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Sarah Tew/CNET
Apple issued an update on Wednesday to fix various bugs in its iOS operating system. The iOS 8.0.1 update, however, appeared to do more harm than good for some users. Numerous iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus owners complained that they were no longer able to make calls, send texts, or use Touch ID after updating their devices.
Apple has since pulled the iOS 8.0.1 update from its servers. If you have already updated your device, here’s how you can roll it back to iOS 8.
By downloading the final build of iOS 8 as it was released as an IPSW file, you can restore your iPhone to the latest stable version. To begin downloading the IPSW file, head over to this site and select your device from the drop-down menu. This is an official copy from Apple that we are being pointed to from a third-party site. We used this method to restore our own iPhone and can confirm it works. The download may take a few minutes depending on your Internet connection.
To download the iOS 8 IPSW file directly, click on the name of your device below. Note that this will automatically begin downloading the file to your computer.
Once the file has been downloaded, connect your iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus to your computer and open iTunes. Select under the backup options “this computer,” then hit “Back Up Now.” This takes a full snapshot of your contacts, email, apps and settings, and stores it on your computer.
On iTunes in Windows, hold down the Shift key and click the Restore option. Next, select your iPhone’s IPSW file and follow the prompts.
Those of you on OS X, hold down Alt key and click the Restore option in iTunes. Next, select your iPhone’s IPSW file and follow the prompts.
Wait for the IPSW to unload on your iPhone. You may need to disable “Find my iPhone” first, found in your iCloud settings. Once your iPhone has been restored to iOS 8, your iPhone will be wiped clean. All you have to do now is restore the backup from iTunes.
Click “Restore backup,” select the latest backup you just performed, and wait for the process to complete.
