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iOS 8 Downgrade to iOS 7: What You Need to Know

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Apple no longer signs iOS 7 or iOS 7.1.2, effectively killing off the iOS 8 downgrade option for almost all iPhone and iPad users.

Update: Apple No Longer Supports the iOS 8 to iOS 7 Downgrade

Apple normally does not allow users to downgrade from iOS 8 to iOS 7, but for a very small period of time Apple servers will verify the update with iOS 7.1.2 or iOS 8.

Apple no longer allows this manual method to downgrade from iOS 8. This was a great option for iPhone 4S users who discovered the iOS 8 performance is not up to their needs.

You can downgrade from IOS 8 to iOS 7 for a limited time.

You can downgrade from IOS 8 to iOS 7 for a limited time.

Another user who might like this is an iOS 7 jailbreak user who tried iOS 8 thanks to the new features, but decided they couldn’t use their iPhone without a jailbreak. The iOS 8 jailbreak is likely far off, so if you need a jailbreak to happily use your phone don’t delay, downgrade today.

Before you start the iOS 8 downgrade to iOS 7 you need to visit this page to see if Apple is still signing the iOS 7.1.2 update. Once Apple stops signing the iOS 7.1.2 update for your device there is no way to downgrade unless you saved blobs long ago on an iPad 2.

For everyone else find your iPhone or iPad on this page and make sure the iOS 7.1.2 line shows a green yes, like the listing below.

Make sure you can still downgrade to iOS 7 before you start.

Make sure you can still downgrade to iOS 7 before you start.

If this is still green you can move fast and downgrade to iOS 7 while Apple is still signing updates. If you attempt to do this after Apple stops signing updates the verification will fail and you will need to restore to iOS 8.

As long as it is green you can download the iOS 7.1.2 ipsw for your device. The best place to go for a fast iOS 7.1.2 update now is direct from Apple. You can use the iOS 7.1.2 direct download links from RedMondPieThe iOS 7.1.12 download is pretty large so it may take about 15 minutes to download.

After you download you will need to follow the directions below. You must restore, which wipes the iPhone or iPad clean to factory settings. You can not restore from an iOS 8 backup, but if you have a recent backup from when you were on iOS 7.1.2 you should be able to restore that when this completes.

Downgrade from iOS 8 to iOS 7

Before you proceed make sure Apples is still verifying the iOS 7.1.2 update. Failure to do so will lead to an annoying restore to iOS 8 and a waste of your time.

1. Download the iOS 7.1.2 ipsw for your device

2. Plug your iPhone into a computer and open iTunes.

3. In iTunes click on the iPhone option in the upper right. If you see the Restore and Upgrade options you are on the right screen.

5. Special Click on Restore iPhone. A special click involves holding a key while you left click.

  • Hold alt/option on Mac when you click Restore iPhone…
  • On Windows, hold Shift when you click Restore iPhone…

Do not try the Check for Update option.

6. Find the ios 7.1.2 download and click on the .ipsw file.

After a few minutes the iOS 7.1.2 update will complete. If Apple is still signing the iOS 7.1.2 files you are good to go. Just make sure you don’t update to iOS 8 again. If the process fails it is likely Apple stopped signing the iOS 7.1.2 update and you need to Restore to iOS 8.

19 Comments

19 Comments

  1. Justin

    09/17/2014 at 11:29 pm

    says firmware is not compatible with device? but I’ve tried both for iPhone 5c so I don’t have any other options

  2. mich

    09/18/2014 at 2:43 am

    so it means once i have backed up my iPhone in iTunes under ios8, it is no longer possible for me to revert to iOS 7.1.2 because the back up in iTunes is already under ios8? unless i don’t want to restore all contents from old iOS especially contacts and messages?

  3. Ronald

    09/18/2014 at 6:30 am

    Still signing :-)

  4. Ant

    09/18/2014 at 7:59 am

    I have a iphone 5. How do i know which one to download? Its got
    Iphone5,1
    Iphone5,2 and more…

  5. David Cronk

    09/18/2014 at 10:57 am

    there are no ipsw files in the zip folder that downloads

  6. Tam

    09/19/2014 at 2:32 pm

    Thank you, this helped me so much!

  7. Michael

    09/20/2014 at 2:19 am

    Hi I have iphone 4s, foolishly updated to ios 8 without reading about the update first, consequently really slow operation and cramped pages, however thanks to your article have managed to downgrade to ios 7.1.2 and phone appears to be working as before. Tip use Firefox to download the 7.1.2 ispw file, it wont work with Internet Explorer, happy downgrading,

  8. Dave Darby

    09/20/2014 at 11:03 am

    Still working. Just downgraded.

  9. Brian Laidlaw

    09/20/2014 at 3:38 pm

    When I download the Ipswich file it is a zip file and there is no ipsw file name so I can’t find it after clocking on restorers. Any ideas….my iPad 2 is slow as molasses….just useless

    • Michael

      09/20/2014 at 4:00 pm

      Hi you need to download the ipsw file with Firefox to get the correct file association.
      If you use Internet Explorer you get a file zip association which will not work.

      Regards
      Michael

  10. To

    09/20/2014 at 4:09 pm

    Is it also possible to upgrade my iPad from iOS 6.1.3 to iOS 7.1.2? Will it work to restore my backup from iOS 6 and would you guys recommend me to upgrade? Im having an iPad 2.

  11. Dave Bridge

    09/20/2014 at 5:31 pm

    Thanks for this how-to article! SO thankful I can still downgrade!! Tried iOS8 on my old iPad2 and it was horrible!! I’ll give it a try on my iPhone 5S later, but the iPad2 stays at iOS7.12 for the rest of it’s life

    I supposed I can define “horrible” just to steer others away from trying it. I open the smartcover and now it takes about 4 seconds before the screen comes on. It used to be nearly instant. I double-click the home button, and again its about 4 seconds for the system to respond. That’s how the native functions perform, so you can imagine how great the apps run.

    Not bashing iOS8 in general, just advising you to avoid it on this older hardware: iPad2 32GB Wifi

  12. BEN

    09/21/2014 at 12:20 am

    Hi,

    I downloaded the correct iOS version for my iPhone 5S, but it says the update cannot be completed due to the firmware being unsupported. Can anyone help with this???

    Thanks

  13. Skoor

    09/28/2014 at 8:03 am

    Will i lose everything if i downgrade from 8 to 7.1.2.? And how can i make sure i dont lose anything .. I just hate this 8 version

  14. Med

    10/06/2014 at 5:27 am

    Hi. I know it’s too late . But I upgraded from ios 7 to iOS 8 and I want to downgrade to iOS 7.1.2 is there any other way to do it .

  15. Concerned man

    10/13/2014 at 8:25 pm

    Is it possible to restore a ios7 back up on a phone that has ios 8?

  16. Seo service

    04/04/2017 at 9:46 am

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