ios 8.4.1 ipsw file?

By Randy B., 28 September, 2015

Forum
iOS and iPadOS

Hello

I wanted to try out ios 9 on my iPhone 6 to see how it would work. For a number of reasons, I'd like to go back to ios 8.4.1 for the time being until things get worked out.

So, I spent a lot of time researching how to do this. I understand I should back up my data and all first. (done), next, I need to ensure I have the latest version of iTunes for Windows (Done), next I need to download the ios 8.4.1 ipsw file. This is where the problem comes in. When I download this file, its actually a file that is zipped. When I unzip the file, it extracts into several folders and files. Amongst them, I cannot find a single file that is noted as the ipsw file.

So, next I turn off my iPhone and plug it into the USB cable connected to the Pc. I emmediately hold down the power and home buttons and get my iPhone into Recovery Mode.

I navigate iTunes to the iPhone info screen, locate and while holding the Shift button, I activate the Restore button. At this time, I get a window pop-up asking me to point to the ipsw restore file. And as I mentioned there was no such stated file in the extracted restore zip file. For kicks, I point to each of the folders extracted from the zip file thinking maybe it would find it under a different name or something.

None of that approach worked. Obviously, I must be looking for a single file, not a zip file that doesn't seem to have what I need.

Can anyone point me n the right direction?

Much Thanks!
Randy

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Comments

By Michael Hansen on Wednesday, October 7, 2015 - 15:36

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team

First, if you don't have a backup of your device saved from when you were on iOS 8.4.1 before, it won't work...it isn't possible to restore your device using a backup from newer software than what you were running.

As for the zip file, simply rename the .zip extension to .ipsw and you should be all set to go.

By Fiona on Wednesday, October 7, 2015 - 15:36

Step 1. Turn off Find My iPhone/iPad with the following steps: Settings > iCloud > Find My iPhone/iPad > Turn it off.

Step 2: Download the latest iOS 8 firmware for your iPhone or iPad from this website (https://ipsw.me/8.4.1). Just like the following picture shows, this website will tell you if Apple is still 'signing' the iOS version you want to download.
Step 3: Connect your iPhone or iPad to computer with its USB cable and then launch iTunes on your computer.

Step 4: Once connected, place your iPhone or iPad to DFU mode: Press the Power and Home button for ten seconds, release the power button when you see the Apple logo appear on the screen of your iDevice and keep pressing the home button until an iTunes window pops up and says "iTunes has detected an iPhone (iPad) in recovery mode. You must restore this device before it can be used with iTunes."

Step 5: Click OK to continue. The iPhone/iPad screen will remain black.

Step 6: In iTunes, click Summary tab, look for the "Restore iPhone/iPad" button – on a Mac, Option click that button, on a Windows computer, Shift click that button. And then navigate to the iOS 8 ipsw file you downloaded earlier.

Step 7: Click the Restore button when asked to confirm.

By Randy B. on Wednesday, October 7, 2015 - 15:36

In reply to by Michael Hansen

Hey Mike

Thank you for the tip to rename the .zip extension to .ipsw. That was a small but crucial step missing in the online instructions.

And 'yes', I did make a backup of my iPhone before upgrading to ios 9. So, I was covered there. After renaming the .zip extension to .ipsw, I followed the rest of the instructions as stated and all went well. And restoring my backup and all also worked like a charm.

I am happy to be back with ios 8.4.1 while I still had the opportunity to do so.

Thanks again for your help
Randy

By Randy B. on Wednesday, October 7, 2015 - 15:36

In reply to by Fiona

Hi Fiona

I got the tip from Mike I needed which is to rename the .zip extension to .ipsw which wasn't in the instructions anywhere.

Thank you
Randy