’s HomePod smart speaker. The announcement raises questions about the possibilities of the HomePod’s hacking potential.
MacRumors reports the news was announced via a tweet post by Twitter user L1ngL1ng, who shared a screenshot of a macOS Terminal window that appears to show command line root access to the HomePod over a secure shell (SSH) connection.
Hello Homepod, meet checkra1n.
Huge thanks to @DanyL931 for helping to get this running. pic.twitter.com/FjH7253RFR
— L1ngL1ng (@_L1ngL1ng_) November 19, 2020
The screenshot indicates the jailbroken device is an original 2018 HomePod model (with the identifier AudioAccessory 1,1), not a new HomePod mini (AudioAccessory 5,1). The original HomePod is powered by an Apple-made A8 chip, which is the same processor that powered the iPhone 6.
The development had kicked off speculation online as to what it means as to the practical possibilities of jailbreaking a HomePod.
So far, commenters have had ideas such as opening up the speaker’s locked-down Bluetooth connectivity, displaying customer colors on the device’s top screen, replacing Siri with a rival virtual assistant, and more.
