If you recently updated your iPhone to iOS 16 and have decided it’s not for you, perhaps due to some incompatibility or battery issue or otherwise, you’ll be excited to know you can downgrade from iOS 16 and revert back to iOS 15.
This article will cover an easy approach to downgrading, and you’ll be removing iOS 16 from your iPhone in no time at all.
Prerequisites to downgrading iOS 16
- Download iOS 15.7 IPSW here that matches your iPhone model
- The iOS 15.x IPSW firmware must be actively signed by Apple, you can check IPSW signing status here
- A Mac or Windows PC with Finder or iTunes
- A USB Lightning cable to connect iPhone to the computer
- An internet connection
- A full backup of your iPhone to iCloud or a computer, in the event something goes wrong so you can get your data back
Assuming you meet those requirements, you are ready to remove iOS 16 from your iPhone and revert back to iOS 15.
How to Downgrade iOS 16 on iPhone Back to iOS 15
Be sure to backup your iPhone before beginning this process. If you fail to backup, you could have permanent data loss and lose everything on your device.
- Open Finder on the Mac, or iTunes on a Windows PC, and select your iPhone from the sidebar menu
- Go to the “Summary” section, then hold the OPTION key on a Mac, or SHIFT key on a PC, and click on the “Restore” button
- Navigate to the iOS 15 IPSW file that matches your iPhone model that you already downloaded
- Choose “Restore”
After the downgrade has complete, your iPhone will boot back into iOS 15.7, assuming the whole process went well anyway.
This approach attempts to downgrade without erasing the iPhone, but it’s critical to have a backup made beforehand in the event that something goes wrong, or that you choose the wrong option, or that the downgrade fails, backups allow you to restore your data to your device.
Remember, downgrading is only possible for as long as iOS 15.x firmware (or other iOS 15 releases) are being digitally signed by Apple, so don’t expect to be able to do this forever.
Did you decide to downgrade iOS 16 and revert back to iOS 15? If so, why? How did the process work out for you? Let us know your experiences in the comments.
