[atv2] can't enter dfu

I agree with dazex method with one exception. I've now jailbroken over 20 ATV2s, and many times, they simply won't go into DFU mode with the power cable plugged in. What has worked 100% for me, is to first plug in only the USB cable, hold menu+play for 7 secs, then plug in the power and run the jailbreak.

I've done a few myself, including my own a bunch of time to understand the process better while aiding others.

I am gonna share more tips for those having trouble. Once you figure it out, it's a walk in the park to get your device in DFU mode. You can literally do it with your eyes closed.

On Windows 7, you can use the Control Panel/Devices and Printers to view the state of the connected Apple Device. In XP, you have to catch the little usb notification in the system tray...or possibly go into device manager. Anyways...

Your ATV2 will connect in one of three states. See the screen shot below:


1: If you plug in the USB and Power, but fail to press the key combination to put the device into DFU mode, the ATV will load a driver as seen in the first screenshot.

2: If you simply plug in the USB cable alone, you'll put your device into iBoot mode, also known as Recovery Mode...and the driver loaded will have the properties as seen in the second screenshot.

3: If you plug in USB only, OR USB and Power, and then hold the Menu and Play/Pause button for roughly 6secs, the ATV will boot into the DFU state where you need to be in order to jailbreak. Again, the jailbreaking tools will be able to detect this because your computer loads a DFU specific USB driver when in this state. Your device properties will match the third screenshot.

Ok, Q&A time.

Q: Why does some guides suggest holding down Menu and Down before holding down Menu and Play/Pause?
A: Because, we are not sure how fast people are at plugging in the respective cables and then picking up the remote and pressing the necessary buttons. So, with everything plugged in, and then instructing you to press Menu and Down until the LED light rapidly flashes, the device will reboot upon releasing of the buttons. Take note, you can hold Menu and Down buttons indefinitely, and your ATV will not reboot. The reboot happens as soon as you Release the two buttons.

Q: I really followed the guide and the device is in DFU mode. But the jailbreak just doesn't work.
A: Some have found that the mini-b USB cable that comes with some gadgets doesn't properly pass data through them. They were design only to charge the device. So make sure you have a properly working mini-b USB cable. Otherwise, you can try another USB port and make sure you are not plugging the ATV into a USB hub. That will only complicate things.

I can't really think of anything else. hehe. I really do think the whole process is easy when following these set of directions to a T. Hopefully, my tip in using the Devices and Printers to see what state your ATV is current booted in will help some of you guys since I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere else.

In closing, the idea of having the power cable connected to put your ATV into DFU mode is admittedly a carry over from the "Tethered" days of ATV jailbreaking. This is to prevent the user from disconnecting their USB before plugging in their power cable, preventing the ATV device from properly booting up. With the current jailbreaks being "untethered," I agree with ChipsAhoy in that leaving the power cable disconnect is fine. I can get into DFU mode with USB on or USB and Power connected. Experiment and find which is best for you.

Personally, I simply connect only the USB cable because I like to keep things simple when I can. Note, the LED light will not flash as rapidly to indicate when to release the buttons, but they will change state as an indicator just the same.

Anyways, good luck. Not sure what else I can add to all this.

Wow - never had so much help offered before, and I've posted in a lot of forums! So thanks.

Couldn't do any of the iTunes restores, iTunes never saw the Atv2. Was on OSX so couldn't see the USB "state" stuff, but the apple equivalent stuff never showed the Atv2 regardless of dfu attempts or powered status.

Previous guides had all said Seas0nPass was tethered, sorry I didn't follow the link.

Had tried 2 different cables, and both had firm connections and did "something" as they were enough to light the led on the front, and the iMac whirred like it was detecting, but nada...

Now for the good news. I've been using past tense as it's all fixed. Was the stupid, flippin' cables!!! Despite the USB logo on them, they can't have been compliant with the spec. They charge my 3D glasses and a friend's phone, so they transfer power, but they must be missing the data path... Wouldn't sync a friend's phone. Tried his cable and bam - atv2 appears in iTunes, into dfu first try, greenpois0n and tinyumbrella did their things, all good.

Sounds like step one should be to confirm the atv2 is viewable in iTunes, to confirm cables are good! Brand new cables, btw. One came with the samsung 3D glasses, the other I thought came in a bundle with other USB cables but probably were from the other glasses after all. Damn you Samsung! How can it be cheaper to custom build a USB cable without data, than just use a standard one? Why would you use the same connectors and logos if it's not a "real" cable I'll never know...

Endless thanks to you all for the assistance. Look forward to loading up xbmc tonight, especially as the RCA output from the atv1 seemed to die on me last night!!! (hopefully just a glitch rather than hardware failure)

Maybe a dumb question, but do I need itunes installed to get the ATV2 into DFU mode?
I only ask because when I plug in my usb cable, I get an Unknown Device. Unlike the above screenshots, mine does not mention Apple TV, windows has no idea what it is. -- So i'm thinking it needs a driver before Greenpois0n will recognise it.

Manufacturer: Unavailable
Model: Unknown Device
Model Number: Unavailable
Categories: Unknown
Description Unavailable

I've spent a few hours at it last night, and am now on my 3rd USB cable. This one gives me the unknown device popup when I plug it in, others don't.

Thanks
J

Just a quick update for anyone searching for solutions.

I went back to the first USB cable and got device names as mentioned in the above screenshots.

To get it to all work properly, I had to install itunes which includes the USB drivers for the ATV2.

Then it was all fairly easy from there.