iOS 26.5 won’t let users downgrade to prior update any longer

Apple shipped iOS 26.5 to all users last week, and now in the last 24 hours, the company has stopped signing iOS 26.4.2—thus preventing downgrades to a prior update.

If you updated to iOS 26.5 in the past week, there’s no longer an option available to revert to the prior software release.

Apple typically offers a window of time following each new software update when it’s possible to downgrade if you encounter issues.

However, usually after that initial period of waiting to see if any major issues crop up, Apple then stops signing its previous update—thus blocking downgrades.

It’s standard practice, and that’s exactly what’s just happened for iOS 26.5 users.

As spotted by Aaron Zollo, Apple stopped signing the prior iOS 26.4.2 update some time yesterday.

Anecdotally, iOS 26.5 seems to be a relatively solid release in terms of performance and stability. That’s usually true at this point in Apple’s software year, with a major new OS version around the corner.

Unless Apple has a bug fix release like iOS 26.5.1 in the works, we’re unlikely to see any new software updates before WWDC next month. That’s when iOS 27 will be unveiled and ship in beta, and we’ll likely get an iOS 26.6 beta around that time too.

Do you ever downgrade your iPhone to a prior software update? What’s that process been like for you? Let us know in the comments.