How to Downgrade from iOS 7 Back to iOS 6 on your iPhone / iPad

UPDATE: Thanks to Apple no longer signing the iOS 6 package and updates to iTunes, this procedure no longer works. Sorry, guys!

Maybe you’re sick of playing around with iOS 7 or maybe you got stuck while trying to update to iOS 7? Either way you can easily get back to iOS 6 and be back to what you’re used to or back to a good starting point to try and update to iOS 7 again. Here’s how to downgrade your iPhone or iPad from iOS 7 back to iOS 6.

I. Before You Begin

1. Yes, I did use an iPhone for this procedure, but it will also work on an iPad or iPod Touch as well (just choose the right firmware for your specific device when prompted in the procedure).

2. You must have the latest version of iTunes installed. If you don’t, download it from Apple here.

II. Download the Stock Firmware

1. Head here and select your device’s firmware in the drop down box under iPhone and select Download (remember to select the firmware for your specific iPhone model, if you need help figuring out which is yours, see this here).

III. Put Your Device into DFU Mode

1. With the device plugged in to the computer via USB, turn it off.

2. Hold down Power and the Home button at the same time until you see the screen go from the Apple logo to black (approx. 10 seconds) then let go of the Power button but continue to hold the Home button until iTunes pops up a dialog box saying it has discovered an iPhone in recovery mode.

IV. Flash the Stock Firmware

1. In iTunes, select your iPhone from the sidebar on the left.

2. Now, hold Option on your keyboard (or Shift for Windows) and click on Restore.

3. When the selector appears, choose the firmware file you downloaded earlier and click OK.

4. When the device restarts and is done, select the backup you made of the device before you upgraded to iOS 7 when prompted to restore your apps, contacts, etc. (if you made a backup before updating to iOS 7, of course).

Want to give updating to iOS 7 Beta another chance? Head to our How to Update to iOS 7 Beta Right Now on Your iPhone procedure.

 

56 thoughts on “How to Downgrade from iOS 7 Back to iOS 6 on your iPhone / iPad”

  1. o yea i did it and it works perfect u r the man . if any one out ther tried to unlock sprint iphon4s but couldnt because of the new update do this and it works for real thanks follow my instagram @jerzey_pro

    1. Apple has stopped signing the earlier versions of the firmware. Untill someone finds out how to come across this blocker,you are stuck with IOS 7 – which sucks because it smashes the iphone 4 – I operated briefly an iPhone 4 with IOS7 and it basically sucks as Things haven’t sucked before – That is just not OK Apple.

      1. If you have a developer account, Xcode can take you backwards. Now, I save all the IPSW Files. I’m unsure whether they are still up on the Apple servers.

    1. ANYONE READING THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!

      Do NOT proceed with this method. This article is from July. iOS7 was released in September. This article is describing a method that works in beta version iOS7, not the official release.

      If you have downloaded iOS7.0.0/7.0.1/7.0.2, do NOT try to go back to iOS6 using this method.

    2. shaylynnvacca321

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  2. If I have not backed up my iPhone 5 before installing IOS7, when I do this process do I get everything back to IOS6.1.4?

    Or do I get a “clean” iPhone 5 running IOS6?

    1. you will get everything you have if you are “upgrade” to new firmware
      do not mix it up with “reset” where it will erase everything you have

  3. Help! My daughter has a iphone 4s that we had unlocked with GPP sim. She upgraded to ios 7 without consulting us and now the unlock won’t work. I want to downgrade her so it will work again. Tried to restore with iPhone4.1.6.1.3 10B329 Restore.ipsw but I got an error message. Did I use the wrong firmware file, or is there something else I have to do? Please don’t tell me there is no way to downgrade…

    1. there is absolutely no way for that iphone 4s to downgrade back to 4.1.6 unless it had been jailbroken at 4.1.6
      with the new itune we all have there a function in it where it does not allow the user to downgrade. The reason why it work for him is because he have the Beta ios 7.0 and during that time ios 7.0 wasn’t public release and he allow to downgrade to the latest public which was 6.1.4

  4. I downloaded the file however it is a zip file. When I extract it, there is no .ipsw file in the zip. So when I try to restore there is no file to select. Can you help?

      1. Had the same problem trying to downgrade my ipad2 back to ios6, downloaded the .zip file, but itunes doesn’t see it.I tried to rename it, didn’t help. Maybe I’m doing it wrong. How do I properly rename the zip file or find the .ipsw file?

      2. Ok, was able to rename upon download. I successfully wiped out my Ipad, but the reload gave an error – Unknown error occurred 3194. Now ipad doesn’t work at all. HELP!

  5. Not able to downgrade from iOS 7. Error message: the iphone could not be restored because the firmware file is not compatible. Read some posts and looks like Apple is not allowing users to downgrade?! How frustrating!! Has anyone found a loophole to allow users to downgrade?

  6. I have a metro iphone 5 and I want to downgrade but I am worry that it will unflash my phone and it won’t be on Metropcs anymore. What do I do

    1. follow instruction up^ up there ok follow step 2 download firmware firmware is that the thing you wanna downgrade OK asyraf got that

  7. I purchased an Iphone 5 IOS 7.2. I went home and tried to link it to my Apple ID I couldn’t do that and can’t even access or buy or update any app.

  8. ANYONE READING THIS!!!

    Do NOT proceed with this method. This article is from July. iOS7 was released in September. This article is describing a method that works in beta version iOS7, not the official release.

    If you have downloaded iOS7.0.0/7.0.1/7.0.2, do NOT try to go back to iOS6 using this method.

  9. Yes I downloaded i07. Problem I have , I use my iPad for work (2nd gen wi-fi 16 gig). I can no longer use my pad because the app was deleted. I can not restore i06.1.3 or any i06 version
    The developer BINNJ located in Canada has not been able to solve this problem yet, meanwhile I’m considering buying another iPad .

  10. Shrek+Technology

    If I dont have a backup from before IOS 7, does that mean when i restore it, it will be back at IOS 7 again?

  11. none of this works for me at all the download didnt even go to desktop i hit shift nothing pulls up and it realy sucks to cause i just got a iphone for the first time and i didnt even get to enjoy it because now im on ios7 and it feeels like a fake app that i could have gotten to make it look like a iphone with a android

  12. Can someone please tell me if this will work now with the official version of ios7 (im on 7.1.4) i really have no time to deal with a broken phone. if i get error 3194 like other people are getting will i still be able to use my phone even on ios7?

  13. i downloaded >>>> iPhone3,1_6.1.3_10B329_Restore.ipsw <<< for my Iphone 4… coz it's not compatible… can anyone help?

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