r/jailbreak – [Tutorial] Downgrade iPhone 4 with or without SHSH blobs

Hi, I don’t think a lot of people will actually use this guide but it will save someone willing to downgrade their old iPhone 4 a couple of hours of tinkering.

Proceed at your own risk! Some experience required (not much, I’m a noob as well)

First, I’ll describe how to downgrade without using SHSH Blobs. The method using SHSH Blobs will be further below.

If you don’t know if you have SHSH Blobs you can use Redsn0w.

To check for SHSH Blobs on the Cydia server, open Redsn0w > Extra’s > SHSH > Query

– Downgrading iPhone 4 from iOS 7 to iOS 6 WITHOUT SHSH Blobs

So to downgrade from iOS 7.1.2 to iOS 6.1.3, you can use a tool called Pluvia, this tool is Mac only so if you’re on windows you need to run a Virtual Machine or borrow a Mac from someone.

There is already a pretty extensive Reddit post describing Pluvia so I won’t go into too much detail.

The things you’ll need for a downgrade with Pluvia are:

– A computer running MacOS

– An iPhone 4

– The IPSW for iOS 6.1.3 for your specific iPhone (download from ipsw.me)

– Pluvia (download from Github here)

First, download Pluvia and place it on your desktop. Next, open terminal and type these commands:

"cd " including the space but no quotes drag the folder into the window (the Pluvia-Master folder on the desktop) press enter "./make_ipsw.sh " including the space but no quotes drag the 6.1.3 ipsw into the window (the one you downloaded from ipsw.me) press enter wait put phone in DFU (google it if you don't know how) "./restore.sh " including the space but no quotes drag the CREATED ipsw (with _Patched in name) into the window (it should be on your desktop) press enter wait (note: an "FDR" error is normal, ignore it) 

Note; ONLY press enter when the instructions ask you to.

After this, you should be on iOS 6.1.3.

If you don’t have SHSH Blobs saved, you can stop here.

– Downgrading from iOS 7 to iOS 6 or 5 or 4 WITH SHSH Blobs

To Downgrade with SHSH, you first have to downgrade to iOS 6.1.3 with Pluvia as described above.

When you successfully downgraded to iOS 6.1.3 you can proceed to downgrade to any version of iOS 6 or iOS 5 or even iOS 4.

This might get a little more complicated but if you follow all instructions it won’t be too hard.

The things you need for this downgrade:

– A computer (can be Windows or Mac except for the steps involving Pluvia)

– Redsn0w (optional)

– iTunes

– The IPSW file for the firmware that you have SHSH Blobs for (download from IPSW.me)

– SHSH Blobs for the firmware that you want to downgrade to

To perform this downgrade you want to trick iTunes into thinking that your designated IPSW file is still being signed by Apple. We’re going to do this by modifying the host file and adding the Cydia server to the list. When you’re downgrading, iTunes will search for the SHSH blob on the Cydia server instead of Apple’s.

First, make sure that your IPSW file is on Cydia’s IPSW server, you can upload your IPSW file via Redsn0w.

To check if you already have your IPSW file on Cydia’s server, open Redsn0w > Extra’s > SHSH > Query

If you don’t see the blobs for the firmware you want to downgrade to but you have saved them locally, you are going to upload them to the Cydia server via Redsn0w. open Redsn0w > Extra’s > SHSH > Submit > select your IPSW file from your computer.

Now that we have the SHSH Blobs on Cydia’s server, we’re going to add the server to the hosts file on your Mac or Windows PC.

For Mac; open Terminal and type the following command

sudo nano /etc/hosts 

then type your administrator password if it asks you to.

Now, using the arrows on your keyboard, navigate to the first empty row below all the text. Here you want to type the following:

0908603917 gs.apple.com 

When you’re finished, save the file by pressing CTRL O > CTRL M > CTRL X

Restart iTunes or when you have problems reboot your computer.

To edit the hosts file on Windows you can use this link.

Now, Put your iPhone into DFU mode.

Connect your iPhone to iTunes and click option + restore (Mac) or shift + restore (windows)

Select the desired IPSW file you have SHSH Blobs for on the Cydia server.

Let it sit, it will downgrade. If you get any errors, try again, except for when the progress bar on your iPhone was at around 3/4 of the way.

When the progress bar on your iPhone is about 3/4 full, iTunes will state that there is an unexpected error and your iPhone will boot into recovery mode (don’t panic, this is normal).

Before you can continue you need to edit the hosts file again. If you forgot how to do that, scroll back up. This time, you need to remove the text that you added to the host file in the previous steps. When you removed the text save the file.

Now, with your iPhone in recovery mode, open Pluvia again in Terminal on your Mac.

Start a new session in terminal and type everything that I wrote below into Terminal (except the text between <>):

cd <drag pluvia-master folder into the window> ./make_ipsw.sh <drag any by Pluvia supported IPSW into the window> reset ./restore.sh <drag the IPSW file that Pluvia just created into the window (it has NVRAM.IPSW in the name)> 

Let Pluvia do its thing and your iPhone will boot up into your desired firmware.

After you set up the iPhone I recommend that you erase all content and settings via the settings app on your iPhone to clear unnecessary files.

I hope this guide helped some people out! And remember, if you have any questions, please ask them in the comments below or PM me. Cheers.