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Can I Downgrade/Re-restore my iPhone X/XS' iOS from X.X.X to Y.Y.Y

willerz2

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"Can I Downgrade/Re-restore my iPhone from iOS this to iOS that" or "Can I restore my iPhone to this iOS"

Very repetitive questions. This will basically break down the cans and can'ts of downgrading with each device specifically. There is an FAQ section all the way at the end for commonly asked questions as well, so please take a look at that before asking.

Remember, you CANNOT DOWNGRADE OR RESTORE any iOS without blobs. The only exception to this is iOS 4.1. No other exceptions

Important: YOU CANNOT SHARE BLOBS. BLOBS ARE SPECIFIC/UNIQUE TO EACH AND EVERY DEVICE. ONCE THE SIGNING WINDOW HAS CLOSED, YOU CANNOT RETRIEVE BLOBS UNLESS THEY'RE SAVED ON CYDIA ASSUMING YOU MANUALLY HOSTED THEM.

Update: New method of re-restoring WITHOUT SHSH blobs is available here. This can only be used on iOS 5.0 - 6.1.2. Nothing below 5.0, nothing above 6.1.2


Some terms:
  • Downgrading: The process of restoring your iOS firmware to a lower/previous iOS firmware version. i.e. Restoring from iOS 6.1.3 to iOS 6.0.1
  • Re-restore: The process of restoring your iOS firmware back to the same/identical firmware. i.e. Restore from iOS 6.0.1 to iOS 6.0.1
  • Restore selectively: Restoring selectively means restoring to an iOS that's no longer being signed. This basically includes downgrading and re-restoring but I keep it separate to avoid confusion. The meaning in the case that I'm using selectively restore is more towards "upgrading". So for example, say the current iOS version is iOS 6.1.3, and you're on iOS 6.0.1 and you want to restore to iOS 6.1.2. This is selectively restoring, or selective upgrading.
  • SHSH Blobs: http://www.iphoneforums.net/forum/i.../shsh-blobs-frequently-asked-questions-19986/
Regarding iOS 7.X:

With the release of iOS 7, Apple has essentially "abolished" the idea of SHSH blobs. The history of SHSH blobs is this:
  • <iOS 5 : SHSH blobs
  • iOS 5.0 - 5.1.1 : SHSH blobs + APTickets, we'll term this 50/50
  • iOS 6.0 - 6.1.3 : SHSH blobs + APTickets, we'll term this 50/50 though the algorithm has changed a little (which is why Cydia did not save them automatically properly)
  • iOS 7.0+ : SHSH blobs + APTickets, we'll term this ratio 10/90
Essentially, the breakdown of the history, is that APTickets were introduced, then took over almost spontaneously. Why is this a bad thing? SHSH blobs forges the Apple signature. APTickets cannot be used unless you're on a device with the LimeRa1n exploit because you have to forge them, and unless you're on the LimeRa1n exploit, the forged APTickets signing is what allows your device to boot. If you're using forged APTickets on a non-LimeRa1n exploitable device, your device cannot boot. If your device cannot boot, then there's no use in forging APTickets, which is why you cannot downgrade.

iPhone 5S:

Can I downgrade/re-restore my iPhone 5S?


NO.
Read the above regarding iOS 7.X


iPhone 5C:

Can I downgrade/re-restore my iPhone 5C on iOS 6.X to iOS 6.X?

NO.
Read the above regarding iOS 7.X

iPhone 5:


Can I re-restore my iPhone 5 on iOS 6.X to iOS 6.X:

YES. http://www.iphoneforums.net/forum/i...weaks-without-restoring-rejailbreaking-56461/


Can I downgrade/restore selectively my iPhone 5:

NO

Can I downgrade my iPhone 5 with blobs saved:

NO

Can I downgrade/restore selectively my iPhone 5 WITHOUT blobs saved:

Read above. Blobs are MANDATORY

Can I bypass or use some sort of hack to downgrade or selectively my iPhone 5's iOS?

No, there are no hacks, bypasses, cheats, backdoors, etc, that will allow you to do so, with or without blobs



iPhone 4S:


Can I re-restore my iPhone 4S:

YES. http://www.iphoneforums.net/forum/i...weaks-without-restoring-rejailbreaking-56461/


Can I downgrade/selectively restore my iPhone 4S on iOS 6.0 and above back to another iOS:

NO


Can I selectively restore my iPhone 4S on iOS 6.X and above to any iOS 6.X:

NO


Can I downgrade/re-restore/selectively restore my iPhone 4S on iOS 5 to iOS 5:

YES. You must have functional SHSH blobs that also have working/valid APTickets. Use RedSn0w's restore feature to do so.


Can I downgrade/selective restore my iPhone 4S WITHOUT SHSH blobs:

No. Read above. SHSH blobs are MANDATORY.


Can I bypass or use some sort of hack to downgrade or selectively restore iPhone 4S' iOS?

No, there are no hacks, bypasses, cheats, backdoors, etc, that will allow you to do so, with or without blobs




iPhone 4


Can I downgrade/re-restore/selectively my iPhone 4's iOS:

YES. There are NO RESTRICTIONS for the iPhone 4 since it's a pre-A5 device. As long as you have valid blobs, you can restore as you please on and to ANY IOS. Alternatively, without blobs, you can use this to re-restore

Can I downgrade/re-restore/selectively restore my iPhone 4's iOS 6 to iOS 6:

YES. There are NO RESTRICTIONS for the iPhone 4 since it's a pre-A5 device. As long as you have valid blobs, you can restore as you please on and to ANY IOS.

Can I downgrade/re-restore my iPhone 4's iOS 6 to iOS 5:

YES. There are NO RESTRICTIONS for the iPhone 4 since it's a pre-A5 device. As long as you have valid blobs, you can restore as you please on and to ANY IOS.

Can I downgrade/selectively restore my iPhone 4's iOS WITHOUT SHSH blobs:

NO. Read above. SHSH blobs are MANDATORY


Can I bypass or use some sort of hack to downgrade or selectively restore my iPhone 4's iOS?

No, there are no hacks, bypasses, cheats, backdoors, etc, that will allow you to do so, without blobs



iPhone 3GS


Can I downgrade/re-restore/selectively restore my iPhone 3GS' iOS:

YES. There are NO RESTRICTIONS for the iPhone 3GS since it's a pre-A5 device. As long as you have valid blobs, you can restore as you please on and to ANY IOS.
Alternatively, without blobs, you can use this to re-restoreCan I downgrade/selectively restore my iPhone 3GS' iOS WITHOUT SHSH blobs:

NO. Read above. SHSH blobs are MANDATORY


Can I bypass or use some sort of hack to downgrade or selectively restore my iPhone 3GS' iOS?

No, there are no hacks, bypasses, cheats, backdoors, etc, that will allow you to do so, without blobs



BONUS FOR OTHER DEVICES:

iPad Air/Mini 2 (Retina):

Can I downgrade/selectively restore my iPad Air or iPad Mini 2 (Retina):

NO. Read the above regarding iOS 7.X


iPad Mini:


Can I downgrade my iPad Mini from iOS 6.X to iOS 6.X:

NO.

Can I re-restore my iPad Mini from iOS 6.X to iOS 6.X:
YES. http://www.iphoneforums.net/forum/i...weaks-without-restoring-rejailbreaking-56461/

Can I selectively restore my iPad Mini:

NO.


iPad 3/4:


Can I downgrade/selectively restore my iPad 3 or iPad 4 from iOS 6.X to iOS 6.X:

No

Can I downgrade/selectively restore my iPad 3 or iPad 4 from iOS 6.X to iOS 5.X:

No

Can I re-restore my iPad 3 or iPad 4 from iOS 6.X to iOS 6.X:
YES. http://www.iphoneforums.net/forum/i...weaks-without-restoring-rejailbreaking-56461/

Can I re-restore my iPad 3 from iOS 5.X to iOS 5.X:

YES. You must have valid iOS 5 blobs and APTickets to do this.
Alternatively, without blobs, you can use this to re-restoreCan I downgrade/selectively restore my iPad 3 or iPad 4's iOS WITHOUT SHSH blobs:

NO. Read above. SHSH blobs are MANDATORY IF DOWNGRADING IS APPLICABLE.

Can I bypass or use some sort of hack to downgrade or selectively restore my iPhone 3GS' iOS?

No, there are no hacks, bypasses, cheats, backdoors, etc, that will allow you to do so, without blobs


iPad 2

Can I re-restore my iPad 2 on iOS 6.X to iOS 6.X:

YES. http://www.iphoneforums.net/forum/i...weaks-without-restoring-rejailbreaking-56461/

Can I downgrade my iPad 2 from iOS 6.X to iOS 5.X:

YES. You MUST have one iOS 4 blob AND one iOS 5 blob. Both blobs are MANDATORY. The iOS 5 blob MUST match the iOS 5 that you're trying to downgrade to. Again, iOS 4 blobs are MANDATORY. It doesn't matter what iOS 4 blob it is, as long as it's an iOS 4.X blob.

Can I downgrade/re-restore my iPad 2 from iOS 5.X to iOS 5.X:

YES. You MUST have valid iOS 5 blobs and APTickets to do so.
Alternatively, without blobs, you can use this to re-restore




iPad 1



Can I downgrade/re-restore/selectively restore my iPad 1's iOS from iOS 5.X to iOS 5.X:

YES. You must have valid blobs to do so.
Alternatively, without blobs, you can use this to re-restoreCan I downgrade my iPad 1's iOS from iOS 5.X to iOS 4.X:

YES. You must have valid blobs to do so.



iPod Touch 1st/2nd/3rd/4th Generation


Can I downgrade/re-restore/selectively restore my iPod Touch 1st/2nd/3rd/4th Gen's iOS from iOS X.X.X to iOS Y.Y.Y:

YES. You MUST have valid blobs to do so.


iPod Touch 5th Generation


Can I re-restore my iPod Touch 5th generation without SHSH blobs:

YES. http://www.iphoneforums.net/forum/i...weaks-without-restoring-rejailbreaking-56461/

Can I downgrade/selectively restore my iPod Touch 5th generation from iOS 6.X.X to iOS 6.X.X:

NO. Even with blobs, you cannot downgrade/re-restore your iPod Touch 5th Gen's iOS.


F.A.Q (Frequently Asked Questions)


Why can I downgrade/re-restore/selectively restore with some devices/iOS and not others?

  • The reason you can downgrade/re-restore/selectively restore with certain or specific device, iOS or device-iOS combination is because of exploits/vulnerabilities with that iOS, device or specific device-iOS combination. Let's break this down even further
  1. Pre-A5 devices (iPad 1, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPod Touch 1st-4th Generation): Pre-A5 refers to the on-board chipset on the device. Pre-A5 devices are susceptible to an exploit called LimeRa1n. LimeRa1n is a bootrom exploit that is ONLY present in pre-A5 devices. This allows users to put their device into Pwned DFU mode, which is necessary when restoring to a custom iOS or restoring using a custom IPSW. LimeRa1n susceptible devices can be downgraded or re-restored AS YOU PLEASE. As I've repeated time and time again above, SHSH BLOBS MUST BE PRESENT AND VALID unless you're using the iLEX R.A.T. method when re-restoring
  2. A5+ devices (iPad 2, iPad 3, iPad 4, iPad Mini, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPod Touch 5th Generation): These devices are NOT susceptible to the LimeRa1n exploit. These devices cannot be downgraded or re-restored WITH OR WITHOUT SHSH BLOBS. PERIOD.

Why can the iPhone 4S, iPad 2 and iPad 3 be re-restored from iOS 5 to iOS 5?

The re-restore process on the iPhone 4S, iPad 2 and iPad 3 takes advantage of a re-restore vulnerability that allows you to re-restore. Using RedSn0w will allow you to do so.
Why can I downgrade my iPad 2 from iOS 6 to iOS 5 but not my iPhone 4S from iOS 6 to iOS 5?

The reason that the iPad 2 is capable of downgrading from iOS 6 to iOS 5 is because it uses iOS 4 as a "bridge" to do so. Because the iPhone 4S does NOT have iOS 4 blobs (as it's released with iOS 5), you don't have the bridge that allows you to downgrade below the threshold.
 
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very valuable information,,, thank you edited
 
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iPhone 4S:

Can I re-restore my iPhone 4S:

YES.

Sounds good but I'm still confused....
Remember, you CANNOT DOWNGRADE OR RESTORE any iOS without blobs.

I have a 4S on JB on 5.0.1 and have backed up my phone with iTunes and Pkgbackup. I have not installed ANY new apps in months but lately it has started freezing and has even rebooted itself a few times. (I'm convinced with each new iOS they somehow poison-pill the rest) I have installed updates to a few like RingerXVIP, AndroidLockXT and a few others which could be the problem though. I have not backed up since installing the updates so in theory, it should fix my issues.

Question is- if I do an itunes restore from my JB backup, will I still have my JB and all associated apps that were backed up or is that where Pkgbackup comes in?

If yes, is it then possible to do a complete wipe and restore without it automatically upgrading to 7? Assuming that would have the same benefit as doing a fresh install of a driver vs installing a new driver over an old one.

Thanks,
Rik
 
Sounds good but I'm still confused....

I have a 4S on JB on 5.0.1 and have backed up my phone with iTunes and Pkgbackup. I have not installed ANY new apps in months but lately it has started freezing and has even rebooted itself a few times. (I'm convinced with each new iOS they somehow poison-pill the rest) I have installed updates to a few like RingerXVIP, AndroidLockXT and a few others which could be the problem though. I have not backed up since installing the updates so in theory, it should fix my issues.

Question is- if I do an itunes restore from my JB backup, will I still have my JB and all associated apps that were backed up or is that where Pkgbackup comes in?

If yes, is it then possible to do a complete wipe and restore without it automatically upgrading to 7? Assuming that would have the same benefit as doing a fresh install of a driver vs installing a new driver over an old one.

Thanks,
Rik

If you restore on an A5+ device using iTunes or RedSn0w, your only option is to restore to 7.0.2. There's no other iOS that you can restore to.

Re-restore is different. It's essentially restoring to a "restore point", which in reference is the point where your device was straight out of the box. This does not require blobs but does have other restrictions, which is as close as getting your device to stock with a clean jailbreak applied to it as it gets.

Restoring and re-restoring are two different concepts because the methods used for re-restoring is different as it needs root access to the device.
 
We can use ipsw.me website to download any firmware to our devices.
While you can download any firmware, only versions currently signed by Apple can be installed on any iOS device. There are no programs, workarounds, or jailbreak tweaks that will enable you to install unsigned firmware onto an iPhone or any other iOS device.
 
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