You Can No Longer Downgrade to iOS 26.1

[MacRumors]

Apple has stopped signing iOS 26.1, meaning that iPhone users can no longer downgrade to that software version via Finder on macOS or the Apple Devices app on Windows. iOS 26.2 is now the minimum version that is still signed by Apple, and the first beta of iOS 26.3 is also available to developers and public beta testers.

iOS 26.2 was released last week. The update adds a Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics in Apple Music, and much more.

Article Link: You Can No Longer Downgrade to iOS 26.1

 

[Anonymous123]

Right on time after announcing more App Store ads will appear for users running iOS 26.2.

 

[mnls]

Laughs in iOS 18

 

[canadianreader]

Happy with my iOS 18 pure bliss. Every time I get that annoying notification to upgrade to iOS 26 I happily swipe it away.

 

[kenta_]

Too bad. 26.2 is still a ********, I see zero improvement.

 

[mashdots]

one of those subtle (not so subtle if you frequent this site) hints that you don't really own your device. On a mac, I can install older versions given they're compatible. But I can't install older iOS versions?

 

[CATiNTHESTORE]

18 TEAM,YES!

 

[artifex]

Laughs in iOS 18

Enjoy it while you can. At least one user reported this week that it ignored their preferences and updated anyway.

 

[Biro]

Enjoy it while you can. At least one user reported this week that it ignored their preferences and updated anyway.

Expect more nasty little surprises ahead.

 

[B4U]

Like why? 🤔
It is not like 26.1 is any better than 26.2 once anyone got tricked into this iOS 26 💩 show.
Endless minor bugs that are hard to trace down or reproduce, but never seen in previous iOS before.
😑

 

[platinumaqua]

Laughs in iOS 18

Also laughing in iOS 17

 

[boswald]

Good. Why would you want to downgrade to 26.1? You’re just setting yourself up for more bugs that way.

 

[QuarterSwede]

I’m just going to throw it out there that iOS 26.2 is pretty good on newer hardware. Everyone crying that it’s a mess is absolutely blind to what it does bring to the table. No clue what bugs you have because I don’t really have any now that 26.2 squashed the links not opening in Safari one. I prefer it over the boring 7-18 years, that was awful over the long term.

 

[MrRom92]

So when I didn’t want anything to do with 26.1 everyone had something to say about it, but now even Apple doesn’t want you to use it

 

[BGrifter]

A good start. I also do not wish to downgrade to iOS 26.2 or 26.3 though.

 

[repoman016]

Too bad. 26.2 is still a ********, I see zero improvement.

I've noticed the "pictures" category in some of my chat messages have returned, but its only showing 4 of the pictures sent and not showing any of the new ones. It's like it worked for an hour and then stopped again

 

[goldmac2006]

 is too aggressive to let people stay on iOS 18. And early iOS 26 builds.

They easily unsigned builds earlier than expected.

 

[Stevez67]

I’m just going to throw it out there that iOS 26.2 is pretty good on newer hardware. Everyone crying that it’s a mess is absolutely blind to what it does bring to the table. No clue what bugs you have because I don’t really have any now that 26.2 squashed the links not opening in Safari one. I prefer it over the boring 7-18 years, that was awful over the long term.

Everyone's mileage varies, but technological advances occur, and if people don't advance incrementally with them, when the time comes that they have no choice but to upgrade, the change will be jarring.

 

[kenta_]

I've noticed the "pictures" category in some of my chat messages have returned, but its only showing 4 of the pictures sent and not showing any of the new ones. It's like it worked for an hour and then stopped again

You know, I had a super strange iMessage issue the other day. I’d go to photos, select a photo, share, message, pick a recipient, and there was no photo or send button visible.

Reboot fixed the issue, but never seen that ever before in any version. I swear 26.2 introduced more new issues than it ever had.

26 introduced a new bug, that often web pages just open as blank. I shrink the safari view to see all open pages, that page appears in miniature, but full screen it’s blank. And won’t display on reload until I force quit safari.

Slow safari bookmark icon redraw (since they’re no longer cached as they were on previous iOS version). 17PM feels so much slower than my 14PM did.

 

[danny842003]

Can’t say I have noticed any bugs on my 17 pro or 16e.

 

[CATiNTHESTORE]

Can’t say I have noticed any bugs on my 17 pro or 16e.

I’m just going to throw it out there that iOS 26.2 is pretty good on newer hardware. Everyone crying that it’s a mess is absolutely blind to what it does bring to the table. No clue what bugs you have because I don’t really have any now that 26.2 squashed the links not opening in Safari one. I prefer it over the boring 7-18 years, that was awful over the long term.

You guys would be a brilliant IT customers) life would be so easier

 

[QuarterSwede]

You guys would be a brilliant IT customers) life would be so easier

I do give pretty detailed notes on what issues I have and how to reproduce them without being overly detailed. I’ve got an unusually high ~50% Apple bug report fixed score. That’s not normal, lol and I don’t know anyone who works at Apple. 🤷🏼‍♂️

 

[Royksöpp]

Why would anyone want do that? iOS 26.1 is a turd.

 

[dominiongamma]

Laughs in iOS 18

Can’t even do iOS 18 as of today lol

 

[shenfrey]

I’m just going to throw it out there that iOS 26.2 is pretty good on newer hardware. Everyone crying that it’s a mess is absolutely blind to what it does bring to the table. No clue what bugs you have because I don’t really have any now that 26.2 squashed the links not opening in Safari one. I prefer it over the boring 7-18 years, that was awful over the long term.

Newer hardware here.

It's a mess.

Carry on crying people and ignore this copium