Ra1nbox - The portable checkra1n jailbreak solution

Ra1nbox

The portable checkra1n jailbreak solution

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Want to jailbreak on-the-go? Now you can!

Ever wanted to jailbreak on-the-go without a PC, while out camping in the middle of nowhere? Or when riding the bus to work?
With checkra1n you're stuck to a computer to be able to jailbreak. But using this solution, you can take a tiny computer with you to jailbreak wherever you are. Even when somewhere remote, you'd only need a powerbank or other USB type power supply.


Using a NanoPi Neo single-board computer chip, a display and an aluminum case with 3 brass buttons loaded with this software combined with the checkra1n software, you can jailbreak anywhere. The Ra1nbox software powers the display and takes care of the checkra1n part of the software.
This makes this an all-in-one on-the-go type solution.
NO PC NEEDED!

More information on Reddit


Want to use palera1n and checkra1n? Switch to palera1nbox instead!

Build yourself

In order to build this yourself, you need to buy all the parts on the parts list. Once you have everything, head over to the installation instructions.

Parts list

Below are the parts needed to build your own Ra1nbox:

Item Price Supplier / Link Notes
NanoPi Neo1 or Neo2 - starter kit

Includes all needed items:
- NanoHat OLED
- NanoPi metal case + heatsink + foot pads
- Thermal pads
- Micro SD Card 16GB
- Micro-USB cable
±€55,00 Aliexpress
256MB, 512MB or 1GB RAM?
There is no performance increase between 256MB < - > 1GB.

NanoPi Neo2 Black:
The "black" version comes with 1GB of ram and the color of the PCB is BLACK instead of green. This board has been tested and is supported as well.

NanoPi Neo:
The "NanoPi Neo (1)" is supported as of August 2020.
NanoPi Neo1 or NanoPi Neo2 €25,00 See above notes and links
NanoHat OLED €10,00 See above notes and links
NanoPi metal case + heatsink + foot pads €? See above notes and links
Thermal pads €2 Cheap local supplier is advised
Micro SD Card 16GB €10 Cheap local supplier is advised 16GB or higher, class 10 recommended
Micro-USB cable €5 Cheap local supplier is advised

Prices exclude shipping

Video instructions


Installation instructions


Follow these instructions to setup your Ra1nbox using Windows, MacOS or a Linux computer. A computer is needed one-time only for the setup. After that, you don't need a PC anymore.


Recommended software for Windows:

Recommended software for MacOS / Linux:

  • Builtin Terminal for SSH connection
  • balenaEtcher for SD card writing


Last updated: October 18 2024


  1. Download Armbian

    NanoPi Neo1 - download Buster
    https://www.armbian.com/nanopi-neo/
    (bottom of the page, click on "Archived versions")
    NanoPi Neo2 - download Buster
    https://www.armbian.com/nanopi-neo-2/
    (bottom of the page, click on "Archived versions")
    Note: Not sure if you've got a NEO1 or NEO2? Check the FAQ!

  2. Extract and flash image to SD card
    Use Etcher / PiFiller or any other program you can find using Google
  3. Put the SD card in your NanoPi Neo device, find the IP address of your device and connect with SSH
    ssh [email protected]
    Note: The screen will stay black until you've reached the last step in this tutorial!
    Problem: If the device never gets an IP address and both lights under the ethernet port both light up continuously, read the FAQ!

    Log in in with username root and default password 1234, after logging in change the password to ra1nbox

    When being asked to provide a username after changing the default root password, please enter ra1nbox as username and ra1nbox as password.

    Problem: Username 'ra1nbox' contains invalid characters. If you get this error, you've downloaded the wrong version of Armbian. Go back to step #1 and try again!

    Press enter several times when Armbian starts to behave like your overly attached girlfriend and asks you silly questions like "What is your room number" Just leave it blank/default and do not answer it! (protip: don't do that with your actual girlfriend though)

  4. Update / Upgrade
    sudo apt-get update
    sudo apt-get upgrade
  5. Install i2c tools, GIT, pillow, smbus, pip and armbian-config
    sudo apt-get install i2c-tools git vim armbian-config python3-dev python3-pil python3-smbus python3-pip python3-serial
  6. Turn on I2C module loading
    sudo armbian-config
    Menu System > Hardware > enable i2c0
    Save and reboot
  7. Login using username root and password ra1nbox
    ssh [email protected]
  8. See if i2c works and check if output is i2c-0
    sudo i2cdetect -l

    If you don't see i2c-0 as output, you've fucked something up. Go back and try above steps again :)

  9. Install needed libraries
    sudo pip3 install --upgrade setuptools
    sudo pip3 install sh
    sudo pip3 install wheel
    sudo pip3 install psutil
  10. Install checkra1n dependancies
    sudo apt install libc6 libncurses5 libpango-1.0-0 libpangocairo-1.0-0 libpangoft2-1.0-0 libatk1.0-0 libgdk-pixbuf2.0-0 libglib2.0-0 libfontconfig1 libfreetype6 libgtk-3-0 libusb-1.0-0 libplist3 usbmuxd ideviceinstaller python-imobiledevice libimobiledevice-utils python-plist ifuse libusbmuxd-tools
    Problem: missing dependencies? Try to replace 'python-imobiledevice' & 'python-plist' for 'python3-imobiledevice' & 'python3-plist'

  11. Create a new file by editing /usr/local/bin/oled-start
    vim /usr/local/bin/oled-start

    Then paste all of below contents

    FILE=/home/ra1nbox/ra1nbox/update.zip
    if [ -f "$FILE" ]; then
        # Unzip update to Ra1nbox folder and force overwrite existing files
        unzip -o $FILE -d /home/ra1nbox/ra1nbox
    
        # Remove update file
        rm -f $FILE
    fi
    
    # Start Ra1nbox software
    cd /home/ra1nbox/ra1nbox
    ./NanoHatOLED
    
  12. Add yourself to the root group and correct rights on oled-start to be sure
    usermod -a ra1nbox -G root
    chmod 755 /usr/local/bin/oled-start
  13. Add to rc.local file to make sure everything auto-starts at boot
    sed -i -e '$i \/usr/local/bin/oled-start\n' /etc/rc.local
  14. Download the Ra1nbox software to your NanoPi Neo1 or Neo2

    NanoPi Neo1
    mkdir /home/ra1nbox/ra1nbox
    wget https://updates.ra1nbox.com/download32 -O /home/ra1nbox/ra1nbox/update.zip
    NanoPi Neo2
    mkdir /home/ra1nbox/ra1nbox
    wget https://updates.ra1nbox.com/download -O /home/ra1nbox/ra1nbox/update.zip

    If you get a connection error, 403 forbidden or anything related to that. Please manually download the update.zip file and upload it by using SFTP to directory "/home/ra1nbox/ra1nbox/".

  15. Reboot Ra1nbox and you should be ready to go!
    sudo reboot

    Note: first boot time is about 1 to 2 minutes! After that it shouldn't be more than 30 seconds. If you don't see the Ra1nbox logo after about 2 minutes or the screen doesn't function correctly, please read the FAQ.

  16. Check for updates
    Go to the Options menu and then select Check for updates to make sure you're running the latest version of Ra1nbox and checkra1n software.

Thank you so much for using Ra1nbox!
Hopefully you've got a fully working Ra1nbox device now thanks to my software, checkra1n software and written and/or video instructions made by me.





BUY NOW - Installation service

If you don't have the experience working with Linux, NanoPi or technical stuff in general or rather would like to have a plug-and-play solution, this is the best option for you.

Ra1nbox

What you will be paying for:
- I will buy all the parts required for Ra1nbox to work
- The metal case will be assembled by me
- Linux Raspbian OS will be installed and configured
- All the connections to the display will be setup
- All the required software will be installed and configured
- Shipping a ready-to-go Jailbreak device to your doorstep
- No PC needed!


Not included:
- Micro-USB cable
- Lightning cable
- iPhone :)

eBay    Bitcoin    Ethereum



FAQ

  • What do the menu options do?
    • Verbose mode
      Boot the iPhone into verbose boot mode using checkra1n
    • Safe mode
      Jailbroken, but prevents tweaks from loading
    • Auto shutdown
      After jailbreaking, auto shutdown the Ra1nbox. Otherwise return home. Turn this option off if you want to jailbreak multiple devices
    • System info
      Shows Ra1nbox version, checkra1n version, CPU load, CPU temperature, IP address
    • Check for updates
      See the Updates section

  • The Ra1nbox hangs during the jailbreak process!
    Can't do much about that since checkra1n is still in beta. But in order to safely shutdown, 'force quit' option was added in Ra1nbox version 1.1:
    During the checkra1n process, remove the lightning cable and then press F3 3x times to force quit checkra1n and go back to the main menu. Be sure to restart the Ra1nbox before trying a new jailbreak attempt!

  • My screen stays black, after updating the Ra1nbox
    Make sure you've added the ra1nbox user to the root group, then restart the ra1nbox:
    usermod -a ra1nbox -G root
  • System info says "Checkra1n rights error! Please read FAQ on site"
    This means the checkra1n file can't be read. This can be because you manually updated the file and gave the wrong permissions. Or because you've missed a step during the initial setup.
    You can fix the error by changing the rights to /home/ra1nbox/ra1nbox/checkra1n. Either by using SFTP or through SSH which below command:
    chmod 777 /home/ra1nbox/ra1nbox/checkra1n
  • The display and/or buttons don't work correctly, when trying to run for the first time
    You probably missed one of the commands. First thing to do is to run the history command:
    history
    Using this command, you can see which commands you've run before. And thus make sure you've followed every step. If you're sure, also check the output of the /usr/local/bin/oled-start file is the same as in the instructions above, step #11:
    cat /usr/local/bin/oled-start
    If the output you get here is not the same as in step #11. Run step #11 again, either editing the file or removing (rm /usr/local/bin/oled-start) the file first. If the display still doesn't work, run command #12 again to make sure you have the correct rights.
    If after all of those steps, the display still doesn't work. It's best to start over from step #1. Make sure you follow all instuctions exactly like it's being shown in the video tutorial. Also make sure you are installing the correct software for Neo1 or Neo2 since there is a difference in both.

  • After the jailbreaking starts, the display/jailbreak stays in a loop (and optionally reboots iPhone into normal mode)
    Try different cable

  • I'm stuck at step #3, the device never gets an IP address and both lights under the ethernet port both light up continuously
    You tried to flash the NanoPi Neo2 image onto a NanoPi Neo1. Please double check if you actually have a NanoPi Neo2 (read FAQ on how to do that). And then flash the correct image from step #1.

  • My Ra1nbox worked perfectly before, but the screen stays black (or only shows ra1nbox logo) no matter how long I wait (but the red light on the back works)
    This means you didn't use the 'Safe shutdown' menu and probably pulled the USB power cable out of the back of the Ra1nbox at a certain point. This would be the equivalent of pulling the power cable from a running PC instead of safely shutting it down. Meaning the SD card is now corrupt. Even if you think you didn't do this, then probably the USB power supply stopped supply power midway or something else happend to the power which in the end corrupted your SD card. Or... your SD card sucks.

    There are 2 options to fix this:
    Option 1a. Connect the Ra1nbox to an ethernet cable. Find the IP and connect using SSH (so basically step #3 from above instructions). Then run this command to restore all files:
    NanoPi Neo1:
    wget https://updates.ra1nbox.com/download32 -O /home/ra1nbox/ra1nbox/update.zip
    NanoPi Neo2:
    wget https://updates.ra1nbox.com/download -O /home/ra1nbox/ra1nbox/update.zip
    And reboot the Ra1nbox to see if this fixed the issue:
     sudo reboot
    Option 1b. If '1a' didn't fix the issue, you need to rebuild the SD card completly, starting again from step #1.

    Option 2. Anther option would be to contact me for a replacement SD card for a small fee. I'll send you an SD card by mail.

  • How do I know if I have the NanoPi Neo 1 or Neo 2?

    Working Ra1nbox with version 2.2 or higher:
    Go to menu 'Options' and select 'System info.' Check the value behind 'ARCH':

    armv7l = NanoPi Neo1, 32bit AllWinner H3 SOC
    aarch64 = NanoPi Neo2, 64bit AllWinner H5 SOC

    No working Ra1nbox or version 2.1 or lower:
    Open up the NanoPi. On the bottom of the second board (so not on the bottom of the first board, which is only an OLED) it should state "H5" for NanoPi Neo2 or "H3" for NanoPi Neo1.

    If you don't want to open up the case, you could also check by running the command:
    sudo uname -m
    armv7l = NanoPi Neo1, 32bit AllWinner H3 SOC
    aarch64 = NanoPi Neo2, 64bit AllWinner H5 SOC

  • On Ra1nbox version 2.2 or higher, how can I enable "Skip A11 BPR check" to jailbreak an A11 device on iOS14?
    You can't. This option currently only exists in the GUI version of checkra1n on either MacOS or Linux. For Ra1nbox we need this option in the Linux CLI version.
    Update: according to the Checkra1n team, "the Skip A11 BPR check" is enabled by default on the CLI version of Checkra1n. And that is the version that Ra1nbox uses. So this should work now but untested by me.

  • Is this software open source?
    No. The software is free for personal use only. Meaning, you can't sell my software or anything that comes with my software included.
    For more information, contact me or see the license disclaimer at the bottom of this page.

  • My Ra1nbox says "-Ra1nbox BLOCKED- sold by unauthorized seller, contact ra1nbox.com"
    The Ra1nbox software license only accepts personal use. Contact me to unblock your Ra1nbox.

Updates

  1. Connect the Ra1nbox to an ethernet cable
  2. Go to the Options menu and then select Check for updates
  3. If an update is available, it's shown on the screen including a small changelog. Select Yes to auto-update on the next reboot or No to cancel


Latest Twitter updates



Changelog

The idea is that if checkra1n comes with an update, I'll provide an updated package for all Ra1nbox users.
This makes updating the Ra1nbox really easy:

  • 2.3.1 (Neo2 / 64bit only) - Fixed broken recovery mode (10 May 2021)

    Same bugfix as in version 2.2.2, recovery mode should be fixed now

  • 2.3 - Support for iOS 14.5 (1 May 2021)

    Updated checkra1n to version 0.12.3 which adds iOS 14.5 support.

  • 2.2.2 (Neo2 / 64bit only) - Bugfix (10 November 2020)

    Bugfix in the Ra1nbox 2.2 software on NanoPi Neo2 / 64bit only. This caused the recovery mode to not be working, DFU counter keeps on resetting. This has been fixed.

  • 2.2 - iOS 14.1 & 14.2 support + stability improvements (9 November 2020)

    Updated checkra1n to 0.12.0 which added iOS 14.1 and 14.2 support.

    - When using the 'force quit mode' which was added in Ra1nbox 1.1 by pressing 3x F3, the Ra1nbox now auto-reboots. During reboot, the screen can be unresponsive. Please wait until the Ra1nbox has rebooted to prevent SD card corruption!
    - The menu 'Options > System info' now shows the architecture of the device you're using. This could come in handy when you want to know if you got a NanoPi Neo1 or Neo2.
    - The menu 'Options > System info' system load is now removed as it has been replaced by above option. Who needs that anyway
    - A known bug is fixed where Ra1nbox refused to boot checkra1n when no settings were set in 'Options' menu.

    The following devices are added to the iOS 14 support list:
    • iPhone 7 and 7 Plus
    • iPad 6th and 7th generation
    • iPad Pro 2nd generation
    • iPod touch 7

    Devices that will support iOS 14 in the near future:
    • iPhone 8, 8 Plus, and X

  • 2.1 - Partial iOS 14 support + iOS 13.7 support (22 September 2020)

    Updated checkra1n to 0.11.0 which added iOS 13.7 support + partial iOS 14 support.

    The following devices will support iOS 14 jailbreak using Ra1nbox 2.1:
    • iPhone 6s, 6s Plus, and SE
    • iPad 5th generation
    • iPad Air 2
    • iPad mini 4
    • iPad Pro 1st generation
    • Apple TV 4 and 4K

    Devices that will support iOS 14 in a couple of weeks:
    • iPhone 7 and 7 Plus
    • iPad 6th and 7th generation
    • iPad Pro 2nd generation
    • iPod touch 7

    Devices that will support iOS 14 in the near future:
    • iPhone 8, 8 Plus, and X

    More information about this, see the statement on the checkra1n website.

  • 2.0 - Added recovery mode (12 July 2020)

    Big update thanks to @MiscMisty. This adds the 'most wanted feature': Recovery Mode!
    This means you can now Jailbreak using 2 methods: original 'Normal mode > DFU mode > Jailbroken' or 'Normal mode > Recovery mode > DFU mode > Jailbroken'. Both methods are now supported.
    This update also includes a lot of code improvements making the software more stable and use less resources.

    Note: after updating, the Ra1nbox will reboot to install system updates. Please do not unplug the power and WAIT until you see the "Make it ra1n" screen!

  • 1.3 - Updated checkra1n to 0.10.2 (24 May 2020)

    Updated checkra1n to 0.10.2 which added iOS/iPadOS 13.5 support.

  • 1.2 - Updated checkra1n to 0.10.1 (9 April 2020)

    Updated checkra1n to 0.10.1 which added 13.4 and 13.4.1 support.
    Also some users reported issues when manually updating. Increased the error logging in the 'Options > System info' menu which will now tell you if your checkra1n file has incorrect rights.

  • 1.1 - Added option to force quit checkra1n (4 March 2020)

    Some users reported that sometimes the jailbreak process hangs for whatever reason. This makes the Options and Safe-exit menu unavailable. The only way to shut down was to remove the power cable, meaning the SD card could be corrupted.
    To use the force quit mode: remove the lightning cable and press F3 3x times during the checkra1n process. The Ra1nbox will restart to the main screen so you can now safely shutdown. In order to jailbreak again, a minimum of 1 reboot is required after using the force shutdown function!

  • 1.0 - Initial release
    Based on checkra1n 0.9.8
Manual update/downgrade:

If you want to manually upgrade or downgrade for whatever reason, follow these instructions:

  • Download checkra1n arm/arm64 version from the checkra1n website
  • Connect to your Ra1nbox using either SFTP or WGET method listed below:
  • SFTP (easiest method): Use an FTP client like Filezilla and connect using SFTP method with above credentials
  • WGET: Make a SSH connection using Terminal on MacOS or for example Putty on Windows
  • Browse to the /home/ra1nbox/ra1nbox folder and replace the existing checkra1n file
  • Set rights to chmod 777 to make sure both regular and root user can read the file. Either using SFTP or SSH (see FAQ)

Known issues

  • iPhone X requires verbose mode to be set in order to successfully jailbreak. This is a known checkra1n issue.
  • When jailbreaking is done, checkra1n throws 'usbmux' errors. This is (probably) because checkra1n is still in beta. These 'errors' can be ignored as they are merely 'warnings'. To force quit checkra1n after jailbreaking, see the FAQ: "The Ra1nbox hangs during the jailbreak process!"
  • Ra1nbox version 2.x: disabling verbose mode AND safe mode leads to checkra1n getting stuck on booting. This is a known bug. Fixed in Ra1nbox 2.2
  • Touchscreen does not work on some occasions ("swipe up to unlock" etc.). Restart phone in normal mode and re-jailbreak. Fixed in Ra1nbox 2.0

Contact

Got any questions related to the Ra1nbox project? Contact me using one of the methods below.
Note: I do not provide first line of support. In other words; ask the community for help. If you really can't figure out the solution, contact me so I can see how/if I can help.


License

Software
This software is free for personal use ONLY. You are free to alter my software as long as you refer to this website as the original source. Do not redistribute and/or sell my software without written consent. This includes selling a device that comes with my software pre-installed. Once again: this software is free for personal use ONLY.
For business inquiries or to discuss the possibility to distribute and/or sell my software as a reseller, contact me using the methods above.
Images
You are free to publish Ra1nbox related images on your website without changing anything as long as you refer to this website as the original source. Other than changing the image(s) dimensions, do not add, alter or in any other way change the image(s).