Apple is finally going to open OS X Yosemite betas to the public, but when it comes to iOS 8, Apple fanboys desperate for a sneak peek at Cupertino’s upcoming software have been left out in the cold.
Luckily, if you’re willing to give a little info and some cash to certain “developers” you too can become an official iOS 8 beta testers and reap all the new benefits and bugs of iOS 8 as Apple puts the finishing touches on the biggest iOS release ever.
Here’s how to do it:
Note: iOS 8 is a developer preview and could kill functionality of certain apps, features, or even brick your device. We recommend installing on an alternate device rather than your main.
What you’ll need…
- Your iPhone’s UDID: Find it by connecting your iPhone via USB, open iTunes, select the iPhone page and click on the serial number to reveal your UDID.
- iOS 8: The evad3rs jailbreak team has posted all the direct links to all the iOS 8 .IPSW files
Sneaking past authentication…
Only devices with a UDID registered in Apple’s developer portal will be able to install iOS 8. If you don’t have a developer friend that can add your device to their 100 allotted slots, there are a couple sites that will gladly do it for you.
IMZDL is one of our top choices for such operations. For $8 they’ll keep your UDID registered for a year, but if you want to install unauthorized applications too, it’ll run you $16.
Only after you’ve got the confirmation that your device UDID has been registered should you begin the installation process, otherwise your iPhone will be locked in authentication mode.
Installing iOS 8…
- Connect iPhone to your Mac via USB
- Open iTunes
- Hold Option while clicking ‘Restore iPhone’ on the iPhone page
- Locate the .ipsw file you downloaded for your device, click Open, then Restore.
- Finish installation through iTunes
Undoing the damage…
At some point you’ll probably get tired of the bugs in iOS 8 and the incompatible apps. To go back to iOS 7.1.1 just follow these quick steps.
Download iOS 7.1.1 IPSW: the evad3rs team also has you covered with direct iOS 7.1.1 download links for all devices.
Put device in recovery mode: Turn your device off, then plug it into your Mac while holding the home button. Keep the home button pressed until the Recovery Mode image is visible on your device.
Manually restore: Repeat the installation steps 3 – 5 on iOS 8, except this time select your iOS 7.1.1 IPSW file instead of iOS 8.
