Click to Skip Ad
Closing in...

Hate iOS 18.2 bugs on your iPhone? Sorry, Apple stopped signing iOS 18.1.1

Published Dec 19th, 2024 2:38PM EST
iOS 18.2 beta features Image Playground
Image: José Adorno for BGR

If you buy through a BGR link, we may earn an affiliate commission, helping support our expert product labs.

If you’re experiencing any bugs with iOS 18.2, I’m sorry, but you can’t downgrade to an older iOS 18 version anymore. Apple stopped signing iOS 18.1.1 a few days after releasing iOS 18.2. Still, you might have two options: Update to iOS 18.3 beta 1 or, if you have a device compatible with iOS 17, you can restore the latest version, although I wouldn’t recommend it.

With iOS 18.2, Apple added the following Apple Intelligence features:

  • Image Playground: Users can create playful images in seconds, choosing from Animation or Illustration. This app is built right into apps like Messages and is also available in a dedicated app; having trouble with the waitlist? Check this;
  • Genmoji: Create custom emojis by combining two or more figures; users can type a prompt like “monkey with pink hat” to make an entirely new emoji; here’s how to use it;
  • Image Wand: Rough sketches can be turned into delightful images, and users can even select empty space to create an image using context from the surrounding area in the Notes app;
  • ChatGPT integration: When you feel Apple Intelligence isn’t enough, you can allow ChatGPT to access Writing Tools and other features for a better response; if you are tired of Apple Intelligence asking to confirm every prompt, do this;
  • Visual Intelligence: Visual Intelligence with Camera Control helps you instantly learn about places or interact with information simply by pointing your iPhone at the object, with the option to tap into Google Search or ChatGPT
  • Create Images expansion: Another Apple Intelligence feature available with iOS 18.2 is the ability to create an image when you highlight text in the Notes app.

However, it’s not unusual to find weird issues with the latest iOS releases, and iOS 18.2 might have some bugs as well.

Still, one of the reasons why Apple stops signing older versions of iOS is to prevent people from jailbreaking their iPhones and iPads. Although there’s no sign of any jailbreak tools for iOS 18 being developers for the new iPhones, it’s also a way to push users to stay up-to-date with Apple’s operating systems. That said, you can still downgrade to iOS 17, if you want

How to downgrade from iOS 18.2 to iOS 17.7.2

Since Apple is not offering iOS 18 to several iPhone models, such as the iPhone 8 and iPhone X, the company is still releasing minor software updates to these older smartphones. Currently, iPhones that can run iOS 17 can support up to version 17.7.2, which you can use to downgrade from a device running iOS 17.

To do that, you must use a Mac or PC. It’s important to note that this isn’t the first time Apple has offered an older version for users to downgrade. Last year, when the company released iOS 17, users could stay a little longer in iOS 16 by getting bug fixes and security patches.

It’s important to note that if you’re experiencing any unreliability or issue, you can always try the public or developer beta as well. Apple is currently testing iOS 18.3.

José Adorno Tech News Reporter

José is a Tech News Reporter at BGR. He has previously covered Apple and iPhone news for 9to5Mac, and was a producer and web editor for Latin America broadcaster TV Globo. He is based out of Brazil.