How to Downgrade from iOS 13/iPadOS to iOS 12.4.1
- Davis Turner
- Friday, September 27, 2019
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Every year, people find problems on their iPhones after the major iOS update. iOS 13 on 2019 is no exception. After upgrading iPhone/iPad to iOS 13/iPadOS, some users noticed bugs like apps crashing randomly, AirDrop not working, weak cellular signal...
If iOS 13 messes up your iPhone/iPad or you are just not into this new iOS version, you can now downgrade your iPhone/iPad from iOS 13 or iPadOS and revert to iOS 12.4.1. This post will show you how to downgrade iOS 13 in 2 ways.
Can I Downgrade from iOS 13?
Yes. You can downgrade your iPhone XS/XR/X/8/7/6s/SE from iOS 13 to iOS 12 up till now as Apple is still signing iOS 12.4.1, the prior iOS version. However, based on past experience, Apple will stop signing iOS 12 in the coming October. Once Apple no longer signs the prior iOS 12 version, there will be no way to downgrade to iOS 12.
Therefore, if you want to revert back to iOS 12 from iOS 13, act fast. Otherwise, iOS 12.4.1 firmware file will be unavailable.
Downgrade iPhone/iPad from iOS 13 to iOS 12
The easiest way to downgrade iPhone/iPad from iOS 13/iPadOS is by using a tool called Passvers iOS System Recovery . This tool can present you with all the iOS versions that are available for your iPhone/iPad model. You can just select an iOS version and the tool will downgrade the device for you.
Therefore, you need to restore an iOS 12 backup to your iPhone after downgrading to iOS 12 or you may back up important data to a computer or other devices without iTunes/iCloud .
After you have entered incorrect passcodes to unlock your iPhone screen for multiple times, you may find your iPhone is locked and a message “iPhone is disabled” shows on your screen. There are different situations when you see your iPhone is locked, there can be “iPhone is disabled, try again in 1/5/15/60 minutes”, or the crazy “iPhone is disabled for 24 million minutes”, and even like “iPhone is disabled, connect to iTunes”.
After you have made a full backup of your iPhone, you can downgrade it from iOS 13 in the following steps.
Step 1: Install Passvers iOS System Recovery on your PC or Mac. Click the Download button below to get it.
Step 2: Open the downgrade tool and connect your iOS 13 device to the computer via a USB lightning cable.
Step 3: Click Start > Standard Mode. You'll see the information about your iPhone is detected by the tool. Click Optimize to downgrading iOS 13.
Step 4: The firmware iOS 12.4.1, iOS 13 Beta, iOS 13, and iOS 13.1 that are compatible with your device are listed. To downgrade from iOS 13/iOS Beta, click the Download button behind the firmware iOS 12.4.1.
Step 5: The tool will begin to download the IPSW file of iOS 12.4.1. After downloading the file, it will start to downgrade your device to iOS 12. Just keep your iPhone/iPad connected to the computer for the whole time.
Downgrade from iOS 13 to iOS 12.4 with iTunes
You can also downgrade iPhone/iPad running on iOS 13/iPadOS with iTunes, but downgrading iOS via iTunes is a little bit complicated. Follow the steps below.
Step 1: Download the compatible iOS 12.4.1 firmware file according to your device model. It's a zip file and you should make sure that Safari won't unzip it automatically.
Step 2: Run iTunes and connect your iOS 13 device to the computer.
Step 3: Put your iOS 13 device in DFU mode. The steps to enter DFU mode on iPhone/iPad differs from model to model.
Step 4: Once your device is in DFU mode, iTunes will detect it and give you a pop-up. Click OK in the pop-up window.
Step 5: On a Windows PC, press Shift key and click Restore iPhone(iPad/iPod Touch)... PS: On a Mac, press the Alt/Option key.
Step 6: Select the iOS 12.4.1 firmware file you have downloaded and click Restore > Restore and Update to start the downgrading process.
Step 7: Click Next to proceed. Your iPhone will reboot and show the Hello screen after downgrading to iOS 12.4.1. If you have an iOS 12 backup, set up your iPhone and restore it from the iOS 12 backup.
If you run into any problem in downgrading iPhone/iPad from iOS 13/iPadOS, let us know in the comments.