You can no longer downgrade from iOS 12.0.1

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Once you go iOS 12 you'll never go back.
Apple has stopped signing the original iOS 12 download.
Photo: Wendelin Jacober/Pexels

Apple has stopped “signing” the original release of iOS 12 following the arrival of iOS 12.0.1. That means that anyone who has upgraded to iOS 12.0.1 can no longer go back to the previous version.

Signing refers to Apple providing the necessary keys to install firmware. By no longer signing, it means that there is no way to get hold of the original software through Apple — thus taking it off the market for basically every customer.

Apple frequently stops signing versions of its operating systems early in their lifespan. That’s both to push users to adopt the latest version of iOS for compatibility reasons, but also because these updates frequently contain certain bug fixes that are necessary from a security perspective. According to Apple’s own figures, more than half of users are currently upgraded to some versions of iOS 12.

iOS 12.0.1 fixed several bugs, including a Wi-Fi slowdown problem for iPhone XS users, a charging issue that affected devices in sleep mode, and a few other minor tweaks. Coming so soon after the debut of iOS 12, it’s no surprise that the update was a small one, predominantly intended to fix problems brought to light by the wide release of iOS 12.

Yesterday, Apple released the iOS 12.1 beta. Among its improvements is one to that will supposedly fix selfie performance and eliminate the skin smoothing many users aren’t happy about on the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR.

What do you make of iOS 12 so far? Let us know in the comments below.

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