Apple on Monday released iOS & iPadOS 18.1 beta 5 — the latest iteration of the pre-release of iOS & iPadOS 18.1 firmware with minor tweaks and enhancements for end users. But one other thing that hardly went unnoticed was that it patches the SparseRestore exploit.
The news, first shared in a post on X (formerly Twitter) by MisakaX co-developer Huy Nguyen (@Little_34306), comes not long after last week’s official public release of iOS & iPadOS 18.
SparseRestore, which first made its appearance in the community in TrollRestore as the world’s first public installation method for the TrollStore perma-signing utility for iOS & iPadOS 17.0, has been used in countless other projects to promote device customization without a jailbreak, including MisakaX, Nugget, and Nugget Mobile, among others.
What today’s news means is that iOS & iPadOS 18.1 beta 4 is the last firmware that will be supported by SparseRestore and all dependent hacks and add-ons. That said, making similar modifications to iOS & iPadOS 18.1 beta 5 and later will not be possible without an entirely new exploit. This includes the forthcoming iOS & iPadOS 18.1 final release, launching later this Fall.
If you’re using a firmware that supports SparseRestore, it’s recommended that you avoid software updates and keep using the firmware you’re on so that you can take advantage of the hacks and add-ons that the exploit enables as Apple has made downgrading firmware a real challenge on modern devices due to the firmware signing scheme.
Are you upset to see that SparseRestore has already been patched? Let us know in the comments section down below.
