How to Downgrade Back to iOS 7.1.2 from iOS 8

How to Downgrade Back to iOS 7.1.2 from iOS 8

Be sure to back up your device before beginning this process.

BACK UP YOUR iOS 8 DEVICE before anything else – do not skip this – this insures that you can restore your stuff to iOS 8 if you have a problem with the downgrading process
Download the iOS 7.1.2 IPSW here for your device and save it to an accessible location like the user desktop
Open iTunes on the Mac / PC and connect the iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with the USB cable
Choose the device in iTunes and go to the Summary tab
Hold down the OPTION key for Mac OS X (use the SHIFT key for Windows) and click on the “Update” button
Navigate to and select the firmware .ipsw file for iOS 7.1.2 that you downloaded
Choose “Update” again, iTunes will verify the update with Apple and the downgrade process will begin – if this failed you either used the wrong IPSW file, or the downgrade signing window for iOS 7.1.2 firmware has closed



The downgrade process can take a while depending on a variety of things, when it’s finished the device will be back to the familiar ‘new setup’ screen as if it was brand new. You’ll then want to restore your previously made iOS 7.1.2 backup to get your stuff back. Again, iOS 8 backups do not work on iOS 7.1.2 devices.

If for whatever reason you’re having trouble with this method and you know the signing window is still open and that you have the correct firmware files, you can also use the Restore based downgrade, which is method #2 here , but it shouldn’t be necessary.