Apple Stops Signing iOS 12.4, Downgrading From iOS 12.4.1 No Longer Possible

IPSWFollowing the release of iOS 12.4.1 on August 26, Apple has stopped signing iOS 12.4, the previous version of iOS that was available to consumers.

iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch owners who have upgraded to iOS 12.4.1 will no longer be able to downgrade to iOS 12.4.

Apple routinely stops signing older versions of software updates after new releases come out in order to encourage customers to keep their operating systems up to date, but iOS 12.4.1 was released because iOS 12.4 had a major vulnerability.

The vulnerability allowed hackers to create a jailbreak for iOS 12.4 and left devices vulnerable to hacking attempts. Apple fixed the bug in iOS 12.4.1, and the iOS 12.4 jailbreak will not work after upgrading.

iOS 12.4.1 is now the only version of iOS that can be installed on iPhones and iPads, but developers and public beta testers can download iOS 13, an upcoming update that's currently being beta tested and is set to be released next week.

Related Forum: iOS 12

Popular Stories

iPhone 16 Pro Sizes Feature

iPhone 16 Series Is Less Than Two Months Away: Everything We Know

Thursday July 25, 2024 5:43 am PDT by
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
Apple Intelligence General Feature

Apple Intelligence Now Available in New iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia Developer Betas

Monday July 29, 2024 10:07 am PDT by
Apple is today providing developers with the first betas of iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1, with the new software introducing an early version of the Apple Intelligence features. These new betas will be in testing alongside the current iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia 15 betas. Developers can choose whether to opt into the new betas with Apple Intelligence, or stay on the ...
Apple Intelligence General Feature

Report: Apple Intelligence Delayed to iOS 18.1 in October

Sunday July 28, 2024 11:52 am PDT by
Apple Intelligence will miss its initial expected launch date to give Apple more time to fix bugs, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. According to individuals with knowledge about Apple's plans, the company now plans to start rolling out Apple Intelligence in software updates by October, arriving several weeks after the launch of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia. This means that Apple...
T Mobile Generic Feature Pink 1

T-Mobile Sued for Breaking Lifetime Price Guarantees

Friday July 26, 2024 2:44 pm PDT by
T-Mobile customers have filed a lawsuit [PDF] against the carrier, alleging that it failed to honor a guarantee not to raise the prices of select cellular plans. The lawsuit, first spotted by Wired, claims that back in 2017, T-Mobile advertised several of its plans with a price lock, but then went on to increase prices starting in May 2024. "T-Mobile ONE customers keep their price until...

Top Rated Comments

Howyalikdemapls Avatar
64 months ago
It should be illegal to not allow downgrading. Having your device always hassle you to upgrade is annoying enough, but having old devices become unusably slow after upgrading and having no way to return them to their factory installed OS is ********.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
C DM Avatar
64 months ago
It should be illegal to not allow downgrading. Having your device always hassle you to upgrade is annoying enough, but having old devices become unusably slow after upgrading and having no way to return them to their factory installed OS is ********.
Not sure how much of an issue that is in this case given that 12.4.1 is available and is pretty much the same thing with a few security fixes essentially.
[doublepost=1568252170][/doublepost]
It’s very easy to find every single iOS ipsw online
Sure, but being able to actually install them is a different story since only those that are signed by Apple can be installed.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Bawstun Avatar
64 months ago
Stop you from downgrading, automatically download updates and hound you like crazy, sneakily prompt installs of the download.

Apple: Oooh, look at our industry-leading adoption rates! It’s a miracle, we are so great!
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
fairuz Avatar
64 months ago
Be more dramatic.

Would you care to enlighten us with some actual sources to back up your claims?
What he says is true. During that time iOS 11 was throttling certain iPhones, Apple admitted to it, for other updates it's just anecdotal but totally true.
Sources? Google it, there are plenty of complaints. Nothing proves anything since there's no good benchmark for this. But there's no way any new iPhone ever took so long to, say, open the Music app, yet you can find complaints (or complain yourself) about it taking 3-15 seconds after updates.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JosephAW Avatar
64 months ago
Until someone figures out a way to fake Apple signing these things, that doesn’t do us any good. They still badger the hell out of you to upgrade until you hit install by accident, then cripple your device into unusability. Can’t even use an old phone for an audio player during workouts without a 4 second delay between touch and action. Ridiculous.
I hate how when I hit the flashlight button you have to wait several seconds for it to come on. iOS 10 was instant.
iOS 12 has weird quirks with airplay. I have to reboot my iPhone to get it working again. Also when someone gives a thumbs up in iMessage it shows a partial thumbs up at times. iOS 10 worked so much better.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
C DM Avatar
64 months ago
This the update that slows down and hogs the battery performance of older iPhones, makes sense they won’t allow downgrading since they want people to buy their new fidget spinner iPhones.
Which update is that? iOS 12 is generally seen as quite good and runs well on older devices.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)