Downgrade

Apple halts downgrades from iOS 13.2.3 by unsigning iOS 13.2.2

Anthony Bouchard ∙ December 2, 2019

Apple systematically stops signing older mobile software releases as newer ones become available. Given the company’s track record in this regard, it should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with the matter that Apple has stopped signing iOS 13.2.2 Monday evening, a move that effectively averts firmware downgrades from the newer iOS 13.2.3 that Apple released approximately two weeks ago with miscellaneous bug fixes.

There are two primary reasons why someone would want to downgrade their firmware in the first place, with the first being to revert back to an older version of iOS after a new release breaks functionality or introduces unwanted bugs, and the second being to restore the device to a jailbreakable firmware after a software update patches the necessary exploits used by a tool.

Apple unsigns iOS 13.2, hindering downgrades from iOS 13.2.2

Anthony Bouchard ∙ November 14, 2019

Apple stopped signing iOS 13.2 Thursday evening, a move that inhibits iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch owners from downgrading their handset’s software from the latest iOS 13.2.2 release.

It’s common practice for the Cupertino-based tech company to unsign older software sometime after a newer gets released. Doing so facilitates (sometimes involuntary) software upgrades, which ensures that the majority of iOS device users take advantage of the latest new features, bug fixes, and security improvements.

Apple unsigns iOS 13.1.2 and 13.1.3, thwarting downgrades from 13.2

Anthony Bouchard ∙ November 6, 2019

Apple closed the signing window for two different iOS versions for various handsets Wednesday evening, including 13.1.2 and 13.1.3.

It’s regular practice for Apple to stop signing older versions of iOS after a newer release has been available for some time. Doing so both prevents software downgrades by the jailbreak-savvy and encourages software updates for everyone else to ensure users take advantage of the latest features and security patches.

Apple stops signing iOS 13.1, hindering firmware downgrades

Anthony Bouchard ∙ October 7, 2019

Apple on Monday stopped signing iOS 13.1, a move on the Cupertino-based company’s part that prevents most iPhone and iPad users from downgrading from any newer version of the mobile operating system.

It’s worth noting that Apple stopped signing iOS 13.0 just last week along with iOS 13.1.1. For whatever reason, Apple continued to sign iOS 13.1 alongside iOS 13.1.2, with the latter being the latest release at the time of this writing.

Apple stops signing iOS 12.4, preventing downgrades to a jailbreakable firmware

Anthony Bouchard ∙ September 11, 2019

We all knew it was coming, and now it’s official – iOS 12.4 is no longer being signed by Apple.

The Cupertino-based big tech company closed the signing window for iOS 12.4 late Wednesday evening, effectively preventing downgrades from the newer iOS 12.4.1 release, which was released more than two weeks ago to re-patch the Sock Puppet exploit that Apple inadvertently un-patched in iOS 12.4.

Chimera v1.3.8 released with more nonce-based improvements for A12(X) devices

Anthony Bouchard ∙ September 4, 2019

Just yesterday, the Electra Team released v1.3.7 of the iOS 12-centric Chimera jailbreak tool with extended nonce generator support on A12(X) devices running iOS 12.1.3-12.4, but the Electra Team is out with another update on Wednesday, officially bringing Chimera up to version 1.3.8.

The Electra Team announced the latest update Wednesday morning via the team’s official Twitter page, and from what we can gather, this update, much like the last, improves the setting of nonces on A12(X) devices running iOS 12.1.3-12.4:

Apple no longer signing iOS 12.3-12.3.2, hindering downgrades from iOS 12.4

Anthony Bouchard ∙ July 31, 2019

Apple is no longer signing iOS 12.3, 12.3.1, or 12.3.2 for its mobile device lineup as of Wednesday evening, a move that prevents users from restoring to any firmware version older than iOS 12.4, which was released to the general public just last Monday.

It’s not uncommon for Apple to stop signing older versions of iOS, especially a week or two after releasing a new update, but it’s particularly noteworthy that Apple stopped signing at least three iterations of iOS in one fell swoop this week, which doesn’t happen too often.

Apple stops signing iOS 12.2, preventing firmware downgrades from iOS 12.3

Anthony Bouchard ∙ May 23, 2019

In a routine move by Apple on Thursday, the Cupertino-based tech company stopped signing the iOS 12.2 firmware for its mobile lineup of devices, a move that hinders the iTunes-centric downgrade process to any firmware older than the recently-released iOS 12.3 update.

Apple first released iOS 12.2 nearly two months ago, and iOS 12.3 has been publicly available for a little longer than a week at the time of this writing. Given the circumstances, Apple’s decision to discontinue downgrades to iOS 12.2 isn’t particularly surprising.

Apple stops signing iOS 12.1.3, preventing downgrades from iOS 12.1.4

Anthony Bouchard ∙ March 18, 2019

Apple appears to have stopped signing iOS 12.1.3 on Monday, a move on the Cupertino-based company’s part that prevents iOS device users from downgrading their device’s installed firmware from iOS 12.1.4 via iTunes.

This move doesn’t impact the jailbreak community very much because the latest jailbreakable firmware at the time of this writing is iOS 12.1.2, which Apple stopped signing more than a month ago. That said, the jailbreak community isn’t particularly rushing to downgrade to iOS 12.1.3 these days.

Apple stops signing iOS 12.1.1 beta 3, halting downgrades to a jailbreakable firmware

Anthony Bouchard ∙ March 6, 2019

In an unfortunate turn of events this week, Apple appears to have stopped signing iOS 12.1.1 beta 3 for most or all iOS devices. Before last night, this was the last jailbreakable firmware that could still be downgraded to via iTunes since Apple closed the signing window for the official iOS 12.1.1-12.1.2 releases exactly one month ago.

Hacker an unc0ver lead developer Pwn20wnd confirmed the unsigning status via Twitter in the wee hours of the night, shortly following up with reports saying that it was still being signed by Apple for certain devices. As expected, a couple of high-profile individuals such as rootlessJB 3.0 developer Jake James and OsirisJailbreak12 creator GeoSn0w confirmed that the firmware wasn’t being signed for their devices:

The latest iTunes beta prevents iOS downgrades

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 30, 2019

We've always been able to downgrade to a recent iOS version by installing an IPSW file on an iPhone or iPad through iTunes for Mac and Windows, but that's no longer possible in the latest iTunes 12.9 beta, distributed last week as part of the macOS Mojave 10.14.4 developer beta.

Last chance to downgrade to iOS 12.1.1 as S0rryMyBad publishes details about iOS 12-centric kernel exploit

Anthony Bouchard ∙ January 23, 2019

Apple officially dropped iOS 12.1.3 on Tuesday, and it wasn’t long after that security researcher @S0rryMyBad Tweeted a proof of concept (PoC) of the bug used to achieve an iOS 12 jailbreak at the TianfuCup PWN Contest last November.

On Wednesday, @S0rryMyBad followed up with the PoC he Tweeted by publishing a detailed blog post elaborating the ins and outs of his bug, including how it works and how to use it on iOS 12.1.2 and below: