Image from gadgetscrunch.com

Last week, I got an iPod touch 2G; fresh out of the box, factory defaults. So I loaded up some songs and started listening right away. However, after stumbling across various weblogs and forums discussing the greener grass on the jailbroken side, I decided to give it a try myself. Of course, I ran to some trouble during my first tries, but after a few more I was successfully able to jailbreak my pod.

For all those eager to load up cool stuff on their iPod’s, read on now. The complete and easy steps after the jump.

Before we begin, let me warn you about jailbreaking: JAILBREAKING IS DISCOURAGED AND UNAPPROVED BY APPLE INC., THEREFORE, BY JAILBREAKING, YOU ARE PERMANENTLY VOIDING YOUR WARRANTY. THIS MEANS THAT IN CASE THINGS GO VERY WRONG AND YOU CAN’T RECOVER YOUR IPOD YOURSELF, APPLE STORES WON’T HELP YOU.

So, if you’ve really decided and that you’re ready to do this (and your hands are not shaky!), let’s go.

Please note that this tutorial only applies to iPod touch 2G, running on 2.2.1 Firmware.

Before we proceed to the main jailbreaking part, you’ll (of course) need a list of tools in the process. Here are the tools you need to have before we can proceed;

Tools needed:

• QuickFreedom (http://quickfreedom.com/)
• iTunes 8.1 or later (http://www.apple.com/itunes/)
• Firmware Restore Package (.ipsw file) (Get it here. Select iPod touch 2G (2.2.1/5H11a) on the list and hit Download)
• Your iPod touch 2G, and your USB cable

Now that you have your tools ready, we can now proceed to the jailbreaking proper. FOLLOW THESE STEPS CAREFULLY. If you get stuck in a step, do notify me by posting a comment below.

1. Download and open QuickFreedom.exe from its website listed above.  You should be presented with a screen similar to this one:

Image by proudofmylife.net

2. Next, you should check if you have LIBusb installed by checking if there’s a green checkmark next to ‘LIBUSB – Installed‘. If you don’t have it, click ‘Install LIBUSB‘.

3. Browse for the Firmware Restore package you downloaded from the link above by clicking ‘Browse…‘. It should have the file name ‘iPod2,1_2.2.1_5H11a_Restore.ipsw‘ (without the quotation marks).

4. If you’ve successfully completed Steps 2 and 3, hit ‘Next‘.

5. On the next screen (pictured below), tick the ‘Install Installer‘ and ‘Use Custom Boot Logo‘ (optional) checkboxes. In case you want a custom boot logo, click change, and then select the logo that suits you best.

Image by proudofmylife.net

6. Now we’re ready to create the jailbroken firmware. Click ‘Next‘. On the next screen that appears, click ‘Create Firmware‘. The process of creating the hacked firmware takes around 5-10 minutes, which could take longer on slower PC’s. After it’s done, you’ll be notified that a ‘Custom Firmware.ipsw‘ has been created and put to your desktop. Click ‘Next‘ when this happens.

7. Now that we have the jailbroken firmware, we’re now going to prepare your iPod for jailbreaking. This process is called ‘pre-jailbreak’.

8. First, you need to put your iPod to DFU (Device Firmware Upgrade) mode. Connect your  iPod to your PC (close iTunes if it shows up), and turn your iPod off, then hold the Sleep/Wake and Home buttons together for 10 seconds (timing is critical). After the 10-second mark, release the Sleep/Wake button but keep on holding the Home button for a few more seconds (around 8 ) or until your computer detects that your iPod is now connected via a beep or on-screen notification.

9. You’ll know that you’re in DFU mode if your iPod display is totally blank, and your computer detects that it’s plugged in. Now, if all’s set and that you’re in DFU mode, click ‘Start Pre-jailbreak‘ on the QuickFreedom screen.

Image by proudofmylife.net

10. During the pre-jailbreak process, QuickFreedom will do a power-cycle on your device and your iPod screen will turn white. Once this is done, you are ready to do the jailbreaking with iTunes.

11. Fire up iTunes, and wait for it to detect that your iPod is in recovery mode. Now, click your iPod, and then while holding the Shift key, click ‘Restore’. This will open a file dialog looking for the firmware file. Point it to the ‘Custom Firmware.ipsw‘ file located in your desktop.

12. iTunes will extract the ipsw, and then load it up your iPod’s system — installing the jailbroken firmware. This can take a considerably long time, depending on your computer speed. You’ll know that the process is complete when your iPod reboots normally and displays the SpringBoard (the home screen, now with the ‘Installer’ and ‘Cydia’ icons), and your iTunes prompts you to name your iPod.

13. Congratulations! You have successfully jailbroken your iPod touch 2G. You can now use Cydia to download jailbroken apps and extend the functionality of your iPod beyond the limit that Apple has set. Enjoy!

Reference materials used on this tutorials were taken from proudofmylife.net, quickfreedom.com, and appleiphoneschool.com. Mad props to the guys back there!