How to Downgrade iOS 10.0.2 to iOS 9.3.X

For those of you who have updated to iOS 10.0.2 and find that it really isn’t working for you, there is some good news. The signing window for iOS 9.3.X is still open and you can still downgrade your iOS device. However, a word of caution here – if you are going to do it, do it now because, with iOS 10.1 in beta already, Apple is not going to keep the window open for much longer. Also, if you are intending to downgrade purely to jailbreak your device, you can’t. The last public jailbreak was for iOS 9.3.3 and that is no longer being signed.

While iOS 10 is being touted as the best firmware ever, it just isn’t suiting everyone and there is no way that Apple could possibly produce a firmware that suits millions of people. Aside from that, some users are experiencing issues that are impeding their experience of iOS 10 and prefer to downgrade again until they are sorted out. To that end, we are going to show you how to downgrade from iOS 10.0.2 to iOS 9.3.X. This will NOT work on the iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus – both ship with iOS 10 out of the box and cannot be downgraded beyond that.

Before you Downgrade iOS 10.0.2 to iOS 9.3.X :

Before you begin, you must make sure you are running the latest iTunes version, currently v12.5.1. To check:

1. Open iTunes
2. Tap on Help
3. Tap on Check for Updates 
   
4. If there is a new version, follow the instructions on screen update to it
5. Next, backup the data on your iOS device, using iTunes and | or iCloud. If you don’t and something goes wrong during the downgrade, you will lose all your files and data. 
   

Finally, disable your passcode/Touch ID and find my iPhone/iPad. To do this, open Settings > iCloud > Find my iPhone | iPad [ whichever applies to you ]

Downgrade iOS 10.0.2 to iOS 9.3.X :

Once you have completed the above steps, you can go ahead and downgrade. Here’s how:

1. Download iOS 9.3.X ISPW. Make sure you download the correct one for your specific device
2. Connect your iOS device to your Mac or PC and open iTunes
3. Select the Device Summary for the connected device
   

      4. Now you must place your iOS device into DFU mode. For those that have never done this                   before hold the Power and Home buttons on your device down at the same   time. Wait for the           Apple logo to appear on your device screen and that let go of the power button. Continue to                 hold down the Home button until the Connect to iTunes logo shows up on the screen and                   iTunes displays a Device in Recovery message

     5. The message will ask if you want to restore or update your iOS device – we are going to be                   restoring so press the SHIFT key on your Windows PC keyboard or the ALT   key if you are               using a Mac. At the same time, click on Restore on the iTunes message 

     6. Find the iOS 9.3.X ipsw file you downloaded and select it.

     7. Follow all the self-explanatory instructions that appear on the screen and wait for iTunes to                 downgrade your iOS device to iOS 9.3.X and begin the restore process .                             

                                                                   

      

    8. Your device will reboot when the installation is complete and you will see the Hello screen 

Tell us why you are downgrading back to iOS 9.3.X and if you have any trouble in doing so. Remember, the signing window will close soon so do this now while you still have the opportunity.