Well, I stupidly upgraded my iPod Touch to iOS 4 yesterday. Don’t do it!
My battery now lasts less than 12 hours, even with wifi off. The advantages of the new OS are not with the hassle, but to add insult to injury, I cannot go back.
The first rule of any computer system is that you need to be able to revert to a previous version if or when you apply an incompatible update. That’s why we all do backups, right?
Well, Apple will not allow you to downgrade or go back to an old version of the firmware once you’ve upgraded. I called Apple Customer Support, and I was told that no option to do this exists. I tried to post in the Apple discussion forums, as the rep said I should do, to suggest that people call in and request changes. My message was rejected and pulled from the forum.
Here it is in its entirety, because this issue is important.
From: communityhosts@apple.com
Subject: Apple Discussions – Post Removed by Host
Date: June 25, 2010 11:20:38 AM MDT
OogieM,
Apple removed your post on Apple Discussions, titled “Apple Cust Serve response re iOS4,” because it contained the following:
Speculation or Rumors
Discussion of Apple Policies, Procedures or Decisions
Off-topic or non-technical posts
We are including a copy of your post at the end of this email for your reference.
Our terms of use, which include helpful information about using Apple Discussions, is located here: http://discussions.apple.com/help.jspa We encourage you to continue using the Apple Discussions while abiding by our terms of use.
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Kind regards,
Apple Discussions staff
++++++++++
A copy of your message:
I just got off the phone with Apple Customer Support. I have verified that there is no way for a consumer to downgrade the firmware in an iPod or iPhone unless you jailbreak it.
If you think the consumer needs to have the ability to choose which version of firmware & SW to run and the ability to go back a version if something isn’t working for you you have to call in to Apple. They will only consider it an issue if they get Apple Support calls on it. The highest level person I spoke with had not had any other calls about the problem.
I mentioned the numerous reports here and was told that unregulated forums are not considered important.
This message is sent from a send-only email account. Any replies sent to this address are deleted automatically by the system.
Update Downgrade Instructions
This section outlines how I’ve managed to downgrade my iPod Touch 2nd Generation to version 3.1.2. I can’t get the 3.1.3 firmware to install – Apple seems to have disabled it.
Do this at your own risk. You will lose all application-specific data. My app data was only game high scores, so I didn’t really care. I do have one app that I was using – Fabric Stash – that won’t run now, since it requires 3.1.3.
I did call Apple support, paying $59 for the privilege of telling them how stupid it is not to provide easy backup or downgrade options. I received no satisfaction from that at all. At least I can harass them again for another two years now. (I bought the Apple Care Plan, as I figured if I use it one more time, I break even.)
To downgrade, you must locate a copy of your old firmware on your machine (user/library/iTunes/iPod software updates). You can also download various firmware files here: https://www.felixbruns.de/iPod/firmware/
Be sure to install it in a place other than its normal folder. iTunes automatically trashes all older firmware files from the main folder.
Run iTunes, then option-click on Restore. Navigate to the location of the new file, then select it for Restore.
This worked for me, and I was able to eventually restore all of my apps (except the one noted above).