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iOS 26 developer beta on iPhone 16 Pro
Apple recently released the developer beta of iOS 26 during WWDC 2025, and while the latest iPhone operating system isn't yet available in its public beta release, many people have already downloaded the developer beta version. But the developer beta versions are only pre-release versions of a software -- they're not the final release of the operating systems.
Also: How to install iOS 26 beta on your iPhone (and which models support it)
Because of this, they're notoriously buggy and sluggish, with features that don't work as intended, integration issues, and unresponsiveness. It's normal. If you downloaded the iOS 26 developer beta and are tired of experiencing these issues, you may decide to uninstall it or downgrade to the widely available iOS 18 and wait until its general release.
Apple Intelligence notification on iOS 26 Developer Beta.
What you need: The iPhone with iOS 26 developer beta installed, a Mac or a Windows PC with iTunes, and a backup of the same iPhone before upgrading to iOS 26 (not necessary, but highly recommended).
Use a USB cable to connect your iPhone with the iOS 26 developer beta to your Mac or a PC with iTunes.
Also: Your iPhone is getting a big iOS 26 upgrade, and the best features go beyond Liquid Glass
You'll need to put your iPhone in Recovery Mode to use your computer to reset its operating system. To do so, follow these steps:
Find your iPhone on Finder in your Mac or in iTunes on your PC, then choose the option to Restore it. When your iPhone goes into Recovery Mode, it'll flag your computer, which will then tell you there's a problem that requires updating or restoring the device.
Don't upgrade your iPhone; just choose Restore. Your computer will download the latest publicly available iOS and restore your iPhone.
Also: Your Android phone just got a major feature upgrade for free - including these Pixel models
If you have a backup on iCloud or your Mac, you can set up your iPhone with it.
You can't uninstall iOS 26 beta to use iOS 18 without resetting your iPhone. As an operating system, iOS is your iPhone's bedrock software. Simply removing a beta profile or deselecting beta updates won't revert the changes you made when upgrading to iOS 26.
iOS updates to the latest version, and if you have beta updates enabled, those will also be included. If you want to downgrade from iOS 26 to the stable public version of iOS 18, you'll need to restore your iPhone.
Also: Some apps are battery vampires - how to root them out and shut them down
This is why you should always back up your device before installing a beta version of iOS -- not after. Backups made on a beta version are generally incompatible with older available software versions and will result in lost data.
You will need a computer to uninstall iOS 26 developer beta, either a Mac or a Windows computer with iTunes. If you choose to reset your iPhone from within its Settings without a computer, it will just delete your data but maintain the iOS 26 version already installed.
Putting your device in Recovery Mode lets you use the computer to erase it and install the latest public iOS version.
iOS 26 developer beta is no more buggy and unstable than other developer beta versions of software. Any time you install a beta version of a software, either a public beta or a more exclusive developer beta, you're installing pre-release software that hasn't been perfected.
Using a developer beta on an iPhone may present diminished battery life, unreliable app performance, suddenly unresponsive screens or applications, glitching, and overall sluggishness. However, these are expected bugs that developers and people report to Apple so the company can correct them before the stable release of the software.