Apple released iOS & iPadOS 15.0.2 the previous Monday with bug fixes and security improvements for most modern iPhones and iPads, and now that about a week has passed, the Cupertino-based tech company has closed the signing window for the older iOS & iPadOS 15.0.1 firmware.
Apple’s decision to stop signing iOS & iPadOS 15.0.1 affects the eligibility of most iPhone and iPad users to downgrade to that particular firmware version after upgrading to a newer release. This is because Finder and iTunes both check with Apple’s servers to see if a firmware is signed before permitting the user to restore to it.
While unofficial workarounds involving .shsh2 blobs and third-party software do exist for downgrading to unsigned versions of iOS & iPadOS, this requires additional steps by the end user. More times than not, jailbreakers will use these methods to ensure long-term downgrade eligibility to jailbreakable versions of iOS & iPadOS.
Jailbreaking aside, iPhone and iPad users will sometimes resort to firmware downgrades if a new update introduces problematic bugs, such as when iOS 15.0 broke iPhone unlocking via Apple Watch, when iOS 14.7 broke Apple Watch unlocking via Touch ID-equipped iPhones, or when iOS 13.2 unintentionally imposed crazy-strict app backgrounding rules.
Apple’s rationale for unsigning older versions of iOS & iPadOS involves using a heavy hand to entice users to download and install the latest release(s). In doing so, the company not only ensures its users are more protected from malicious attacks in the wild, but it also gets to pump up its new firmware adoption stats.
It’s easy to see both sides of the story, but at iDownloadBlog, we ultimately believe users should have the choice to install any firmware they want on the devices they’ve purchased – whether for jailbreaking or not.
If you’d like to see what version(s) of iOS or iPadOS are being signed for your particular handset(s), then the handy IPSW.me online utility can be a valuable resource. Our Downloads page also offers downloading tools for any firmware files you might be interested in downloading.
Has Apple’s decision to stop signing iOS & iPadOS 15.0.1 impacted your plans at all? Let us know in the comments section down below.