How can I downgrade from iOS 26 to iOS 18.5?

I appreciate the article; it’s very insightful. I can see where much of the information came from our consumer documents. it’s refreshing when people properly use them.

unfortunately, consumers don’t take it seriously when they install beta <3 Your article is on point, “leap before you look.”

I find it incredibly irritating when people use the beta and don’t provide feedback. I feel consumers don't understand how important that feedback really is. And when we do receive questions about how to reinstall non-beta iOS, it reveals they did not read anything!

Answering calls all day from people who don’t like the new iOS and want to ‘go back’ to the ‘older’ version can become very draining.

khethokuhle128 wrote:

I didn’t want to set this ios 26

If you didn't want it, WHY did you download it? At this point, you'd be better off waiting until the official release which is likely coming soon.

It didn't work for me either. I had a back up, completed erased and restored from a computer. the back ups and data were all retrieved from the backed up version but the base iOS never changed. wallpapers, features, everything from the previous iOS was restored but the version supported on the phone was still 26

Did you make a special "Archive" backup of your phone on a Mac or PC when it was still running iOS 18.......before.....you installed iOS 26?

If you did not, you will lose all of the data on your phone if you revert back to iOS 18.

There are multiple answers on this 17 page thread, but you'll have to read through the thread to decide which answer you want to use.

Before you start though.......did you make a special "Archive" backup on your Mac or PC of your iPhone when it was still running iOS 18......before.....you installed the iOS 26 software?

If not, you are going to lose all of the data on your phone when you revert back to iOS 18. The phone will look like it did when it was brand new.

depankar wrote:

Not relevant.

this doesn’t explain

It's always a good idea to pay attention to the dates on posts. Zachyy's answer was absolutely relevant to the original question. The original poster wanted to remove the beta version of iOS. And that was possible.

You, presumably, are not using the beta version.

>>As such a backup created or updated by iOS 26 cannot be restored to a device running iOS 18.5.

well, that is a programming problem, and Apple’s error. With so many people asking to downgrade, I think the engineers should be burning the midnight oil to fix this one.

Don’t be snippy about the “asked and answered” issue Take it as a sign that the very real problems with function, crashes, and hanging apps that I (and obviously many others) have been having with iOS26 are a real problem. It deserves attention.

You took my money, which I happy gave. Now support your product.

John

Columbus, Georgia

P.S. Please don’t post some stuff about “you should have backed up you iPhone first.” This was a not-beta upgrade presented to me - not a beta tester - about two weeks ago (mid Sept 25). That falls in the same category as “you should have read the EUA” - which no one, except the lawyers who write them, actually have chunks of their lives to read.

[Edited by Moderator]

Hello~ I must beg to differ here “Don’t be snippy about the “asked and answered” *LotusPilot* is an esteemed and knowledgeable member of these forums who volunteers hours of their time like the rest of us to try and help our fellow members. None of us are “Apple”. None of us took your money. That being said perhaps you owe our *LotusPilot* an apology?

You should also refrain from posting personal information here as millions of people all over the world can possibly see your post.

One last thing…as long as we stay within the ToU we all agreed to basise can post anything that we want.

Here’s where you can let Apple know about your displeasure…

Product Feedback - Apple

~Katana-San~

You are correct, I had forgotten that this was not an Apple-sponsored forum, and that the top contributors are volunteers. I do sincerely apologize to Lotus, and I thank you for the feedback link to Apple.

I plead forgetfulness and the unfamiliarity of infrequent use, if I may.

I do not regret posting my name here. For good or ill (ill today, as you see) I am frequently disgusted by anonymous flamers.

Thank you for the correction. And thank you for the time y’all devote to helping non-power users like me to navigate the tech.

JZ

— I stand by my assertion to Apple that they should work diligently on a correction.

[Edited by Moderator]

macanes wrote:

>>As such a backup created or updated by iOS 26 cannot be restored to a device running iOS 18.5.

well, that is a programming problem, and Apple’s error.

It is certainly NOT a programming problem, unless Apple has staff members who can see into the future. Backups in any OS version use data structures for that version. Thus, an iOS 26 backup has data structures that the programmers who wrote the backup process used. The programmers who wrote the restore for iOS 18 had no way of knowing what an iOS 26 backup would look like a year later or how it was structured.

Hello once more~ This is in fact an Apple sponsored forum. They participate here mostly to moderate this forum. Here is another link that may be of help to you…

Apple Support Communities Use Agreement - Apple Community

We all must abide by the same rules here. It’s my belief that that Apple prefers happy customers and providing constructive feedback is one way to achieve success.

~Katana-San~

So basically what they are saying is… be sure to keep your iPhone up to date, especially phones that aren’t optimized to run the newest iOS, ultimately forcing the user to purchase the newest model. No mulligans. 🙄

HereHoldMyGuns wrote:

So basically what they are saying is… be sure to keep your iPhone up to date, especially phones that aren’t optimized to run the newest iOS, ultimately forcing the user to purchase the newest model. No mulligans. 🙄

No one is saying any such thing. I know people who are on iPhone 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, who have updated to iOS 26 and aren't having any issues at all. No one is forcing you to purchase a new anything. I saw a video on YouTube a guy was showing how well iOS 26 works on his iPhone 11. iPhone 11 is the absolute oldest iPhone iOS 26 is compatible with. It was introduced in 2019, 6 years ago.

lobsterghost1 wrote:

No one is saying any such thing. I know people who are on iPhone 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, who have updated to iOS 26 and aren't having any issues at all. No one is forcing you to purchase a new anything. I saw a video on YouTube a guy was showing how well iOS 26 works on his iPhone 11. iPhone 11 is the absolute oldest iPhone iOS 26 is compatible with. It was introduced in 2019, 6 years ago.

And I can report it worked just fine on my iPhone 15 Pro.

Has anyone been having a similar issues with iPhone 16pro. After the latest 26.0.1 as soon as the phone attempts to connect to carplay the whole phone goes into some freeze mode and the bluetooth is unusable. Takes a reboot for things to start working again.