The public betas of iOS 14 & iPadOS 14 are here, with anyone without a developer account now capable of checking out the next iteration of Apple’s mobile OS before its full release. Whereas the temptation of those new features is robust, remember that all pre-release software often has unintended bugs, errors, and issues that could be more of a hindrance to you. In this article we discuss how to reinstall iOS 13 if you are having issues with the iOS 14 beta.
Have you taken the plunge already? Is iOS 14 not living up to your expectations? Have you ever experienced apps breaking, random reboots, or other glitches? Regretting your impulsive nature to upgrade everything once available?
That’s fine. Apple makes it relatively simple to roll back to the prior version of iOS, although if you didn’t back up your device before upgrading to iOS 14 beta, you’d start with a fresh, empty iPhone afterward.
Here is how to reinstall iOS 13 on your iPhone or iPad
Before we start, know that this process begins with wiping your device and restoring it from iTunes. You will be losing any files or data you created since you installed the iOS 14 beta to ensure you back your device up to iCloud before starting.
You will need iTunes installed if you are using a Windows computer, or your Mac’s software fully updated if using a Mac. Double-check this by tapping on the Apple logo at the top-left, then going to System Preferences > Software Update.
1. Connect your iPad or iPhone to your computer using either a Lightning or USB-C cable.
2. Now put your iPhone or iPad into recovery mode by doing the following depending on your device.
iPad with the home button, iPhone 6S or older, or iPod Touch 6th gen or older: Hold in the Sleep/Wake button and the Home button simultaneously until you see the recovery mode screen.
iPhone 7, 7 Plus, or iPod Touch 7th gen: Hold in the Sleep/Wake button & the Volume-Up button simultaneously until you see the recovery button.
iPhone 8 or later: Rapidly press the Volume-Up followed by Volume-Down buttons, after that hold in the Side button until you see the recovery screen.
iPad Pro: Rapidly press the Volume-Up followed by Volume-Down buttons, afterward hold in the Top button until you see the recovery screen.
3. Your PC should give you a prompt letting you know that a device in recovery mode is plugged in. It will then ask if you want to Restore or Update your device, so tap on Restore. Your PC will then automatically download the latest version of iOS 13, and reinstall it on your device.
4. If that prompt does not turn up, or if you accidentally clicked cancel, you can either open Finder (on a Mac) or iTunes (on a PC), select your device, then tap Restore.
5. And if you created a backup of your device before installing iOS 14 betas, you’d then get asked if you want to restore your device from that backup. If you didn’t do that, you’d have to set your device up from a fresh install.
Now you’re back on iOS 13, with all of your apps working again. Probably they will get all the bugs worked out by the time the public release comes in the fall.
What do you think? Regretting downloading the iOS 14 beta? Let us know in the comments section below or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.
