Originally Posted by f4780y

OK, first off you cannot update a jailbroken device. You can only restore to 5.1. The update process is a complex upgrade from one version of IOS to another and there is no way Apple can do that reliably for a jailbroken device (it's challenging enough for a stock device). So your only option is to restore to 5.1.

1. Depends what you mean. The restore wipes the device so everything is gone. However, just the like the App Store, everything you have purchased on Cydia is yours for life. If you jailbreak again in the future you can install all your purchases again without charge. There is a "My Account" section on the Cydia Home Page where you can see all the stuff you own. If you mean can you backup all your JB apps, tweaks, and settings, then yes, but it does not happen automatically. My favourite way to do it is to use PkgBackup, but there are other options. See our guide here for more info - HOW TO - Use PKGBackup to safeguard your Jailbreak Apps & Settings
2. Yes. If your device is running 5.1 when a 5.1 jailbreak is released, you will be able to install it.
3. As I said, you can't update. What you will do is restore IOS 5.1 and then optionally restore your iTunes/iCloud backup. Make sure you take a backup just before you restore your device to 5.1 and then in theory you should have all your non-jailbreak stuff back just as you would expect. Only your jailbreak stuff will be missing (as expected). I can't really comment on whether you will have issues. That's really all down to Apples skill in the backup / restore area, but most folks don't experience problems. I've done it probably >50 times and only had a couple of issues.
4. You will only "lose" data if you don't back it up before you start and then choose to restore it once IOS 5.1 is installed. If you are using iCloud it asks you if you want to restore your last backup when you initialise the iPad on 5.1. If you are using iTunes for backup, you can choose to restore your last backup when you connect the iPad to it the first time after it is initialised.
5. You will have to re-set your folders etc. IF you are currently using jailbreak tweaks to change the layout of your springboard. Again, if you choose to use jailbreak tweaks to change the way your springboard looks or operates, you can't expect Apple to magically support that, so if you un-jailbeak you need to expect that stuff will be back to normal and you may need to re-arrange stuff according to "stock" rules rather than jailbreak ones.

Just remember, if you go to 5.1 you cant come back to 5.0.1 as things stand. It could be a very long wait (months at least) for a new iPad2 JB, but of course the choice is yours. Only you know whether you need the features of the new apps more than you need your JB tweaks.

Hope that helps.

Thanks for the answers f4780y! As for update vs restore that is just me not knowing the vocabulary...I come from android and you can unroot your device without restoring everything (unless you are running a different rom other than stock)...

As for Cydia, you answered my question. I was worried I would have to purchase the tweaks again if I restored 5.1 then JB again when it was available.

Yo be honest, the only real benefit I'm getting from JB is customizations like Barrel, folders on the dock, and increasing the number of dock icons. I didn't want to go crazy with tweaks & cause issues with my iPad. It's running perfectly now. However, the wait for JB is MUCH longer than it would be on Android. Plus having root on android never really causes you to not being able to use any of the MAIN apps (there are exceptions but most of those apps aren't main word processing or photo apps)....it's a tough decision between JB or not. Thanks for all your help!

Originally Posted by f4780y

Both A5 jailbreaks have taken several months to develop. It will be at least that long for 5.1 on A5 devices IMHO. The A4 processor is pwned for life due to an exploit in the bootrom. That's why it is trivial to produce a tethered jailbreak for any new version of IOS on A4.
A5 devices have a great deal more protection around the bootrom. The A5 has been in the wild for a year now and no workable bootrom exploit is known. Userland jailbreaks of the type required for the iPad2 are extremely complex and require months of effort.

Oh God, you just destroyed me.
Months? I wanna die.

And - to add salt to the wound - that's past history ... that it took months. It's like the stock market: past performance is no indication of future performance. No one knows if there will EVER be another jail break, let alone how quick it will appear.

Don't get me wrong - I'm hoping for a [quick] jailbreak myself (my new iPad will be AWESOME as a JB'd device!). But, all we can advocate is lots of patience and hope. And patience. And patience...

Just so you know ...

Marilyn

Originally Posted by Mickey330

And - to add salt to the wound - that's past history ... that it took months. It's like the stock market: past performance is no indication of future performance. No one knows if there will EVER be another jail break, let alone how quick it will appear.

Don't get me wrong - I'm hoping for a [quick] jailbreak myself (my new iPad will be AWESOME as a JB'd device!). But, all we can advocate is lots of patience and hope. And patience. And patience...

Just so you know ...

Marilyn

You do realize that every word you say feels like apple stabbing me lol
Still I'm hoping for the best. Cause they said there'll be no jb for ios5 but I just screwed cydia up couple days ago, so I'll wait. Or buy ipad 1

I guess there is a tethered jailbreak for iPad 1 heard they are working on iPad 2 now

I have a JB ipad2 running 4.3.3 I want to undo the jailbreak and set it back to factory defaults. From what I read this is not possible since when I connect to itunes I am asked if I want to upgrade to 5.1.1. I have read that it is not possible for apple to upgrade a JB 4.3.3 to a 5.1.1 since it will have problems recognizing or dealing with the JB. Comments on what to do? I dont care what version I restore to or whether that version can be JB in the future. Just want to get it back to factory settings. Thanks

Originally Posted by asdf523

I have a JB ipad2 running 4.3.3 I want to undo the jailbreak and set it back to factory defaults. From what I read this is not possible since when I connect to itunes I am asked if I want to upgrade to 5.1.1. I have read that it is not possible for apple to upgrade a JB 4.3.3 to a 5.1.1 since it will have problems recognizing or dealing with the JB. Comments on what to do? I dont care what version I restore to or whether that version can be JB in the future. Just want to get it back to factory settings. Thanks

if that is all you want to do, just connect it to iTunes and press the "restore" button. This will install factory fresh 5.1.1 on your device and nothing else. Simple.
Make sure you have the latest version of iTunes installed before you start.

Thank you! Worked perfect. I have my iPad at 5.1.1 with nothing but factory settings. One other question, though. When I hooked up the iPad to my pc iTunes made a backup of my settings and installed apps. How do I make sure that backup is not reinstalled to my iPad thus copying the corruption back again? Is there a way to erase the backup that iTunes has on it?

Just run another backup. iTunes only keeps one copy of a backup and that is the most current one. So, by creating another, you'll have only the "good" backup on file.

Marilyn