Methodology

.IPSW files are the most robust and reliable method to upgrade/downgrade your iPod. You may restore from an .IPSW file in iTunes using ⇧ Shift+Restore with an iPod plugged into your system, navigating and selecting the .IPSW file and iTunes will deploy your firmware of choice onto your iPod.

The second best alternative to an .IPSW file is to use an iPod updater. Updaters are bundles of iPod firmware(s) accessible through a GUI packaged by Apple to issue updates and behave ultimately the same as .IPSW file. A more comprehensive list of iPod updaters can be found on it's respective article.

Older iPod firmware that is not longer seeded by Apple nor packaged in an updater can be sourced through iPod OS filesystem dumps from existing iPod devices which have yet to update from their respective versions. Such firmware is most often identified by a .bin file extension.

.bin image files prefixed with must be installed iPodWizard.

.bin image files prefixed with must be logically dumped onto an iPod using the dd utility.

Firmware List

Prior to the iPod touch (4th generation) and up until the introduction of A4 series chipsets into the iPod lineup, Apple had yet to implement any restrictions to lock users away from flashing unsigned .IPSWs onto iPods using iTunes. On devices featuring the A4 chip, flashing unsigned .IPSW files had been restricted and would be impossible, meaning you would have to restore your device to the latest signed version provided by Apple and to seek recourse through jailbreaks and experimental workarounds. On devices preceding the A4, the iPod touch (3rd generation) and below, you may interchangably use unsigned .IPSW files according to the device.

You may also find various sources and types of firmware for your iPod below. Firmware files and filesystem dumps are categorized as follows:

iPod_Model Number.Version Number.ipsw  or...

iPod_Model Number.Version Number.bin

e.g. iPod_4.1.2.1.ipsw refers to: a firmware file for a 4th generation iPod, containing version number 1.2.1 and it is an .IPSW file, indicating it can be restored in iTunes.

In this table, the .IPSWs you can no longer restore to are marked with and those of which you can restore from are prefixed either with , indicating it is unsigned but restorable and indicates it still signed by Apple and restorable.

iPod	Apple Source	Cloud Source	Wiki Source (.IPSW)	Wiki Source (.BIN)
iPod (1st generation)	iPodOS 1.5	1.0.bin 1.0.2.bin 1.0.4.bin 1.1.bin 1.2.bin 1.2.1.bin 1.2.2.bin 1.2.6.bin 1.3.bin 1.4.bin 1.5.bin		File:iPod_1.1.0.bin File:iPod_1.1.0.2.bin File:iPod_1.1.0.4.bin File:iPod_1.1.1.bin File:iPod_1.1.2.bin File:iPod_1.1.2.1.bin File:iPod_1.1.2.2.bin File:iPod_1.1.2.6.bin File:iPod_1.1.3.bin File:iPod_1.1.4.bin File:iPod_1.1.5.bin
iPod (2nd generation)
iPod (3rd generation)	iPodOS 2.3
iPod (4th generation)	(iPod_4) iPodOS 3.1.1 (iPod_10) iPodOS 3.1.1
iPod photo	(iPod_5) iPodOS 1.2.1 (iPod_11) iPodOS 1.2.1
iPod video	(iPod_13) iPodOS 1.2.1 (iPod_13) iPodOS 1.2.3 (iPod_13) iPodOS 1.3 (iPod_20) iPodOS 1.2.1 (iPod_20) iPodOS 1.2.3 (iPod_20) iPodOS 1.3
	5.5/enhanced firmware (iPod_25) iPodOS 1.2.1 (iPod_25) iPodOS 1.2.3 (iPod_25) iPodOS 1.3
iPod classic (6th generation)	(iPod_24) iPodOS 1.0.1 (iPod_24) iPodOS 1.0.3 (iPod_24) iPodOS 1.1 (iPod_24) iPodOS 1.1.1 (iPod_24) iPodOS 1.1.2 (iPod_24) iPodOS 1.1.2 (iPod_33) iPodOS 2.0 (iPod_33) iPodOS 2.0.1 (iPod_35) iPodOS 2.0.2 (iPod_35) iPodOS 2.0.3 (iPod_35) iPodOS 2.0.4 (iPod_38) iPodOS 2.0.5
iPod classic (7th generation)
iPod mini (1st generation)	(iPod_3) iPodOS 1.4.1 (iPod_6) iPodOS 1.4.1
iPod mini (2nd generation)	(iPod_7) iPodOS 1.4.1
iPod shuffle (1st generation)	(iPod_128) iPodOS 1.1.5 (iPod_129) iPodOS 1.1.5
iPod shuffle (2nd generation)	(iPod_130) iPodOS 1.0.3 (iPod_130) iPodOS 1.0.4 (iPod_131) iPodOS 1.0.3 (iPod_131) iPodOS 1.0.4 (iPod_133) iPodOS 1.0.4
iPod shuffle (3rd generation)	(iPod_132) iPodOS 1.1
iPod shuffle (4th generation)	(iPod_134) iPodOS 1.0 (iPod_134) iPodOS 1.0.1 (iPod_135) iPodOS 1.0.1 (iPod_135) iPodOS 1.0.2 (iPod_136) iPodOS 1.0.3
iPod nano (1st generation)	(iPod_14) iPodOS 1.3.1 (iPod_17) iPodOS 1.3.1
iPod nano (2nd generation)	(iPod_19) iPodOS 1.1.2 (iPod_19) iPodOS 1.1.3 (iPod_29) iPodOS 1.1.3
iPod nano (3rd generation)	(iPod_26) iPodOS 1.0.2 (iPod_26) iPodOS 1.0.3 (iPod_26) iPodOS 1.1 (iPod_26) iPodOS 1.1.2 (iPod_26) iPodOS 1.1.3
iPod nano (4th generation)	(iPod_31) iPodOS 1.0 (iPod_31)iPodOS 1.0.2 (iPod_31) iPodOS 1.0.3 (iPod_31) iPodOS 1.0.4
iPod nano (5th generation)	(iPod_34) iPodOS 1.0.1 (iPod_34) iPodOS 1.0.2
iPod nano (6th generation)	(iPod_36) iPodOS 1.0 (iPod_36) iPodOS 1.1 (iPod_36) iPodOS 1.2
iPod nano (7th generation)	(iPod_37) iPodOS 1.0.1 (iPod_37) iPodOS 1.0.2 (iPod_37) iPodOS 1.0.3 (iPod_37) iPodOS 1.0.4 (iPod_39) iPodOS 1.1.1 (iPod_39) iPodOS 1.1.2
iPod touch (1st generation)	iPhoneOS 1.1 (3A101a) iPhoneOS 1.1.1 (3A110a) iPhoneOS 1.1.2 (3B48b) iPhoneOS 1.1.3 (4A93) iPhoneOS 1.1.4 (4A102) iPhoneOS 1.1.5 (4B1)
iPod touch (2nd generation)	iPhoneOS 2.1.1 (5F138) iPhoneOS 2.2 (5G77a) iPhoneOS 2.2.1 (5H11a) iOS 4.0 (8A293) iOS 4.0.2 (8A400) iOS 4.1 (8B117) iOS 4.2.1 (8C148)
iPod touch (3rd generation)	iPhoneOS 3.1.1 (7C145) iPhoneOS 3.1.1 (7C146) iPhoneOS 3.1.2 (7D11) iPhoneOS 3.1.3 (7E18) iOS 4.0 (8A293) iOS 4.0.2 (8A400) iOS 4.2.1 (8C148) iOS 4.3 (8F190) iOS 4.3.1 (8G4) iOS 4.3.2 (8H7) iOS 4.3.3 (8J2) iOS 4.3.4 (8K2) iOS 4.3.4 (8K2) iOS 4.3.5 (8L1) iOS 5.0 (9A334) iOS 5.0.1 (9A405) iOS 5.1 (9B176) iOS 4.1 (8B117) iOS 5.1.1 (9B206)
iPod touch (4th generation)	iOS 4.1 (8B117) iOS 4.1 (8B118) iOS 4.2.1 (8C148) iOS 4.3 (8F190) iOS 4.3.1 (8G4) iOS 4.3.2 (8H7) iOS 4.3.3 (8J2) iOS 4.3.4 (8K2) iOS 4.3.5 (8L1) iOS 5.0 (9A334) iOS 5.1 (9B176) iOS 5.1.1 (9B206) iOS 6.0 (10A403) iOS 6.0.1 (10A523) iOS 6.1 (10B144) iOS 6.1.2 (10B146) iOS 6.1.3 (10B329) iOS 6.1.5 (10B400) iOS 6.1.6 (10B500)
iPod touch (5th generation)	iOS 6.0 (10A406) iOS 6.0.1 (10A523) iOS 6.1 (10B141) iOS 6.1.2 (10B146) iOS 6.1.3 (10B329) iOS 7.0 (11A465) iOS 7.0.2 (11A501) iOS 7.0.3 (11B511) iOS 7.0.4 (11B554a) iOS 7.0.6 (11B651) iOS 7.1 (11D167) iOS 7.1.1 (11D201) iOS 7.1.2 (11D257) iOS 8.0 (12A365) iOS 8.1 (12B411) iOS 8.1.1 (12B435) iOS 8.1.2 (12B440) iOS 8.1.3 (12B466) iOS 8.3 (12F69) iOS 8.4 (12H143) iOS 8.4.1 (12H321) iOS 9.0 (13A344) iOS 9.0.2 (13A452) iOS 9.1 (13B143) iOS 9.2 (13C75) iOS 9.2.1 (13D15) iOS 9.3 (13E233) iOS 9.3 (13E237) iOS 9.3.1 (13E238) iOS 9.3.2 (13F69) iOS 9.3.3 (13G34) iOS 9.3.4 (13G35) iOS 9.3.5 (13G36)
iPod touch (6th generation)	iOS 8.4 (12H143) iOS 8.4.1 (12H321) iOS 9.0 (13A344) iOS 9.0.1 (13A404) iOS 9.0.2 (13A452) iOS 9.1 (13B143) iOS 9.2 (13C75) iOS 9.2.1 (13D15) iOS 9.3 (13E233) iOS 9.3.1 (13E238) iOS 9.3.2 (13F69) iOS 9.3.3 (13G34) iOS 9.3.4 (13G35) iOS 9.3.5 (13G36) iOS 10.0.1 (14A403) iOS 10.1.1 (14B150) iOS 10.2 (14C92) iOS 10.2.1 (14D27) iOS 10.3 (14E277) iOS 10.3.1 (14E304) iOS 10.3.2 (14F89) iOS 10.3.3 (14G60) iOS 11.0 (15A372) iOS 11.0.1 (15A402) iOS 11.0.2 (15A421) iOS 11.0.3 (15A432) iOS 11.1 (15B93) iOS 11.1.1 (15B150) iOS 11.1.2 (15B202) iOS 11.2 (15C114) iOS 11.2.1 (15C153) iOS 11.2.2 (15C202) iOS 11.2.5 (15D60) iOS 11.2.6 (15D100) iOS 11.3 (15E216) iOS 11.3.1 (15E302) iOS 11.4 (15F79) iOS 11.4.1 (15G77) iOS 12.0 (16A366) iOS 12.0.1 (16A404) iOS 12.1 (16B92) iOS 12.1.1 (16C50) iOS 12.1.3 (16D39) iOS 12.1.4 (16D57) iOS 12.2 (16E227) iOS 12.3 (16F156) iOS 12.3.1 (16F203) iOS 12.4 (16G77) iOS 12.4.1 (16G102) iOS 12.4.2 (16G114) iOS 12.4.3 (16G130) iOS 12.4.4 (16G140) iOS 12.4.5 (16G161) iOS 12.4.6 (16G183) iOS 12.4.7 (16G192) iOS 12.4.8 (16G201) iOS 12.4.9 (16H5) iOS 12.5 (16H20) iOS 12.5.1 (16H22) iOS 12.5.2 (16H30) iOS 12.5.3 (16H41) iOS 12.5.4 (16H50) iOS 12.5.5 (16H62)
iPod touch (7th generation)	iOS 12.3.1 (16F8202) iOS 12.4 (16G77) iOS 12.4.1 (16G102) iOS 13.1 (17A844) iOS 13.1.1 (17A854) iOS 13.1.2 (17A860) iOS 13.1.3 (17A878) iOS 13.2 (17B84) iOS 13.2.2 (17B102) iOS 13.2.3 (17B111) iOS 13.3 (17C54) iOS 13.3.1 (17D50) iOS 13.4 (17E255) iOS 13.4.1 (17E262) iOS 13.5 (17F75) iOS 13.5.1 (17F80) iOS 13.6 (17G68) iOS 13.6.1 (17G80) iOS 13.7 (17H35) iOS 14.0 (18A373) iOS 14.0.1 (18A393) iOS 14.1 (18A8395) iOS 14.2 (18B92) iOS 14.3 (18C66) iOS 14.4 (18D52) iOS 14.4.1 (18D61) iOS 14.4.2 (18D70) iOS 14.5 (18E199) iOS 14.5.1 (18E212) iOS 14.6 (18F72) iOS 14.7 (18G69) iOS 14.7.1 (18G82) iOS 14.8 (18H17) iOS 15.0 (19A346) iOS 15.0.1 (19A348) iOS 15.0.2 (19A404) iOS 15.1 (19B74) iOS 15.2 (19C56) iOS 15.2.1 (19C63) iOS 15.3 (19D50) iOS 15.3.1 (19D52) iOS 15.4 (19E241) iOS 15.4.1 (19E258) iOS 15.5 (19F77) iOS 15.6 (19G71) iOS 15.6.1 (19G82)