Apple Ends Subscription Period for iOS 15.7, Ending Transition from iOS 15.7.1

After Apple moved to unsign iOS 16.0.3 earlier this week about a week after the release of iOS and iPadOS 16.1 to the general public, Apple on Friday also apparently unsigned iOS and iPadOS 15.7 following the subsequent release of iOS and iPadOS. 15.7.1 with bug fixes and security fixes for iPhone and iPad.

Apple’s unsignature process prevents iPhone and iPad users from selectively downgrading or updating outdated firmware versions on their devices, typically because they are outdated versions of iOS and iPadOS that actively exploit security vulnerabilities. These exploits can be obtained through jailbreak tools or, worse, hackers with malicious intent, but Apple doesn’t differentiate between the two because the company despises them both.

That being said, users cannot simply open Finder or iTunes and either Option + click or Shift + click on the restore button in the app to install the selected firmware, as this will generate an error message. This instead leaves users to unconventional methods, including FutureRestore for downgrading and DelayOTA for upgrades.

Trying to block downgrading firmware and moving users to the latest available version of iOS or iPadOS is a form of statistical manipulation on Apple’s part, as the company usually boasts of adopting the new firmware at its keynote speeches to please shareholders. But they don’t mention how they don’t give users a choice, otherwise many would probably flock to older versions to enjoy jailbreak perks, where Apple falls short.

Aside from jailbreaking, some people downgrade their device’s firmware for more legitimate reasons, such as to prevent a new bug introduced by a software update. While such an idea may seem rare or unheard of given Apple’s extensive beta testing phases, they are not uncommon. In fact, here are a few different examples where downgrading a firmware could help users:

• iOS 16.0 excessively prompts users for clipboard access when pasting copied content into another app
• iOS 14.7 breaks the ability to unlock the Apple Watch using the Touch ID sensor of the host iPhone.
• iOS and iPadOS 13.2 impose incredibly aggressive background control on apps running in the background.

We usually side with the end users when it comes to downgrading firmware and would like Apple to stop blocking them, but it doesn’t appear that the company has any willful intent to allow this to happen without some form of government regulation. forcing their hand. It’s sad that it all comes down to this, but that’s the world we live in today.

If you’ve ever wondered what versions of iOS or iPadOS are signed for your device, you can head over to the insanely user-friendly IPSW.me website to find out. You can also use our dedicated downloads page to get any firmware file for any of your devices upon request.

Did the unsigned iOS and iPadOS 15.7 affect you in any way? Let us know in the comments section below.