How to downgrade iOS 18.3 Beta to iOS 18.2 without data loss

betaprofiles · June 11, 2023, 2:07pm

I guess you’ve downloaded and installed iOS 18.3 beta on your device in the past few days, right? Although iOS 18.3 brings some exciting features but some devices may encounter issues such as overheating, battery drain, or lag after installing iOS 18.3 beta. This is completely normal because it’s a major update and it’s currently in the beta stage.

If you don’t want these issues to occur on your daily-used iPhone, here’s a guide to downgrade from iOS 18.3 beta to iOS 18.2 without losing data.

Preparation

Mac or Windows computer
Lightning or USB-C cable capable of data transfer, usually the one included with your iPhone, iPad
IPSW file for your device

Download IPSW file for iOS 18.2

Download the IPSW file for iPadOS 18.2

Downgrade Guide

Open Finder on your Mac or iTunes on your Windows computer. If you don’t have iTunes, download it here.
Connect your device to your Mac or Windows computer using a USB to Lightning/USB-C cable.
Back up your device using iTunes or Finder. Select the option to back up all your data to your Mac or Windows computer, and make sure to check “Encrypt local backup.” Then click the ‘Back Up Now’ button.

Wait for your device to finish backing up, then go to the folder where the backup file is saved. If you see multiple folders starting with 0xxxxx…, open the one with the most recent date.

Backup folder path on Mac:

~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/0xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Backup folder path on Windows:

C:\Users\<Your-Windows-Username>\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\0xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Find the Info.plist file and open it with any text editor, like TextEdit on Mac or Notepad on Windows.
Look for the line that says Product Version (you can use Cmd + F on Mac or Ctrl + F on Windows to search), then change the value underneath it to 18.2 and save the file.
This will make your current backup file compatible with an older version of iOS. If you don’t edit this file, you won’t be able to restore data from the iOS beta to the official release.

Go to Settings → [your name] → Find My → Find My iPhone/iPad and temporarily turn off this feature.
Back to iTunes/Finder, hold down the Option key (macOS) or Alt key (Windows) + click on the “Restore iPhone/iPad” button. A window will appear for you to select the .ipsw file you downloaded earlier.

Wait for the restore process to complete, then follow the on-screen steps to complete the activation.
When prompted by iTunes/Finder to restore from a backup, select the backup you made in Step 3. Then select “Continue” and iTunes will restore your device.

After the restore from backup process is complete, your device will restart. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the setup.

If you don’t want to download the .ipsw file

The steps below will help you put your device into recovery mode, and iTunes will automatically download the latest .ipsw file compatible with your device. You don’t need to manually download the ipsw file.

Note: You still need to back up your device beforehand (iTunes or iCloud), as the steps below will erase all data on your device.

Open Finder on your Mac or iTunes on your Windows computer. If you don’t have iTunes, download it here.
Connect your device to your Mac or Windows computer using a USB to Lightning cable.
Put your device in recovery mode. The method to do this depends on your specific device, so please check the list below for the steps corresponding to your device. Apple also provides additional information about Recovery Mode in this support article.

A dialog box will appear asking if you want to restore your device. Click on Restore to erase your device and install the latest public release of iOS or iPadOS.
Wait until the restore is complete.
When prompted by iTunes/Finder to restore from a backup, select the backup you have done before.

Once the restore is complete, your device will reboot, continue to follow the onscreen instructions until it’s done.

I hope this guide helps you successfully downgrade your iPhone or iPad. If you have any questions about this guide, please leave a comment below

Judhea_Banning · August 6, 2023, 11:05am

I followed these instructions for windows (the one where backup was made on iOS beta and changed the Product Version to 16.6 from 17.0) but it did not work. It still kept saying that it could not be restored because an error occurred.

betaprofiles · August 7, 2023, 2:41am

A few devices can be restored this way, but some cannot. This method is to trick Apple’s authentication system and it’s possible they have patched it. So I always encourage people to back up their devices before updating to any betas.

Geisterhose · February 25, 2024, 12:08pm

IMPORTANT: on windows its the shift key. WICHTIG: unter Windows ist des die Umschalt-Taste

Geisterhose · February 25, 2024, 12:09pm

hold the shift key