Many users who updated their iPhone and iPad to iOS 9.3 encountered the problem of being unable to activate the device. If for this or any other reason you are not satisfied with Apple's new mobile operating system, you can easily roll back to iOS 9.2.1. In this manual we will tell you how.
iOS 9.3 is a major update that brings with it a lot of interesting changes and bug fixes. However, despite all its advantages, best choice iOS 9.3 is unlikely to be for all users now.
There are two reasons for this. Firstly, when iOS installation 9.3 Many users have problems activating the system. You can fix it using these recommendations, but in some cases they cannot help. Secondly, the speed of iOS 9.2.1, especially on older devices, is slightly, but faster than iOS 9.3.
Step 1: Download the iOS 9.2.1 firmware file for your device from this page
Step 2: Make sure that you have installed latest version iTunes. On Windows, this can be done by going to the “Help” -> “Updates” menu, on OS X, by looking for new versions on the updates tab in the Mac App Store.
Step 3: Back up your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch in iTunes or iCloud
Step 4. Go to menu " Settings» -> « iCloud" and disable the " Find iPhone»
Step 5: Disable password protection for your device in the menu Settings» -> « Touch ID and passcode»
Step 6: Connect your mobile device to your computer and launch iTunes
Step 7: Select your device from the top bar of iTunes
Step 8: Hold down the Shift key (Alt on OS X) and click on the " Restore" and select the iOS 9.2.1 firmware file downloaded in the first step
Immediately after this, the process of installing the mobile operating system on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch will begin iOS systems 9.2.1. It is important to wait for the installation to complete without disconnecting the device from the computer. After the installation is completed, you must refuse the system’s offers to install iOS 9.3.
Don't like iOS 11? Why did you update then? ... Although, this release is really specific. Not everyone will get in right away. Every year Apple introduces new versions of iOS with supposedly improved functions and improved optimization, but in fact, for the last couple of years they have been “foisting some kind of nonsense” on us, full of bugs and shortcomings.
We, in turn, find ourselves in the place of “guinea pigs” who must identify weak points and point them out to Apple for further correction. Just think about the recent release of the terrible iOS 9, when users around the world began to complain that their .
In principle, a similar situation occurred with the release of iOS 8... and 7 too. So, if something incomprehensible happens to your iPhone after updating, maybe it's not too late to roll back previous version iOS. Today I will tell you how to do this.
Nuances of the update
But first, I would like to mention a couple of nuances related to iOS firmware that you simply must know. As you already know, updating to newer firmware is quite intuitive by clicking one button in the phone's Settings or in iTunes on the computer.
If you want to return to a non-previous version of iOS, you must first download the firmware file with the ipsw extension from the Internet yourself, and then install it by connecting the phone to the computer.
If you suddenly decided that you can now install any old firmware, I will have to disappoint you. See how the situation stands. During the installation process of any version of iOS, your device contacts the Apple server for a digital signature.
If the server sees a version of iOS on your device that is no longer supported, it will not sign it and the installation will fail. If you don’t understand, I’ll explain with an example: if you just installed iOS 9.0, now you can only go back to 8.4.1, and that’s not a fact. As new versions of iOS are released, Apple stops signing older versions.
At most, “you can take one step back.” At the time of writing this article, the only current firmware for all devices starting with the iPhone 4S is 9.0.2.
How to find out which versions of iOS are current today? Very simple! Go to ipsw.me and click on your device model.
How to roll back to a previous version of iOS
The step-by-step instructions look like this:
STEP 1 - Download the firmware file with the extension .ipsw from the link above:
STEP 2 - Make sure you have the latest version of iTunes installed
STEP 3 - If possible,
STEP 4 - B Settings iPhone disable features: Find iPhone And Touch ID/Password
STEP 5 - Connect iPhone to computer when USB help cable and launch iTunes
STEP 6 - Click on your device icon in the upper left corner of the window
STEP 7 - While holding down the Shift button on your keyboard ( Option/Alt on MAC), click the Update button in the iTunes window
Not ideal. It offers a few new features, but is not much different from the previous version. However, users of older devices may experience various difficulties due to the fact that their devices are not powerful enough to new firmware. In this connection, there may be a desire to return to stable. This is quite easy to do, the main thing is to follow the instructions.
- Make sure your smartphone or tablet is at least 75% charged.
- Turn off Find My iPhone. To do this, you need to go to “Settings” and go to the iCloud section, and then turn off the Find My iPhone function. The system will ask for your Apple ID password and you will need to enter it.
- After this, the Apple device needs to be connected to the computer and launch iTunes, and the device itself must be switched to firmware mode (DFU, Device Firmware Update). To do this, simultaneously hold down the Power and Home buttons for 10 seconds. Then release the Power button while continuing to hold the Home button. The system should indicate that the device has been transferred to DFU mode and ready for firmware. Click the "OK" button.
- Select the "Restore iPhone" (or iPad) option. iTunes will ask you to confirm that you really want to return to old firmware. We confirm this by clicking the “Next” and “Agree” buttons, after which the automatic process of installing the old firmware will begin.
- Typically, updating the firmware takes about 20 minutes, but if problems arise (for example, with Internet access or connecting to Apple servers), you can install the firmware manually using an image file. Simply hold down the Shift button on your keyboard (or Option on MacOS) and click on the “Restore iPhone” option. In the window that opens, find and select the image file you downloaded and successively click the “Open” and “Restore” buttons. You don't need to do anything else, just wait for the result.
- After returning to the previous firmware version, the system will persistently ask you to update, so you need to disable automatic update in the settings of your device and iTunes.
The differences between iOS 9.3.2 and iOS 10 are minor. The latter received a new beautiful lock screen, a keyboard with hints and a bunch of new emoticons. The system has also become more open (for example, Siri has become friends with third-party applications) and has learned to automatically group photos of people, places and objects into beautifully designed collections. There are no other significant innovations, and those that exist may cause performance degradation on older devices. At the same time, it is unknown what problems will still be discovered and how long it will take to fix them.
With update software on mobile devices Today almost every person is familiar with it. This operation usually does not involve anything difficult. Owners of Apple phones were offered new iOS Version 10. However, users were not very impressed with this software. That's why many people are thinking about how to roll back iOS 10 to 9. What should every owner of an Apple phone or tablet know about this operation? What scenarios are possible?
Myth or reality?
First, we need to understand whether it is possible to roll back iOS 10 to version 9 of the software. Indeed, often after updating this or that content on mobile phone You cannot revert to older versions.
Fortunately, rolling back iOS on iPhone/iPad is possible. This is an operation available to everyone. It is recognized as official and does not require any special knowledge or skills. However, there is some information you should be aware of before you roll back.
Before reset
How to roll back iOS 10 to 9? Before bringing your idea to life, you need to remember the following:
- Backups from the tenth version operating system not suitable for iOS 9.
- There are several types of rollback - a “clean” version and one with data preservation. The second method is not recommended. It causes problems when using the Music app.
- Before carrying out the operation, you must make sure that synchronization is enabled in iCloud. In the corresponding settings item in the "Settings" -iCloud menu, you must enable the corresponding switch. The "Media Library" slider also needs to be activated.
- Disable Find My iPhone. If you neglect this step, rollback will be impossible.
Perhaps this is enough. You might be thinking about how to roll back iOS 10 to 9.
Full rollback
Let's start with the most preferred approach. We are talking about a “pure” rollback. This method is used most often in practice. It allows you to avoid system failures and problems.
How to roll back iOS10 to 9? To do this, you must follow certain instructions. It looks something like this:
- Launch iTunes on your PC.
- Connect iPhone to computer. To do this you need to use a USB cable.
- Launch iTunes. In the "Browse" menu, select the "Make" option backup copy". Wait for the operation to complete.
- Go to the website ipsw.me. Select your phone model and firmware here.
- Wait until the appropriate software downloads. After completing the operation, go to iTunes and in the “Browse” tab, click on Option (in Windows this is the Shift button).
- Click on "Restore iPhone".
- Select the previously downloaded iOS in the window that appears.
- Complete the update by clicking on "Restore".
That's all. Now you can wait for the device to reboot. During OS initialization, you cannot disconnect the device from the PC. Finally, you need to select “New iPhone” and log in using AppleID.
Saving settings
From now on, it’s clear how to roll back iOS 10 to 9. The instructions presented to your attention earlier imply full reset settings and data. You can save them if you wish. What will it take?
How to roll back iOS 10 to 9 while maintaining information on the device? We will have to adhere to the previously proposed algorithm, but with some changes. When selecting the firmware, you will need to press "Shift" and then select "Update". Otherwise, the algorithm of actions will be exactly the same. When updating, you must unlock the gadget to successfully complete the operation.
So, now it’s clear how you can roll back the operating system of Apple phones and tablets from version 10 to version 9. No more options for the development of events are provided. You can't rollback without iTunes.
Which method should I use? As already mentioned, it is recommended to pay attention to the “clean” rollback. This is the only way to confidently talk about normal work with iOS in the future.
Have you jumped at the chance to update your iPhone and iPad to iOS 10, only to find out that the firmware is causing problems that you no longer want to endure?
You are not alone - many users have encountered problems with rapid battery drain or performance degradation. If you are one of those users who are wondering how to restore an old version of iOS, then you should know the whole truth about the situation with rolling back to previous versions.
Just a month after the release of iOS 10, Apple company stopped signing the iOS 9.3.5 version, which means it is impossible to roll back from new versions. The same thing happened with versions 10.1 and 10.2. According to Apple, all the bugs that previously prevented users from fully enjoying iOS 10 have been eliminated and there is no need to return to older versions that could threaten the security of user data.
Until the end of 2016, users could use the standard method - downloading the IPSW file of the previous version of iOS from using iTunes. But now Apple has closed this opportunity and users who rushed to try new features have no choice but to look for unconventional methods to solve the problem.
In December 2016, a hacker using the nickname tihmstar released the Prometheus utility, which, provided that SHSH blobs digital certificates were saved, could be used to roll back to older versions of iOS. But right before the New Year, Apple blocked the utility by adjusting the operation of the servers for issuing digital signatures. After this, everyone who tried to retrieve digital certificates only received an error from the server.
By February 2017, the author of the utility managed to find a solution to bypass the blocking and some users were able to use the utility to downgrade (downgrade or rollback). But the tool only worked inside 10.0.x - 10.2.1 if SHSH blobs were saved in advance. For example, with Prometheus you can save SHSH blobs certificates for iOS 10.2, upgrade to 10.2.1, and then return back to the previous version.
As for the rollback from iOS 10.Х.Х to iOS 9.Х.Х, Apple has put an end to it, closing any possibility of switching to the old version. When trying to install old version iOS, iTunes contacts the certificate issuing server in order to activate the firmware. Since Apple considers firmware below 10.2 obsolete, the user simply receives an error due to the lack of digital signatures.
Thus, iOS users are left to look for the advantages of existing firmware versions and update only when they are sure that the new versions being released do not contain errors.
If there are any new ways to downgrade to older versions in the future, we will definitely inform you about it.
