Apple seeded the first version of iOS 10 beta few days back which includes several cool features and improvements. There is a lot of excitement whenever Apple unveils a major iOS version, so it is quite understandable that the natural instinct to install iOS 10 beta.
If you’ve installed iOS 10 beta, but want to downgrade back to iOS 9.3.2 or the latest version, because you found it too buggy then we’ve covered. Downgrading from iOS 10 beta to iOS 9.3.2 is quite easy, despite Apple’s warning which states that you cannot downgrade back to earlier versions of iOS.
Important points
- You will be able to downgrade back only to iOS 9.3.2, which is the latest version. You cannot downgrade to the previous versions as Apple has stopped signing the older iOS firmware files.
- Please take a backup of your iOS device to iCloud or using iTunes so worse case situation you can recover your data from the backup. If you need help, follow our guide:
- Please note that the process involves wiping your device, and then restoring it from a backup, so it can take some time depending on how much data needs to be recovered and your internet connection (if you’re restoring from an iCloud backup).
- It is also important to note here that you will be able to restore only from your latest iOS 9.x.x compatible backup. You won’t be able to restore back to the iOS 10 compatible backup. So take a backup of your photos and other personal data post the iOS 10 upgrade manually.
How to Downgrade iOS 10 Beta
- Download the iOS 9.3.2 firmware file for your device. The iOS 9.3.2 firmware file for iPhone 6s Plus is iPhone8,2_9.3.2_13F69_Restore.ipsw. Accordingly, download the appropriate firmware file from our iOS firmware file download page for your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.
Note: If you’re downloading the firmware file using Safari then ensure that auto unzip feature is disabled or use Chrome or Firefox. Alternatively, renaming the .zip file as .ipsw file should also work.
- You now need to put your device in DFU mode (if you want to find out what it means check this post for more details):
- Plug your device into your computer.
- Turn off the device by holding the Sleep/Wake or Power button and swiping it off.
- Hold the power button for 3 seconds.
- Begin holding the Home button without releasing the Sleep/Power button for 10 seconds.
- Release the power button and continue holding the home button until you get a popup from iTunes that it has detected that your device is in Recovery mode.
- Click on the Ok button.
- Hold the Alt/Option key on the Mac or Shift key in Windows on your keyboard and click on the Restore iPhone… (iPad/iPod touch…) button. Note: If you directly click on the Restore iPhone button without holding the Alt/Option key on the Mac or Shift key in Windows will result in restoring your device back to iOS 9.3.2.
- Select the iOS 9.3.2 IPSW file you had downloaded earlier.
- Then click on the Restore and Update button to continue.
- In the next screen, it will give you information about the iOS 9.3.2 update. Click on the Next button, followed by the Agree button to continue.
- iTunes will now verify the software and install it on your device. It should take around 10 minutes.
- After it is successfully restored to iOS 9.3.2, you should see the white ‘Helo’ screen. Follow the on-screen instructions to set up your device, and restore your device from the backup to restore your personal data.
That’s it. Your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch should now be successfully downgraded from iOS 10 beta to iOS 9.3.2.
If you get the error message “This device isn’t eligible for the requested build” then it is probably because you’ve downloaded the wrong firmware file for your device.
Please don’t forget to let us know how it goes in the comments and drop us a line if you any questions.
