Apple no longer signing iOS 17.6, downgrade no longer possible

Following the release of iOS 17.6.1 for iPhone and iPad users last week, Apple has now stopped signing iOS 17.6. iPhone and iPad users who are already running a newer version of iOS can no longer downgrade to this version of the operating system.

Apple stops signing iOS 17.6

Released on July 29, iOS 17.6 introduced a new Catch Up feature for sports viewers in the Apple TV app. With this feature, viewers can watch a series of highlight clips of what has already happened during the game.

iOS 17.6.1 was released on August 7 with bug fixes and security patches. Most notably, the update addresses an issue that prevents enabling or disabling Advanced Data Protection.

Apple says that the Advanced Data Protection bug in iOS 17.6 affected a small number of users. If a user attempted to turn Advanced Data Protection on and it failed, they were presented with a clear error message so they were aware the change failed.

Downgrading is no longer possible

Reverting to older iOS builds is a technique often used by those who jailbreak their iPhones and iPads. Restoring an Apple device to a previous version of iOS can also sometimes be helpful for users who experience significant bugs after upgrading to the latest version of iOS.

If your iPhone or iPad is running iOS 18 beta, you can still downgrade to iOS 17.6.1. However, downgrading to older versions of the operating system is no longer possible.