How to downgrade any iPhone 6 to iOS 10.3.3 without SHSH blobs (or maybe 8.2, if you have iPhone 6 with iOS 10)

Hey! I successfully downgraded an iPhone 6 to iOS 10.3.3 using Semaphorin on a MacBook M1. Yes, the official instructions say “Intel only,” but this method does work on Apple Silicon too. I tested it on a MacBook Air M1 running macOS 15 Sequoia. My iPhone 6 was originally on iOS 12.5.7, and I downgraded it to iOS 10.3.3

Requirments

Intel Mac with macOS Catalina or later
Apple Silicon Mac with macOS Big Sur or later
Linux PC (any distro, tested on Xubuntu by Burhan Rana)
Stable internet connection
iPhone 5s / iPhone 6 / iPhone 6 Plus (it works with other iDevices, includes A7-A11, but I’m not sure)

Chart of compability (source: Semaphorin latest commit before archival)

iOS	App Store	Cydia & Tweaks	Respring	Cellular	iTunes
7.0.6 ‎ ↳ dualboot if main OS is 10.3.3 or below	☑	☑	☑	☑	☑
7.1.2 ‎ ↳ dualboot if main OS is 10.3.3 or below	☑	☑	☑	☑	☑
8.2-8.4.1 ↳ dualboot if main OS is 10.3.3 or below	☑	☑	☑	☐	☑
9.3 ‎ ‎ ‎ ↳ dualboot if main OS is 10.3.3 or below	☑	☑	☑	☑	☐
10.3.3 ↳ dualboot on any main OS	☑	☑	☑	☑	☐
11.3 ‎ ‎ ↳ dualboot on any main OS	☑	☑	☑	☑	☐
12.1 ‎ ‎ ↳ dualboot on any main OS	☑	☑	☑	☑	☐

Apple Silicon Mac Method

Open Terminal via Rosetta 2:
- Right-click Terminal.app > Get Info > check “Open using Rosetta”
- You can find Terminal.app in Finder > Applications > Utilities, or via Launchpad
Alternative: If you don’t want to launch Terminal via Rosetta manually, you can run:
```
arch -x86_64 zsh
```
in a normal Terminal window.
Confirm the architecture by typing:
```
uname -m
```
It should return x86_64.
Install git (if you don’t have it) and clone the Semaphorin repo:
```
git clone https://github.com/LukeZGD/Semaphorin.git
```
Go to the Semaphorin directory:
```
cd Semaphorin
```
Connect your device (iPhone 5s or iPhone 6) using a Lightning to USB-A cable
1. USB-C to USB-A adapter if needed (if you use Type-C port)

Run the downgrade command:

sudo ./semaphorin.sh <target iOS version> --restore

Example:

sudo ./semaphorin.sh 10.3.3 --restore

When prompted:
```
[*] Please enter the iOS version that is currently installed on your device.
```
Enter your current iOS version (in my case, I typed 12.5.7) and press Enter
The downgrade process will begin. Follow the on-screen instructions. Your device will reboot several times and load into an SSH Ramdisk — don’t worry if you see a bunch of terminal output on the screen. That’s expected :)
Once the script finishes and shows done, your iPhone should automatically boot into the downgraded iOS version
Important: If your iPhone restarts (or loses power), it will boot back into your original iOS To return to the downgraded iOS, run:
```
sudo ./semaphorin.sh <version> --boot
```
Example:
```
sudo ./semaphorin.sh 10.3.3 --boot
```

If Something Goes Wrong (Step 12)

If downgrade fails in step 10 (iPhone don’t boot into the downgraded iOS version and boot to main iOS), do this:
- Put your device into DFU mode
- Restore it to the latest signed iOS version from ipsw.me
- Then repeat steps 1–10

Important Notes!

You must restore if your current iOS is 12.5.7 or another useless version
Do NOT restore if you’re already on iOS 10.3.3 or an iOS you want to keep and don’t have SHSH blobs.
Honestly though — if you follow this guide carefully, you probably won’t need Step 12 at all.

Intel Mac / Linux Method

Follow steps 4–10 from the Apple Silicon method — no Rosetta steps required.

Troubleshooting (iPhone 6 with downgrade to iOS 10.3.3)

Passcode

You can set a password, but it gets reset after a reset
Let’s say we set a password of 123456
- After a respring, we can enter 111111 or any other combination, and it will unlock the device
The result is that: the UI of the passcode works, but the UX is lost
! The problem is that: we lose the overall lock (anyone can take our iPhone and access our private information).
- It’s easy to solve: if you use your device as your daily driver, just don’t store important information on it and DON’T INSERT A SIM
- No one is immune to phone theft or loss

Touch ID

No passcode ⇒ no Touch ID
In addition, after each reboot, a banner “Unable to activate Touch ID” will persistently pop up, which can only be responded to with “OK”
Result: it simply doesn’t work
! The problem is that: we lose a convenient way to unlock our device and a cool feature

Connecting to password-protected Wi-Fi (encryption ≠ Open)

We did a downgrade without SHSH blobs ⇒ got iOS without “trust certificates”
- This means that our device simply cannot use encryption
You can enter the correct password for the WLAN2 network any times, but you will get nothing but the “Incorrect Password” banner

iMessage + FaceTime

Both services freeze at the activation stage
- You can enter your Apple ID, but the activation gear just freezes
The result is that: it is impossible to log in to iMessage and FaceTime
- I don’t know what the problem is, because the App Store logs in to your Apple ID account perfectly

Syncing via iTunes / iFunBox / iMazing / similar programs

The iPhone simply cannot create a “trust pair” between iOS and macOS/Windows
- An error will just pop up, supposedly the iPhone does not have the necessary values.
Bottom line: just doesn’t work
! What’s the problem: we just can’t upload music, videos, books, podcasts to our device in embedded applications (Music, Videos, iBooks, Podcasts)

Hotspot

There is no encryption ⇒ and the mechanism for sharing the Internet itself breaks down
- Yes, the toggle switch can be turned on, but the password from the access point will constantly change, and it will not be possible to connect even for a couple of seconds
Bottom line: UI works, but UX does not
! What is the problem: from such an iPhone, we simply will not be able to share our mobile Internet to other devices

Siri

I don’t know what the problem is, but even when you turn on the “Siri” option in the settings, it only says “Sorry. Could you repeat that?”
- Sometimes, when you hold down the “Home” button, Siri just freezes and doesn’t say anything

Сад Тиграна Саргсяна

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