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Apple Stops Signing iOS 12.4, Downgrading From iOS 12.4.1 No Longer Possible

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Following the release of iOS 12.4.1 on August 26, Apple has stopped signing iOS 12.4, the previous version of iOS that was available to consumers.

iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch owners who have upgraded to iOS 12.4.1 will no longer be able to downgrade to iOS 12.4.

Apple routinely stops signing older versions of software updates after new releases come out in order to encourage customers to keep their operating systems up to date, but iOS 12.4.1 was released because iOS 12.4 had a major vulnerability.

The vulnerability allowed hackers to create a jailbreak for iOS 12.4 and left devices vulnerable to hacking attempts. Apple fixed the bug in iOS 12.4.1, and the iOS 12.4 jailbreak will not work after upgrading.

iOS 12.4.1 is now the only version of iOS that can be installed on iPhones and iPads, but developers and public beta testers can download iOS 13, an upcoming update that's currently being beta tested and is set to be released next week.

Article Link: Apple Stops Signing iOS 12.4, Downgrading From iOS 12.4.1 No Longer Possible
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2019/09/11/apple-stops-signing-ios-12-4/
If you're planning on taking the 13 plunge when it comes out, now is the time to grab the 12.4.1 install so you can back out 13.0 if needed during that first week or two.
 
Howyalikdemapls said:
It should be illegal to not allow downgrading. Having your device always hassle you to upgrade is annoying enough, but having old devices become unusably slow after upgrading and having no way to return them to their factory installed OS is ********.
Click to expand...
It’s very easy to find every single iOS ipsw online
 
Howyalikdemapls said:
It should be illegal to not allow downgrading. Having your device always hassle you to upgrade is annoying enough, but having old devices become unusably slow after upgrading and having no way to return them to their factory installed OS is ********.
Click to expand...
Not sure how much of an issue that is in this case given that 12.4.1 is available and is pretty much the same thing with a few security fixes essentially.
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Bornee35 said:
It’s very easy to find every single iOS ipsw online
Click to expand...
Sure, but being able to actually install them is a different story since only those that are signed by Apple can be installed.
 
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This the update that slows down and hogs the battery performance of older iPhones, makes sense they won’t allow downgrading since they want people to buy their new fidget spinner iPhones.
 
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Bornee35 said:
It’s very easy to find every single iOS ipsw online
Click to expand...
Until someone figures out a way to fake Apple signing these things, that doesn’t do us any good. They still badger the hell out of you to upgrade until you hit install by accident, then cripple your device into unusability. Can’t even use an old phone for an audio player during workouts without a 4 second delay between touch and action. Ridiculous.
 
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My friend's iPhone automatically upgraded to 12.4.1 without their consent. I showed them how to turn off auto update so it doesn't update to iOS 13.
 
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ThunderSkunk said:
Until someone figures out a way to fake Apple signing these things, that doesn’t do us any good. They still badger the hell out of you to upgrade until you hit install by accident, then cripple your device into unusability. Can’t even use an old phone for an audio player during workouts without a 4 second delay between touch and action. Ridiculous.
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I hate how when I hit the flashlight button you have to wait several seconds for it to come on. iOS 10 was instant.
iOS 12 has weird quirks with airplay. I have to reboot my iPhone to get it working again. Also when someone gives a thumbs up in iMessage it shows a partial thumbs up at times. iOS 10 worked so much better.
 
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nfl46 said:
The jailbreak window was opened for a while. Apple was generous to keep 12.4 signed so long.
Click to expand...

I can’t help but feel like it went on shockingly long , by their standards. I of course am in favor of being able to restore without a signing window, maybe limit it to all versions of the current iOS major version to tighten up a bit on security and scope of compatibility of apps - that would be a happy compromise.

But it’s Almost like they were trying to help out the laggers this time
 
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Howyalikdemapls said:
It should be illegal to not allow downgrading. Having your device always hassle you to upgrade is annoying enough, but having old devices become unusably slow after upgrading and having no way to return them to their factory installed OS is ********.
Click to expand...

does this actually happen to people on a notable basis? this has not ever been an issue for me. granted, i generally choose to run a fresh restore for each major update.
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Bornee35 said:
It’s very easy to find every single iOS ipsw online
Click to expand...

this comment is entirely useless. the title is all about apple closing a signing window. it does not matter if you can find an old ipsw, do you have any way of using it?
 
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JosephAW said:
I hate how when I hit the flashlight button you have to wait several seconds for it to come on. iOS 10 was instant.
iOS 12 has weird quirks with airplay. I have to reboot my iPhone to get it working again. Also when someone gives a thumbs up in iMessage it shows a partial thumbs up at times. iOS 10 worked so much better.
Click to expand...
I don’t have either of these issues on my iPhone 8 Plus, but I do have a couple other quirks. I’m certain that some iOS builds mess with certain core components of different phones (or perhaps even same phones with slightly different chipset builds). My wife has an identical phone bought the same day, and we run almost exactly the same apps. Hers has an intermittent audio issue that comes and goes with different iOS updates. Mine does not.

Maybe the phone color has something to do with it....
 
Howyalikdemapls said:
It should be illegal to not allow downgrading. Having your device always hassle you to upgrade is annoying enough, but having old devices become unusably slow after upgrading and having no way to return them to their factory installed OS is ********.
Click to expand...

Be more dramatic.

Would you care to enlighten us with some actual sources to back up your claims?
 
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Stridder44 said:
Be more dramatic.

Would you care to enlighten us with some actual sources to back up your claims?
Click to expand...
What he says is true. During that time iOS 11 was throttling certain iPhones, Apple admitted to it, for other updates it's just anecdotal but totally true.
Sources? Google it, there are plenty of complaints. Nothing proves anything since there's no good benchmark for this. But there's no way any new iPhone ever took so long to, say, open the Music app, yet you can find complaints (or complain yourself) about it taking 3-15 seconds after updates.
 
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I agree with the fact we should be able to downgrade on older version that our device support. Not necessarily every .x updates but at least the last update of each major iOS versions. We can do this on our computers so why not on our phones? The best exemple is iOS 13. For me, there's some serious bugs and I just don't want it on my device right now. Its not normal I'll have to install a tvOS beta profile to prevent showing/downloading future iOS updates.
 
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Everybody here knows that if an update doesn't cripple performance, it cripples battery life. Or both. Why do some people complain about updates but keep updating anyway is beyond me (not directed at anyone in this thread, just in case, it's something I've read here and elsewhere).
Anyway, what I wanted to say was that it seems Apple's insistent badgering has really decreased in regularity. I used to get an "overlay" covering the screen, asking for a passcode to update overnight automatically.
Let me explain: I have a 9.7 iPad Pro on iOS 9, and up until recently, an iPhone 6s on iOS 9. Until iOS 11, that pop-up would be really insistent. At least once a day, almost always more than once. When iOS 12 launched, Apple wouldn't allow me to update via OTA even if I wanted to - this was only from iOS 9, iOS 10 was fine. Coinciding with that, Apple's passcode overlay stopped, and now, all I get is a once-a-week iOS alert telling me iOS 12 is available. Two options: cancel or "details", which just takes me to the Software Update screen, only to tell me that I need iTunes to update. I'm fine with that, and I hope it stays the same on iOS 13.
 
C DM said:
Which update is that? iOS 12 is generally seen as quite good and runs well on older devices.
Click to expand...
I’m talking about iOS 12.4.1. Like every year they release a very tiny update before the Keynote with “performance and security enhancements”. We all know what it is for.
 
Eorlas said:
does this actually happen to people on a notable basis? this has not ever been an issue for me. granted, i generally choose to run a fresh restore for each major update.
[doublepost=1568258530][/doublepost]

this comment is entirely useless. the title is all about apple closing a signing window. it does not matter if you can find an old ipsw, do you have any way of using it?
Click to expand...
There are multiple third party programs that let you flash an iPhone with unsigned ipsw’s. Many people used it to work around the initial iOS 13 release bugs. Just because you don’t know of a way doesn’t mean it’s non existent.
 
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