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How to Downgrade From iOS 14 and iPadOS 14

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Apr 12, 2001
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If you've installed iOS 14 or iPadOS 14 through Apple's developer program or the public beta after it's been released, you may decide you want to downgrade because of issues. Keep reading to learn how it's done.

ios14handsonthumb_feature2.jpg

Compared to betas of previous years, iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 are relatively stable. That said, Apple's beta versions of its major software updates can be notoriously buggy, especially the early releases.

You may find apps not working properly, poor battery life, device crashes, and features that don't do what they're supposed to. Fortunately, you can restore your iPhone or iPad to the previous version of iOS.

If you made an archived backup before you installed the beta, you can remove the iOS 14 beta and restore the backup. If you didn’t make a backup, you can still downgrade, but you won't be able to restore your device to its original state before you upgraded.

Also, if you've installed watchOS 7 on your Apple Watch, it's important to note that you won't be able to use it with your iPhone once you've gone back to iOS 13. Downgrading an Apple Watch to a previous version of watchOS can't be done manually either – if you want to remove watchOS 7, you'll have to send your watch in to Apple.

How to Downgrade from iOS 14 or iPadOS 14

  1. Launch Finder on your Mac.
  2. Connect your iPhone or iPad to your Mac using a Lightning cable.
  3. Put your device into recovery mode. The method of doing this depends on your device, so check the list below these steps to find your model. Apple also provides more information on Recovery mode in this support article.
    restore-ios-device.jpg

    A dialog will pop up asking if you want to restore your device. Click Restore to wipe your device and install the latest public release of iOS or iPadOS.
  4. Wait while the restore process completes.
How to Enter Recovery Mode on Your iOS Device

  • iPad models with Face ID: Press and quickly release the Volume Up button. Press and quickly release the Volume Down button. Press and hold the Top button until your device begins to restart. Continue holding the Top button until your device goes into recovery mode.
    iPhone 8 or later: Press and quickly release the Volume Up button. Press and quickly release the Volume Down button. Then, press and hold the Side button until you see the recovery mode screen.
    iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, and iPod touch (7th generation): Press and hold the Top (or Side) and Volume Down buttons at the same time. Keep holding them until you see the recovery mode screen.
    iPad with Home button, iPhone 6s or earlier, and iPod touch (6th generation) or earlier: Press and hold both the Home and the Top (or Side) buttons at the same time. Keep holding them until you see the recovery mode screen.
One you've followed the above steps, you can restore a backup of your device from iOS 13 or iPadOS 13 using your Mac or iCloud.

Article Link: How to Downgrade From iOS 14 and iPadOS 14
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/how-to/downgrade-from-ios-14/
It will be very hard to be any worse than last year, it only stabilised after the 0.3 release.
 
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travis64 said:
Thinking of upgrading is anyone going back down?
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I went back down. Not really anything in there i miss too much. The widgets arent interactive. Not anything mind blowing in to me in Apple music. I have everything organized in my own folders. So i don't need the App library screen.

The only thing i found useful to me. Was the call bar. So i can do what i want. And receive a call. And the PIP. But i can wait on those.
 
certen said:
It will be very hard to be any worse than last year, it only stabilised after the 0.3 release.
Click to expand...
Tbh I’ve had bugs introduced this year even with iOS 13, still have a multitasking one which is so frustrating (I’m sure others experience it but it only happens when it wants to)
 
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Only hiccup Im having is on my eero network! When I leave home and then come back it keeps joining as new device! Really annoying when approving devices under the eero app and having a list of 22 new connections..
 
It is a really stable release. However, I decided to go back to iOS 13 because of one particular reason: the beta eats approx. 24 GB of device storage (System and others). I dont really know the reason behind this amount of data being saved though. maybe reconsider if you have a 64 GB device. Performance and battery life was not affected in my case.
 
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alexandr said:
are there any deal-breaking bugs in the beta? never done this before, but am seriously considering installing this beta.
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It's on my main phone and nothing problematic for me. Last year there were so many issues, especially when making phone calls. This year I think I made one report so far, widgets not displaying or updating content as frequently as I would like.

The issues come when upgrading the Beta's so I'm going to stay put on Beta 1 if I can.

This is super impressive given some developers would have had to work from home.
 
GadgetBen said:
It's on my main phone and nothing problematic for me. Last year there were so many issues, especially when making phone calls. This year I think I made one report so far, widgets not displaying or updating content as frequently as I would like.

The issues come when upgrading the Beta's so I'm going to stay put on Beta 1 if I can.

This is super impressive given some developers would have had to work from home.
Click to expand...

thanks for this! i'm very tempted. mostly because of the update to incoming calls)))
 
Do we actually need to put a device in recovery mode by pressing the button combos or it can be initiated simply by plugging it into computer, as before?
 
alexandr said:
thanks for this! i'm very tempted. mostly because of the update to incoming calls)))
Click to expand...

Yeah that happened for the first time today, I was browsing the home screen and the call came in at the top minimised. I think you can move it around as well although I didn't try.

I think by default though if the phone is locked it's still full screen.
 
I just had a bad bug with iOS 14 this morning. I thought I had somehow managed to sleep through all my alarms. Nope. Later, during a meeting all of the alarms started going off through my watch at the same time. I double checked everything and my alarms were set for the correct time. I don't usually daily drive iOS betas on my iPhone but figured since I'm stuck at home during the pandemic anyway I might as well. Other than that, the betas have been fairly stable for me on my iPhone 11 Pro. The battery life is worse, and there have been various UI glitches, but that is to be expected.
 
MacRumors said:
Compared to betas of previous years, iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 are relatively stable.
Click to expand...
I’m quite happy about the handful of new features in the new OS’s coming up, but this ^^^ is the most heartwarming bit, that it seems like they’ve done a “stealth” stability pass, along with the new features.

Between this and various other things I’ve heard, it feels a bit like a bunch of developers on lockdown got told “pick some small bugs from the backlog and fix them”, rather than implementing major new systems that more likely involve a lot of developer interaction and planning.
 
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