How to Downgrade From iOS 9 Beta to iOS 8

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Posted June 9, 2015 at 2:57am by iClarified

These are instructions on how to downgrade from the iOS 9 Beta to iOS 8. You will only be able to downgrade to the latest iOS 8 release. At the time of writing this tutorial, the latest version of iOS 8 that Apple is signing is 8.3.

Before attempting any downgrade, please be sure to backup all of your information.

How to Downgrade From iOS 9 Beta to iOS 8

Step One
Download the latest iOS 8 firmware for your device from here. Again, note that you can only restore to the latest firmware Apple is signing (8.3 in this case).

Step Two
Launch iTunes from your dock.

Step Three
Place your device into DFU Mode by following these steps. Here is a full tutorial on how to put your iPhone into DFU mode if you need additional help.

Press and hold the Home button and the Sleep/Wake button at the same time.

After exactly 10 seconds release the Sleep/Wake button. Continue holding the home button until you iTunes pops up a message telling you that it has detected an iPhone in recovery mode.

The iPhone screen will remain black like this:

Step Four
Hold down the Alt/Option key (Shift in Windows) and click the Restore iPhone... button.

Step Five
Select the firmware file you downloaded earlier from the window that appears and click the Open button.

When asked to confirm the restore click the Restore button.

Step Six
iTunes will go through the process of the restore/downgrade and after about 10-15 minutes, your device will be freshly restored to iOS 8.

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EdT - September 13, 2016 at 2:10pm

After downgrading to iOS8, can I just do "clean" install and not do a backup?

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I mean, not restore a backup?

sscc - September 13, 2016 at 11:48pm

I very much doubt you will be able to downgrade. See my comment below - Apple has stopped signing iOS 8.

Brae - December 24, 2015 at 8:29am

iphone 4s, ios 9.2. Trying to downgrade to ios 8.3. Waiting on ipsw download. Will she work? Any idea's

sscc - October 26, 2015 at 3:10am

FYI Apple is no longer signing iOS 8.

keiya - October 2, 2015 at 9:45am

does it erase all your things and makes it like how you first got your iphone new?

WilliamCookVI - September 20, 2015 at 9:02pm

Downgrade worked from iOS9 (official release) back to 8.4.1. This was after a lying sarcastic ... from Apple support said it was technically impossible to downgrade at this point in time.... So iClarified, thank you very much for the tutorial and firmware files. Three notes though: 1. The firmware file is saved with file extension *.zip on Windows. I had to manually rename the extension to *.ipsw 2. I also had an "Unknown error occured". For me this was due to insuffiecient disc space on my C:\drive. This is because the original iPhone backup files are copied next to the original on C:\drive before or while it is synced to your iPhone by iTunes. So you must have enough disc space for the files in this directory (C:\Users\YourUserName\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup) to exist at least twice on C:\drive. 3. I used my iPhones full backup that I created before I originally upgraded to iOS9. And I'm not sure if a backup done on iOS9 can be later used to be restored after you downgraded back to iOS 8.x Also when backing up your iPhone to your PC, the files are saved (added/incremental?) in the earlier mentioned directory and this could mean that certain files could be overwritten, thus making your update not useable for downgrade? (Again I'm not sure) So maybe make a backup of the backup files before you attempt this.

sofia - September 1, 2015 at 6:14am

What if I don't find the document when I pressed shift and alt.

Zach G - July 22, 2015 at 5:49pm

I am receiving a 3194 error " The iPhone "iPhone" could not be restored. An unknown error occurred (3194)."

RioBani - July 31, 2015 at 4:40am

I have the same problem. Can anybody help?

David Burden - July 14, 2015 at 5:53pm

I had a 6-digit passcode on ios 9, and now on ios 8 its asking for a 4-digit passcode! I don't know what it is!! please help!!

Nate Schenck - July 22, 2015 at 11:22pm

Same problem. Have you figured out a solution?

tekiyah - July 25, 2015 at 11:29pm

did you ever figure out that 4 digit passoword mines is asking for the same thing please help

N4PST3R.007 - August 25, 2015 at 3:14pm

yeah that happened to me try to enter the last passcode yo have put it before iOS 9

shalim - June 11, 2015 at 5:13am

i'm getting error 14 unable to downgrade pls help me

antoniomimica - June 10, 2015 at 8:38am

can i downgrade to ios 7.0 or 8.0 from ios 9

Nick G - June 10, 2015 at 9:07am

Did you actually read the article?

llouche - June 9, 2015 at 8:18pm

Can I update to iOS 9 Beta 2 (when to be released) via the iPhone Update in Settings or I must to use the same way - via iTunes?

Misteryes - June 9, 2015 at 9:18pm

Jep, when it's released, just go to settings-general-software update ;)

Abobeck11 - June 9, 2015 at 7:51pm

If I do this, will all my carrier settings on my iPhone (Verizon) also be restored as long as I don't take out my SIM card?

Wayne Bishop - June 9, 2015 at 6:43pm

If you made a backup on your computer then goto here C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup then find the ios 9 backup by date or by going into each folder and looking for a file called Info.plist open that file and it will say somewhere in that file product type and product version you need to change the product version to 8.3 then save it. It should now restore to the iphone after downgrading to ios 8.3 :)

RTZ - June 9, 2015 at 9:18pm

I can confirm that this works. Thanks for the tip!

Jacob W - June 30, 2015 at 6:18am

I've been trying this and when i try to restore to my back up it says its corrupted or not compatible

Jochem - June 9, 2015 at 12:34pm

I just downgraded from an hour of ios9 usage to 8.3 but can not restore from an icloud backup. The whole restore option seems to be missing in the setup. Any ideas?

Jochem - June 9, 2015 at 12:38pm

Darn, it seems my iphone made a icloud backup with ios9... What to do...clean phone or buggy ios9 beta

Phillyslix - June 10, 2015 at 10:10pm

I have the same issue with downgrading from iOS 9 to iOS 8.3. The option to backup to iCloud no longer works. I'm one able to backup via iTunes.

Inajkjd - June 9, 2015 at 9:04am

Im unable to restore back to ios 8.3 from 9 beta always kick to recovery mode

Joshoon - June 9, 2015 at 6:47am

Can I still use my iOS 8 backup with it? Thanks!

odedoo1 - June 9, 2015 at 7:11am

Yes.

stevenlacross - June 9, 2015 at 5:11pm

If you backup iOS 9, and then downgrade to iOS 8.3, then you won't be able to restore that iOS 9 backup file