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When updating my iPhone from settings the only option is iOS 13.X, however I am currently on 12.4.1 and want to simply go to the still current patch version 12.4.3 which came out just a few days ago.

Is there a way to make the phone go to the minor build update instead of forcing to 13.X? I want to avoid iOS 13 until a couple of fixes come out that address the major issues plaguing that update, but don't want to have current security holes in my current version.

There was a similar question here: Upgrade iPad to newer (but not latest) iOS but it had to do with a middle jump to an already revoked older version i.e going from 6 to 7, when 8 was the current version, so my question is different in that both versions are currently signed by apple.

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  • Hi Shawn! What model iPhone do you have?
    – TJ Luoma
    Commented Nov 8, 2019 at 4:00
  • @TJLuoma It is a 6S, but I am sure in theory many folks might find this question for any current model, so maybe a great answer is one that can handle them all?
    – Shawn
    Commented Nov 8, 2019 at 4:03

1 Answer 1

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Good question. My guess is that you can do it if:

  1. you use iTunes

  2. Apple is signing an '.ipsw' file for your iPhone model.

If I was trying to do this, I would look at https://ipsw.me/product/iPhone.

They seem to have a good / easy system for figuring out what is available for which iPhone.

Update:

If you have a 6s, it does not look like that model is supported. At least that is what I gather from looking at https://ipsw.me/12.4.3.

Update 2:

https://iosindex.com/iphone also reminded me that there are at least two versions of the iPhone 6s, the "GSM" version and the "everyone else" version. Their pages for each are linked below:

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  • Do i have to run a backup before doing these steps, or will it simply side-step that and be a normal update?
    – Shawn
    Commented Nov 8, 2019 at 4:05
  • Always run a backup.
    – TJ Luoma
    Commented Nov 8, 2019 at 4:05
  • Wow thats actually shocking - its a minor security patch to the currently installed version, so if I tried to install it the phone would not verify the version and fail?
    – Shawn
    Commented Nov 8, 2019 at 4:11
  • I can't say that for 100% certainty. However, I believe that the security patch was only issued for iPhones which cannot upgrade to iOS 13. You could always try downloading one and see if it will work. I believe iTunes will tell you almost immediately if the .ipsw file will not work for your iPhone model.
    – TJ Luoma
    Commented Nov 8, 2019 at 4:13
  • @shawn the ipsw files from ipsw.me are linked directly from the apple website. They are signed by apple and will operate as upgrades unless you opt to do a clean install within iTunes.
    – shawn
    Commented Nov 11, 2019 at 7:34

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