Don't Want to Upgrade to iOS 26? Here's How to Stay on iOS 18 [Update: Now Unavailable]

[vi2867]

I sometimes do not understand why some people do not want to upgrade to the latest OS. I see it as trying to make time stand still. Technology is moving forward with or without us. We eventually need to adapt or it is not capable anymore. By no means am I telling you to upgrade.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I sometimes do not understand why some people do not want to upgrade to the latest OS. I see it as trying to make time stand still. Technology is moving forward with or without us. We eventually need to adapt or it is not capable anymore. By no means am I telling you to upgrade.

I think there's a reasonable argument to be made for sticking with an install that is working well for you and dialed in, especially on the Mac side.

Changing/updating all the time can introduce problems and, speaking for myself at least, I use my Mac to get a large variety of work done.

Interruptions to the workflows due to new issues are not desirable at all.

I would be very much in favor of Apple switching to more of an 18-24 month cycle for macOS major versions.

I guess on iOS they feel the need to tie it to new iPhones every Fall, so whatever ... I don't care as much about iOS.

 

[Imperial926]

No way!
I agree with @I7guy here 👇

Well I agree with that but the thread is predominantly negative in tone.
What is well established is that most people don’t like change.
I have a friend who complains about his iPhone SE having poor battery life. It’s the original SE and nothing will persuade him to buy a regular 17 although he’s a millionaire!
That sort of thinking can be found all over many forums which is why science should not be confused with unsubstantiated opinion.
Reading this thread no Android user would run out and buy an iPhone.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Well I agree with that but the thread is predominantly negative in tone.

Did you miss the thread title?

"Don't Want to Upgrade to iOS 26? Here's How to Stay on iOS 18"

A thread with this name is not going to be a "pro iOS 26" thread
Maybe this just isn't the iOS thread you are looking for?

 

[Imperial926]

I think there's a reasonable argument to be made for sticking with an install that is working well for you and dialed in, especially on the Mac side.

Changing/updating all the time can introduce problems and, speaking for myself at least, I use my Mac to get a large variety of work done.

Interruptions to the workflows due to new issues are not desirable at all.

I would be very much in favor of Apple switching to more of an 18-24 month cycle for macOS major versions.

I guess on iOS they feel the need to tie it to new iPhones every Fall, so whatever ... I don't care as much about iOS.

I agree with all that!

 

[It’s always something]

Displeasure with iOS 26 has broken containment. Normies aren’t happy.

Clara Jeffery (@clarajeffery.bsky.social)

This iOS update sucks so bad. It now takes three steps to save a screen shot? Everything is harder, takes more steps, drains more battery. Why? Who has written a good piece on this insanity?

bsky.app

 

[turbineseaplane]

Displeasure with iOS 26 has broken containment. Normies aren’t happy.

Clara Jeffery (@clarajeffery.bsky.social)

This iOS update sucks so bad. It now takes three steps to save a screen shot? Everything is harder, takes more steps, drains more battery. Why? Who has written a good piece on this insanity?

bsky.app

And reply after reply of users complaining ... and frankly not many of them seem like they'd be power users or MR member types.

They all mostly sound like everyday folks who are not happy about this new iOS.

 

[artifex]

Is downgrading impossible on Android phones and tablets too? Never had an Android device … just curious to know. Anyone?

Technically it's possible with any Android device where you can unlock the bootloader, but in practice it varies:

- Pretty sure my Motorola support tools will let me install signed copies on my phone even after they stop showing them on the server, if I've got them saved. And that's just the official tools and ROMs, that don't require unlocking (because they are signed by the manufacturer). If I wanted to change to a third party ROM or AOSP (plain vanilla android) I could unlock my bootloader from the developer menu and do that. If I had a flagship device, there would be several third party ROMs to try and AOSP, but I don't, so that's mostly theoretical. But I can certainly keep a backup of earlier official copies on my computer. (I still have one I used to reflash my dad's Motorola phone a few months ago in case I need it again, and I was able to reflash just the system without losing his data, but don't expect that to always be the case.) I've also used a similar tool from Samsung to deal with my mom's really old Samsung phone.

- On the other hand, on my latest tablet by Chuwi, they don't have support tools they hand out to consumers. If I write to them and ask them, they'll post an archive with the current official build and installer for my device to their support forum, but they don't just have a file server up with all versions, supposedly because sometimes they change hardware while keeping the same model name. I can unlock its bootloader to install something else if I want, but nobody else has cared to try making a new ROM for it and I certainly am not going to try building AOSP by myself for it.

For your first Android device you may want to make sure you have a big brand like Samsung or Google, so you keep getting updates for a long while. You may want to pre-check the device support list of LineageOS or another big third party ROM as well, in case you plan to keep it after official updates run out, so you can see how easy or hard it will be in general for your phone to switch later. And once you buy a device you may want to go ahead and download the current tool and official ROM to your computer just in case. Because the system function that checks for updates will automatically install them if you let it, or wait for you to approve, but it will never ever offer to go back.

P.S. Don't unlock your bootloader unless you need to. It's not the same thing as "unlocking your phone" from one provider to use on a different network. Some banking apps check the bootloader as a security measure.

 

[Imperial926]

And reply after reply of users complaining ... and frankly not many of them seem like they'd be power users or MR member types.

They all mostly sound like everyday folks who are not happy about this new iOS.

If people want the old way they simply have to navigate to Settings -> General -> Screen Capture and disable the toggle for ‘Full-Screen Previews’. Personally I think the full screen option is an improvement.
My wife is also a casual user and I’ve heard no complaints yet.

 

[Dylan33x]

The article, when first published, actually said something like "you can continue on iOS 14 until the release of the next major version". Then they stopped doing iOS 14 updates well before then, and subsequently updated the article.

Apple also promised Similar compatibility with one of the Watch OS/iOS combos, at WWDC 2021, then later went back and edited the page lol

 

[AlanMarron]

Ios26 is the windows vista of iOS version.

Hopefully the next version in 2026 will be lighter, faster and less wasteful on resources.

Remember all of this bloat compared with xp?





What they took from us 😭😢💔
View attachment 2589444

Thank the Maker that my last work laptop had Windows 7 that had the optional XP interface—in gray!

Why won’t Apple give users—us old guys—the same choice of look and feel?

 

[tubemaster]

I think it's because it forms the majority of comment on threads like this. I wouldn't go as far as chastised but, as a 70 year old, I've seen this so many times before with both Windows, iOS and MacOS/OSX. My hardest time with Apple was the first Mac we bought when you still had to launch half the programmes in Mac OS9 and the rest in OSX Cheetah. However, I quickly learnt that technology usually improves, even if there may be some temporary glitches. Right now there are many Windows users stubbornly refusing to go with Windows 11. The ones who've stuck to 10 will now find their computers unsupported whilst many of us felt 11 was an immediate improvement back in 2021 and never looked back.

The whole “security” argument with 11 falls apart once you find out there are features in 11 that have major security holes, some of which are almost by design (Recall cough cough). Additionally, the advent of corporate-mandated vibe coding makes me question the quality, and again, security of these new updates.

 

[vi2867]

I think there's a reasonable argument to be made for sticking with an install that is working well for you and dialed in, especially on the Mac side.

Changing/updating all the time can introduce problems and, speaking for myself at least, I use my Mac to get a large variety of work done.

Interruptions to the workflows due to new issues are not desirable at all.

I would be very much in favor of Apple switching to more of an 18-24 month cycle for macOS major versions.

I guess on iOS they feel the need to tie it to new iPhones every Fall, so whatever ... I don't care as much about iOS.

Yes, I 100% agree. If it is Mac OS and you need your device to work. I am talking about iOS. It is a more high pace OS. New features will not work on older OS’s and sometimes your device becomes inoperable. When I help family members with their devices and see that they are running older OS’s and apps that have not been updated. I try not to help them because they will blame me for breaking their device. I tell them once you decide on your own to update, then I will help you.

 

[canadianreader]

I sometimes do not understand why some people do not want to upgrade to the latest OS. I see it as trying to make time stand still. Technology is moving forward with or without us. We eventually need to adapt or it is not capable anymore. By no means am I telling you to upgrade.

The less people upgrade the more companies will capitulate and adapt to our needs.

 

[canadianreader]

Update: Apple is no longer allowing the iOS 18 public beta to be used to skirt the iOS 18 to iOS 26 transition. Opting in to the iOS 18 beta no longer triggers the iOS 18.7.3 update.

I will remain on iOS18 with or without the workaround.

 

[generdude]

I just fact checked this and yep it works. However, I do not want to install any updates that are classified as a beta. I use Firefox on my iPhone anyway. Do I really need 18.7.3?

I have the same question. But I do use Safari.

 

[avro707]

I sometimes do not understand why some people do not want to upgrade to the latest OS. I see it as trying to make time stand still. Technology is moving forward with or without us. We eventually need to adapt or it is not capable anymore. By no means am I telling you to upgrade.

Problem is the ios26 user experience is fairly poor overall - the Liquid Glass design was change for the sake of it rather than being better. That won’t make me popular with the glass fans.

I’ve used the 26 version since betas went out to developers so I have a lot of time with it. They’ve also had plenty of glitches with it as well, including some recurring ones with CarPlay that got fixed, then got broken again.

 

[Roadstar]

It's more like scare tactic than real danger to me. Just don't click any link you see and use your iPhone wisely.

It depends on the type of vulnerability. There are also zero-click exploits where no interaction whatsoever is required from the user, so not clicking on links won't fully protect you if you're running vulnerable software.

 

[rui no onna]

Not worried about my “daily driver” iPad. It’s a Pro 10.5 (first gen, I believe) so it’s not even showing an update beyond its current 17.7.10.

I was toying with the idea of getting a new one but I know adding a new “26” device to the 17-18 device mix will Just muck things up. No sale at this point.

The nice thing about devices being dropped, you stay at a firmware version that runs decently while still receiving critical security updates.

I kinda wish Apple had dropped support for A12 devices after 18.

 

[tubemaster]

The nice thing about devices being dropped, you stay at a firmware version that runs decently while still receiving critical security updates.

I kinda wish Apple had dropped support for A12 devices after 18.

In that vein the XR is shaping up to be better than the 11, especially for PWM/temporal dithering sensitive users. iOS 26 is a nightmare for accessibility just like beta/early iOS 7 was.

 

[MartiNZ]

The nice thing about devices being dropped, you stay at a firmware version that runs decently while still receiving critical security updates.

I kinda wish Apple had dropped support for A12 devices after 18.

Yeah but it has always been Apple's way to just push things one generation too far. My mother's SE is basically unusable on 26, just as my original iPhone 3G was basically unusable on iOS 4. They have to force one to upgrade somehow, ans it is not going to be through hardware improvements lol. Thankfully I'm both of the cases mentioned, the upgrade was already planned. Sorted mum out with a 16e earlier in the year, but still use the SE for one 2-factor thing, and when just starting up the phone and opening that one app is appallingly slow on 26. I've never seen a worse "upgrade", but it definitely works for the business strategy!

 

[skiguy45]

Why, superior visual design and attention to detail, of course!
It totally doesn't feel like an alpha build of macOS and an unfinished skin over Sequoia. No, not at all.

View attachment 2589406

I'm showing this to anyone thinks they like Liquid Glass.

The most insane part is when 26 was announced in June Apple actually showed screenshots like this on their website highlighting this as progress!

 

[turbineseaplane]

Why, superior visual design and attention to detail, of course!
It totally doesn't feel like an alpha build of macOS and an unfinished skin over Sequoia. No, not at all.

View attachment 2589406

Goodness gracious

 

[rui no onna]

Yeah but it has always been Apple's way to just push things one generation too far.

A lot of times, yes, they push the hardware too far.

iPad 4 on iOS 10 and 2017 iPad Pro on iPadOS 17 are the few exceptions in my experience.

The support for iPhones usually cuts off 1-2 updates before iPads with the same chipset so I find they tend to fare better on their last firmware performance-wise.

 

[Radeon85]

The less people upgrade the more companies will capitulate and adapt to our needs.

But the ones stuck on anything lower than 26 will be the minority shortly. If people want the latest security updates, then they have to use the latest OS, why should Apple, MS or anyone else waste time and resources catering to the minority when there is a perfectly fine and free update. People either need to move with the times and adapt, or they'll just get left behind. That goes for any technology.