Apple Stops Signing iOS 13.6 Following Release of iOS 13.6.1 - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Apple Stops Signing iOS 13.6 Following Release of iOS 13.6.1

Following the release of iOS 13.6.1 on August 12, Apple has stopped signing iOS 13.6, which means downgrading to that version of iOS is no longer possible.

iOS 13
iOS 13.6 was a major update that introduced Car Keys support Apple News audio, and other features.

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 13.6.1, a bug fix issue that addressed problems with data storage, thermal management, and exposure notifications, is the only current publicly available version of iOS that can be installed on iPhones and iPads. Apple has also seeded betas of upcoming iOS and iPadOS 14 updates to developers and public beta testers, which can be downloaded instead.

Popular Stories

Apple TV 4K HomeView HomePod Mini tweaked

New Apple TV 4K, HomeView, and HomePod Mini: 16 Details Just Leaked

Sunday October 11, 2026 12:56 pm PDT by
Just two days before Apple's "Welcome home" experience in New York, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has leaked several details about the new products set to be unveiled, including an all-new smart home hub, a HomePod mini 2, and a new Apple TV 4K. Here is an all-in-one summary of the details shared by Gurman:Apple's home hub with a touch-enabled display will be named HomeView, seemingly confirming a ...
Apple HomeView lineup feature1

Apple Announces 'HomeView' Smart Home Hub

Tuesday October 13, 2026 6:00 am PDT by
Apple today announced the "HomeView," an all-new kind of smart home hub featuring a 7-inch Liquid Retina display and Siri AI. Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing Greg Joswiak said: Apple HomeView is designed to be shared by everyone in the home yet feel completely personal to each user. It recognizes your face to shift from a household screen to your own experience,...
Apple TV 4K 4th Generation feature4

New Apple TV 4K Announced With A19 Chip, Updated Siri Remote, More

Tuesday October 13, 2026 6:08 am PDT by
Apple today announced the fourth-generation Apple TV 4K, with key features including an A19 chip, Siri AI support, an updated Siri Remote that has Find My support with Precision Finding, built in far-field microphones, support for surround sound with four HomePods in front and rear pairs, and more. The A19 chip in the new Apple TV 4K delivers up to 50% faster CPU performance and up to twice...

Top Rated Comments

Chester Stone Avatar
80 months ago

I love the iPhone and IOS but wish Apple would allow us to install older versions of IOS. I had a specific incident years ago on an old iPhone. I upgrade IOS then several months later learned some of my devices would no longer connect via Bluetooth (one of those was my car). So there are some legitimate reasons to be able to install an older version of IOS (jail breaking is not a viable solution for me).
Totally agree. And I've written this in Apple user surveys, forums, and written their Twitter support about it. There are unintentional regressions all the time, bugs that didn't exist in older versions of iOS, that just get haphazardly released. Rolling back iOS version should be a fallback plan for those kinds of gamebreaking bugs.

Power management is a common area noted in the news, but I've also had an iPad Pro that just kept draining battery even when turned off via power switch shutdown, so that when a fully charged 100% device got turned back on, it'd be at 70% after a day, 40% after two, then 0%, without so much as a single charge. Not plugged into power, not touched or used. It was fine in iOS 13.4, then bad in iOS 13.5. Then later versions not playing from car speakers when connected to CarPlay on certain vehicles, requiring multiple unplugs and replugs. So many little bugs here and there that compromise the user experience, that pop up in one version of iOS, not present before. All together, the experience doesn't feel like "it just works."

So often, this kind of problem happens because the OS is so deep, and little feature adds and changes in the code can cause unintentional problems elsewhere. If it's a non-automated-testbed problem that doesn't cross the Apple QA folk's workflow or other employees' use case -- for example, employees never turning off their devices -- then it just gets released unnoticed.

Human error is understandable, but with no fallback to a previous iOS, it just hurts users that live outside the "typical" user/QA workflow.

(To make matters worse, Apple constantly tells developers to support two versions back when building & submitting an app to the App Store. It's so hypocritical when they won't even support two versions of iOS at the same time, pulling the plug so quickly on signing a previous version. It's just such an extreme reaction to security compromises and this whole "get on the latest" mindset.)
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
calzon65 Avatar
80 months ago
I love the iPhone and IOS but wish Apple would allow us to install older versions of IOS. I had a specific incident years ago on an old iPhone. I upgrade IOS then several months later learned some of my devices would no longer connect via Bluetooth (one of those was my car). So there are some legitimate reasons to be able to install an older version of IOS (jail breaking is not a viable solution for me).
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BaltimoreMediaBlog Avatar
80 months ago
UNSIGNING IOS versions should be illegal, restraint of trade! I buy a car and I cannot put a different radio in it?
This is the ONE single thing that Apple should have been sued over but not so far. It cost me over 25 games that worked and then didn't because Apple forced me to upgrade.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jooish Avatar
80 months ago

You don't own your device; Apple does.
They decide what version of os you can run and when you can run it.
They decide when your device goes obsolete.
Samsung and others are no better.
You own the device... You just don't own the software.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Ipadlover29 Avatar
80 months ago

What forced you to go back at 13.6?
Battery life. Was getting an hour less with 13.6.1. on iPhone 11 Pro and iPad Pro 4.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
80 months ago

I’m still at 13.6 : what happens if I skip 13.6.1 and 13.6.2 comes out but 13.6.1 is not signed anymore?
Nothing. iOS installs do not depend on previous versions. The most that would happen is that you can't use a delta OTA update. Makes your download bigger. No reasonable manufacturer supports delta updates between two arbitrary versions.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Latest Stories
iPhone Duo's A20 Pro Chip Benchmarked Ahead of Launch
iPhone Duo's A20 Pro Chip Benchmarked Ahead of Launch
10 hours ago
10 HomeView Features You Might Have Missed
10 HomeView Features You Might Have Missed
11 hours ago
Apple Becomes Second Company to Close Above $5 Trillion
Apple Becomes Second Company to Close Above $5 Trillion
11 hours ago
Which Apple Home Devices Get Siri AI, and When
Which Apple Home Devices Get Siri AI, and When
13 hours ago
Apple's Long-Delayed HomeView Was Already Being Tested in 2024
Apple's Long-Delayed HomeView Was Already Being Tested in 2024
13 hours ago
Apple Intelligence Coming to China in December With iOS 27.3
Apple Intelligence Coming to China in December With iOS 27.3
14 hours ago
Apple Invites App Updated With Two New Features
Apple Invites App Updated With Two New Features
14 hours ago
OpenAI Says Ex-Employee Showed Its Device Plans to Apple
OpenAI Says Ex-Employee Showed Its Device Plans to Apple
15 hours ago
Discover the Best Cases and Screen Protectors for Your New iPhone Duo
Discover the Best Cases and Screen Protectors for Your New iPhone Duo
15 hours ago
Apple Store Near Los Angeles Closed Due to 'Events Beyond Our Control'
Apple Store Near Los Angeles Closed Due to 'Events Beyond Our Control'
17 hours ago
No, HomePod Mini 1 Won't Support Siri AI as CNET Reported
No, HomePod Mini 1 Won't Support Siri AI as CNET Reported
17 hours ago
iPhone Duo Compromises: Everything You Have to Give Up
iPhone Duo Compromises: Everything You Have to Give Up
18 hours ago
Apple HomeView Has These 15 Apps, Some CarPlay Apps and Widgets Also Supported
Apple HomeView Has These 15 Apps, Some CarPlay Apps and Widgets Also Supported
18 hours ago
iPhone Duo: Apple Charging $49 for New Cover Layer, $229 for Battery
iPhone Duo: Apple Charging $49 for New Cover Layer, $229 for Battery
19 hours ago
iPhone Duo: Skipping AppleCare+ Could Be $1,499 Mistake
iPhone Duo: Skipping AppleCare+ Could Be $1,499 Mistake
19 hours ago
Ready for HomeView? Don't Miss These Smart Home Accessory Deals
Ready for HomeView? Don't Miss These Smart Home Accessory Deals
20 hours ago
Apple Says HomePod 2 Also Works as Default Speaker With Select Macs
Apple Says HomePod 2 Also Works as Default Speaker With Select Macs
20 hours ago
HomePod Mini 2: All the New Features
HomePod Mini 2: All the New Features
20 hours ago
WhatsApp Now Lets Anyone Join Calls, No Account Needed
WhatsApp Now Lets Anyone Join Calls, No Account Needed
20 hours ago
AppleCare+ Launched 15 Years Ago Today
AppleCare+ Launched 15 Years Ago Today
20 hours ago
Apple Reportedly Planning Large iPhone 18 Production Run
Apple Reportedly Planning Large iPhone 18 Production Run
20 hours ago
Apple Says These Products Are Now Obsolete
Apple Says These Products Are Now Obsolete
20 hours ago
First Pre-Order Discounts Now Available for HomeView
First Pre-Order Discounts Now Available for HomeView
15 hours ago
Apple Launched iPhone 4S With Siri 15 Years Ago Today
Apple Launched iPhone 4S With Siri 15 Years Ago Today
21 hours ago
Apple HomeView Includes Temperature and Humidity Sensors
Apple HomeView Includes Temperature and Humidity Sensors
22 hours ago
HomePod Mini vs. HomePod Mini 2 Buyer's Guide: All Differences Compared
HomePod Mini vs. HomePod Mini 2 Buyer's Guide: All Differences Compared
22 hours ago
Apple Watch Sleep Apnea Notifications Launch in China
Apple Watch Sleep Apnea Notifications Launch in China
23 hours ago
HomeView's Faces Include Snoopy, Photos, and Interactive Artwork
HomeView's Faces Include Snoopy, Photos, and Interactive Artwork
23 hours ago
Apple's HomeView Repair Fees Revealed
Apple's HomeView Repair Fees Revealed
1 day ago
Everything Apple Still Has Coming in October
Everything Apple Still Has Coming in October
1 day ago