Yesterday, proving it is far from infallible when it comes to both hardware design and software development, Apple released a bugged version of iOS 8.0.1. For many iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users, along with having a bent phone, updating to iOS 8.0.1 completely killed cellular connectivity and TouchID functionality. To restore cellular (and mobile data) connectivity, the only solution is to downgrade back to iOS 8 and await a future 8.0.2 update from Apple, which is due “in the next few days.”
How to reinstall iOS 8
Historically, it can be very hard to restore an older version of iOS 8 — but in this case, Apple has fortunately made it rather easy. Just follow these steps to downgrade to iOS 8.
- Make sure your version of iTunes is fully up-to-date. Windows users, click Help > Check for Updates. Mac users, click iTunes > Check for Updates.
- Connect your iPhone to your computer.
- Perform a backup of your iPhone to iTunes — click File > Devices > Back Up.
- Download the relevant IPSW restore file for your device: iPhone 6 / iPhone 6 Plus.
- Visit the Summary page in iTunes for your device, then Option-click (Mac) or Shift-click (Windows) the Update button. Select the downloaded IPSW in the dialog box that pops up.
If all goes to plan, your iPhone will do its thing and you’ll yet again have an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus capable of making calls, surfing the internet, and using the TouchID sensor. The iOS 8.0.1 update fixed a major bug in HealthKit apps, and also some other minor issues with third-party keyboards, one-handed Reachability mode, Photo Library, and more — and so by reverting to iOS 8, none of these bugs will have been fixed. You won’t be able to use the Health app until iOS 8.0.2 is released.
Curiously, if you don’t have a Mac or Windows machine to install iTunes, I think you may have to wait until iOS 8.0.2 is released. If you have restored your iPhone 6 or 6 Plus without iTunes, let us know in the comments.
This is a heinous bug that Apple really should’ve caught sooner — and it definitely calls into question Apple’s ability to directly push updates to consumers. I suspect AT&T, Verizon, and other big mobile carriers will be having some nasty calls with Apple today (assuming their phones still work…)
Read: The best new features of iOS 8, plus a few hidden gems you might not have found yet
How to downgrade to iOS 7
As an added bonus, I thought I’d tell you how to downgrade from iOS 8 to iOS 7. You might want to do this if you have an iPad 2 or iPhone 4S that suffers from poor performance after upgrading to iOS 8. Or maybe you just don’t like iOS 8 (though considering it’s just an evolutionary upgrade of iOS 7, I can’t imagine why that would be the case).
There are two major considerations when downgrading to iOS 7: a) The window of opportunity is usually only a couple of weeks before Apple “unsigns” iOS 7, meaning your iDevice won’t accept it any more – and b) You have to locate an official iOS 7.1.2 IPSW restore file. For now, iOS 7.1.2 is still being signed by Apple, but Apple could unsign it at any time.
To locate a copy of iOS 7.1.2 for your device, simply head to Google and search for
iOS 7.1.2 ipsw iDevice — where iDevice is iPhone 4S, iPad 2, or whatever device you’re trying to downgrade. There is also a possibility that the IPSW file is already on your PC, from when you officially upgraded — try searching for ipsw in Explorer or Finder to see what turns up.Once you have the iOS 7.1.2 IPSW restore file, follow the same directions as above for downgrading from iOS 8.0.1 — but click the Restore button at the end of the process, not Update. Be sure to have a backup, as the Restore process will wipe all of your data and apps.
Source http://www.extremetech.com
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