Happy days for Jailbreakers. iOS hacker MuscleNerd has sent out a tweet confirming that iOS 5.1 has been jailbroken.

For die-hard non-A5 JBers only, redsn0w now supports a tethered 5.1 jailbreak.See update #1 is.gd/4D1FSK

— MuscleNerd (@MuscleNerd) March 8, 2012

A few issues though: it’s a tethered jailbreak (for now) and only works with non-A5 devices such as the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4.

To the hack we go!

So, qualifying A4 iDevices include: iPhone 4, the original iPad and iPod touch (both third and fourth gen). “Tell us Gearburn, what do we have to do?” I hear your pleas, and this our answer.

Incidentally, these steps are exactly the same as our previous iOS 5.0.1 jailbreak piece. Oh, and before we begin…

Gearburn takes NO responsibility for any iDevices which are “bricked” during the jailbreak process. This is done at your risk, not ours.

1. Download your corresponding iOS 5.1 IPSW (iPhone software) from here.
2. Grab RedSn0w (the Jailbreaking app) from here. Or here if you have a Mac.
3. Plug your iDevice into the computer.
4. Load RedSn0w, hit up to “extras” and add the original IPSW via “select IPSW”. Hint: it’s the large file you just downloaded.
5. After this, go back and hit “Jailbreak”.
6. You’ll be asked to boot the device into DFU mode. If you need help doing this, follow these steps.
7. RedSn0w will begin to work its magic and inject the official IPSW with the goodness of jailbreak.

If the process messes up at any point, simply restart the iDevice by holding the power and home button at the same time for a few seconds. Yes, it looks daunting but it’s pretty simple if you keep a clear head.

Some obligatory warnings:

This is a tethered jailbreak, which means every time you want to reset your iDevice, you’ll have to plug it in to your computer and select “just boot”. It’s a minor irritation which will most likely be removed in the days to come.

Have an old-bootrom 3GS? Then you are one of the lucky few whose jailbreak will automatically become un-tethered.

Do you need to use Ultrasn0w for carrier unlock? Then use “Custom IPSW” in Redsn0w. Do this for safeties sakes if you need to preserve your baseband.

Finally, iBooks isn’t going to work anymore. Just something to consider.

iOS 5.1 has been out for less than a day and it’s already been cracked wide open, thanks interwebs. Hit us up in the comments if you run into any problems. Further details can be found on on this iDevice dev blog.