Downgrade iOS 17 beta to iOS 16.6

If you have a previous backup of iOS 16

Connect your device to iTunes or Finder

Connect your device to iTunes using a USB cable and open iTunes (Windows) or Finder (macOS).

Note: If you have an Apple Watch enrolled in the watchOS public beta, restoring your paired iPhone to a previously-released OS version is not recommended as it will no longer pair properly.

Put your device into Recovery Mode

On an iPhone 8, or later: Press and quickly release the Volume Up button. Press and quickly release the Volume Down button. Then, press and hold the Side button until you see the recovery-mode screen.

On an iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus: Press and hold the Sleep/Wake and Volume Down buttons at the same time. Don’t release the buttons when you see the Apple logo. Keep holding both buttons until you see the recovery mode screen.

On an iPhone 6s and earlier or iPod touch: Press and hold the Sleep/Wake and Home buttons at the same time. Don’t release the buttons when you see the Apple logo. Keep holding both buttons until you see the recovery mode screen.

See how to put iPhone into Recovery Mode →

See how to put iPad into Recovery Mode →

Restore your device

iTunes presents you with options to restore or update your device. You’ll need to confirm that you want to set it back to its factory settings by choosing "Restore..." and then iTunes will erase your device.

Activate your device

Once completed, sign in with your Apple ID from iTunes to activate your device.

Restore from your backup in iTunes

When iTunes prompts you to restore all of your information from a previous backup, choose the iOS/iPadOS backup that you created in iTunes before you installed the iOS/iPadOS developer beta. Then select "Continue" and iTunes restore your device.

Restart your device

After your device has restored, it will shut down. Restart your device and follow the onscreen instructions from Setup Assistant.

NOTE: If you have upgraded to macOS Catalina, you can restore your device using Finder. After putting your device into Recovery Mode, select it from Locations in the Finder sidebar.

If you don't have a previous backup of iOS 16

First, you need to download the .ipsw file suitable for your device below. Then follow the steps below to downgrade to iOS 16.6 without data loss.

Connect your iOS device to iTunes

Connect your iPhone or iPad to a Mac or Windows computer with iTunes installed.

Note: If you have an Apple Watch enrolled in the watchOS 10 beta, restoring your paired iPhone to a previously-released OS version is not recommended as it will no longer pair properly.

Backup your device

Launch iTunes on Windows and Finder on Mac after your device is detected.

Select the option to back up all your data to your Mac or Windows computer, then click the "Backup Now" button.

Learn how to back up your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch →

Go to the backup folder

After your device has finished backing up, access the folder containing the backup file of your iPhone as follows:

With File Explorer on Windows, access the following path:

C:\Users\[your_username]\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup

With Finder on macOS, access the following path:

~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup

Open your backup folder (eg 0000xxxxxxxxxxxxxx) with the last backup date. Then navigate to the Info.plist file and open it with an editor like Notepad or TextEditor (download from the Mac App Store).

Do some trick

Use the search feature (with Ctrl+F or Cmd+F) and find “Product Version”. At the bottom line will show the iOS version your device is running (17.0). At this point you just need to edit it back to 16.5 or 16.6 depending on the version you are using. Then save the changes (with Ctrl+S or Cmd+S).