Second thoughts on iOS 11? Here’s how to downgrade

By

iOS 11 downgrade
Finding iOS 11 too buggy? Downgrade with our handy video!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

If you jumped into the future and upgraded to a beta version of iOS 11, but now found the cutting-edge software a bit too rough around the edges, don’t panic. Downgrading from iOS 11 back to the more familiar (and totally stable) iOS 10.3.2 isn’t difficult. All you need is a Mac or PC running iTunes.

If you’re worried about losing data, that’s completely avoidable! Just follow our how to downgrade from iOS 11 video, below and your iPhone or iPad will be back to normal in no time.

How to downgrade iOS 11 to iOS 10.3.2

First you’ll need to download the IPSW file that’s right for you. An IPSW file is essentially an iOS update file — what your iPhone uses to update every time you hit that update through settings.

Head over to ipsw.me, choose your device and the software version you want — either iOS 10.3.2 or iOS 10.3.1.

Once downloaded, you’ll need to turn off Find my iPhone. To do this, go to Settings > iCloud and switch toggle Find my iPhone (or Find my iPad) to off. Then enter your password to confirm this switch.

Next, plug your iOS device into a Mac or PC running the latest version of iTunes. Select the device you wish to downgrade so you can see the screen below.

iOS 11 Downgrade
Use the latest version of iTunes to downgrade from iOS 11 to iOS 10.3.2.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Once there, hold Option (or the Alt key) and click on Check for updates on the Mac (or hold shift and click, if for some reason you’re using a PC). Make sure that you click on “Check for updates” and not “Restore iPhone,” as the latter will delete any and all data on your device.

iTunes will then take a few minutes to downgrade and reboot your iOS device to iOS 10.3.2, keeping all your data intact.

If you managed to back up your iPhone before updating to iOS 11, you can use the Restore from backup section to select your backup.

If you’ve followed the steps correctly, your iPhone or iPad should now be running the general release of iOS 10.3.2 and everything should be back to how it was.

Subscribe to Cult of Mac’s YouTube channel for more great how-to’s, reviews and much more.

Newsletters

Daily round-ups or a weekly refresher, straight from Cult of Mac to your inbox.

  • The Weekender

    The week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.