Downgrade From iOS 17 Beta to iOS 16 Without Losing Any Data

Though iOS 17 is a significant update with a ton of exciting features, it’s still a work in progress. If issues like unexpected sluggishness, app crashing, random rebooting of the iPhone, and touchscreen unresponsiveness have plagued your excitement of exploring the all-new features, you are not alone. Without blaming the software iOS 17 beta for throwing all sorts of tantrums and causing you one nightmare after the other, you should know that beta software is generally buggy. So, if you have decided to go back to iOS 16 from iOS 17, I won’t blame you for the decision. Follow along to learn how to securely downgrade from iOS 17 beta to iOS 16 without losing any data.

Securely Downgrade From the iOS 17 Beta to iOS 16 Without Any Data Loss

Before moving ahead, let’s first clear the basics!

First and Foremost the Important Warning

Be warned that if you have installed watchOS 10 on your Apple Watch, you will no longer be able to use the smartwatch with your paired iPhone after you have downgraded to iOS 16. The reason why this annoyance exists is that there is no way you can manually downgrade your Apple Watch to a previous version of watchOS. If you want to get rid of watchOS 10, you will need to send your Apple Watch to Apple.

Make Sure You Have the Latest Back Up of Your iPhone or iPad

Before downloading any software beta, we should always make sure to first back up the entire device. With the latest backup, it becomes convenient to remove the software beta and return to the stable version of iOS without losing any data. Hopefully, you have got the backup at hand.

Remove iOS 17/iPadOS 17 from Your Device and Go Back to iOS 16/iPadOS 16

  • To get started, launch Finder on your Mac or iTunes on your Windows PC.
  • Using a USB cable, connect your ‌iPhone‌ or ‌iPad‌ to your computer.
  • Then, put your device into recovery mode To get it done, press and quickly release the Volume Up button. After that, press and quickly release the Volume Down button. Next, hold down the power button until your device begins to restart. Be sure to hold down the power button until your device has entered the recovery mode.
  • Next up, a dialog will appear on the screen asking if you want to restore your device.
  • Finally, click on Restore to completely erase your device and install the latest public release of iOS or iPadOS.
Restore your iPhone
Image credit: Apple
  • Now, it’s time to grab a cup of tea and wait while the restore process completes.
  • Once it’s completed, you can restore the latest backup of your device from ‌iOS 16‌ or iPadOS 16 with the help of Mac or iCloud. And that’s pretty much it! 

Wrap up…

Do not give up on iOS 17 as yet. The latest iteration of iOS 17 will go through several refinements before being released publicly in September. So, do come back to give it a shot once the OS is rolled out publicly. If you can’t wait that long, I would recommend you give a try to public iOS 17 beta as it will be a bit better in terms of stability.

Read more: 2 Ways to Permanently Delete Passwords in iOS 17 on iPhone and iPad

Posted by
Rajesh Mishra

Co-founder/Editor-in-Chief: Rajesh Mishra (Your beloved “R.K” 360 Reader Voice) is a Shakespearean poet at heart who turned a tech nerd while having a secret rendezvous with iPhone 4. When that rendezvous turned obsession, he let go of his hard-core political journalism in favour of the lifelong love-affair with technology. In a career spanning one and a half decades, Mr. Mishra has crafted over 8K articles and around 2K YouTube videos. He is probably the only journalist alive with this unique achievement. When he is not at his desk, you may find him either engrossed in a Deathmatch or chasing Wordsworth!

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