Downgrade from iOS11

[Venom7000]

I had my Apple iPad mini 2 upgraded to iOS11. Its slow to a point of becoming useless.
I dont need tips and hacks on how to speed it up. (Ive done it all and it helps barely)
My ipad worked the best while on iOS9.

Is there any way to downgrade back to iOS 9?
I tried asking this question on Apple official forums and people were just saying NO and played stupid or downright refused to acknowledge existence of any ”unofficial methods”.

I know that there is no official Apple approved way. But Im desperate to try any else.
Maybe some website with a backlog of old ios instals?

 

[Cascades42]

Maybe some website with a backlog of old ios instals?

The download isn't that hard to find. The problem is that Apple isn't signing the update anymore. Your iPad mini phones home when you try and update the OS and checks if the update is valid - Apple will just return a no and done.

 

[eyoungren]

I had my Apple iPad mini 2 upgraded to iOS11. Its slow to a point of becoming useless.
I dont need tips and hacks on how to speed it up. (Ive done it all and it helps barely)
My ipad worked the best while on iOS9.

Is there any way to downgrade back to iOS 9?
I tried asking this question on Apple official forums and people were just saying NO and played stupid or downright refused to acknowledge existence of any ”unofficial methods”.

I know that there is no official Apple approved way. But Im desperate to try any else.
Maybe some website with a backlog of old ios instals?

Well…there's jailbreaking, but you first need a jailbreak for iOS 11. There isn't one right now.

Then you'll need someone to make a way to downgrade. Then you'll need SHSH blobs (more than likely) for the firmware you want to downgrade to. Assuming you have those and they are valid and there is a path to downgrade you'd be good at that point. If you have no idea of what I am talking about then chances are you have none of that. Which means, even if there was an iOS 11 jailbreak you probably couldn't downgrade even if there was a path.

Since there is currently no iOS 11 jailbreak it's really all academic anyway. You're stuck for now.

 

[akash.nu]

On Apple forum they were being straightforward with you. The answer is still a NO.

 

[sracer]

I had my Apple iPad mini 2 upgraded to iOS11. Its slow to a point of becoming useless.
I dont need tips and hacks on how to speed it up. (Ive done it all and it helps barely)
My ipad worked the best while on iOS9.

Is there any way to downgrade back to iOS 9?
I tried asking this question on Apple official forums and people were just saying NO and played stupid or downright refused to acknowledge existence of any ”unofficial methods”.

I know that there is no official Apple approved way. But Im desperate to try any else.
Maybe some website with a backlog of old ios instals?

Those people might have been "playing stupid" but they weren't wrong. There is no way, official or unofficial to downgrade an iOS device that is currently running iOS 11.

Apple's official solution to your problem is... buy a new iPad. (I'm not advocating that, but that IS what Apple expects you to do)

After upgrading your iPad from 9 to 10 and not being satisfied, why did you then upgrade to 11? Especially with all of the news of problems with 11 floating around.

 

[eyoungren]

After upgrading your iPad from 9 to 10 and not being satisfied, why did you then upgrade to 11? Especially with all of the news of problems with 11 floating around.

People always 'hope' that a new upgrade/update solves their issue. It rarely does, but when you can't go back or don't know how then that's the only hope for it you have left.

People get mad at Apple because essentially this hope is dashed each time - by Apple.

Why doesn't my device work anymore? This is Apple, it's supposed to WORK!

And so on.

Part of that is Apple's fault. They've got everyone trained to update at the drop of a hat and they don't let you downgrade because they know the bind that puts you in with older hardware. And they, as you said, want you to buy newer hardware.

Then of course they constantly nag you to update and make it difficult to opt-out.

Sooner or later though, people will realize they probably don't want to update right away, if at all. People just haven't been burned enough yet I guess.

 

[Richard8655]

A good case (and perhaps warning) to set up your iPad to not upgrade automatically to the next IOS release for those who intend to keep their iPads longer than Apple intends.

 

[akash.nu]

Any electronic product is really use and throw. I think people should start looking at them the same way.

 

[merkinmuffley]

Tablet sales slow down, what better way to get you to buy a new one than do an OS update that slows your current one down. I wrote OS SW for many years, we had HW checks to see what HW platform we were booting on, and conditionals in the SW to take advantage of HW that was present. I've suspected Apple of doing this for years, it's easy to do.

 

[sracer]

People always 'hope' that a new upgrade/update solves their issue. It rarely does, but when you can't go back or don't know how then that's the only hope for it you have left.

People get mad at Apple because essentially this hope is dashed each time - by Apple.

Why doesn't my device work anymore? This is Apple, it's supposed to WORK!

And so on.

Part of that is Apple's fault. They've got everyone trained to update at the drop of a hat and they don't let you downgrade because they know the bind that puts you in with older hardware. And they, as you said, want you to buy newer hardware.

Then of course they constantly nag you to update and make it difficult to opt-out.

Sooner or later though, people will realize they probably don't want to update right away, if at all. People just haven't been burned enough yet I guess.

I wholeheartedly agree, with the exception of what I bolded. The fault lies squarely and solely on Apple. Period. Apple is in total control over the hardware that iOS runs on. They've engineered the entire process, from choosing which beaches the silicon comes from that make the chips all the way to the boxes that the device comes in. (ok, the beach part is hyperbole ) They intimately know their hardware.

They have specifically designed iOS to require the installation of updates when updates are released. The update process is so ingrained in iOS itself that it originally automatically DOWNLOADED an update if it were available (without asking the user if they wanted it downloaded). The user did have the option to not INSTALL it (but it was already downloaded).

When apparently the user outcry was loud enough about it, Apple relented and gave the user the option of NOT downloading an update. But the update process is so ingrained in iOS, it required a NEW version of iOS to include the option. So in an ironic twist, those who didn't want an update automatically downloaded had to download and install an update.

There are many who claim that forced updates are great for the user. The arguments they use are not very convincing. Great for Apple, yes. For the user? Not so much.

My 1st gen 12.9 iPad Pro was a beastly tablet. Up to the point of installing iOS 11 it continued to have beast-like tendencies. But with iOS 11, battery life has been in the tank.

Any electronic product is really use and throw. I think people should start looking at them the same way.

If that is the way people should be viewing Apple products then it is wasteful of money to charge a premium for a device that will have the same or marginally longer lifespan that their competitors. And it is wasteful of material to make a tablet that is physically capable of lasting 10-20 years if the intent is to last only 3-4.

 

[eyoungren]

Any electronic product is really use and throw. I think people should start looking at them the same way.

Then I want Android pricing.

Not spending $600-$1000 to throw an iPad away two years later.

 

[akash.nu]

I wholeheartedly agree, with the exception of what I bolded. The fault lies squarely and solely on Apple. Period. Apple is in total control over the hardware that iOS runs on. They've engineered the entire process, from choosing which beaches the silicon comes from that make the chips all the way to the boxes that the device comes in. (ok, the beach part is hyperbole ) They intimately know their hardware.

They have specifically designed iOS to require the installation of updates when updates are released. The update process is so ingrained in iOS itself that it originally automatically DOWNLOADED an update if it were available (without asking the user if they wanted it downloaded). The user did have the option to not INSTALL it (but it was already downloaded).

When apparently the user outcry was loud enough about it, Apple relented and gave the user the option of NOT downloading an update. But the update process is so ingrained in iOS, it required a NEW version of iOS to include the option. So in an ironic twist, those who didn't want an update automatically downloaded had to download and install an update.

There are many who claim that forced updates are great for the user. The arguments they use are not very convincing. Great for Apple, yes. For the user? Not so much.

My 1st gen 12.9 iPad Pro was a beastly tablet. Up to the point of installing iOS 11 it continued to have beast-like tendencies. But with iOS 11, battery life has been in the tank.



If that is the way people should be viewing Apple products then it is wasteful of money to charge a premium for a device that will have the same or marginally longer lifespan that their competitors. And it is wasteful of material to make a tablet that is physically capable of lasting 10-20 years if the intent is to last only 3-4.

Unfortunately, no matter how you put it, the nature of the software development industry is such that new versions will require more power and older hardware will just not be able to handle it.

As a company it’s better to do away with older hardware after a certain point because supporting them just becomes impossible and if Apple doesn’t stop supporting them officially then most consumers will expect them to fix issues way past warranty period when it becomes difficult for bigger companies to maintain the existing support structure. It’s all about cost vs benefits.

 

[akash.nu]

Then I want Android pricing.

Not spending $600-$1000 to throw an iPad away two years later.

I’m sure Android manufactures would have charged as much if they could. The experience on Android tablets in general is nowhere close to the iPads.

Case in point - look at flagship Samsung phones. They are almost as expensive as iPhones if not more, because Samsung knows they can charge that much.

Staying relevant in smartphones / tablets business is way more difficult and competitive than people think.

 

[sracer]

Unfortunately, no matter how you put it, the nature of the software development industry is such that new versions will require more power and older hardware will just not be able to handle it.

That is the current conventional wisdom, but that has not always been true, and certainly not to the extent that we're seeing today. Historically (I've been a software developer for 40+ years), in the early days the cost of hardware was on par with the cost of developing software to run on that hardware. With each breakthrough in hardware technology, the hardware became cheaper to manufacture, but the cost of developing software remained the same. When the demands for, and purposes of, the hardware become broader and more complex, that required greater effort placed in software development... resulting in a significant increase in the cost of software development.

Fast-forward to today. Because software development is so costly, it is far more financially prudent to throw more powerful hardware (that is cheaper) at a solution than it is to have developers optimize and fine-tune software for a particular platform. Development tools have become more high level allowing for a decrease in development time, but at the expense of the hardware required to allow the resulting software to perform adequately.

If one examines the raw computing power of the latest iPad with the functions performed by iOS, you'll find that iOS is highly inefficient. It would be very revealing to see a linux distro running on that iPad... a full-functioning desktop OS with better performance than the latest version of iOS.

But hey, what people do with their money is their business. It is beneficial for them to do so wisely.

 

[eyoungren]

I’m sure Android manufactures would have charged as much if they could. The experience on Android tablets in general is nowhere close to the iPads.

Case in point - look at flagship Samsung phones. They are almost as expensive as iPhones if not more, because Samsung knows they can charge that much.

Staying relevant in smartphones / tablets business is way more difficult and competitive than people think.

I don't need to stay relevant. Nothing I do with an iPad or an iPhone has any relation to my job or anything else I do.

And as you may know, my devices move down to different purposes when I replace them.

So, again, not spending this amount of money to toss a device away every two years.

I use 2003-2006 era Macs for goddsake, that should tell you something.

 

[akash.nu]

That is the current conventional wisdom, but that has not always been true, and certainly not to the extent that we're seeing today. Historically (I've been a software developer for 40+ years), in the early days the cost of hardware was on par with the cost of developing software to run on that hardware. With each breakthrough in hardware technology, the hardware became cheaper to manufacture, but the cost of developing software remained the same. When the demands for, and purposes of, the hardware become broader and more complex, that required greater effort placed in software development... resulting in a significant increase in the cost of software development.

Fast-forward to today. Because software development is so costly, it is far more financially prudent to throw more powerful hardware (that is cheaper) at a solution than it is to have developers optimize and fine-tune software for a particular platform. Development tools have become more high level allowing for a decrease in development time, but at the expense of the hardware required to allow the resulting software to perform adequately.

If one examines the raw computing power of the latest iPad with the functions performed by iOS, you'll find that iOS is highly inefficient. It would be very revealing to see a linux distro running on that iPad... a full-functioning desktop OS with better performance than the latest version of iOS.

But hey, what people do with their money is their business. It is beneficial for them to do so wisely.

I agree, an iPad is more powerful than the processors used in our satellites these days and yes it’s inefficient because iOS doesn’t run on mission critical systems. That’s not the point of argument here though. Given the resources available and the drive to make more revenue every year, I think Apple is at a much better position than any other company in the same sector.

 

[akash.nu]

I don't need to stay relevant. Nothing I do with an iPad or an iPhone has any relation to my job or anything else I do.

And as you may know, my devices move down to different purposes when I replace them.

So, again, not spending this amount of money to toss a device away every two years.

I use 2003-2006 era Macs for goddsake, that should tell you something.

Lol. Certainly for you it’s not worth it. In my case though, absolutely worth it.

 

[sparksd]

I don't need to stay relevant. Nothing I do with an iPad or an iPhone has any relation to my job or anything else I do.

And as you may know, my devices move down to different purposes when I replace them.

So, again, not spending this amount of money to toss a device away every two years.

I use 2003-2006 era Macs for goddsake, that should tell you something.

Yeah, these things have gotten too pricey to upgrade every two years.

 

[Sunshoopa]

Except he has 2013 hardware, so it’s 4 years old at this point. I upgraded my iPad Air (same hardware) to an iPad Pro 10.5 this year due to 1gb of ram not being enough anymore since iOS 10.

The iPad Mini 4 is pretty nice hardware yet, so upgrading to that for ~$150 (after selling the iPad Mini 2) shouldn’t be too bad for the upgrade.

 

[Richard8655]

Not to offend iPad Pro owners, but this is why I refuse to buy a $1000 iPad that’s considered throwaway Kleenex tissue in just a few years. I’d rather stick with the basic model and upgrade as needed without a hit on the bank account. My $199 5th gen is fitting that catagory pretty well.

 

[sparksd]

Not to offend iPad Pro owners, but this is why I refuse to buy a $1000 iPad that’s considered throwaway Kleenex tissue in just a few years. I’d rather stick with the basic model and upgrade as needed without a hit on the bank account. My $199 5th gen is fitting that catagory pretty well.

What's the definition of a few years? I just got the 10.5 and expect it to be good for 4 years (or more?). Let's put it this way - if it isn't, my next purchase would not be a high-end model.

 

[Altis]

That is the current conventional wisdom, but that has not always been true, and certainly not to the extent that we're seeing today. Historically (I've been a software developer for 40+ years), in the early days the cost of hardware was on par with the cost of developing software to run on that hardware. With each breakthrough in hardware technology, the hardware became cheaper to manufacture, but the cost of developing software remained the same. When the demands for, and purposes of, the hardware become broader and more complex, that required greater effort placed in software development... resulting in a significant increase in the cost of software development.

Fast-forward to today. Because software development is so costly, it is far more financially prudent to throw more powerful hardware (that is cheaper) at a solution than it is to have developers optimize and fine-tune software for a particular platform. Development tools have become more high level allowing for a decrease in development time, but at the expense of the hardware required to allow the resulting software to perform adequately.

If one examines the raw computing power of the latest iPad with the functions performed by iOS, you'll find that iOS is highly inefficient. It would be very revealing to see a linux distro running on that iPad... a full-functioning desktop OS with better performance than the latest version of iOS.

But hey, what people do with their money is their business. It is beneficial for them to do so wisely.

Exactly. The computing power has rapidly increased in these devices, yet a few little iOS tweaks suddenly makes even the most basic task slow and laggy?

If my iPhone 3GS can type without lag and not take 5 seconds to open the Calender app, then my iPhone 6 (which is way, way more powerful) shouldn't have any problems doing those tasks -- ever.

iOS hasn't changed that much. Sure, they've tossed in a bunch of garbage and bloated up their apps... but there's nothing so substantial that should cause every little interaction to be slower than before. I can understand a slightly longer boot time and more complicated apps to load slower... but if pressing "Next" in Music doesn't lag on the original iPad, there's positively no excuse for it to lag on an iPad Air.

Saying that it must be noticeably slower just because the software is newer is only reasonable to an extent, and it isn't always true.

 

[akash.nu]

Not to offend iPad Pro owners, but this is why I refuse to buy a $1000 iPad that’s considered throwaway Kleenex tissue in just a few years. I’d rather stick with the basic model and upgrade as needed without a hit on the bank account. My $199 5th gen is fitting that catagory pretty well.

I think buying decisions should really be based on usage pattern. If the 2017 iPad does the job for you then you were never in the target customer base of the pro anyway. That’s why I upgraded from an iPad 4 to the iPad 2017 earlier this year. 5 years for a tablet is way more than I can ask for to be honest.

 

[Richard8655]

I think buying decisions should really be based on usage pattern. If the 2017 iPad does the job for you then you were never in the target customer base of the pro anyway. That’s why I upgraded from an iPad 4 to the iPad 2017 earlier this year. 5 years for a tablet is way more than I can ask for to be honest.

I would say buying decisions are also based on how easily you’re willing to part with your funds for such a relatively short term investment. Since the higher end models will extinguish your investment faster than basic models (more or less), then that should be a factor. If you absolutely have to have or love the features of higher end no matter the cost, then that's part of the buying decision as well.

 

[akash.nu]

I would say buying decisions are also based on how easily you’re willing to part with your funds for such a relatively short term investment. Since the higher end models will extinguish your investment faster than basic models (more or less), then that should be a factor. If you absolutely have to have or love the features of higher end no matter the cost, then that's part of the buying decision as well.

Gadgets can’t be looked at as investments though because their value will never increase once you’ve bought them. It’s more like, are you able to let go the amount without having a second thought? If the features are worth your money, then you buy it.

That’s why I mentioned usage. In my example, I need an iPad but don’t need to have pro specific features, that’s why even though I can easily afford a pro I stuck with the basic model.