Apple this week stopped signing iOS & iPadOS 18.4.1 approximately one week after launching iOS & iPadOS 18.5, a feature and security patch update intended for iPhones and iPads alike.
Now that iOS & iPadOS 18.4.1 are no longer being signed, there’s no way for iPhone or iPad users to downgrade to it from the newest iOS & iPadOS firmware with the typical methodology of holding a special key on the keyboard while clicking the restore button in iTunes (Windows) or Finder (macOS). Instead, users are forced update and restore, which puts the newer iOS & iPadOS 18.5 firmware on the device.
While jailbreakers have often used firmware downgrades in the past to install vulnerable firmware on their devices, this is less the case today as there haven been any modern jailbreak releases since iOS & iPadOS 16.
Firmware downgrades are also used by non-jailbreakers to revert to a stable software when an update results in unwanted device behavior that impacts daily use. While uncommon for Apple, examples include:
- iPadOS 18.0 bricking M4 chip-equipped iPad Pros
- iOS 16.0 over-prompting users on clipboard access when pasting copied content into another app
- iOS 14.7 breaking the Apple Watch’s ability to be unlocked with the host iPhone’s Touch ID sensor
- iOS & iPadOS 13.2 imposing incredibly aggressive background management on backgrounded apps
While downgrading to iOS or iPadOS 18.4.1 from iOS or iPadOS 18.5 isn’t an option anymore, it is still possible to upgrade to iOS or iPadOS 18.4.1 from an older firmware, regardless of the signing status, if using the DelayOTA method, which allows the host device to be upgraded to unsigned firmware up to 90 days after Apple stops signing it.
iDB thinks that users should be able to install whatever official firmware they want on their iPhone or iPad, regardless of Apple’s whim. These are our devices that we pay for, so the software we run on them should be a part of the experience, not a means of control.
As always, you can see what firmware is or isn’t being signed for your iPhone or iPad by visiting the ever-handy IPSW.me website. You can also acquire any firmware file you need for your device from our Downloads page.
