How to download IPSW files directly from Apple’s server
Cupertino-based mobile giant Apple has always been known for its quality products. One of the main reasons why they have one of the best selling products on the market is because of their support policy and system. They have always been leaders in the mobile industry. Analysts have already rated Apple as a better technology company compared to competitors such as Microsoft Windows Phone and Google Android. Apple has always been very secretive about its products and always believes in providing secure products with regular updates. This is why you cannot downgrade iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad firmwares easily. Apple only allows firmware to be downloaded via iTunes, which means you cannot download old firmware.
To run the previous version of Apple firmware, you need to find the direct download from the server. There are many blogs available that provide the direct download link. However, there is one condition: you cannot downgrade Apple products like iPhone to a previous version if you have not saved SHSH blobs. Apple signs firmware SHSH blobs to keep track of various things. Once they release a new firmware, they stop signing old firmware blobs. There are several tools available like TinyUmbrella and iFaith that allow you to save SHSH blobs. iFaith is a more advanced tool as it allows you to download SHSH that is currently running on your iOS device (it doesn’t matter if Apple is still signing it or not).
To download old firmware, you need to look for download links on the Internet. It is a time consuming process to search Google for individual links. If you’re looking for a simpler way, there are two different tools available that allow you to do it. These two tools are
- openIPSW (Windows only) and
- ipswDownloader (for Windows and Mac)
As the name suggests, both of them allow you to download IPSW files directly from Apple’s server. One of the best things about them is that they also provide resume and pause support, which means you can resume your downloads at any time. openIPSW is an open source program for Windows users. Although, ipswDownloader is not an open source program. Both programs are available for free and are regularly updated with links to the newly released firmware.
ipswDownloader also provides some of the useful tools like Tinyumbrella and iPhone Explorer that you can download using the software. Just select your device and the iOS version you want to download from the tool.
Have you tried using those tools to download IPSW files directly from Apple’s server?