How to Downgrade from iOS 26 Beta to iOS 18

If you’ve installed the iOS 26 beta on your iPhone or iPadOS 26 beta onto iPad, and found it a little too buggy, unstable, or you’re simply not interested in iOS 26 any longer, you’re certainly not alone. While many adventurous Apple users jump onto the beta train to explore the new operating systems, it’s not unusual to discover that the experience isn’t always the smoothest ride, or that you have some critical incompatibility that makes the beta unworkable for you. Fortunately, it is pretty easy to downgrade from iOS 26 beta back to a stable release of iOS 18, as we’ll show you here.

Before getting started, be sure you understand a few requirements and limitations:

• Backups: You cannot restore an iOS 26 backup onto iOS 18. This means if the only recent backup you have is with iOS 26, you’ll be unable to restore that iOS 26 backup to an iPhone or iPad running iOS 18 / iPadOS 18. You can still downgrade the device, but you will lose all your stuff in doing so. Instead, you’ll need to restore an iOS 18 backup to the iOS 18 device, or if that’s not an option, simply stay on iOS 26 to preserve your data
• Computer required: You will need a Mac or Windows PC to complete the downgrade, and you will also need a USB-C/Lightning cable
• Internet connection required: You can not downgrade iOS/iPadOS without an active internet connection
• Software updates required: You need to have the latest MacOS version installed on your Mac, or the latest version of Apple Devices app on Windows

Assuming you understand the backup situation and are comfortable with the limitations around that, and meet the other reequirements, it’s pretty easy to downgrade from iOS 26 beta and revert back to a stable build.

How to Downgrade from iOS 26 Beta and Revert Back to iOS 18

It is good practice to backup your iPhone or iPad before attempting to downgrade. This preserves your data in case something goes wrong, or in case you need to return back to iOS 26 for whatever reason. Be mindful that you can not restore an iOS 26 backup to an iOS 18 device however.

1. Connect your iPhone or iPad to the Mac/PC, and then place the device into Recovery Mode by performing the following sequence: press and release Volume Up, press and release Volume Down, press and hold the Side/Power/Lock button until the iPhone/iPad goes into recovery mode
2. Click on “Restore” when the option is presented to you on the computer to erase the iPhone/iPad and install the latest non-beta iOS 18 release onto your iPhone or iPad
3. Let the entire restore process complete, and soon your iPhone or iPad will boot back into a stable iOS 18 build

After your iPhone or iPad has returned to iOS 18 or iPadOS 18, you can select an iOS 18/ipadOS 18 compatible backup to restore to, otherwise you can setup the device as new.

Remember, if you do not have an iOS 18 backup, you will have to setup your device as new. You cannot restore data from iOS 26 beta backups to an iOS 18 device.

Downgrading is also only supported for as long as Apple is signing the iOS 18 firmware, which Apple typically does for a while with the latest builds of iOS 18. After Apple stops signing the firmware version, downgrading to that version is no longer possible.

Downgrading from iOS 26 beta back to iOS 18 is pretty straight forward but since it requires erasing a device it is not for everyone, especially if you don’t have a compatible backup ready. Nonetheless, it’s a reliable way to get back to stable iOS 18 builds if the iOS 26 beta experience is not working for you. And yes, this same trick will work for downgrading from iOS 26 final to iOS 18 as well, as long as the iOS 18 firmware is still being signed by Apple.

Have you downgraded from iOS 26 beta back to iOS 18 on iPhone or iPad? Why did you downgrade, and how did it go? Share with us your experiences and thoughts in the comments.