How can I revert back to iOS 9?

[XTheLancerX]

AHH why do people install these betas if they don't know how or don't have the means to roll back

 

[chestvrg]

My beta on iOS 10 is running fine, I have been able to endure it until the next beta. I don't have plans to revert back to iOS 9. In a matter of weeks we'll see the next iteration of beta (2), and bugs will be addressed better.

In a way I am contributing to better betas because with every system crash Apple gets notify the code that failed and programmers can debug that code and make it better.

 

[Mike Boreham]

Certainly. First you need to find the iTunes backup, it is hidden. Open a Finder window, click the 'Go' menu, hold down the option key and a new listing called 'Library' should appear, click to open it. Navigate to Application Support > MobileSync > Backup. There should be a folder with a long string of character (this is your UDID) created on the date of your last backup. Open this folder and then open the Info.plist file. You should see a key called 'Product Version'. Double click the text 10.0 and replace it with 9.3.2 (the current public version). Then save the Info.plist file

Any questions?

This is interesting! Thanks for the tip.
My initial thoughts are that if it is really that simple, why is the trick not more widely known and used?
and
Why do Apple stop us using a higher version backup if there isn't a good reason?

 

[Shirasaki]

This is interesting! Thanks for the tip.
My initial thoughts are that if it is really that simple, why is the trick not more widely known and used?
and
Why do Apple stop us using a higher version backup if there isn't a good reason?

Apple often adjusts settings from one major version to the other. Restoring from backup also restores those settings. If we just use this trick to downgrade and use backup, unexpected behaviour of your device is possible.
Plus, if apps are not supported in previous version, restoring using this method could break the app.

 

[trikotret]

Certainly. First you need to find the iTunes backup, it is hidden. Open a Finder window, click the 'Go' menu, hold down the option key and a new listing called 'Library' should appear, click to open it. Navigate to Application Support > MobileSync > Backup. There should be a folder with a long string of character (this is your UDID) created on the date of your last backup. Open this folder and then open the Info.plist file. You should see a key called 'Product Version'. Double click the text 10.0 and replace it with 9.3.2 (the current public version). Then save the Info.plist file.

Next you can use iTunes to do a full restore of your phone. iTunes will automatically download and install iOS 9.3.2. Then use iTunes to setup your device and restore from the iTunes backup listed. It should work now that iTunes was tricked into thinking it was a 9.3.2 backup.

Any questions?

Will this process restore iOS 10 beta iMessages in iOS 9?

 

[Shirasaki]

Will this process restore iOS 10 beta iMessages in iOS 9?

Probably not.

 

[-BigMac-]

Sorry to say, but if you don't know how to revert back to an earlier iOS, you probably shouldn't be installing a beta OS.

 

[mfldmike]

Or just put it in dmfu mode and connect to iTunes

 

[npolly0212]

I suggest you restore instead of "Update" back to iOS 9, just for the simple fact that the Music app completely breaks in iOS 9. Something doesn't get 'downgraded' properly - it just flat out crashes to Springboard when you access your Playlists tab.

I have tried this way but overtime i do i get an error stating:

"the iPhone could not be restored. an unknown error has occurred (4016)"

anybody have any idea what is wrong?

 

[-BigMac-]

I suggest you restore instead of "Update" back to iOS 9, just for the simple fact that the Music app completely breaks in iOS 9. Something doesn't get 'downgraded' properly - it just flat out crashes to Springboard when you access your Playlists tab.

lmao you cant "downgrade" from a newer OS by updating. You have to restore

 

[Shirasaki]

lmao you cant "downgrade" from a newer OS by updating. You have to restore

Actually you CAN but only limit to beta version. Which means, you can "update" to iOS 9.3.4 from iOS 10 beta.
You CANNOT "update" to iOS 9.3.1 from iOS 9.3.4.

 

[DaveOP]

lmao you cant "downgrade" from a newer OS by updating. You have to restore

You can, and I have done this several times. Choosing update while the phone is in recovery mode will download the release version of iOS, and not erase the device. Nothing to "lmao" about.

 

[Suckfest 9001]

lmao you cant "downgrade" from a newer OS by updating. You have to restore

lmao try doing some research next time

I have tried this way but overtime i do i get an error stating:

"the iPhone could not be restored. an unknown error has occurred (4016)"

anybody have any idea what is wrong?

Are you running Sierra by any chance? Because I got stuck with this on Sierra, but El Crapitan fixed it for me.

 

[ajiuo]

I see this question asked about twice a week. They should just have a how to pinned here.

 

[lagwagon]

lmao you cant "downgrade" from a newer OS by updating. You have to restore

You can by holding down the Option key on the keyboard and clicking Update in iTunes on a Mac and selecting the 9.3.4 ipsw file.

 

[-BigMac-]

lmao try doing some research next time

nah its ok. people are allowed to make mistakes.
everyone else had a suitable response to my post, you just seem really sensitive.

how mad/10?

 

[tomislavf]

I get error 14 in iTunes when trying to restore an iPad Air 2 from DP4 back to 9.3.4. It errors out half way during restore. Tried on two Macs. Only restoring back to DP4 works. So be careful.

 

[richxps]

Question , once GM is released can I install it and than remove the public beta profile and go back to regular non beta updates ?

 

[miragebg]

Yes

 

[Shirasaki]

Question , once GM is released can I install it and than remove the public beta profile and go back to regular non beta updates ?

Theoretically, yes. But you may want to see if it does work. For me, I updated all beta iOS 9 version even after profile being removed long time ago. Never know why.

 

[Suckfest 9001]

I get error 14 in iTunes when trying to restore an iPad Air 2 from DP4 back to 9.3.4. It errors out half way during restore. Tried on two Macs. Only restoring back to DP4 works. So be careful.

You need the Xcode 8 beta.

 

[KALLT]

Question , once GM is released can I install it and than remove the public beta profile and go back to regular non beta updates ?

Only if the release version is newer. If the build is the same, then it won’t trigger the update. I had this during the public beta of iOS 9.3.3.

 

[richxps]

So if Gm is the same build as public release , can I than delete the profile and go back to regular non beta updates?

Only if the release version is newer. If the build is the same, then it won’t trigger the update. I had this during the public beta of iOS 9.3.3.

 

[miragebg]

Yes

 

[KALLT]

So if Gm is the same build as public release , can I than delete the profile and go back to regular non beta updates?

You can technically always delete the profile and just update to newer versions/builds without any problems. You just need to be careful with beta software, because they can expire and prevent you from updating. You should therefore generally keep updating if you’re running a beta build, or restore to a release version. GM builds tend to not have this restriction, because it’s usually the release build already.