You Can’t Downgrade from iOS 26 to iOS 18 – But a Goofy Workaround Has Been Found
When there’s a will, there’s a way. And in this case, some iPhone users are so committed to finding a way back to iOS 18, that they’ve come up with a fairly unconventional yet creative workaround to get away from iOS 26.
As you likely know, there’s no longer any way to downgrade an iPhone from iOS 26 back to iOS 18. This is because Apple stopped signing and verifying iOS 18 IPSW files. That means once you upgrade to iOS 26 and install it onto your iPhone (or iPad), you can’t revert back to iOS 18, and you’re effectively stuck with iOS 26 moving forward.
So, how can iPhone users get iOS 18 onto their iPhone again? How can you get an iPhone with iOS 18 when you can’t downgrade from iOS 26? This is where the wild workaround comes in, and it’s probably not what you think. There are no hacks, jailbreaks, or tweaks involved, the solution is creative yet sillier than that.
The weird workaround: buying an iPhone that is still running iOS 18.