I forgot to backup my phone before upgrading to ios 18 beta 1. However, I have the iOS 17 downloaded on my macbook. If i backup my phone now and press restore using the iOS 17 i downloaded, will it accept the ios 18 backup or no? If no is there any way around this as my phone is crashing like crazy.
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downgrade from iOS 18 to 17 without backup
- Thread starter mcjohn24
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A tough one, depending on your initial iPhone and iCloud setup and what you have done since iOS 18 installation.
1) Backing up your current bad iOS 18 installation makes no sense whatsoever;
2) If you updated to iOS 18 OTA, you could also try to do a fresh iOS 18 Beta IPSW install, which might just fix things up for you. This could be less time-consuming than the step 3) below.
3) If your iPhone data (messages, photos, contacts, app settings, etc.) were automatically saved to iCloud in iOS 17, you might be able to get it all back when you revert to iOS 17, but you would need to setup your device as new and arrange everything to your liking manually. A hassle, but well worth it to make it work well.
Good luck! 🖐️
1) Backing up your current bad iOS 18 installation makes no sense whatsoever;
2) If you updated to iOS 18 OTA, you could also try to do a fresh iOS 18 Beta IPSW install, which might just fix things up for you. This could be less time-consuming than the step 3) below.
3) If your iPhone data (messages, photos, contacts, app settings, etc.) were automatically saved to iCloud in iOS 17, you might be able to get it all back when you revert to iOS 17, but you would need to setup your device as new and arrange everything to your liking manually. A hassle, but well worth it to make it work well.
Good luck! 🖐️
It will not accept the iOS 18 backup. You can only restore a backup from the current public release of the version you are on or earlier (i.e., when on iOS 17, you can only restore using an iOS 17 backup).
However, and i think this is the same thing @OneMore is saying; archive your iOS 18 backup before you restore to iOS 17. Then, if you do reinstall iOS 18, you should be able to restore using that. But you cannot use that backup to restore while on iOS 17.
What you are suggesting will not work. You will only be able to restore using a backup made prior to installing the iOS 18 beta.
Right now, I think the only way out would be to restore your phone back to iOS 17.5.1 using the following.
How to uninstall iOS or iPadOS beta software - Apple Support
Members of the Apple Beta Software Program, Customer Seed Program, and Apple Developer Program can try iOS or iPadOS beta releases. You can go back to the latest publicly-released version of iOS or iPadOS if you installed a version of iOS beta and no longer want it.
This will erase everything on your phone. Since you do not have a prior backup (not even an older one on iCloud?), it seems you will only be able to retrieve files previous saved to iCloud. For files that were stored offline, they are likely gone.
All the best.
Quick answer: No, iOS 17 won't read an iOS 18 backup.
If your phone is crashing then you're an outlier, and as mentioned above (option 2 from 'one more'), try reinstalling the beta. Hopefully that'll fix your issue!
If your phone is crashing then you're an outlier, and as mentioned above (option 2 from 'one more'), try reinstalling the beta. Hopefully that'll fix your issue!
I have the same problem as you but fortunately i found a solution that only requires a little modification the the local backup file so that ios 17 accept it.
Why would you share that and then not tell OP how to do it? Kind of a useless comment then.
Sorry for the late response, in the iOS 18 backup file (local backup made using apple devices for finder) you have a file called Info.plist, open it and use the find function to find "Product Version" and change the key below from 18.0 to 17.5.1 and then just erase and flash the stock ROM then use Finder or Apple devices to restore the backup. If you got stuck at the login to confirm on another device just restart ít
No, not working. iOS 17 does see the backup but then tells you that it is not compatible.
For iOS 18 db1 it will work cuz I did it and it workedSorry for the late response, in the iOS 18 backup file (local backup made using apple devices for finder) you have a file called Info.plist, open it and use the find function to find "Product Version" and change the key below from 18.0 to 17.5.1 and then just erase and flash the stock ROM then use Finder or Apple devices to restore the backup. If you got stuck at the login to confirm on another device just restart ít
General word of advice: don’t go messing with plist files unless you really know what you are doing.
We’ve spent a lot of time here the last few weeks telling people to make encrypted backups of their devices while still on iOS 17 and then archive those backups prior to installing the new betas.
While that’s still what I would counsel (and what I did myself), truth be told, it’s not really as necessary as it used to be because so much data is now stored in the cloud, as long as you have iCloud sync turned on for things line Messages, Mail etc.
I do have to add the important caveat that some things like call history and, possibly, activity ring data may be lost, which may be big deals. But most data will not be lost.
We’ve spent a lot of time here the last few weeks telling people to make encrypted backups of their devices while still on iOS 17 and then archive those backups prior to installing the new betas.
While that’s still what I would counsel (and what I did myself), truth be told, it’s not really as necessary as it used to be because so much data is now stored in the cloud, as long as you have iCloud sync turned on for things line Messages, Mail etc.
I do have to add the important caveat that some things like call history and, possibly, activity ring data may be lost, which may be big deals. But most data will not be lost.