It’s great to try beta versions of new software, but sometimes you find that they’re not very good for everyday use. If you’ve upgraded your iPhone to the now public beta of iOS 15 and realize you need to go back to the stable world of iOS 14.6, you can.
The simplest way to revert to a stable version is to delete the iOS 15 beta profile and wait until the next update appears:
- Go to “Settings” > “General”
- Select “Profiles & & Device Management”
- Select “Remove Profile” and restart your iPhone
Unfortunately, you won’t be able to go back to a non-beta version of iOS until a new update is available. (You can check if it’s available by going to “Settings” > “General” > “Software Update.”
The first thing you should do is to put your iPhone into Recovery Mode. This is done by connecting your iPhone to your computer (make sure it’s up to date first). I tested these instructions using a MacBook Pro, but they should also work using a PC.
You then start by doing the following (the following three bulleted instructions are directly quoted from: Apple’s support page):
- For iPhone 8 or later: Press and quickly release the Volume Up button. Press and quickly release the Volume Down button. Then press and hold the Side button until you see the recovery mode screen.
- For iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, or iPod touch (7th generation): Press and hold the Sleep/Wake and Volume Down buttons at the same time. Do not release the buttons when you see the Apple logo. Keep holding both buttons until you see the recovery mode screen.
- For iPhone 6s and earlier, iPad with Home button, or iPod touch (6th generation or earlier): Press and hold the Sleep/Wake and Home buttons at the same time. Do not release the buttons when you see the Apple logo. Keep holding both buttons until you see the recovery mode screen.
No matter which iPhone you have, when you follow the instructions above, you should see an icon on your iPhone showing the cable connecting to a computer. Turn your attention to your computer.
- There will be a notification asking if you want to update, restore or cancel. Select “Restore”.
- When you are about to delete any customizations and restore to factory settings, you will be asked if you are sure you want to restore your phone. Select “Restore and Update”.
- You will be told that you will be updated to iOS 14.6 (the latest version of iOS 14). Choose “Next”.
- At this point, you will be asked to accept all the various licensing data that you accepted when you last started using your iPhone. Click “Accept”.
- Next, your computer will be told that it has downloaded the software for the iPhone. It may take a while, maybe up to 15 minutes, depending on your system and network.
- Once the operating system is downloaded, your phone will be told that it is being installed (and the phone will visibly start installing the software and will probably reboot once or twice). Once complete, you will be notified via your computer screen.
Ok, now you should have restored your iPhone to iOS 14.6. That’s all well and good, but it’s actually a clean slate – you want to restore all your apps, personalization and other stuff, right? This is where your backup comes in. (You made Back up your phone before installing the iOS 15 beta, right?)
- You will be asked if you want to set up your iPhone using settings from another phone. If you have another one with all your settings on it, well and good – follow the instructions. But assuming you’re restoring from a backup, tap on the “Set Up Manually” option.
- At this point, you will enter your Wi-Fi connection.
- Next, you choose how you want to restore your backup: from iCloud, Mac or PC, iPhone or Android phone. You can also decide not to transfer any data at all. Let’s say you back up to iCloud.
- After making this choice, you will be prompted to enter your Apple ID name and password and enter the verification code sent to your computer.
- If you have made multiple backups recently, you will be able to choose which one. (Hopefully there won’t be a backup from iOS 15 and it can’t be transferred.)
- After selecting your backup, it will be transferred to your iPhone and you should be back to where you started before installing iOS 15. You should be able to use your iPhone pretty fast; however it will take a few minutes for everything to load from your backup.
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