iOS 27 Beta Not Making You Smile as Much as You Thought It Would? Here’s How to Downgrade to iOS 26

While iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 are both fairly solid, beta versions of software can be buggy. If you installed the iOS 27 or iPadOS 27 beta on your device through the Apple Developer Program or the Public Beta Test program and it didn’t make you smile as much as you would? You can downgrade your iPhone or iPad back to its previous operating system by following just a few simple steps.

If you made an archived backup before you installed the iOS 27, you can remove the beta and restore the backup, no harm done, If you don’t have an archived backup you can still downgrade, but you’ll either need to restore it from a previous backup or set up your device as new. As noted by MacRumors, only an archived backup made before installing the beta can be restored after downgrading.

Another thing to keep in mind is that if you’ve installed the watchIS 27 beta on your Apple Watch, it will not work with your iPhone once you’ve downgraded to iOS 27. Apple Watches cannot be downgraded by the user and instead requires you to send in your Apple Watch to Apple.

How to Downgrade From the iOS 27 Beta or iPadOS 27 Beta

• Launch Finder on your Mac. On Windows, open the Apple Devices app (or iTunes if you’re using an older version of macOS).
• Connect your iPhone or iPad to your computer via a USB-C or Lightning cable.
• Place your device into recovery mode. While the method for doing so varies by device, Apple provides information on how to put your device in Recovery mode in this support article, or I’ve also lised the steps below.
• Once your device is in Recovery Mode, you’ll see a dialog box pop up asking if you want to restore your device. Click “Restore” when prompted. Your computer will then erase the device and then install the latest publicly available version of iOS or iPadOS.
• Wait while the restore process completes. You’ll know it complete when you see your device’s lock screen.

How to Place Your iPhone Device in Recovery Mode

Phone 8 or later, including iPhone SE (2nd generation and later):

1. Press and quickly release the volume up button.
2. Press and quickly release the volume down button.
3. Press and hold the side button until you see the Connect to computer screen.

iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, and iPod touch (7th generation):

1. Press and hold the top (or side) and volume down buttons at the same time.
2. Keep holding the buttons until you see the Connect to computer screen.

Phone 6s or earlier, including iPhone SE (1st generation), and iPod touch (6th generation) or earlier:

1. Press and hold both the Home and the top (or side) buttons at the same time.
2. Keep holding the buttons until you see the Connect to computer screen.

Put Place Your iPad in Recovery Mode

If your iPad doesn’t have a Home button:

1. Press and quickly release the volume button closest to the top button.
2. Press and quickly release the volume button farthest from the top button.
3. Press and hold the top button.
4. Keep holding the top button until you see the recovery mode screen.

If your iPad has a Home button:

1. Press and hold both the Home and the top button at the same time.
2. When your iPad turns off, release the top button, but keep holding the Home button until you see the recovery mode screen.