A week after releasing iOS 18.1 to the public, Apple has now stopped signing iOS 18.0.1. For iPhone and iPad users, this means that they can no longer downgrade to a previous version of the operating system.

Apple blocks downgrade from iOS 18.1 to iOS 18.0.1

iOS 18.0.1 was the first update released for iOS 18 and included many bug fixes, as well as improved performance and security. As for iOS 18.1, it was released on October 31 and added the first set of Apple Intelligence tools, including Writing Tools, Resume, and Clean Up in the Photos app.

With iOS 18.1, Apple also fixed many security exploits, including a vulnerability in Siri that allowed attackers to access sensitive user data.

Reverting to older iOS builds is often used by those who jailbreak their iPhones and iPads. However, there are no signs of any jailbreak tools for iOS 16 being developed at this point. 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.

It’s worth noting that Apple still lets users running iOS 17 on their devices keep receiving security patches without having to upgrade to iOS 18. However, once you upgrade to iOS 18, it’s no longer possible to downgrade to iOS 17 either.

Source: 9to5mac