Petr Škuta Very interesting shots of the disassembled Apple TV 4K appeared on the Twitter social network. It turns out that the little box holds a secret.
The hidden Lightning connector was first discovered by Kevin Bradley, who has profile with the nickname nitoTV. If his assumptions are confirmed, users have just gained access directly to the Apple TV 4K firmware and the potential to jailbreak it.
The Lightning connector is unexpectedly located in the Ethernet plug. At first glance, the untrained eye has no chance of detecting it. Only upon close examination can one notice the familiar pin matrix.
The connector itself is very difficult to access. It is hidden all the way to the back of the Ethernet on its upper side.
The way to jailbreak Apple TV 4K is open
So the discovery of Lightning raises many questions. Its purpose is clear, it serves service technicians to diagnose the device. On the other hand, accessing the firmware of the device directly gives the possibility of creating new versions of jailbreaks and unlocks capabilities of Apple TV 4K without limitations given by Apple.
However, the Apple TV 4K isn't the only model that had a hidden service jack. Previous versions already relied on different diagnostic connectors. For example, the very first version of Apple TV relied on a standard USB connector. The second and third generations then had a hidden Micro USB. The fourth generation, which we now know as Apple TV HD, then hid the USB-C connector.
We have no idea whether the discovery will eventually be used by hacker groups dedicated to creating jailbreaks. The possibilities are obvious.
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Dan Pražák I guess now the cats out of the bag, the question people will have is how do you access this externally. Well I got you? https://t.co/HiFAL5a9wz pic.twitter.com/dGNOsct0OM
— Steve (@littlesteve) October 17, 2019
