Downgrade to Stable iOS 16.5 After Installing iOS 17 Developer Beta Guide

Have you updated to iOS 17 Developer beta on your iPhone? Learn now how to return to the stable iOS 16! iOS 17 is the latest version for iPhones and was officially announced on June 5 at the WWDC 2023 event by Apple. The new update has brought many noticeable improvements and useful additions that have completely changed the level of user experience for the better.

And if you don’t know, as an iPhone user who is eligible for iOS 17, you can now install the developer beta on your phone (completely free without the need for a developer account), unlike the usual in all iOS beta updates in previous years. And because it has become free, thousands of users have implemented the steps and tried the beta version, who often have no idea how to return to the stable iOS 16.5, due to a lot of bugs in the iOS 17 due to the fact that it is still in a preliminary version of it intended for developers and it’s not stable in any way!

So, do you happen to be one of those people? Then I am happy to tell you that you are in the right place! Because today we will guide you in detail on how Downgrade works and introduce you to the steps to return to the stable iOS 16 after installing the developer version of iOS 17.

Install iOS 16 again after updating to iOS 17

Personally, as a fanatic of such things, I find the idea of ​​installing new iOS updates a very tempting thing so that you can try things added to it before everyone else! There are exciting features in iOS 17 that you might want to try, such as Standby Mode and Contact Posters, in addition to the idea that you can now download parts of the maps that you use frequently on your phone and use them later without needing an internet connection and a lot of other things.

But despite these things, we are talking here about a system that is still experimental and available only to developers, and is not directed in any way to the average user who is unaware of how to deal with problems of instability of the basic functions if he encounters them in some way, especially if you intend to use it on your daily driver!

So, you may first want to learn how to return to the stable iOS while preserving the contents of the current phone memory, including photos and files, if any.

Steps to Downgrade to iOS 16.5 after installing iOS 17

There are many reasons for which you may be looking for a way to restore stable iOS 16.5 after installing the developer beta of iOS 17, such as if you encountered instability of some system functions, several errors that you could not deal with, or simply that you just installed it  for the purpose of experimenting and now you want to go back to the previous system.

Without looking at the reason, follow the next instructions carefully so that you can go back to the older stable iOS again.

Requirements

• Windows or Mac PC.
• Lightning cable (original or Apple MFA-certified).
• Internet connection.
• A backup copy of the previous OS (if you want to restore your contents again).
• Save iOS 16 Backup (if you are thinking of trying iOS 17).

Download iOS 16.5 “IPSW File”

Among the things that I love very much about the iPhone is that Apple allows its users to return to previous iOS versions even after the release of stable versions of the latest updates, and even allows downloading the available versions to return to with direct links from the company’s own servers to ensure that you are downloading clean files from a reliable source.

In our case here, the latest stable iOS version available for iPhones is iOS 16.5. So, find your phone in the following list and download the appropriate system version for you:

Download iTunes “if you are a Windows user”

If you’re a macOS user, then you don’t need this section of the tutorial and can skip it right away because you can use your system’s built-in Finder. On the other hand, if you are a Windows user like most of those reading these lines now, then you will need to download iTunes from the official page for the 64-bit, or from here if your device is 32-bit, so that you can follow the rest of the steps of the next lesson.

Yes, in this lesson you must have a PC or laptop and you will not be able to rely on the phone only. So, download and install iTunes, then complete the steps.

Backup your phone

First, remember to turn off Find My Device by going to Settings > your account picture > Find My. If you don’t turn it off now, iTunes on Windows or Finder on Mac will ask you to close it first.

Now, connect your iPhone or iPad to your computer using the lightning cable. From here, open iTunes on Windows or Finder on a Mac. Now a message will appear on your device screen asking you to trust this new device that you have connected to it, so click on Trust and complete the steps.

In iTunes, click on the iPhone icon and go to the Summary page. In the Backups section, check This Computer  to save the backup on your computer instead of iCloud – and finally click on the Back Up Now button.

In the Finder tool on the Mac, after connecting your iPhone or iPad, click on the iPhone image, then go to the General option. Then in the Backups section choose ‘Back up all the data on your iPhone to this Mac‘ and finally click on Back Up Now.

Remove iOS 17 beta and install iOS 16.5

Once you have completed the previous step, now it’s time to remove iOS 17.

1. Assuming you still have iTunes or Finder open from the previous steps, and your device is connected.
2. Find the Restore iPhone option in the software section and don’t click on it just yet.
3. On Windows, click Shift button on your keyboard, then click the Restore iPhone button.
   
4. From here, browse your Files to the IPSW file you downloaded, and select it.
5. When you select it, a new message will appear, press the Restore button.
6. Now iOS 17 will be removed from your phone and replaced with the latest stable version which is iOS 16.5.

Restore backup after downgrading to iOS 16.5

Once you have completed the steps to reinstall iOS 16.5 after upgrading to iOS 17, you will notice that the phone has rebooted and you now have the stable version of iOS. Now it’s time to restore the backup that you saved so that you can retrieve the contents of the storage again after formatting, and to do that follow the following:

How to find iOS backup file on Windows: 

• On the keyboard, press Windows + R buttons simultaneously to open Run window.
• Enter %appdata% and search. Now go to Apple Computer > MobileSync.
• If you don’t find the backup folder here, enter %USERPROFILE% in the Run window, then go to Apple > MobileSync > Backup.
• Now open your backup file (the most recent one you’ll find in front of you) and find Info.plist and open it with Notepad to view text.
• In the notepad file opened in front of you, press the CTRL + F buttons on the keyboard, search for iOS 17.0 and change it to iOS 16.0, then press Save (CTRL + S).

Steps to restore iOS backup file

• After making the necessary changes to the info.plist file, open iTunes or Finder.
• Connect your iPhone using a USB cable.
• Under the Backups section, click on the Restore backup button.
• Now choose the backup file that you want to restore, then click on Restore.
• Wait for the restore process to finish, and the phone will restart itself automatically.
• Now you can make your new phone settings, and you will find that all your files and photos are restored.

Finally, now you have downgraded to the stable iOS 16.5 again, and even retrieved all the contents of the phone as well! Was today’s explanation helpful? Were you able to perform all the steps without difficulty? If you encounter any difficulties in implementing any of the instructions, or there is a step that is not clear, then contact us in the comments and we will assist you as much as we can.