Backing up an iphone and restoring

[pistonheadforum]

Hello,

I am currently on 12.something ,,, if I do a backup in iTunes, and then upgrade to 14.something (latest version) can I roll back exactly to the old version using the backup?

In other words is the backup a full image (norton ghost type for the old timers!) that I can retore it back to exactly the state it was in before updating or will it leave some remnants of the upgrade behind?

Thanks in advance.

[mmm-five]

I don't believe the backups include the OS - only documents/settings - it's not a full image.

There are tools that allow for a full image - but they're usually reserved for government & law enforcement (and for others who are comfortable jailbreaking their iPhone).

[alorotom]

No you can’t.

Normally the period that you can roll back iOS to a previous iteration is limited to within about 30days (max) post the iOS update release.

For example iOS 12.4.1 was released August 26 2019, rolling back to 12.4 was only permitted upto 11 September 2019.

Apple regularly stops “signing” old versions of iOS updates so users specifically can’t go backwards later.

[pistonheadforum]

Thank you - much appreciated.