Can you downgrade iph from Ios 18.1 to 17.7.1?

Topic

[Deo]

Can I still downgrade to 17.7.1 from 18.1?

Scenario:

Have SE2 on 17.7.1

Got a new SE3 from Apple Friday, came with 17.6.1.

~when setting up SE3, bypassed the AID sign in to see what ios version it was on.

* example: with separate AID, did this successfully last Monday from my  ipad 8 (on 17.7.1) to new ipad 9 (updated to ios 18.1) Note: had to ‘hello’ screen to >wifi sign in> not now to everything. When it got to “sign in with apple ID” choose ‘forgot’ then “set up later”.

Ipad, as came with newer 18.0.1. = can not revert.

Updated Ipad 9to 18.1, not signed in with AID. Then ‘erased all contents & settings’, and started again, chosing ‘restore from backup’. Chose my Ipad 8 icloud backup, 20 min later, all done, all is well*

With the SE3, did same process as with Ipad. (Not signing in with AID, just ‘hello’.., to see what ios it was on, as you can’t “restore from icloud backup” unless new device is newer than old. Ironically, it came with ios 17.5, and when I looked at new SE3, it offered ios 17.7.1, which I did! (not signed in).

Called Applecare to ask if: “Do I have to update to 18.1? Or can I stay on new SE3 ios 17.7.1 to then ‘erase/wipe’ then start again and sign in with AID and ‘restore from SE2 backup’?

Apple “Sr rep” said ‘NO, install ios 18.1, erase all contents & stgs, THEN restore from SE2 17.7.1 backup. No going back, good luck!’ Found out later you CAN but was forced to update.

Have a Physical sim card transfer it worked, but cell signal reduced since. Yes, I have new ‘carrier’ stgs.

Well, its’s a MESS! Half the supposed 18.1 ‘new’ stgs/categories (or features I care less about) aren’t there in any stg or apps/ category, the ones that ARE is mucked up. (SE2 is shut down/offline. No syncing, all ‘on device’, I don’t use icloud pics, or as any cloud settings at all, other than icloudbackup, so not the problem)

New icloud backups made.

Don’t know whether to put sim back into SE2 and use it so I don’t lose anything whilst I figure this out?

Windows 10 Pro, Apple Itunes NOT Windows apple apps.

Am I too late for a downgrade SE3? If not too late to erase/reinstall 17.7.1 , how to please?

Thank you.

( PS I have tried every which way from Sunday to cut/paste to forum with reader-ease, but NO paragraph breaks work! Like WHO is going to read & respond to this??? No, am not a newbie poster- para breaks should work?)

• This topic was modified 6 months ago by Deo.
• This topic was modified 6 months ago by Deo.
• This topic was modified 6 months ago by Deo.

Replies

Deo wrote:

Can I still downgrade to 17.7.1 from 18.1?

Yes, you can restore 17.7.1 from iCloud/PC backup as it is still signed.

No, ios 17.7 is no longer signed (and was only offered OTA). ios 17.6.1 was the last ‘signed’ iTunes version, now unsigned (as of Oct). In fact, 17.6.1 showed up in my PC Recycle Bin last week, and vanished from there after a Se2 17.7.1 backup.

-see ipsw.me, only ios 18.1 is signed by Apple.

As mentioned, SE3 (128gb) came with ios 17.0. something. As I had NOT signed in with my AID, blank ph, I could not back up to icloudbup in that state. iTunes would not back up either. And you can only restore from older ios to a same or newer ios.

With being NOT signed in to AID, I was presented with two update options: 17.7.1 OR 18.1. Applecare rep told me to choose 18.1, then ‘erase all contents and settings’, then restore my SE2 64gb  17.7.1 icloud backup to the new SE 3. In doing so, ios 17.7.1 did not come back.

Once an iphone has ios 18.1 installed, there is no going back.

My OP was to ask if you could. The answer I assume now is ‘NO’. (Don’t know what ‘jailbreak’ is, not sure if worth it or safe?)

My only option is pop sim card back in to old SE2 and use it til it fails (needs service). OR:

Other options is: use SE3, it gets calls and texts at least, and one day ‘reset all settings’ just before next release, as settings from SE2 17.7.1 didn’t play well on SE 3 with 18.1?

I was told by semi-geek (I live on an island with no Apple store) to update SE2 to 18.1 & icloud b/up before I restore via icloud bup to new SE3. Yet Applecare sr tech said it doesn’t matter, use SE2 ios 17.7.1 to restore.  Boy, is Applecare wrong.

Lesson: be very careful with ios 18.1. On a new device, backup via itunes offline no internet in whatever version it’s on. Then OTA when setting up, choose ios 17.7.1 vs 18.1 while you still can! Won’t be long ‘til you can’t.

What a mess! ios 18 is a disaster IMHO. Not only camera/photos, settings etc, but lack of ease in xfer. My experience anyways. I’ll may lose everything, as I don’t use icloud to back up photos, contacts or anything for security reasons. (thank gosh I don’t use 2fa! Another topic). I use icloud b/up (which includes everything on ph you don’t use the icloud’ for! And restores it all. And I back up encrypted to itunes & imazing (on separate HDD). BUT it doesn’t help in this circumstance.

1 user thanked author for this post.

Alex5723

If you have the iOS 17.7.1 backup you can restore.

@Alex5723 , Did you mean via my PC Apple itunes b/up of my SE2 on 17.7.1? (vs MS Apple apps I don’t have). So: Wipe SE 3 on ios 18.1 (lose new txts/calls etc since Nov 16, is no prob if so).

Restore from icloudbup doesn’t work -does NOT change base ios. Even if ‘erase all settings & contents’ prior to restore by SE2’s icloud bup, stays on ios 18.1. So how to ‘restore’ from the last SE 2  ios 17.7.1 backup via itunes?

*This all might be moot, as ios 17.7.2 dropped today. Assume they stopped signing 17.7.1.*

Was in surgeon’s today, unavail to PC, and think I’m in opposite time zones from Alex.

SO: I have to turn SE3 off on 18.1, fire up turned OFF  SE2 on 17.7.1 & back it up via itunes PC offline, THEN update it to 17.7.2, back up again and *hope* once I erase SE3, I can restore from SE 2? (and I imagine I have to delete the SE3 ios 18.1 icloud backup prior to restore? Pls advise, thx:)

My lord Apple makes you JUMP! I do get jumping on ‘active attacks’, but “bugs” versions? Does ANYONE have 24/7 time to cater to hrs needed to manually b/up in event of a situation as my OP or others dreaded update to ios 18.1, now facing ios 18.1.2?

BTW, they wouldn’t have released 17.7.2 to all iphones if they were absolutely  confident in 18.1. or any 18 derivative thereof me thinks!

Not sure what to do now.

Deo wrote:

BTW, they wouldn’t have released 17.7.2 to all iphones if they were absolutely  confident in 18.1. or any 18 derivative thereof me thinks!

You think wrong. There are iPhones/iPads that can’t upgrade to iOS 18.x so Apple does support these devices with iOS 17.7.x

To restore iOS backup with iTunes:

Connect Your Device: Use a USB cable to connect your iPhone to your computer. Open iTunes and wait for it to recognize your device.

Disable Find My iPhone: Before restoring, you need to disable the Find My iPhone feature. Go to Settings > [Your Name] > Find My > Find My iPhone, and turn it off by entering your Apple ID password.

Select Restore Option:

In iTunes, click on the device icon in the upper left corner.
Select Restore Backup from the Summary tab.

Choose the most relevant backup from the list based on date and time, then click Restore. If prompted, enter the password for an encrypted backup.

https://www.perplexity.ai/search/restore-ios-with-itunes-bK33qC3ETyG73V63A_Acyw

Yes, You can restore SE2 backup to SE3. After all hundred of millions do that every time they upgrade to a new device (me included running betas).

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Deo

Yes you absolutely can still downgrade but the steps take a bit longer.

iOS 17.6 beta is still being signed, so you can shift restore using iTunes or finder on Mac.

After this, run through the setup screens and then update OTA in the settings app to 17.7.2 stable.

The beta ipsw files are located at http://ipsw.dev

1 user thanked author for this post.

Deo

Thank you SO much!! Helped me alot! Alas to ‘restore’  my iphone SE3 now that I’ve been using it, and doing much research, this route require PC  itunes  a) a current (18.1) backup must not be ‘encrypted’ and b) requires a manual edit of the plist of the backup file to revert to 17.5.1, and then OTA upgrades to 17.7.1. Perhaps beyond my skill set, or rather heart rate! Yet I’ll surely keep this in mind, excellent reply. TY!

Alex5723 wrote:

Yes, You can restore SE2 backup to SE3.

Thank you Alex. Alas both restoring from an icloud bup or an iTunes PC back up doesn’t work IF they are not a 17 version back up. (New SE3 as stated was backed up as virgin unencrypted not signed in with AID was on 18). Without a Mac, Itunes PC= no access to multiple b/ups.

Anything backed up that is on a different version ie ios 18 will simply install the ios version it was on (esp icloud bup restore). IF I wiped SE3 & restored from SE2, SE3 would still be on ios18 (I tried). PC both on/offline, same. And iTunes PC allows only ONE backup. I mentioned in my replies that I had no previous Se3 17.0 iTunes b/up after the forced upgrade SE3 to 18 via apple techs.

I will mark this as Resolved, after explaining what I ended up doing in this state (anyone feel free to comment after). I could not risk losing the new data on SE3. NOTE size matters when restoring (Se3 is 128gb, SE2 is 64gb). I did OTA updates one at a time, with each device on airplane mode and shut down so no syncing would occur until I could modify those settings:

1.  Iphone SE2-kept on ios 17, updated to 17.7.1. No sim card.
2. Iphone (new) SE3-was on 18.1, daily driver. So kept as is, updated to 18.1.1. Sim.
3. b/ups of both on Icloud, Itunes encrypted, and imaz before & after updates
4. Combed thru settings on each to unsync (keep as individual device, same AID).
5. Ipad 8 gen & NEW ipad 9, again diff GB sizes. Did same as 1-4. Did Ipads first before iphs as a test, tho no sim/cell. Glad I did first, as much learning ie combing thru stgs to keep device separate, even running same AID.

Why I stay with Apple, I don’t know. Cost a pretty penny of my pension simply to have enough room for their bloated updates and features I don’t need. Applecare is useless; they can’t keep up with changes themselves.

1 user thanked author for this post.

Alex5723

For any still following this post:

1. I have an SE2 64Gb and new SE3 128 GB. Due to Apple itunes on PC not allowing downgrade (as ios 17.7.1 is OTA only), I updated SE2 to ios 17.7.1 OTA, SE3 is on ios 18.1.1 could NOT be downgraded. As both on same Apple ID, Pls comb thru any and all ‘sync’ options on both devices, and unsync ie ‘Stay on this device’ , toggle off ‘share this device’ and other settings (as ios 18 buries them in many areas).
2. Devices are now ‘separate’, though lord knows what a ‘restore from i/cloud backup’ from SE2 to 3 & vice versa will do. As side note, my 2 yr old ‘no app’ SE2 needs battery service. It will require update to 18.8.1 to do so, for the love of toast! Am holding off on battery replacement.
3. Have 2 ipads on separate Apple ID from my iphones (thank god). ipad 8 32 Gb struggled to get even ios 17.7.1 on it (see above). New ipad 9 64 Gb is on ios 18.8.1. AGAIN comb thru any ‘syncing’ and ‘stay on this device’ setting in ALL areas of each device, from your “icloud” settings, and through EACH setting from ‘General’ and all under-they are hidden everywhere. Incl looking into sub headings,  & also dive into Privacy>Location Services (you’ll see a ‘share my device’ toggle), and System Services.
4. Also note: There has been issues researched when restoring from an icloud b/up from a larger device (ie SE 3 128GB) to a lesser device (ie SE2 64GB), Applecare acknowledged on laborious call.

Status: currently Se2 17.7.1/SE3 18.1.1. Ipad 8 17.7.1, (will never be able to handle 18). Ipad 9 on 18.1.1. Each device holding steady independent of eachother. Lord knows what will happen if I need to wipe/restore from any backup (icloud/itunes) from their own b/ups or from the higher storage devices to the lessor.

PS the Esvee (above post in thread) advice sounds promising though I did not go that downgrade route. If anyone does, it takes a manual modifying (digging deep) of the Itunes PC back up file, in particular the plist  file & and a signed developer 17.6 Beta downloaded. Ensure you do this heavy step if you have unencrypted fresh multi backups prior to beginning, ‘Find MY’ off on all devices. And note: you may lose everything. You NEED to amend that plist file in order to RESTORE your past 17.7.1 back up after downgrading. Lot’s on Reddit where to find. No guarantees, so I chose to stay where I am.

PPS! Keep whatever ‘other’ device linked to your Apple id in airplane mode and shut down while performing any downgrade attempt-saves you from ‘linkage’ and corruption of the other device b/up data! BTDT:)