Many jailbreakers who enjoy the thrill of installing tweaks and add-ons on their jailbroken device rely on the tvOS 17 beta software profile to prevent over-the-air (OTA) updates from being installed on their iPhone or iPad. This not only prevents updates in the background, but it also prevents the device from nagging you with a persistent badge on the Settings app icon to alert you to pending software updates.
Staying on the lowest possible firmware and avoiding software updates is a concept that all dedicated jailbreakers follow, so it’s easy to see why using the tvOS 17 beta software profile is so popular. But with the tvOS 17 beta profile expiring January 31st, 2025, it’s important to upgrade to the latest tvOS 18 beta software profile so you aren’t caught post-expiration with unexpected prompts to update your firmware.
In today’s step-by-step tutorial, we’ll be showing you how to install the tvOS 18 beta software profile on your iPhone or iPad.
What you need to know
The tvOS 18 beta software profile is intended for Apple TVs, but a modified version can be installed on iPhones and iPads.
Since your iPhone or iPad is looking for iOS or iPadOS-based software updates, it won’t find compatible software updates when looking for tvOS-based software, as they are incompatible. As a result, using this tvOS 18 beta software profile effectively disables the OTA software update mechanism on your device, making it appear as if your outdated firmware is up to date.
You can install the tvOS 18 beta software profile on either a jailbroken or a non-jailbroken device in just a few taps. It’s recommended that you do if you have any intention of jailbreaking, or if you’re already jailbroken, as you want to stay on the lowest possible firmware and avoid firmware updates. This is because newer firmware tends to patch security vulnerabilities that can be helpful in jailbreaking.
The tvOS 18 beta software profile will expire on January 31st, 2026, so you’ll need to refresh your beta software profile in one year when the tvOS 19 beta software profile comes out to perpetually keep this cycle going.
If you’re already using the tvOS 17 beta software profile, or an older one, then you will need to remove it before moving forward with this tutorial. You can only use one tvOS beta software profile at any given time.
It’s easy to remove the tvOS 18 beta software profile if you should change your mind and decide to update your device. This is by no means a permanent and binding decision, so feel free to try it and experiment.
Installing the tvOS beta software profile
To install the tvOS 18 beta software profile on your iPhone or iPad, simply follow the steps outlined for you below:
1) Remove any pre-existing tvOS beta software profiles that may already be installed on your device. You can find them under Settings → General → VPN & Device Management, as well as a convenient red Remove Profile button.
Note: If you have no tvOS beta software profiles installed on your device, then you can skip the first step and move on to step 2.
2) In the web browser on your iPhone or iPad, visit the following link by entering it into the URL bar and then tapping Go:
https://cydia.ichitaso.com/
3) Scroll down to the No OTA profile (tvOS18b) option at the bottom of the page and tap on it:
4) In the pop-up prompt that appears, tap on the Allow button:
5) In the next pop-up prompt that appears, tap on the Close button:
6) Open your Settings app and tap on the Profile Downloaded cell:
Note: Notice that my device says there’s an update for iOS 18.2.1 available; we’ll observe how that goes away shortly.
7) In the Install Profile prompt that appears, tap the Install button:
8) Enter your passcode when prompted:
9) Confirm that you want to install the tvOS 18 beta software profile by tapping the Install button once again:
10) And lastly, confirm by tapping Install one last time in the final pop-up prompt:
Note: The tvOS 18 beta software profile is now installed on your device.
11) You will be prompted to restart your device. Do so by tapping the Restart button:
When your device boots back up, you can navigate to Settings → General → Software Update and verify that it says whatever firmware you’re running is up to date, even if it’s not:
Congratulations! You’ve installed the tvOS 18 beta software profile on your iPhone or iPad and totally blocked any firmware updates from occurring over the air (OTA).
Wrapping up
Being able to turn off over-the-air (OTA) software updates on your iPhone or iPad like the flick of a switch is very handy, especially if you’re specifically trying to avoid software updates as is the case in the world of jailbreaking. With that in mind, it’s no surprise to see that this method has been used for several years.
Please note, however, that these tvOS beta software profiles do expire, so you may have to repeat this process on an annual basis, ditching the older tvOS beta profile for a newer one each and every time so that you continue to avoid software updates.