How to Downgrade to iOS 8 Immediately

iOS 9 was released a month ago, and although Apple has long closed the signing period for iOS 8, some iPhone and iPad users can still upgrade to iOS 8 right now.

Apple does not allow users to downgrade to an older version of iOS, except for a week or so after a new version is released. After that, you’re usually out of luck.

Now that an iOS 9 jailbreak is available, there aren’t many reasons to switch from iOS 9 to iOS 8, but some users may still want to go back to iOS 8 if they’re not having their best time on iOS 9. , especially those with older devices.

The good news is that there is a new tool that allows certain iPhones and iPads to upgrade from iOS 9 to iOS 8.4.

The tool is called OdysseusOTA and it has actually been around for several years and once allowed users to upgrade from iOS 7 to iOS 6 even after Apple stopped signing the older version.

OdysseusOTA can downgrade certain iOS device models from iOS 9.0.2, iOS 9.0.1 or iOS 9.0.0 to iOS 8.4.1. Unfortunately, it doesn’t currently work for iOS 9.1.

If you have an older iPhone or iPad and want to upgrade from iOS 9 to iOS 8, here’s how to do it.

Fine Print

While it’s technically not a fine print, there are a few things you’ll want to know about this method before you get started because if you don’t you’ll run into brick walls.

First of all, OdysseusOTA only works with iPhone 5, iPhone 5c, iPhone 4s, iPad 3 and iPad 2. Also, the device must be jailbroken, which can break easily, and we have a great guide that will take you through the painless ways. process.

Also note that this downgrade method uses OS X’s Terminal to accomplish this, so if you’re not comfortable using Terminal, it might be a good idea to stay put. However, the tutorial included with the OdysseusOTA software has a list of commands that you can easily copy and paste into Terminal, making the process a little easier than it sounds.

downgrade to iOS 8

You will need two files and a jailbreak tweak for this process. First, you will need the OdysseusOTA .ZIP file that you can download. from here. You will also need the iOS 8.4.1 IPSW file that can be downloaded for your particular device. from this website.

You must also have OpenSSH installed on your iPhone or iPad, which can be downloaded from the Cydia app.

After downloading the OdysseusOTA .ZIP file, go ahead and zip it to reveal the folder. Inside this folder will be the Readme file containing the instructions and Terminal commands you need.

Below is a video tutorial on how to fully downgrade your iPhone or iPad to iOS 8. This is a fairly extensive process, but at the same time very detailed.

Essentially, commands in Terminal will turn the IPSW file into a usable file that you can use to downgrade, and then a few more commands will complete the downgrade of your iPhone or iPad. You actually do nothing on your iOS device other than look up the IP address of your iPhone or iPad. Terminal uses this to connect wirelessly from your Mac to your device (which is why you downloaded the OpenSSH tweak from Cydia).

Again, it’s quite a long process and probably takes 15-20 minutes to complete – maybe up to half an hour if you take things slow, which is recommended if you’re not too familiar with Terminal. But still, the video does a good job of guiding you, and ReadMe includes all the necessary commands that you can copy and paste into Terminal.