How can I downgrade from iOS 26 to iOS 18.5?

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.

DanTheMan95 wrote:

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.

I have seen posts for both cases of it working great and others saying they are having problems. There certainly may be an issue with certain headsets in some vehicles and if it is a compatibility issue that can be corrected by the OS, you may need to wait for iOS26.1. Currently it is in beta, so we cannot comment on the issues that have been resolved as it violates the terms for being a beta tester.

I would recommend sending Feedback to Apple here and include your vehicle make and model.

Product Feedback - Apple

I have been jotting down a few issues:

Issues with IOS update

1. Screenshot - lag. Sometimes shows lock screen and then revert back to the actual screenshot.
2. Issues w/unlocking using facial recognition - sometimes it will unlock and other times it will require me to enter my pin/or if I swipe up it will require me to do so multiple times before unlocking.
3. Dictation stopping. - weather texting or if I am doing a search via Google/Safari
4. SLOW REACTION TIME TO COMMANDS. 
5. Edit out items in photo - How to.
6. All ringtones disappeared w/update.

WATCH

1. At times will not respond

charan251 wrote:

I find green line on my screen

Begin with a forced-restart of your iPhone - as this will often resolve an isolated issue:

Force restart iPhone - Apple Support

If the problem remains unresolved, you’ll need to determine if you have a hardware or software issue. A reliable method to confirm a screen or other hardware fault is to take a screenshot when the fault is evident - and then review the captured screenshot image...

When reviewed, if the lines are not present in the screenshot image, then you have demonstrated that you have a hardware fault that, sooner or later, may become sufficiently severe that repair or replacement of the iPhone are the only options. If the line is visible in the screenshot, the something other than hardware will be the cause.

Note: When reviewing the image, rotating the iPhone screen orientation by 90°, from Portrait to Landscape, may help ensure that the screenshot image does not coincide with screen defects if present. Viewing the image on a different device may be more conclusive.

Take a screenshot on your iPhone - Apple Support