You have been able to jailbreak iOS 5.0.1 from the day it was released. The only problem was that it was a tethered jailbreak, meaning you needed to connect the device to a PC and run the jailbreaktool every time you reboot. The iOS dev team and hacker pod2g have collaborated on an untethered jailbreak for iOS 5.0.1. It is available now.

The two big exceptions to the jailbreak are the dual-core iPad 2 and iPhone 4S. The A5 chip has proven to be quite the hacker’s nightmare. The iPad 2 only has a jailbreak available for the ancient iOS 4.3.3. The iPhone 4S has yet to have a publicly released jailbreak. Update: The iPhone 4S jailbreak is available, as is iPad 2 jailbreak.

If you already have a tethered jailbreak on your iOS device, the process of untethering couldn’t be easier. Simply head to Cydia and download a package called Corona Untether 5.0.1. Search for it, download, install, and your jailbreak will be untethered.

The only caveat applies to those who used a previous jailbreaking method that used a combination of iOS 5 firmware and iOS 5.0.1 firmware. If your existing jailbreak was done that way, then you’ll want to restore to stock iOS 5.0.1 (after backing up your device) and then follow the steps below.

For those who are jailbreaking for the first time, here’s how to get the untethered jailbreak for iOS 5.0.1:

The first thing you’ll want to do is to download the redsn0w jailbreak tool for your operating system:

After downloading and unzipping, select the redsn0w icon, and go ahead and connect your iDevice to your Mac or PC.

Now go back to the main menu and choose “Jailbreak” from the first screen of the redsn0w tool.

You are now preparing to put your device in DFU mode. Follow the instructions, and — after you’re sure your iDevice is powered off and plugged in  — proceed.

During the next step, you’ll be holding down a combination of buttons for precise amounts of time, so be ready to pay attention to the instructions on your screen. It will expect you to start as soon as you hit Next, so be prepared to start holding your iOS device’s power button.

The above screen is what you will see after proceeding. The first part has you holding down just the power button for a few seconds.

Next, you’ll keep holding down the power button, along with the home button, for longer this time.

Finally, you’ll let go of the power button, and keep holding down the home button for a while longer.

If you follow the timers just as the redsn0w tool counts them off, your device should now be in DFU mode. The screen will look like it’s powered off, but as long as redsn0w proceeds, you’re in DFU.

If you didn’t quite time it right, all you have to do is power down and start the process again.

If the on-screen instructions aren’t working for you, just power off (while plugged in), hold power and home for 10 seconds, then let go of power and keep holding home until redsn0w advances to the next step.

Note: If you accidentally end up in recovery mode (the “connect to iTunes” screen), you can hold down the home and power buttons for about 15 seconds, until everything shuts off. Then power on again, and you should be fine. If you’re still in Recovery after doing this, look up a tool called TinyUmbrella, or simply restore iOS 5 again in iTunes.

Once in DFU mode, you will see the following screens, appearing in rapid secession (without any input required on your part). Your iOS device should also flash white on the screen for a moment, and then reboot.

* If you get an error saying that no identifying data was found, you can manually download the iOS 5.0.1 firmware, then select the IPSW manually in redsn0w (Extras>Select IPSW).

The next prompt you’ll be given should be the one above. You can just select “Install Cydia” and proceed. After lots of command-level lines gets displayed on your device’s screen, it should reboot into a jailbroken state.

Cydia, at first, might have a blank (white) icon. If so, you will need to reboot the device.

After you complete the process, you can open Cydia (on the second page of your home screen) and start searching for jailbreak apps and tweaks.

source http://www.geek.com/articles/mobile/how-to-jailbreak-ios-5-0-1-on-windows-or-mac-20111227/