The symmetry lowering from tetragonal to orthorhombic is demonstrated using high‐resolution diffraction and also justified by using the magnetic superspace groups formalism for the rutile‐type compound β‐MnO2. The (lower) orthorhombic symmetry is observed at temperatures both below and above the Néel temperature. The magnetic ordering of β‐MnO2 is of spin density type and not screw‐type helical. The results support the de Wolff [Acta Cryst. (1959), 12, 341–345] hypothesis about the orthorhombic symmetry of β‐MnO2.