How To Downgrade From iOS 10 Beta To iOS 9.x

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Where you one of those people who were so excited about iOS 10, that you decided to upgrade your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch to the first iOS 10 beta? If you did, was it because you want to do Apple a favor and help it to weed out any potential issues with the new mobile OS? Or were you, just caught up with all of the WWDC excitement? Whatever you reasons, you are now in the position to help Apple to ensure that iOS 10 offers a smooth experience when it finally arrives for real this fall for the iPhone, iPad and the iPod Touch.

What if iOS 10 is Glitchy?

So, you’ve got your hands on the shiny, all singing and all dancing iOS 10, but what if you’ve discovered that the OS is causing problems with your device? The first thing to do would be to report the issues you are facing to Apple however you may also need to consider downgrading to a more stable older version of iOS 9!

The good news is, this can be done relatively simply. And you have the option of downgrading to iOS 9.3.2 because Apple is still digitally signing it.

How to Downgrade to iOS 9.3.2

In this How-To guide, I am going to walk you through how to downgrade from iOS 10 beta to a stable version of iOS 9.3.2. However, before starting I’m going suggest that you take your time in the future before rushing head-long into an upgrade without knowing the consequences. Instead, I would advise you to only install a beta version of iOS on a test device, something that you are willing to lose if all fails.

1. Before we begin, you will need to make sure that you have the latest version of iTunes installed on your Mac or Windows PC.

2. Next, you will need to download the iOS 9.3.2 IPSW file that has been produced by Apple for your specific device.

3. Now you need to turn off “Find My iPhone”, this can be done by following: Navigate to Settings > iCloud > Find My iPhone, and then move the toggle over to the off position.

Find My iPhone - Downgrade form iOS 10
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4. Next, connect your iPhone,iPad or iPod Touch to either a Mc or Windows PC with the cable provided, and launch iTunes.

5. You will now need to place your device into DFU mode. To be able to do that, you need to hold down both the power and Touch ID/Home button at the same time for 10 seconds. After that amount of time has elapsed, release the power but, but continue to Touch ID/Home button until your device enter DFU mode. At this point, iTunes will begin to inform you that it has discovered your device to be in recovery mode.

itunes recovery mode - How to Downgrade from iOS 10

6. Now in the iTunes interface, you will need to look for options and then connected devices. Hold down the “Option Key” on the mac, or if using a Windows PC the “Shift key” and then press the “Restore iPhone” button.

iPhone restore from iOS 10
Image Source: Redmondpie.com

7. Next, wait for a prompt and then locate and select the version of iOS 9.3.2 that you downloaded at the start of this How-To Guide. Next, you will notice that iTunes is starting to go about its job installing a new version of iOS 9.3.2 onto your iOS device.

8. It is at this point that I feel I should tell you that, at no point during this process should you unplug your device from a computer. You should wait until iTunes has confirmed to you that it has successfully installed the new version of iOS and then rebooted it to the welcome screen.

And that is that you have successfully removed the iOS 10 beta from your device and can now restore your back on to it. However, I must inform you that only a backup made by iOS 9.3.2 will work with your device. If you made a backup with iOS 10, I’m sorry to say that it will not work with your device.

I hope you found this tutrial helpful, please share your thoughts, comments and questions on this subject in the comments section below.

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