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How to Downgrade From iOS 15 to iOS 14

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Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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If you've installed iOS 15 or iPadOS 15 through Apple's developer program or the public beta now it's been released, you may decide you want to downgrade because of usability or stability issues. Keep reading to learn how it's done.

iOS-15-banner-public-beta-red.jpg

Apple usually only releases the public betas of ‌iOS and ‌iPadOS‌ once the developer versions 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 15 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 8 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 14. And downgrading an Apple Watch to a previous version of watchOS can't be done manually either – if you want to remove ‌watchOS 8‌, you'll have to send your watch in to Apple.

How to Downgrade from iOS 15 or iPadOS 15

  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 14 or iPadOS 14 using your Mac or iCloud.

Article Link: How to Downgrade From iOS 15 to iOS 14
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/how-to/downgrade-from-ios-15-and-ipados-15-beta/
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Only reason I want to downgrade is HSBC's app doesn't work under iOS15 public beta.
Is there a way to downgrade the Watch to watchOS 7? I don;t want to downgrade my phone to iOS 14 and lose connectivity to my watchOS 8 watch.
 
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The iPad Pro 2020 and newer and iPad Air 4 use usb-c so you can't them to your Mac using a lightning cable lol 😂 😝 I guess the article is a copy and paste from last year 😂
 
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Can anyone from you guys confirm that I'm not going to break iCloud sync or anything if I downgrade back to iOS 14?
 
I would strongly advise against this if you were previously on the iOS 14.7 public beta.

I lost a good 4 hours of my life yesterday trying to do this.

Once you sign up for the iOS 15 public beta, the 14.7 will not be available again. The downgrade to iOS 14 will work but will put you on 14.6 but your backup will be from the 14.7 beta and is incompatible so can’t be used.

Complete **** show.

After getting back on iOS 14.6 and not being able to restore it. I had to set it up as a new phone, then get back onto the iOS 15 public beta, then reset the device and then restore it from the latest backup.
 
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  • Wow
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I just wish I could download the previous version of Safari. The new version is an absolute steaming pile o' crap. "Look! We put in all kind of new, useless gee whizzes & what's-its because our designer & developer wonks wanted to. Who cares if these (essentially) massive changes slow you down and make you less productive? It looks great, right? Right?"

I guess I'll be re-exploring Chrome, Firefox, et. al., for a new default browser.
 
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"Apple's beta versions of its major software updates can be notoriously buggy, especially the early releases". isn't that why they call it beta, and early in the cycle yet? And notoriously buggy, still better than windows first public release
 
This process will lose all data btw. So not ideal at all.
Local backup could help you to preserve the data but requires you to change a file in the backup a bit. Not hard though as long as you follow the instructions.
And for all watchOS 8 testers, there is NO WAY for user to downgrade watchOS themselves. Sending it back to Apple is the only way to do it. If you are keen on beta program, maybe consider buying a cheap second hand iPhone to test out if the main device is mission critical, as per the uh…warning happening every year since iOS 9.
 
Neil Harrison said:
Can you do this for Watch OS ?
Click to expand...
Nope, you're screwed. 🤓 OK, maybe that was a little harsh. According to the article, you have to send the AW to Apple to have the beta weeded out. I used to be a hard-core developer type,' but there was a point where some of the initial beta's were absolute garbage. From that point on, I threw in the towel except for the Apple TV and HomePods. Now I'm back to Siri telling me "something went wrong..." when I request a particular song from my favorites and more. In my opinion, for every plus there's an equal minus. —DEO🧑‍🔬
 
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Is there any particular reason why you need to enter recovery mode first? Can't you just hit "Restore" and it will automatically download and install the latest official version?
 
Now that I'm not a medical disaster (when 14 first went public beta, I was still within the first year after my heart surgery and didn't want to mess around with my phone) I decided to jump on 15 public and watch 8.

So far, I've had no usage issues. My watch and phone work just fine. The apps I use are working fine as well (banking, Accuweather, etc) and no real battery issues. I've seen some decreasing battery capacity in my Apple Watch 5, but it's still at 93% 5 hours into my day.

Upside: The new Maps app is a REAL upgrade from the last version. It's really better. No issues with Car Play in my 2020 Chrysler product (u Connect system) including Apple Music.

Downside: The "new" Safari stinks so far. I can't get past the address bar change. I don't just just not sort of like it, I really hate it. Whatever "good" changes they made to Safari, I can't get past it.

I like the way Watch OS 8 dsplays some of the weather complications, particularly the precipitation info (now includes a time frame with the percentage) and the UV index is a round number. The connection info added to the screen when you swipe up from the time screen (I know I'm calling this the wrong thing) is really nice too.


lighter.jpg
 
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damienbutt said:
I would strongly advise against this if you were previously on the iOS 14.7 public beta.

I lost a good 4 hours of my life yesterday trying to do this.

Once you sign up for the iOS 15 public beta, the 14.7 will not be available again. The downgrade to iOS 14 will work but will put you on 14.6 but your backup will be from the 14.7 beta and is incompatible so can’t be used.

Complete **** show.

After getting back on iOS 14.6 and not being able to restore it. I had to set it up as a new phone, then get back onto the iOS 15 public beta, then reset the device and then restore it from the latest backup.
Click to expand...

I had the same nightmare when I brought my 2018 iPad to the Apple store for service, and they replaced it. My backup was on Public Beta, and several days of pain followed.
 
damienbutt said:
I would strongly advise against this if you were previously on the iOS 14.7 public beta.

I lost a good 4 hours of my life yesterday trying to do this.

Once you sign up for the iOS 15 public beta, the 14.7 will not be available again. The downgrade to iOS 14 will work but will put you on 14.6 but your backup will be from the 14.7 beta and is incompatible so can’t be used.

Complete **** show.

After getting back on iOS 14.6 and not being able to restore it. I had to set it up as a new phone, then get back onto the iOS 15 public beta, then reset the device and then restore it from the latest backup.
Click to expand...

No sympathy for fools willing to be apple’s guinea pigs
 
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Shirasaki said:
Local backup could help you to preserve the data but requires you to change a file in the backup a bit. Not hard though as long as you follow the instructions.
Click to expand...
What are you talking about? A change in the file?

A local backup before you upgraded to iOS 15 will put you right back to where you were at the time of the backup (when you were running iOS 14). Procedure might be complicated for some, but it’s pretty straight forward once you know it.
 
damienbutt said:
I would strongly advise against this if you were previously on the iOS 14.7 public beta.

I lost a good 4 hours of my life yesterday trying to do this.

Once you sign up for the iOS 15 public beta, the 14.7 will not be available again. The downgrade to iOS 14 will work but will put you on 14.6 but your backup will be from the 14.7 beta and is incompatible so can’t be used.

Complete **** show.

After getting back on iOS 14.6 and not being able to restore it. I had to set it up as a new phone, then get back onto the iOS 15 public beta, then reset the device and then restore it from the latest backup.
Click to expand...
I wouldn’t necessarily say this is a complete **** show. It’s always been this way, and you just have to know what you’re getting into.

Why can’t you get back to iOS 14.7 though? The beta profile for iOS 14 can be downloaded at https://betaprofiles.com and should let you get iOS 14.7 again. (Or you can download the iOS 14.7 IPSW to restore with.)
 
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damienbutt said:
I would strongly advise against this if you were previously on the iOS 14.7 public beta.

I lost a good 4 hours of my life yesterday trying to do this.

Once you sign up for the iOS 15 public beta, the 14.7 will not be available again. The downgrade to iOS 14 will work but will put you on 14.6 but your backup will be from the 14.7 beta and is incompatible so can’t be used.

Complete **** show.

After getting back on iOS 14.6 and not being able to restore it. I had to set it up as a new phone, then get back onto the iOS 15 public beta, then reset the device and then restore it from the latest backup.
Click to expand...
can't you just download a 14.7 beta IPSW and restore to that version from your computer?
 
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