Last week, Apple officially released iOS 18, introducing numerous new features such as customizable Home Screen and Control Center, a redesigned Photos app, and improvements to the Messages app. However, users who have already updated to iOS 18 can no longer downgrade to iOS 17, as Apple has just stopped signing iOS 17.6.1.
Downgrades Are No Longer Possible After iOS 18
iOS 17.6.1 was released in August primarily for bug fixes. While users still running iOS 17 can choose not to upgrade to iOS 18 and continue using iOS 17.7 with the latest security patches, there are no IPSW files available for this version. This means that once you’ve upgraded to iOS 18, downgrading to iOS 17 is no longer possible.
New iOS releases can sometimes introduce bugs or cause compatibility issues with certain apps, which is why some users prefer to downgrade until the problems are resolved. Additionally, downgrading is a technique commonly used by jailbreak users.
The Only Exception: M4 iPad Pro
Currently, the only device that can be downgraded is the M4 iPad Pro. This is due to a serious bug that has caused some of these devices to be bricked after updating to iPadOS 18. Apple has released iPadOS 17.7 IPSW files specifically for the affected iPads and has temporarily pulled iPadOS 18 for the M4 iPads.
If your device is running the iOS 18.1 beta, you can still downgrade to the official iOS 18.0 release. iOS 18.1, which will introduce the first set of Apple Intelligence features, is expected to be released next month.