How to Downgrade iOS 9 Beta to iOS 8.3 or iOS 8.4

mercredi 10 juin 2015

How to Downgrade iOS 9 Beta to iOS 8.3 or iOS 8.4 is a post by Josh Smith from Gotta Be Mobile.

You can downgrade from the iOS 9 beta to iOS 8 fairly easily, but you need to take one special step during the restore process or your downgrade to iOS 8 will fail.

Using this guide you can downgrade from iOS 9 to iOS 8.3 or from iOS 9 to iOS 8.4, including the current iOS 8.4 beta. These directions will work the same when the iOS 8.4 release arrives on June 30th, if you want to go back to regular software and try out the new Apple Music app.

The first iOS 9 beta is, like any beta, somewhat buggy on a variety of devices. It is one of the reasons that regular users should stay away from the iOS 9 beta until at least a public beta that is farther along in the development process.

Here’s what you need to know to downgrade from the iOS 9 beta to iOS 8 on iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch.

iOS 9 to iOS 8 Downgrade Prep

The process will erase your device, so make sure you have a backup from when you were on iOS 8. In the past you could not restore a backup made on a new iOS beta to a device running an older beta.

What you need to perform an iOS 9 beta downgrade in about 20 to 30 minutes.

Advertisement

The next thing to do is to make sure that you have enough time to process this. The downgrade takes 10 to 30 minutes and then you will need to restore from iCloud or from an iTunes backup.

You don’t need to find an iOS 8.3 download for this to work. You will need your computer, iTunes and a Lightning cable so that you can connect to the computer.

How to Perform an iOS 9 Downgrade to iOS 8

The process of downgrading iOS 9 to iOS 8 is straightforward if you want to go to iOS 8.3, which is the current version of iOS. After June 30th this method will take you to iOS 8.4, but for now if you want to go to iOS 8.4 you will need to download beta software and follow different directions.

This process erases your iPhone or iPad and while it is happening you cannot use the device for calls or any other feature.

To get started plug your iPhone in to your computer. This works with Mac or with Windows devices as long as you have iTunes installed.

With the iPhone or iPad connected press and hold the home button and the power button for 10 seconds.

When ready, you will see this iTunes message.

After 10 seconds let go of the power button, but keep holding the home button. This will put the iPhone into DFU mode, which allows iTunes to restore to the current regular version of iOS.

When iTunes shows a pop up stating that the iPhone is in recovery mode and then you know that you are ready to downgrade to iOS 8. Once the recovery mode logo appears on the iPhone and the pop up on your computer you can let go of the home button, but do not unplug the iPhone.

See the Recovery Mode information and then click on Restore iPhone to downgrade from the iOS 9 beta.

In iTunes find the page that shows your iPhone, by clicking on the small device icon in the upper left, and then click on Restore iPhone.

For most users this is the last major step. iTunes should find the iOS 8.3 software and start the download for you. After this process completes the iPhone will restart and you can set it up on iOS 8.3 like a new phone. Part of this process will allow you to choose a restore option through iCloud or iTunes.

The video above outlines this process if you need a more visual guide to downgrading iOS 9 to iOS 8.3.

If you run into any problems here, you may need to perform a downgrade by downloading the iOS 8.3 ipsw file for their device. If you need to do this you will need to hold Option and click restore on Mac or Shift and click Restore on Windows. From here, find the ipsw file you downloaded and then click Open and Restore.