I have an iPhone 12 Mini running on iOS 15. Before upgrading to iOS 16, I'd like to know: can one downgrade from iOS 16 to iOS 15?
I saw some articles discussing iOS 16 beta downgrade but not iOS 16 downgrade. Since some OS upgrades such as Pixel 6's Android 13 upgrade aren't reversible, I'm being cautious.
Yes, you can.
You need to download an iOS 15 IPSW from Apple. You can the latest IPSWs at: https://ipsw.me/
Be sure to pick a signed IPSW.
Go to Finder, then select your plugged in device. Hold option and click restore iPhone.
Then pick the IPSW you downloaded, and restore your device.
You will be downgraded to the iOS version that was in the IPSW you downloaded.
Apple lets you run and upgrade the previous version of iOS now, but only for a very short period can you downgrade a major version (and then only to the current version, not some arbitrary past version).
Do not sleep on this chance, turn off automatic updates immediately and downgrade immediately if you can’t be on iOS 16 for the long haul.
If you’re on the fence, go to 15.7 for stability and security updates and turn off automatic updates while you decide on the upgrade. I did this myself, and will wait for new hardware and / or iPadOS 16 to jump to 16 myself.
Now, what is new for iOS 16 is rapid security responses which “update” iOS. These can be rolled back until the next proper update, but that’s not really what I think you’re asking here.
If you need to remove a Rapid Security Response:
- Go to Settings > General > About.
- Tap iOS Version.
- Tap Remove Security Update.
You can reinstall the Rapid Security Response later, or wait for it to be installed permanently as part of a standard software update.
You can try using IPSW, but I have found that not to work. What I would strongly recommend is saving a backup of your iPhone to your computer before proceeding. Creating a backup should allow you to roll back to iOS 15. I had to do this to my iPad running iPadOS 16 Public Beta 1, and it was extremely hard to get off. I had to use my old iPad running iPadOS 14, and use that as a backup source. So unless you can guarantee you will like the upgrade, do not upgrade.
However, I have used iOS 16 on my phone for months now, ever since the first public beta was released, and never once have regretted installing it.
Treat it like it is not reversible, because it almost certainly will not be reversible.
Apple officially stopped supporting downgrading from iOS 16 to iOS 15, according to Reddit user dgherastovschi:
Apple unsigned that ipsw, so as of today you cannot downgrade from iOS 16 to iOS 15.
