iPhone 16 and iOS 18 are just a few weeks away from their official public debut. iOS 18 is one of the biggest updates for the iPhone's operating system in the past several years. As Apple gears up for the public roll out of the much-awaited iOS 18 with Apple Intelligence features, it recently released iOS 17.6 update which is believed to be the last stable release before iOS 18. Apple rolled out iOS 17.6 for eligible iPhone users late last month on July 29 and if you are among the people who have installed the latest iOS version, you can no longer downgrade.

Apple stops signing iOS 17.5.1

As per a report by MacRumors, Apple has stopped signing iOS 17.5.1. This means that iPhone users who are using iOS 17.5.1 or later, can no longer downgrade to the previous version of iOS. The tech giant reportedly stopped signing iOS 17.5.1 after the release of iOS 17.6, which is dubbed as the last stable iOS 17 update.

To recall, iOS 17.5.1 fixes a corruption bug that troubled iPhone users by showing deleted photos again in their phone's gallery. When it comes to iOS 17.6 update, there are no notable features to talk about other than the regular security upgrades and bug fixes.

Why Apple stops signing older iOS version

Apple is known to stop signing older iOS versions within a week or two after a new update is rolled out for iPhone. When Apple stops signing an iOS version, it can no longer be installed on any iPhone. Apple aims to get more and more users on the latest version of its operating systems for latest security upgrades.

Vulnerabilities of older iOS versions are exposed and can be exploited by the scammers. That's why Apple recommends and tries to keep the users on the latest iOS version.

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