Apple released iOS & iPadOS 18.6.2 one week ago, fixing security issues that needed fixing and helping to ensure its users were well-protected from vulnerabilities that may have been actively exploited by bad actors in the wild.
But as always shortly after Apple releases a firmware update, typically in the span of a week, the Cupertino-based company has made it impossible for iPhone and iPad owners to voluntarily downgrade to the previous iOS & iPadOS 18.6.1 firmware. That’s because they’ve tweaked their update servers to deny requests in a move that we frequently call ‘unsigning.’
While users previously had the ability to downgrade from iOS or iPadOS 18.6.2 to iOS or iPadOS 18.6.1 by pressing the Shift key and clicking the Restore button in iTunes for Windows or pressing the Option key and clicking the Restore button in Finder for macOS, that all ends starting today.
Firmware downgrades have long been used by jailbreakers to install older firmware that was vulnerable to exploits that jailbreak tools took advantage of, but this hasn’t been the case in a long time as Apple has been ahead of the exploiting curve for several years now. Instead, firmware downgrades have more commonly been used as salvation when a firmware update breaks something or destabilizes devices as in the examples below:
- PadOS 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
Despite firmware downgrades being interrupted as of now, it may still be possible to upgrade your device to iOS or iPadOS 18.6.1 from an older firmware via the DelayOTA method, which utilizes an Enterprise-oriented feature that enables lagged firmware downgrading up to 90-days past unsigning so that Enterprises can ensure continued software compatibility when it matters.
When Apple prevents users from downgrading their firmware by choice, they remove users’ ability to experience control over the devices they paid for. In essence, Apple tells you what you can and can’t do with your device, and we’ve always felt this is wrong. Sadly, avaricious corporations don’t care what users think; as long as iPhones fly off the shelves and as long as regulations don’t dictate otherwise, nothing will change.
The iDB team has long stood with jailbreakers and user choice when it comes to firmware downgrades. Even if Apple thinks its users are too irresponsible to think for themselves, and they may as well just openly state this in a PR campaign at this point, iDB believes that Apple should at least enable some kind of advanced option for users with advanced technical and troubleshooting knowledge to do what they want with their devices, even if they have to sign a waiver that says their warranty would be null and void if they did so. I’d still accept it.
But will that ever happen? Probably not. Apple likes control. They’ve gone as far as to stifle jailbreaking efforts for years, so why would anything change now?
As always, you can see what firmware is or isn’t being signed for your particular device by using the iPSW.me website. You can also download whatever firmware you might need for your device from our Downloads page.
