You can now longer downgrade to iOS 16 or 16.0.1

(Image credit: Christine Romero-Chan / iMore)

Apple is no longer signing iOS 16 and iOS 16.0.1, meaning there is no way to downgrade to those two specific releases from the current iOS 16.0.2.

While the only version of iOS 16.x that is available to iPhone owners is now that iOS 16.0.2 update, those who want to get back onto iOS 15.x are still good to go thanks to the recent release of iOS 15.7.

Downgrade dance

The news that neither iOS 16 nor iOS 16.0.1 can be downgraded to was first reported by 9to5Mac and comes just weeks after they were released. The main iOS 16 update arrived on September 12 following months of beta testing. The iOS 16.0.1 update was an update that was designed specifically for the iPhone 14 lineup, with a number of bugs that needed to be fixed around the September 16 release.

Apple subsequently released iOS 16.0.2 for all iPhones on September 22, adding yet more fixes including one that prevented iOS apps from displaying a permission request every time users copy and pasted content.

Apple routinely stops people from downgrading to older versions of iOS as a security system, preventing people from installing releases that are known to be susceptible to exploits. It also pushes people towards newer versions of its iPhone software to ensure as many people as possible have access to the latest features and APIS — in turn giving developers confidence that those APIs can be used by their apps.

The iOS 16 update came pre-installed on the new iPhone 14 models and can be installed on all devices from the iPhone X and newer. It's the best iPhone software to date, allowing people to more heavily customize their Lock Screen than ever before. The update also includes support for editing iMessages, unsending emails, and more.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.