How to Remove iOS 16 Beta from iPhone

By Conner Carey Updated 01/10/2023

Did you download iOS 16 Apple beta software but now want to get out of the beta program? Here's how to remove iOS 16 beta from your iPhone and download the shipping version of iOS 16.

How do you leave the beta program and unenroll your iPhone? We'll show you how to change from the iOS beta to the latest publicly-released iOS update. There's one major downside, though; you will have to restore your iPhone from a backup. You can restore your iPhone from an iTunes backup or restore from an iCloud backup you made before installing the iOS 16 public beta. Here's how to downgrade from iOS 16 beta to iOS 16. For more great iOS tutorials, check out our free Tip of the Day.

How to Delete iOS 16 Beta Profile

What happens if you delete the beta profile from your iPhone? Deleting the iOS beta profile will remove you from the beta program and stop automatic updates that fix glitches in the beta software. But it doesn't revert your iPhone to the current version of iOS. Instead, until the next update to the public version of the beta software you downloaded is available, your device will still be running the beta software after following this tip.

If you want to get rid of the beta software altogether, you'll need to follow all of these steps in order, or you will not be able to remove the beta software from your device. If you didn't do things in this order, you'll need to sign back into Apple's beta program website, enroll your iPhone in the iOS 16 beta program , reinstall the Apple beta profile, then follow the steps below in this order to remove the beta software from your device before restoring from your backup. Trust us. We've tested this.

Delete the Beta Profile

Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
Tap General.

Scroll all the way down and tap VPN & Device Management.
Tap the Configuration Profile for iOS 16 Beta.

Tap Remove Profile, enter your passcode, then tap Remove to confirm.
Tap Restart to finish the process of removing iOS 16 beta.

This lets Apple know you will no longer be beta testing iOS 16. Your device will be removed from the Apple Beta Software Program, at least until the next time you decide to be a beta tester. Now, when the next non-beta version of iOS 16 becomes available, you can install it, and the beta will be removed from your device. If you don't want to wait for the public version of iOS 16 to be released, you can restore your device. This is where the backup you made before downloading and installing the beta software comes in.

Restore iPhone from Backup & Revert to iOS 15

If you want to revert back to your previous public iOS, you will need to restore your device from an iTunes or iCloud backup you made before downloading the beta software. Once you've completed this process and restarted your device, you should be rid of the Apple beta program and back to iOS 15. To do this:

Make sure your computer has the latest version of iTunes or MacOS.
Connect your iPhone or iPad to your computer.

Put your device in Recovery Mode.
For an iPad with Face ID: quickly press and release the Volume Up, then Volume Down button, then press and hold the Top button until your tablet enters Recovery Mode.
For an iPhone 8 and later: quickly press and release the Volume Up, then Volume Down button, then press and hold the Side button until your phone enters Recovery Mode.
For an iPhone 7, 7 Plus, or seventh-generation iPod Touch: press and hold the Sleep/Wake and Volume Down buttons at the same time until the Recovery Mode screen appears.
For iPhones 6s and earlier, sixth-generation iPod Touch and earlier, and iPads with Home buttons: simultaneously press and hold the Sleep/Wake button and Home button; continue holding until the Recovery Mode screen appears.
Click Restore. If the download takes longer than 15 minutes and your iPhone exits Recovery mode, let the download finish, then start over from step two.

If asked, enter your Apple ID and password. Once Restore is finished, choose an iTunes or iCloud backup from a version of iOS 15 to restore your iPhone.

Wait for the restore process to finish, and enter your Apple ID and password when required.
Set up your phone or tablet with the archived backup you made before you downloaded and installed the beta software.

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Topics

How-To

iPhone

Apple Beta Software Program

Device Management

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Author Details

Conner Carey

Conner Carey's writing can be found at conpoet.com. She is currently writing a book, creating lots of content, and writing poetry via @conpoet on Instagram. She lives in an RV full-time with her mom, Jan and dog, Jodi as they slow-travel around the country.

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