If you have trouble with a new version of iOS or a jailbreak, you can downgrade your device. Maybe you don’t like the features in the new iOS update. Maybe you did the new iPhone release on Tuesday and decided to jailbreak your phone this weekend. Either way, this weekend in the Weekend Series, you need to downgrade your iOS device.
WARNING: You might lose all of your settings when rolling back to a previous firmware. You will still have your contacts, but will have to go back and choose all of your apps and media, and will then have to sort your apps and folders on your device. This can cost you HOURS of time. Most importantly, you could lose all of your SMS and call history.
Downgrading Your Device
To downgrade your device to a previous version of iOS, complete the following tasks:
- Download the required old ipsw firmware files from iClarified.
- Put your device into DFU mode (not recovery mode):
IMPORTANT: When you complete this step, if your device screen is not blank (black in color), then you are most likely in Recovery Mode, not DFU mode. Repeat this step until you are in DFU mode.
- Make sure that iTunes is set to not automatically start when you attach your device.
- Connect your device to your computer.
- Turn off your device.
- Start iTunes.
- Hold the Power and Home buttons together for around 10 seconds.
- Release the Power button, but keep holding the Home button until your computer recognizes your device as a new USB device.
- iTunes will now recognize your device.
- Restore your device to the firmware that you downloaded in Step 1:
- Click on your iOS device icon from the sidebar in iTunes.
- Press and hold ALT on Mac (SHIFT on Windows), click Restore in iTunes, and then release the ALT or SHIFT key.
- Sit back and relax as iTunes does the rest for you. This will involve a series of automated steps. Be patient at this stage and don’t do anything silly. Just wait while iTunes installs the requested firmware on your device. Your iPhone shows a progress bar indicating installation progress.
TIP: iTunes will probably return a 1004 or 1015 error. This is normal, just ignore this error as the firmware has already been successfully installed on the device.
Your iPhone should still be stuck in Recovery Mode, showing the “Connect to iTunes” screen. - Close iTunes.
- To exit your Recovery Mode, download TinyUmbrella (Windows / Mac).
- Run TinyUmbrella and the click Exit Recovery.
Your device should restart normally. - You can set up your device on the stock iOS, or Jailbreak Your iOS 8 Device This Weekend.
