Most often, users experience problems with iPhone and iPad after updating to a new one. iOS version. Often it is not possible to fix such problems, after which the question arises of rolling back to previous version firmware. In this guide, we'll walk you through the easiest way to find out which latest version of iOS and its other operating systems Apple is still signing.
Why find out
Not everyone knows, but rollback iPhone, iPad or iPod touch on any previous version of iOS is not possible. Apple stops signing old firmware some time after release latest updates. Apple does this for security reasons, since in new versions of iOS, the company's engineers fix various critical vulnerabilities that pose a real threat to users' personal data. In older builds of iOS, these vulnerabilities remain.
So it turns out that in order to successfully roll back from a problematic version of iOS, the user first needs to find out which firmware it is possible to roll back to. The fastest way to determine the firmware still signed by Apple, we have presented below.
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Most often, users experience problems with iPhone and iPad after updating to a new version of iOS. Often, such problems cannot be fixed, after which the question arises of rolling back to the previous version of the firmware. In this guide, we'll walk you through the easiest way to find out which latest version of iOS and its other operating systems Apple is still signing.
Why find out
Not everyone knows, but you cannot roll back an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch to any previous version of iOS. Apple stops signing old firmware some time after the release of the latest updates. Apple does this for security reasons, since in new versions of iOS, the company's engineers fix various critical vulnerabilities that pose a real threat to users' personal data. In older builds of iOS, these vulnerabilities remain.
So it turns out that in order to successfully roll back from a problematic version of iOS, the user first needs to find out which firmware it is possible to roll back to. The fastest way to determine the firmware still signed by Apple, we have presented below.
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Hey! Any person who uses an iPhone (iPad) sooner or later simply has to come across such a concept as "iOS Firmware Signature". Most likely, this will happen at the moment when, for some reason, he does not like the new update and he has a great desire to “return everything as it was” (roll back to old version iOS).
Desire is good, but “I want” alone is clearly not enough. Indeed, in order to return the firmware, the most important condition must be met - Apple must sign this version software. What is this signature and is it possible to do without it? Now I'll tell you everything quickly - let's go!
Let's start, of course, with the basics.
What is an iOS Firmware Signature?
talking plain language- this is the "good" from Apple to install a specific version of the firmware. Didn't understand what it was about? Let's take a look in a little more detail...
The most important thing to remember:
Apple (in most cases) only allows you to install the latest version of the software. There are no intermediate options and free "jumps" from one version to another. Do you want to reinstall, restore, update operating system on your iPhone or iPad? You have only one way - installing the latest iOS.
It was for this that the “firmware signature” was introduced. How does it work?
Before installing iOS, a request is always sent to the Apple servers. If Apple sees that the firmware version differs from the latest, then the installation is prohibited (iTunes "gives" error 3194).
Thus, the company is more or less in control of the situation with software on manufactured devices.
How to check if Apple signs the firmware?
It was not in vain that I made a small clarification and wrote that “Apple (In most cases) only allows installation latest version iOS. Indeed, sometimes it is still possible to install the previous version of the firmware!
And when does this opportunity arise? (I highly recommend you check it out!). But if you are too lazy to read, then here are the two most common options:
- Immediately after release new version, Apple is still signing the previous one for some time. This usually lasts for a short time - a maximum of a week.
- The company "just has something going wrong" and starts signing much older versions of iOS. This happens very rarely and lasts a very small amount of time - a maximum of a day.
So how do you know which version of iOS is currently being signed by Apple for a particular iPhone or iPad? Everything is very simple:
Important! The information on the site is always up-to-date - Apple firmware signature verification is carried out almost every minute.
You can immediately download the file to your computer, and then install the firmware directly on the device.
Is it possible to put the firmware without a signature?
No, a signature is always required. Although, for fairly old devices, such as:
- iPad 1.
- iPad 2.
- iPhone 5 and "younger".
Some workarounds do exist. But they require too many conditions to be met: a jailbreak done, a saved SHSH certificate, a certain firmware and a suitable device model.
If all these terms are familiar to you, then you can try to roll back the firmware without a signature. How to do it? I had the idea to write all these instructions here, but then I changed my mind:
- First, the article would have turned out just huge.
- Secondly, it would be useful to too few people.
- Thirdly, if a person owns an iPad 1 and purposefully saved an SHSH certificate for it, then he knows how to return the old version of iOS for his tablet “without my snotty advice”.
So there's only one thing left for me to do, and that's to deliver the not-so-good news to everyone. iPhone owners 5S, iPad 3, iPad Mini and older models. So, attention - it is impossible to put firmware on all these devices without a signature. No way. Even with the help special programs. Even for money. Even... in general, on this moment this possibility is completely absent.