This posting is to clear up all the confusion about downgrading your Apple iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch.

1. Apple signs all of it's firmware versions while they are current for each individual device. These signatures are called SHSH (Secure HaSH) blobs. Without these blobs, downgrading is IMPOSSIBLE. The only way to save these blobs is by jail breaking, or using a program to save your blobs locally (on your computer), with a program such as Tiny Umbrella, or iFaith.

2. ALL iPhone 3G(s)'s have their SHSH blobs saved for iOS 4.1, making it possible to downgrade ANY iPhone 3G(s) to iOS 4.1. The implications of this are that if you are on a version of iOS that does not have an untethered jailbreak, and you are wanting to be jailbroken, or needing to be for a carrier unlock, you can be downgraded to iOS 4.1 to achieve an UNTETHERED jailbreak. This applies ONLY for the iPhone 3G(s).

3. If you have an iPhone that has previously been jailbroken on a previous version of iOS, say for instance that you accidentally upgraded to iOS 6 from iOS 5.1.1, and you were jailbroken on iOS 5.1.1 BEFORE iOS 6 came out, Cydia will have saved your SHSH blobs for you on iOS 5.1.1, making it possible to downgrade back down to iOS 5.1.1.

4. If you have downloaded Tiny Umbrella, and backed up your SHSH blobs while on a version of iOS locally (on your computer), you can also use those to downgrade.

5. This DOES NOT apply to the iPhone 4(s). It CAN NOT be downgraded from iOS 6 yet. It can only be downgraded from a version of iOS 5, to an earlier version of iOS 5. It can NOT be downgraded to an earlier version of iOS than iOS 5.

6. The biggest misconception with downgrading is that it is widely believed that you can restore your iPhone from a backup image made in iTunes from a later version of iOS. That is to say, if you try to restore an image from iOS 6 to iOS 4.1, it won't restore your backup image, because the older version of iOS isn't compatible with the newer version's filesystem. That being said, it is PARAMOUNT that you SYNC your iPhone to iTunes before coming to me, or attempting a downgrade yourself. You will need to re-sync your iPhone after the downgrade, after setting up as a new iPhone, NOT restore from a backup. You will get your contacts and music back, and once you sign into the App Store on your iPhone, you can get all of your apps back that you have paid for, because once you purchase an app on an iOS device under a given Apple ID, you own it, and can re-download it on that same device again for free.

I hope that this has cleared up any confusion or questions about downgrading, and if not, email me with your question, and I will respond as soon as possible. As always, thank you for visiting my blog...

                                                                                                         ~The iDevice Pro~