IOS 17.6.1 Access Closed, IOS 18 Users Can't Lower OS Version

JAKARTA Apple just released a stable version of iOS 18 on September 16, but the signing of the iOS 17.6.1 version has been stopped. As a result, iPhone users cannot downgrade if there is a problem.

Currently, iPhone users are given the option to stick to iOS 17.7 with the latest security patches or switch to iOS 18 with newer features. However, based on 9to5mac findings, no IPSW files are available for iOS 17.7.

That is, if the user has switched to iOS 18, there is no opportunity to downgrade or downgrade the iOS version. This could be a problem if Apple's latest operating system (OS) includes many bugs that interfere with iPhone performance.

In fact, it is common knowledge that the latest iOS release always includes bugs that can damage certain features or applications. When a user already uses iOS 18 and gets a bug, they need to wait for a next update from Apple that includes bug fixes.

This downgrade restriction also occurs on the iPad. The only device that can still lower the OS version is the iPad Pro M4 because there is a very serious bug. This bug makes the iPad not working after updating to iPadOS 18.

Apple deliberately released the IPSW file for the iPadOS 17.7 to the iPad model that got the bug so that users could lower the OS version to restore the iPad function. The company has also removed the iPadOS 18 update for the iPad M4.

After the bug is fixed, Apple will re-release the iPadOS 18 to all users. However, to avoid remaining bugs, iPad users should not update their OS to the latest version for some time to come.