How to downgrade Verizon iPhone4 from 4.2.9/4.2.10 to 4.2.8 [Tutorial]

Posted on August 2, 2011 by JaeM1llz Downgrade, iOS 4.2.10, iOS 4.2.8, iOS 4.2.9, iPhone 4, Verizon 97 Comments

How to downgrade Verizon iPhone4 from 4.2.9/4.2.10 to 4.2.8 [Tutorial]

Let me begin this tutorial by saying that you MUST have your 4.2.8 SHSH key saved in order to downgrade from 4.2.9 or 4.2.10. This tutorial will not work if you do not have your SHSH key. If you do not know what an SHSH key is then you most likely do not have it saved. You can check out our What is an SHSH file post.

Step 1: Create a custom 4.2.8 firmware file using either our Pwnage Tool 4.2.8(OSX) tutorial or our Sn0wbreeze 2.7.3(Win) tutorial. This is the firmware you will restore in order to downgrade.

Step 2: Now that you have created your custom firmware for downgrading, we must trick iTunes into thinking that the firmware is being signed using your SHSH key that you have saved either locally or on Saurik's server using Cydia.

Step 3: Download the latest version of TinyUmbrella.

Step 4: Open up TinyUmbrella and click "Start TSS Server" (iTunes should be closed, if it isn't closed TU might close it automatically when you click start but shut it down before starting the TSS server just in case.

Step 5: Put your device into Pwned-DFU mode using iREB(Built into Sn0wbreeze on Win) or PwnageTool(for OSX) and then open iTunes and hold down shift(win)/option(mac) and hit restore. This will bring up a dialog box. In the box select your CUSTOM firmware that you created in Step 1.

Step 6: iTunes should now restore your device with no problems. Once your device is restored and reboots you will be downgraded to 4.2.8 and you will have Cydia pre-installed on your springboard.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to post in the comment section below.

4.2.10, 4.2.8, 4.2.9, alt, cdma, custom, downgrade, firmware, iphone4, option, restore, shift, Snowbreeze, TinyUmbrella, verizon

abraham

excelent tutorial DDD
Jessica

I did everything exactly like you said to, but I can’t seem to downgrade my phone. I start the TSS Server on TinyUmbrella, and then I enter into DFU mode and start iTunes. (As a side note, when I enter into DFU mode, TinyUmbrella stops recognizing my device. Should that happen?) When I restore, I chose the custom firmware that I built with Pwnage Tool, but the restore does not go through. I get either a 1600 error message or else a message that iTunes’ server is unavailable and cannot confirm the restore. What am I doing wrong? Will you please help me?
- http://iphoneblogr.com JaeM1llz
  
  You have to be in Pwned DFU mode when you restore, not regular DFU mode and yes it is normal for TinyUmbrella not to detect your phone in DFU mode.
  
  Reopen PwnageTool and click on the iPhone3G/3Gs/4 and then click the “DFU” button at the top and follow the onscreen instructions to put your device into Pwned DFU mode.
Jessica

Thank you sooooooo much! You are a friggin genius!! My phone is downgraded and jailbroken again!
http://iphoneblogr.com/2011 Susan

Wow….thank you so much! Worked like a charm:)
- http://iphoneblogr.com JaeM1llz
  
  Great to hear Susan! Glad it worked for you!
Pingback: I need help!!! - iPhone Forum
Kelly Hudson

Thank you times a million!!
- http://iphoneblogr.com JaeM1llz
  
  You’re welcome Kelly, glad it worked for you!
http://iphoneblogr.com JaeM1llz

1600 means that you aren’t restoring in Pwned-DFU mode.
- Brad
  
  I am sure it is, I plug phone into computer, wait for bell sounds, I press sleep and home button until I hear the chime, let goof sleep while still pressing home button until I hear another chime and the phones screen goes black!!! iTunes opens and says it is in recovery mode, once i open TU and try and fix recovery mode, the phone screen goes white and a bunch of stuff comes up on the screen, then the phone shuts off, reboots and iTunes and USB symbol pops ip on the screen! Someone said that I can’t use greenpois0n, but TU automatically uses it, please help!
  - http://iphoneblogr.com JaeM1llz
    
    Ya, you’re not doing it right. Once you are in DFU mode, you then have to put it into Pwned-DFU mode and then start the TSS server and shift+restore the custom firmware. You are not supposed to fix recovery mode with TU.
Dave

I have restored the 4.2.8 downgrade with the custom 4.2.8 firmware bundle dropped into the Package contents of the Pwnage tool. It goes through, “your iPhone has been restored, wait for it to reboot. When it reboots, iTunes says that it detected the iPhone in recovery mode. I read about the recovery mode loop. so i try the “fix recovery mode ” button in Tiny Umbrella and it will not leave the factory unactivated screen. I don;t know where to start? what to do? i am wondering where it went wrong and i don’t even knoww if i pwanged the right firmware into the ipsw? what can i do to get the phone back up and running? jb or no jb….

if you have a moment please point me in the right direction! thanks.
thank you,
Dave
- http://iphoneblogr.com JaeM1llz
  
  Hmmmm it seems like you didn’t do all the steps you need. After you drag the firmware bundle for 4.2.8 into Pwnage Tool, you then have to create a custom firmware file using Pwnage Tool. After the firmware is created you have to put your device into Pwned DFU mode using Pwnage Tool and then you have to option+restore the custom 4.2.8 firmware file that you create.
chris

i did everything you said everything went ok until my phone started over and stay in pwn DFU mode leave me to run the setup again. itunes say i need to recover my phone
- http://iphoneblogr.com JaeM1llz
  
  I don’t understand
Josh

This worked PERFECTLY! I cannot tell you how thankful I am for this tutorial. I have lost a lot of sleep the past two days trying to downgrade from 4.2.10 to 4.2.8. This worked flawlessly! Thank you so much!
- http://iphoneblogr.com JaeM1llz
  
  Glad it worked for you Josh! Thanks for reporting back!
http://iphoneblogr.com JaeM1llz

Great to hear Brad! Glad you finally got it all sorted out! Enjoy your freshly jailbroken phone
jhuff26

do you have to check the box in tiny umbrella that says “set host to cydia on exit?
- http://iphoneblogr.com JaeM1llz
  
  Doesn’t matter for this particular process, but if you want to be able to restore normally in the future without using TinyUmbrella TSS server you should leave that box unchecked.
Tyler

Worked perfect, your a genius!!
- http://iphoneblogr.com JaeM1llz
  
  Great to hear Tyler! Thanks for reporting back!
Connor

My phone won’t completely restore error 1 every time. i followed all of the steps, too.
Edgar

I start tss in tiny umbrella, put my iphone into pwned dfu mode using ireb, start itunes, shift restore to my snowbreeze 4.2.8 and at the end i get error 1013….please help!! im dying over here -_- and yes i have my shsh blogs thank you!
- http://iphoneblogr.com JaeM1llz
  
  Try running fixrecovery
jumbo

must MUST update tinyumbrella, check baseband. never got it to work until i dl’ed the most recent tiny umbrella, go to advanced, check the baseband update.
All_Day_Jay

Omg thanks a lot. I swear some of these people who program are prodigies I feel like. They know your gonna fuck up and upgrade to 4.2.10. I dont even know how my SHSH got backuped. Im guessing cydia had them backuped. Im so thankful these people think of us so we can re jailbreak!
Pingback: Downgrading from 4.2.10 to 4.2.8 - iPhone Forum
Kathy

I thought there was no way to downgrade because everywhere I looked it says you definitely need a saved 4.2.8 shsh key but that’s not true, I created one through snowbreeze and ran it through tinyumbrella which then saved the shsh key. I ran the ireb mode and open itunes click shift and restore it back to 4.2.8 ios and it successfully downgraded my ios from 4.2.10 to 4.2.8. anyways Thank you so much for the tutorial it was simple and easy. thanks a ton. =D
- http://iphoneblogr.com JaeM1llz
  
  Trust me, it’s true. You must have already had a saved 4.2.8 SHSH and not even known it. Without your SHSH for the firmware you are trying to downgrade to it is impossible to downgrade, there is no way around it. Anyway, glad it worked for you!
Luis

Everything runs through smoothly. it restores and everything… But after the update iPhone will reboot to DFU once again, I tried using “Fix recovery” but it won’t work. Please help me.
Steven

OMG THANK YOU IT WORKED
- http://iphoneblogr.com JaeM1llz
  
  You’re welcome, thanks for reporting back
Marissa

Holy crap! You guys are awesome! I accidentally upgraded about a month ago and have been trying to go back to my 4.2.8 jailbroken state ever since without any luck. It was just recovery loop after recovery loop. This worked for me though and it was so quick and simple. Thanks so so so so so much!!!!
- http://iphoneblogr.com JaeM1llz
  
  Always good to hear Marissa, thanks for reporting back with your success story!
Pingback: HOW TO - Fix Recovery Loop following a 4.3.4 downgrade - Page 7 - iPhone Forum
Pingback: Anyway to downgrade verizon iphone 4.2.10 to 4.2.8? - Page 3 - iPhone Forum
Bill

I tried for over 5 days to downgrade. But your description was by far the simplest and the best !!
YOU ROCK !! The biggest obstacle for me was getting past the 1013 error when restoring to 4.2.8. I just checked the UPDATE IPHONE 4 BASEBAND in the advanced tab of TinyUmbrella. I think this did the trick for me.
- http://iphoneblogr.com JaeM1llz
  
  Great to hear Bill! Basically the “Update iPhone4 Baseband” option tells TinyUmbrella to update the baseband on an iPhone4 when restoring a custom firmware. Users who wish to unlock their phones to use with an unofficial carrier SHOULD NOT check that box, otherwise they will update their baseband to a baseband that is not unlockable. However, if you have an official carrier like AT&T or you are already on a baseband that is not unlockable, it’s fine. Although that shouldn’t be what fixed the problem for you. Nevertheless, I’m glad you got it all sorted out!
Bill

Michael:

Did you try going to the “advanced tab” of TinyUmbtrella and clicking on the UPDATE IPHONE 4 BASEBAND? I was reluctant to do this [I'm new to the jailbreaking world] but I read on several other websites that some were successful in avoiding the 1013 error when they did this. The 1013 error was my main trouble My phone restored/jailbroke perfectly and is working perfectly again.

Bill
Mysterion

I tried to downgrade from 4.2.9 to 4.2.8, got error 20.
opened up tinyumbrela and clicked “Start TSS Server” (iTunes not opened as recommended)
put iPhone 4 into Pwned-DFU mode using iREB then opened iTunes and held down shift and hit restore. Selected custom firmware sn0wbreeze 4.2.8. Didn’t work. I’m on a Windows Vista Home Premium laptop with the newest Java and iTunes installed. Any fix?
Mysterion

By the way, I do got the 4.2.8 shsh blobs saved on TinyUmbrella.
Mysterion

When trying to downgrade to 4.2.8, it stops going through when it says Preparing iPhone to Restore in iTunes and Sn0wbreeze with empty loading bar on iPhone 4 screen the Error 20 pops up. iPhone returns to Connect To iTunes screen.
- http://iphoneblogr.com JaeM1llz
  
  Error 20 means you aren’t in Pwned-DFU mode.
Elias

i did everything as you said and everything works perfect until i get to the “phone will restart…” on itunes but after that the phone does nothing and has a black screen? any idea what im doing wrong or what i can do to fix this issue? thank for your time in advance.
- http://iphoneblogr.com JaeM1llz
  
  You have to be in pwned-DFU mode running Tiny TSS server and shift+restore the custom firmware. Just follow the tutorial
Dean

I was wondering if it’s possible to acquire a 4.2.8 SHSH key since I definitely did not save one prior to updating?
- http://iphoneblogr.com JaeM1llz
  
  No, once Apple stops signing the firmware it is impossible to save your SHSH key for that firmware.
bobbyk

I did everything above but I get unknown error 37…….any help with this please
- http://iphoneblogr.com JaeM1llz
  
  Recreate your custom firmware with sn0wbreeze, don’t include any custom bootlogos or anything like that. They are not supported by 4.2.8
justinkim

i did the snowbreeze thing but i cant find my custom firmware. what do i do?
- http://iphoneblogr.com JaeM1llz
  
  It should be on your desktop. If it’s not try a different computer.
  - justinkim
    
    i found it! THANK U! UR A FREAKING GENIUS! and do u know if tethering is illegal? like facetime over 3g and stuff?
    - http://iphoneblogr.com JaeM1llz
      
      It’s not “illegal” but it is against the TOS of the cellular providers so they reserve the right to make you pay for their tethering package if they catch you. Facetime over 3G is also legal, you can use My3G to enable it. However, if you don’t have an unlimited data plan I would strongly suggest staying away from both tethering and Facetime over 3G as they are both bandwidth hogs.
hugo

it wont let me start tss server??
- http://iphoneblogr.com JaeM1llz
  
  Close any programs that use port 80(like TeamViewer or VNC)
JohnG

When I open PwnageTool it says it cant find any bundles and tells me I can go into expert mode. I did everything you said but no luck…
- http://iphoneblogr.com JaeM1llz
  
  Follow the tutorial. You have to download the 4.2.8 firmware bundles and put them into Pwnage Tool manually.
  - JohnG
    
    Yeah I did. When I then open Pwnage Tool I select the device and then when I hit next it says no firmware bundles found. I still have the .ipsw file on the desktop should I leave that there? or does that need to go into a folder?
JohnG

I just figured it out. Thanks a lot man this is the only downgrade that has ever worked!! appreciate it bro!!
JeffM

im trying to restore 4.2.8 on a verizon iphone 4 so that i can jailbreak it. I downloaded all of the up to date software for snowbreeze and tinyumbrella. My problem is that in the middle of restoring the software i get an error 37 on itunes. what should i do
- http://iphoneblogr.com JaeM1llz
  
  Remake the firmware with sn0wbreeze, don’t use any custom bootlogos or anything, 4.2.8 does not support them.
  - JeffM
    
    i have remade 5 times and have not used anything to customize it and still get error37
    - MeBashPhone
      
      Same here. Ten times now and still no luck.
hugo

wow wow wow thats all im going to say i didnt have the shsh blobs for 4.2.8 but i did a downgrade to 4.2.8 and it was stuck at the pineapple but i opened up tiny umbrella and backed up the shsh and it backed up the shsh for 4.2.8!!!! i was at 4.2.10…well after following all these instructions i am now 4.2.8 since 5 min ago and i couldnt be happier thank you guys soo much i appreciate what you guys do seriously..still i dont think anyone could be as smart as me to downgrade to 4.2.9 then 4.2.8 but having them stuck at apple/pineapple screen and still getting the shsh blobs…phew ok sorry im just excited lol =))))
- http://iphoneblogr.com JaeM1llz
  
  That means that you already had your 4.2.8 SHSH saved with Cydia and didn’t even know it. When you hit save SHSH with TinyUmbrella, it pulled your 4.2.8 SHSH from Saurik’s server. Glad everything worked out for you!
Daniel

Thank you sir. Worked perfectly the first time.

I tried so many things that failed, or left my iPhone in an unusable state, and within 20 minutes (mostly downloading and building my FW) I was up and running from 4.2.10 to 4.2.8.

Thank you.
- http://iphoneblogr.com thescragster
  
  Thanks Daniel, great to hear.
breid

ive followed the instructions and now my phone is stuck on the apple logo after itunes has put the 4.2.8 on my phone. Did i do something wrong or miss something????
- http://iphoneblogr.com JaeM1llz
  
  You must have, go back and recreate a new custom firmware and begin the tutorial from the start again.
Bruce

theres no way to downgrade withought ur old ssh? what about downloading the 4.2.8 firmware?
- http://iphoneblogr.com JaeM1llz
  
  You need the firmware and your SHSH, absolutely no way to downgrade without SHSH.
MeBashPhone

I’ve followed all the steps in this tutorial to the letter and everything is perfect until, at the end of the install, I get error 37. I’ve remade the custom ipsw file ten times now but get error 37 every time. Any ideas?
Mysterion

I finally got my Verizon iPhone 4 back to 4.2.8. This method worked easily. Thanks alot to the writer of this tutorual JaeM1llz!
- http://iphoneblogr.com JaeM1llz
  
  Glad to hear it Mysterion! You’re very welcome
Mohamed

Hi..
I did everything your steps.. how to add 4.2.8 SHSH into tiny umbrella. .it’s showing only 4.2.10 my current version only ..
- http://iphoneblogr.com JaeM1llz
  
  If you don’t already have your 4.2.8 SHSH saved, it’s too late, you will not be able to downgrade.
http://nybodyart.com/ Danny Michel

This thing is still in recovery and i havent heard an solutions. i clicked fix recovery and all i see is a black screen with a couple of lines of text
- http://iphoneblogr.com JaeM1llz
  
  Restore
Shikima

Thank you soooooooooooooooooo much!!!!!!!!!! I have been working on this for over 3 weeks and it worked a charm in less then 20 minutes!!!!! Thank you!! Your a freakin genius!!
- http://iphoneblogr.com JaeM1llz
  
  You are quite welcome, glad it worked for you
Carl

i keep getting error 1601. not sure what is up.
- http://iphoneblogr.com JaeM1llz
  
  You’re not in Pwned-DFU mode
KMBC

Great tutorial. The downgrade worked perfectly. Just performed this on 2 phones. I did add the gs.apple.com to C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\etc before building the IPSW. Thanks again for the great tutorial…..
- http://iphoneblogr.com JaeM1llz
  
  Glad to hear it worked for you. You shouldn’t edit your HOSTS file though, TinyUmbrella does that for you automatically. If you manually add gs.apple.com to your HOSTS file you will run into problems in the future trying to restore.
Joe

I did all the steps the right way, and everything was SOO close to finishing before i got error 1013. Please, i have been at this for over a day i have no clue what to do…this is my 6 millionth attempt at downgrading except with this method……
- http://iphoneblogr.com JaeM1llz
  
  Use FixRecovery
  - Joe
    
    tnx for the response, but “fix recovery” is grayed out
    - http://iphoneblogr.com JaeM1llz
      
      No I mean download the program FixRecovery from that link and use it. It’s completely different than TinyUmbrella.
      - Joe
        
        so how do u use fix recovery then? after i use tiny umbrella? or replace tiny umbrella with it? also, how do i use it? it is just a bunch of code….
Suki

Is it possible to pull shsh file from a phone save to cydia n use that file to downgrade on another?
- http://iphoneblogr.com JaeM1llz
  
  No, SHSHs are unique to each individual device.
Urlologist

So this only works if you were JB’d already and lost it due to an upgrade to 4.2.10? If I have a new iPhone 4 that came with 4.2.10 pre-loaded it sounds like this won’t work. Can I just downgrade the iOS to 4.2.8 and start there? Sorry, new to the whole jail breaking thing. Great tutorial though. Thanks.
- http://iphoneblogr.com JaeM1llz
  
  It only works if you have your 4.2.8 SHSH saved, since yours came with 4.2.10 you do not have it and unfortunately will not be able to downgrade.
rodcox89

hi i have been trying to get my iphone backup and running. i was using firmware 5.0.1. saved my shsh files for 4.8 , 4.9 , 4.10. i am wanting to get back to iphone 4.9. i followed all the steps by creating custom firmware and everything, but i ran into an issue after my restore. itunes told me that the restore was done and correct and that it would recognize the iphone as soon as it loaded. the problem was that the phone never could get past the apple logo. please help meeee!!!!!
RayBone

I cant get this to work… Itunes keep saying error 37