First HomePod Jailbreak Stokes Speculation About Smart Speaker's Hacking Potential

The team behind the "Checkra1n" jailbreaking tool for iOS claims to have used it to successfully jailbreak Apple's HomePod, although it's unclear what that could mean for the smart speaker in terms of hacking potential.

HomePod power cable plug
The news was announced by Twitter user L1ngL1ng, who shared a screenshot of a macOS Terminal window that appears to show command line root access to the ‌HomePod‌ over a secure shell (SSH) connection.

The command line grab suggests the device in question is an original 2018 ‌HomePod‌ model (with the identifier AudioAccessory 1,1) rather than Apple's new HomePod mini (AudioAccessory 5,1). The original ‌HomePod‌ runs on an Apple-designed A8 chip, which is the same chip that was first introduced with the iPhone 6.

The development is a novel one indeed, but the practical utility of jailbreaking a ‌HomePod‌ is largely unknown, although that hasn't stopped commenters on the r/jailbreak subreddit from speculating on the possibilities.


So far ideas have included opening up the speaker's locked-down Bluetooth connectivity, changing Siri to a rival virtual assistant, displaying custom colors on the top screen, and enabling support for more third-party streaming services.

The checkm8 bootrom exploit that powers the checkra1n jailbreak has previously been demonstrated to be capable of hacking Apple's T2 Security chip present in new Macs, which could theoretically open the door to circumventing disk encryption, firmware passwords, and the whole T2 security verification chain.

Related Roundup: HomePod
Buyer's Guide: HomePod (Neutral)

Popular Stories

Apple CarPlay Ultra instrument cluster themes 01

Apple's 'CarPlay Ultra' Experience Now Available

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:07 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its next-generation CarPlay experience, now dubbed "CarPlay Ultra" begins rolling out today, starting with Aston Martin vehicles. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. CarPlay Ultra is now available with new Aston Martin vehicle orders in the U.S. and Canada. It will also be available for existing models that feature the brand's next-generation ...
Apple CarPlay Ultra instrument cluster themes 01

Apple's CarPlay Ultra Is Here – Does Your iPhone Support It?

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:17 am PDT by
Apple's recently announced CarPlay Ultra promises a deeply integrated in-car experience, but not all iPhone users will be able to take advantage of the new feature. According to Apple's press release, CarPlay Ultra requires an iPhone 12 or later running iOS 18.5 or later. This means if you're using an iPhone 11, iPhone XR, or any older model, you'll need to upgrade your device to access...
iOS 18

Apple Releases iOS 18.5 With New Wallpaper, Screen Time Changes, Carrier Satellite Support for iPhone 13 and More

Monday May 12, 2025 10:06 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.5 and iPadOS 18.5, the fifth updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that came out last September. iOS 18.5 and iPadOS 18.5 come a little over a month after Apple released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. The iOS 18.5 update has a...
iPhone 12 Made in India

Trump Tells Tim Cook to Stop Building iPhones in India

Thursday May 15, 2025 2:21 am PDT by
President Donald Trump has asked Apple CEO Tim Cook to halt the company's manufacturing expansion in India, in a potential disruption of Apple's plan to shift iPhone production away from China. "I had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday," Trump said during his state visit to Qatar, according to Bloomberg. "He is building all over India." "They [India] have offered us a deal where...
CarPlay Ultra Climate Controls

Apple Says These Vehicle Brands Plan to Offer All-New CarPlay Ultra

Thursday May 15, 2025 8:13 am PDT by
Apple today announced the launch of CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. CarPlay Ultra features deep integration with a vehicle's instrument cluster and systems, built-in Radio and Climate apps, customizable widgets, and more. The interface is tailored to each vehicle model and automaker's identity, and drivers can also adjust...
apple music

Apple Music Gets New Transfer Tool to Make Switching From Spotify Easier

Wednesday May 14, 2025 5:17 pm PDT by
Apple this week introduced a new feature designed to allow prospective Apple Music users to import their saved music and playlists from third-party music services to Apple Music. The feature is either in an expanded testing phase or it has started rolling out, and it is available in Australia and New Zealand according to an Apple Support document. Signs of the transfer option first surfaced...
maxresdefault

Here's the First Real-World Look at Apple's CarPlay Ultra

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:52 am PDT by
The first videos of Apple's CarPlay Ultra experience are now available, providing a never-before-seen look at the long-anticipated iPhone-linked infotainment software. British automaker Aston Martin today shared the first video of Apple's CarPlay Ultra experience in-action, followed by a detailed walk-through of the CarPlay Ultra system on Top Gear's YouTube channel, which provides the...

Top Rated Comments

macguru212 Avatar
59 months ago
Can it run Doom?

:p
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kobayagi Avatar
59 months ago
Wish Apple just opened up this thing on their own, so stuff like this wouldn't even be considered. Especially for something simple as connecting to it with bluetooth to play music, something the cheapest wireless speakers can do. I'm sure they would sell more of them too then. Their ''my way or the highway'' approach is what often turns off a lot of potential customers.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iapplelove Avatar
59 months ago
“Changing Siri to a rival virtual assistant”

lol poor Siri
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
il_teo77 Avatar
59 months ago

I’m not into jailbraking.
Me neither. But if Apple refuses to expand the supported languages... After 3 years and with many languages supported on iPhones, iPads and MacOS it should be about time.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MvdM Avatar
59 months ago
Wish they would hack a 3.5 mm input into these things.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sniffies Avatar
59 months ago
If it can be connected, it can be hacked
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)