How to Downgrade iOS 18 to iOS 17

If you recently installed iOS 18 on your iPhone or iPadOS 18 on your iPad and you’re not thrilled with how it works, or you’ve encountered something that’s inconsistent with your workflow, you can still downgrade to iOS 18 and go back to iOS 17.

Specifically, you can currently downgrade your iPhone or iPad from iOS 18 or iPadOS 18 to iOS 17.7 or iPadOS 17.7, but that technique will only work as long as Apple continues to sign iOS 17.7. So, if you’re motivated to downgrade, you’ll want to act relatively quickly, because you never know when Apple will stop signing previous versions.

Requirements for Downgrading iOS 18 to iOS 17

To successfully downgrade to iOS 18 or iPadOS 18, you will need the following:

• Mac or PC with USB cable to connect iPhone/iPad
• iOS 17.7 / ipadOS 17.7 IPSW file matching your device
• Internet connection
• A backup made from iOS 17 or iPadOS 17 if you want to restore your data (without a backup, your device will be erased and set up as new)

Reminder: iOS 18 backups do not work on iOS 17

It’s important to note that iOS 18 backups don’t work on iOS 17. That means unless you have an iOS 17-compatible backup made on your computer (Finder or iTunes), you won’t be able to restore your data and other stuff. You can still downgrade from iOS 18, but you’ll have to set up your device as new, without any of your previous data.

How to Downgrade from iOS 18 and Revert to iOS 17

We’ll cover the easiest way to downgrade from iOS 18 or iPadOS 18 to iOS 17 or iPadOS 17, and that’s via Recovery Mode. This will erase the device you’re downgrading from, so it’s important to back up your data before proceeding.

1. Download the iOS 17.7/iPadOS 17.7 IPSW file for your device from here , if you haven’t already, place it somewhere easily accessible on your computer
2. Connect the USB cable to your Mac/PC and then to the iPhone or iPad that you want to downgrade to iOS 18
3. Open Finder on a Mac or iTunes on a PC
4. Hold down the OPTION/ALT key and click “Restore”, then select the iOS 17.7 IPSW file that corresponds to your device and that you downloaded earlier
5. Allow the firmware restore process to complete on your iPhone or iPad. This may take a while.
6. Once the downgrade is complete, your iPhone or iPad will restart into iOS 17/iPadOS 17, where you can set up your device as new or restore from a backup if you have a compatible backup available

Keep in mind that if you don’t have a backup that’s compatible with iOS 17 or iPadOS 17, you won’t be able to restore your data. This is because backups aren’t backward compatible.

If you don’t want to lose your data and your only backup is from iOS 18 or iPadOS 18, go back to iOS 18 or iPadOS 18 and restore your data from that backup.

iOS 18 downgrade failed. What now?

Rarely, this process may fail. You can usually resolve serious downgrade/upgrade errors by placing your iPhone or iPad into Recovery Mode and then repeating the process.

Connect your iPhone/iPad to your computer and put the device you want to downgrade into recovery mode: Press and release the Volume Up button, Press and release the Volume Down button, Press and hold the Power/Lock button until you enter recovery mode. An alert will appear on your computer saying that a device in recovery mode has been detected.

Restoring your device in recovery mode will allow you to downgrade again or simply set up your device as new with iOS 18.

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What do you think about iOS 18? Did you go back to iOS 17? Why did you go back from iOS 18 to iOS 17? Share your experiences and thoughts in the comments.

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