UPDATE 5/25 – seas0npass now supports a tethered jailbreak for ATV2 5.0.1 (latest ATV2 version as of 5/10/12). Read about it here.

As of 3/30/12, Seas0nPass now supports a tethered jailbreak on AppleTV v5.0 (9B179b iOS 5.1). You can read the full Firecore post here. For AppleTV 3 owners, there is no jailbreak at the moment. Before you read any further, this tethered jailbreak method works with XBMC. There are directions below. There is a full list of compatible software below.

If you accidentally upgraded to 5.0 without saving your SHSH Blobs (firmware signatures), this may be welcome news. However, if you are still on 4.4.4 or lower, there is no reason to upgrade as it is currently a tethered method and doesn’t support all software yet (esp. XBMC).

A tethered jailbreak means that you have to jailbreak every time you turn off your AppleTV, but since there is no battery and it uses so little power, you probably rarely turn it off.

Which plugins are currently supported on 5.0?

• Couch Surfer (works)
• Last.fm (works)
• Maintenance (works)
• Media Player (works)
• NitoTV (works)
• RSS Feeds (works)
• Weather (works)
• Overflow (not working)
• Plex (not working)
• Remote HD (not working)
• Rowmote (not working)
• XBMC (4/2/12 – WORKING! see bottom of post)

How to perform tethered Jailbreak with Seas0nPass

• Step 1 – Download and install Seas0nPass 0.8.3
• Step 2 – Press “Create IPSW”. This will download official IPSW from Apple and inject with Jailbroken files
• Step 3 – When prompted, connect your Apple TV using a micro-USB cable. Once the light on the front of the Apple TV begins to flash rapidly, point the remote at the AppleTV and hold both the MENU and PLAY/PAUSE buttons for 7 seven seconds.
• Step 4 – iTunes will open automatically and start the restore process.
• Step 5 – iTunes will confirm the restore when complete – your Apple TV is now ready for a tethered boot.
• Step 6 – Disconnect the ATV from your computer’s USB cable for a brief moment
• Step 7 – Open Seas0nPass again and choose “Boot Tethered”
• Step 8 – When prompted, connect the Apple TV to your computer via USB. Wait for the rapid flashing light then connect the power. Once both are connected hold both the ‘MENU’ and ‘PLAY/PAUSE’ buttons for 7 seven seconds.
• Step 9 – Seas0n Pass will finish the tethered boot automatically. When you see the “Tethered boot complete!” message, quickly remove the USB cable and connect the HDMI cable. (you have a few seconds to do this, but you must connect the HDMI cable rather quickly)

Remember, if you disconnect the power, you will need to start at Step 7 again.

Install XBMC on AppleTV 2 5.0

Thanks go to appletvhacks.net for posting how to install XBMC on a tethered Seas0nPass jailbreak for ATV2 5.0.

Step 1 – SSH into your ATV

You will need to run the following commands the Terminal (for mac) or in PuTTY (for Windows).

1. ssh root@YOUR.ATV2.IP.ADDRESS

Default password is alpine

Step 2 – Install Updated XBMC

Copy and paste the following commands one at a time.

1. apt-get update
2. mkdir -p /Applications/AppleTV.app/Appliances
3. apt-get install org.xbmc.xbmc-atv2
4. mkdir -p /Applications/XBMC.frappliance
5. wget http://dl.dropbox.com/u/14341410/org.xbmc.xbmc-atv2_11.0-3_iphoneos-arm.deb
6. dpkg -i org.xbmc.xbmc-atv2_11.0-3_iphoneos-arm.deb
7. rm org.xbmc.xbmc-atv2_11.0-3_iphoneos-arm.deb