Apple Stops Signing iOS 11.3.1 Following iOS 11.4 Release - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Apple Stops Signing iOS 11.3.1 Following iOS 11.4 Release

by

IPSWFollowing the release of iOS 11.4 on May 29, Apple has stopped signing iOS 11.3.1, the previous version of iOS that was available to consumers.

iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch owners who have upgraded to iOS 11.4 will no longer be able to downgrade to earlier versions of iOS.

Apple routinely stops signing older versions of software updates after new releases come out in order to encourage customers to keep their operating systems up to date.

iOS 11.4 is now the only version of iOS 11 that can be installed on iOS devices by the general public, but developers can download iOS 12, the next-generation version of iOS that's in beta testing ahead of a fall release.

Top Rated Comments

1
1050792
108 months ago
How dare they allow people to go back to security threat prone versions of their software when those folks generally have no reason to do so?!
Perhaps people are having issues with the new updated version and giving a choice to go back would be a life saver for them? Oh I forgot it's Apple... choices... :rolleyes:
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
OldSchoolMacGuy Avatar
OldSchoolMacGuy
108 months ago
I hate that they do this.
How dare they allow people to go back to security threat prone versions of their software when those folks generally have no reason to do so?!
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
witherwings Avatar
witherwings
108 months ago
Funny that they stoped signing 11.3.1 the same time after jailbreak for that version was released :rolleyes:
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
C
C DM
108 months ago
So they should leave a security risk there for the 0.000000001% of users, potentially opening more problems by leaving those gates open? Got it.
That would be pretty much the percentage of the users who would even know about something like downgrading in general or more specifically would even bother try to figure out how to do it in iOS, let alone actually go through with it. Leaving it signed would more than likely be a effectively moot as far as it causing any realistic issues.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
N
now i see it
108 months ago
unless ios 12 screwsthepooch, the sooner everyone can put iOS 11 behind them the better.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ThunderSkunk Avatar
ThunderSkunk
108 months ago
So they should leave a security risk there for the 0.000000001% of users, potentially opening more problems by leaving those gates open? Got it.
The same way they have no problem leaving hundreds of millions of macs exposed to security threats when they decide to quit allowing new OS's & software updates to be installed on them.

"Security" is not an argument, its a half baked excuse, & does not justify removing peoples ability to undo damage that upgrades may cause to their devices performance or functionality. It's unethical.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments

Popular Stories

Dynamic Island iPhone 18 Pro Feature

iPhone 18 Pro Prices Estimated Ahead of Apple Event Next Week

Thursday September 3, 2026 3:41 am PDT by
Less than a week before Apple debuts new iPhone 18 Pro models, research firm TrendForce has estimated the prices of the devices based on the latest hardware cost environment. TrendForce's price estimates compared to last year's models look like this: Model Starting Price Model Starting Price Change iPhone 17 Pro $1,099 iPhone 18 Pro $...
Read Full Article • 117 comments
iPhone Handoff Feature

iOS 27 Introduces New 'iPhone Handoff' Feature

Wednesday September 2, 2026 12:35 pm PDT by
Apple has added a new "iPhone Handoff" feature to iOS 27 that will allow you to switch between two iPhones while using the same phone number on each device. This functionality was briefly mentioned during the WWDC 2026 keynote in June, on a slide that listed hundreds of new features coming in iOS 27 and corresponding software updates, but Apple never shared any further details at the time. ...
Read Full Article • 161 comments
iPhone 18 Pro Dark Cherry Feature

iPhone 18 Pro Reportedly Starts With 256GB of Storage

Thursday September 3, 2026 9:22 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro has double the base storage compared to the iPhone 16 Pro, there will apparently be no further increase this year. Taiwanese research firm TrendForce today again reported that the iPhone 18 Pro models will start with 256GB of storage, like the iPhone 17 Pro models. Minimum storage capacities by model:iPhone 16 Pro: 128GB iPhone 17 Pro: 256GB iPhone 18 Pro...
Read Full Article