iOS 26.5 won’t let users downgrade to prior update any longer

Apple shipped iOS 26.5 to all users last week, and now in the last 24 hours, the company has stopped signing iOS 26.4.2—thus preventing downgrades to a prior update.

iOS 26.4.2 no longer being signed by Apple, blocking downgrades from iOS 26.5

If you updated to iOS 26.5 in the past week, there’s no longer an option available to revert to the prior software release.

Apple typically offers a window of time following each new software update when it’s possible to downgrade if you encounter issues.

However, usually after that initial period of waiting to see if any major issues crop up, Apple then stops signing its previous update—thus blocking downgrades.

It’s standard practice, and that’s exactly what’s just happened for iOS 26.5 users.

As spotted by Aaron Zollo, Apple stopped signing the prior iOS 26.4.2 update some time yesterday.