Apple has finally released the iOS 18 public beta, almost a month after announcing iOS 18 at the WWDC24 keynote. iOS 18 is the next big update for the iPhone. It is now available in developer beta as well as public beta. iOS 18 comes with a lot of new features that might entice anyone to try the beta as soon as possible. Many tech enthusiasts can’t resist upgrading to iOS 18.
If you’ve already installed iOS 18 for testing and finished testing, or you’re having issues with the build and trying to roll back to iOS 17, you can easily do so. It’s also possible to go back to iOS 17 without losing data by restoring a backup you made before upgrading to beta.
The iOS 18 developer beta is intended for developers to test their apps, while the public beta is more stable, but may still contain bugs. These beta updates usually contain some bugs and sometimes major bugs. Although I didn’t find any major issues, I did find it slow sometimes, but not often. Also, I haven’t explored everything since the update, so I can’t comment further on stability.
Two Ways to Downgrade iOS 18 Beta to iOS 17
If you’re here, you either want to know if you can downgrade after installing the iOS 18 beta, or if you’ve already finished testing and found the update unusable for day-to-day tasks. Is. No matter the reason, you can easily downgrade your iPhone from iOS 18 beta. The downgrade process requires a PC, so make sure you have one available at the time of the downgrade. Since this is a one-time process, you can borrow from someone if you don’t have one.
If you have an iPad running iPadOS 18, you can follow a similar process, you just need to make sure to use the correct files.
You need a backup before upgrading to iOS 18.
You cannot restore the iOS 18 beta backup on iOS 17. So, you will need a backup of iOS 17 before upgrading to iOS 18 beta. If you followed the instructions to install the iOS 18 beta, you may have been instructed to take a backup.
Both cloud and local backups will work. Also manually copy the new data created after upgrading to iOS 18, as it will not be restored with iOS 17 backup.
Download the IPSW file.
To rollback your iPhone, you’ll need an IPSW, which is a firmware file for iPhone and iPad. Not all IPSW files will work, you need to get a signed IPSW. The current signed version is iOS 17.5.1, but it may be different at the time of your download.
Note: You can skip this if you are following the first method.
Before downloading the file, you need to know that IPSW files vary depending on the model as well as the iOS version.
IPSW.me is a reliable website where I download IPSW. You can also use other trusted websites. Select your model, and then download the latest signed version that will be displayed in green.
After downloading the correct IPSW, save it to your PC. Remember its location as you will need it later.
Restore iOS 17 from Restore Mode – Method 1
Make sure you have iTunes (for Windows PC) or Finder (for Mac) open.
Turn off your iPhone and connect it to your computer using power or a USB C cable.
Now press and hold the Power button until you see the Restore screen (with the laptop and cable visual).
When you select your iPhone in iTunes or Finder, you’ll see the iPhone Recovery page. Click the Restore button.
Select Restore and Update on the confirmation page. Then click Next > Agree.
This will start downgrading your iPhone from iOS 18 to iOS 17. You can view the status on your iPhone as well as PC.
Wait for the process to complete. Your iPhone will automatically reboot when the downgrade is complete.
When your phone is booted, go to the data recovery method which you can find below. If it doesn’t work and shows some error, you can follow another method.
Manually restore iOS 17 on your iPhone – Method 2
- First, turn off Find My iPhone from settings, which also requires disabling Stolen Device Protection. You can enable it after the downgrade.
- Open Finder on Mac, or iTunes on Windows.
- Now connect your iPhone to your PC using the original or high-quality cable. And select your iPhone in Finder/iTunes. Make sure your iPhone is unlocked.
- If you have taken backup through these apps, you may have already Trusted your computer. If not, you will receive a pop-up to Trust the PC. Tap the Trust button.
- Mac – Press and hold the Options button on your Mac, and while holding the button, click on the Restore iPhone button.
- Windows – Press and hold the Shift button, and while holding the button, click on the Restore iPhone button.
- Now browse and select the IPSW file you downloaded earlier. And then confirm the Restore.
- Wait until the Restore process is finished, and your iPhone will Restart automatically.
Don’t do the iPhone setup yet.
Restore your backup.
It’s time to get your data back. Start setting up your iPhone. When you see the “Transfer your apps and data” page during the setup process, choose an option based on your backup.
For example, if you’ve backed up to iCloud, select ‘From iCloud Backup’. Or if you have backed up to your PC, select ‘From Mac or PC’.
If you choose iCloud, sign in with your account. This will show the backup you took earlier. Select the backup you took before upgrading to iOS 18 beta. And wait for the recovery process.
You can also restore your local backups from Finder and iTunes. Open the app and then connect to your iPhone. If you have to restore
