Apple halts signing of iOS 18 following iOS 18.0.1 update: What it means

Apple has stopped signing the previous release of iOS 18.0, meaning users can no longer downgrade to the older iPhone version. This is a routine practice for Apple, where the company stops signing older software versions roughly a week after a new update is released, preventing users from reverting to previous versions.

Apple launched iOS 18 on September 16 and rolled out iOS 18.0.1 to the public a week ago. The first bug fix update for iOS 18 was released on October 3. The fixes in iOS 18.0.1 are expected to improve the performance of iPhones. If users encounter issues with the new release and wish to downgrade, Apple assumes this is done within a week of the update’s release. Now, users who have upgraded to iOS 18.0.1 can no longer revert to iOS 18.0.

Previewed earlier this year at the Worldwide Developers Conference, iOS 18 introduced several new features, including RCS support, a redesigned Photos app, a Passwords app, new customisation tools, and enhancements to Notes and Messages.

iOS 18.0.1 included fixes for the following issues:

The touch screen on iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro models could become temporarily unresponsive in certain situations.

The camera might freeze when recording video in macro mode using the ultra-wide lens in 4K with HDR disabled on iPhone 16 Pro models.

Messages could unexpectedly close when responding to a message that includes a shared Apple Watch face.

Performance might be affected by a memory allocation issue on some iPhones.