Could Not Activate iPhone iOS 6 beta

gladoscc · Jul 17, 2012

This noon, my iPhone suddenly showed 'Activation Required'. I'm on iOS 6 beta 1 legit. However, I cannot activate my phone, it says that "Your iPhone could not be activated because the activation server is temporarily unavailable.

I tried connecting it to iTunes, says the software has expired and must be outdated. But when I try to update it, I get:

"iTunes could not back up the phone [blah] because a session could not be started by the iPhone"

My iPhone 4 is brought outright, it is out of warranty. I'm a registered apple developer, only have 2 udids, my iPhone and my iPad.

How to I activate / update my phone?

macingman · Jul 17, 2012

You do realize betas expire after a period of time so after a set period of time the betas deactivate meaning you have to update. Currently we are on Beta 3 so beta 1 is very out of date and obviously will be locked by now.

You have to update via iTunes using option-upgrade or shift-upgrade depending on your system after you download beta 3. And make sure to keep up to date, it's very easy you can just update over the air.

If you didn't know betas expire then you shouldn't of been using it to begin with.

njaremka · Jul 18, 2012

gladoscc said:
... I'm a registered apple developer, ...

if this is true, just go into the developer portal, and download the latest iOS files. done.

[/thread]

gngan · Jul 18, 2012

A dev that doesn't update the beta to test his app?

R1PPER · Jul 18, 2012

you have to download the latest beta of xcode as they are linked.

batting1000 · Jul 18, 2012

Beta 1 expired yesterday. You also need to be a registered dev to use betas. If you are, then just upgrade to beta 3.

ericrwalker · Jul 18, 2012

gngan said:
A dev that doesn't update the beta to test his app?

Maybe he's one of those devs that doesn't develop. A.K.A, I am paying an extra hundred dollars a year to get the latest beta version iOS.

njaremka · Jul 18, 2012

R1PPER said:
you have to download the latest beta of xcode as they are linked.

you don't have to.

Daveoc64 · Jul 18, 2012

njaremka said:
you don't have to.

Indeed.

The beta can be installed from Windows, so there's absolutely no need to have Xcode.

----------

gladoscc said:
I tried connecting it to iTunes, says the software has expired and must be outdated. But when I try to update it, I get:

"iTunes could not back up the phone [blah] because a session could not be started by the iPhone"

As it's running a beta that has expired, the device is currently in a state where the portion of the OS that handles syncing is disabled.

You're going to have to do a restore in DFU mode to get it working again.

-Plug your phone in to your computer with iTunes open.
-Switch the phone off
-Hold the power and home buttons for 10 seconds
-Let go of the power button, but keep holding the home button until iTunes gives you a message saying that the iPhone is in recovery mode

You can either install the latest iOS 6.0 beta, or the stable iOS 5.1.1 release using this method

NOTE: This will result in all data on the device being erased. If you have a backup, it can only be put onto a fresh install of that iOS version or newer (i.e. if you have an iOS 6.0 backup, it can only be installed on a device with iOS 6.0 or newer).

In the future, install the latest iOS beta as soon as you can. Ideally, you wouldn't install it on a device that you actually use regularly - but that's not going to be possible for most people.

CyberJoe · Jul 19, 2012

Same problem and even worse

Hey Guys have the worst case scenario here.

A Month Ago or so my Dev account has expired, I did downloaded and installed ios 6 beta previously, and now because beta 2 is expired I can't use it, nor can I upgrade to beta 3 because I do not have dev account anymore.

Even worse, when I tried to downgrade to ios 5.1 in DFU mode, it says that I am not eligible to do that, which is strange...
Basically stuck on not working ios 6 beta 2, and can't do anything.

Any ideas?

ericrwalker · Jul 19, 2012

Re-activate your DEV account (or start one up for the first time).

CyberJoe said:
Hey Guys have the worst case scenario here.

A Month Ago or so my Dev account has expired, I did downloaded and installed ios 6 beta previously, and now because beta 2 is expired I can't use it, nor can I upgrade to beta 3 because I do not have dev account anymore.

Even worse, when I tried to downgrade to ios 5.1 in DFU mode, it says that I am not eligible to do that, which is strange...
Basically stuck on not working ios 6 beta 2, and can't do anything.

Any ideas?

TOOFY · Jul 19, 2012

It's very clear the OP is a registered beta-gotta-have-the-latest-and-greatest-software-developer. Pay 100$ and get apples latest software. If u don't know as a " developer " that the software actually has a timer on them - u sir are not a developer. It's OK to say that you just bought the developer package so u can get the software. No worries

I do the same too!

CyberJoe · Jul 19, 2012

Guys, it's pretty simple, I was developing apps for ios for about a year, and now I am not developing them anymore, as I do apps for other platforms, I waited patiently for my dev account to expire as I do not need it anymore. So I do not need to pay 100$. I do not need beta 3, I need my phone with ios 5.

What I was hoping is to get back on ios 5.1 as soon as my beta expires, but I can't.

CyberJoe · Jul 19, 2012

ericrwalker said:
Re-activate your DEV account (or start one up for the first time).

It seems like a last thing to do, as I do not need a dev account anymore, and problem is, in order to by dev account from country I live in, I need lot's of papers send via fax, and purchase will take about a week, it's really pain in the ass.

Basically why should I? isn't there a peaceful way to stop being a developer, and become a user instead? Why can't I downgrade?

ericrwalker · Jul 19, 2012

Just seems odd to me that you knew your developer account was expiring last month? What a day after beta 2? Yet you installed it anyway?

It shouldn't be that hard to connect to iTunes and do a restore anyway.
Just select an old backup.

CyberJoe said:
It seems like a last thing to do, as I do not need a dev account anymore, and problem is, in order to by dev account from country I live in, I need lot's of papers send via fax, and purchase will take about a week, it's really pain in the ass.

Basically why should I? isn't there a peaceful way to stop being a developer, and become a user instead? Why can't I downgrade?

Daveoc64 · Jul 19, 2012

If iTunes won't let you do a restore, try manually downloading the restore file from Apple:

http://osxdaily.com/2012/05/07/ios-5-1-1-download-links/

Then follow the instructions on the same site to use it:

http://osxdaily.com/2010/11/23/how-to-use-ipsw-files/

CyberJoe · Jul 19, 2012

Well I installed ios6, two months prior, because I was sure downgrading will not be problem.

I tried manually installing it, but I get "You are not eligible to install ios 5.1" for some very strange reason.Completely lost here.

It starts extracting archive, and then checks with apple server, and stops installation.

SHESHELL04 · Sep 30, 2012

daveoc64 said:
indeed.

The beta can be installed from windows, so there's absolutely no need to have xcode.

----------

as it's running a beta that has expired, the device is currently in a state where the portion of the os that handles syncing is disabled.

You're going to have to do a restore in dfu mode to get it working again.

-plug your phone in to your computer with itunes open.
-switch the phone off
-hold the power and home buttons for 10 seconds
-let go of the power button, but keep holding the home button until itunes gives you a message saying that the iphone is in recovery mode

you can either install the latest ios 6.0 beta, or the stable ios 5.1.1 release using this method

note: This will result in all data on the device being erased. If you have a backup, it can only be put onto a fresh install of that ios version or newer (i.e. If you have an ios 6.0 backup, it can only be installed on a device with ios 6.0 or newer).

In the future, install the latest ios beta as soon as you can. Ideally, you wouldn't install it on a device that you actually use regularly - but that's not going to be possible for most people.

wow thanks for this, im in the uk and ive been sat up for hours trying to fix this, apple support are as much use as a chocolate tea pot haha :d thanks again

Gerart · Oct 1, 2012

gngan said:
A dev that doesn't update the beta to test his app?

Hey Gngan!... can you be NICER?.. you are not a machine aren't you? I'll remind you first of all, that you are HUMAN first than anything else. We the real crazy apple developers made mistakes as well as any one in this planet. So, next time, just do not try to be arrogant and keep your humbleness on.

And yes, Macingman, you are totally right! and Humble! that's the way how Gladoscc needs to be fixing his iOS6 issue.

Good luck Macingman! you will fix this for sure..

Water11110 · Nov 4, 2012

Restoring iOS 6

Gladoscc,

I too had the same problem, but I found a solution.
First, download the new Redsn0w and make a custom DFU ISPW file to use for iTunes. (Execute Redsn0w as Administrator, then press Extras--> More Extras--> DFU ISPW, then select your firmware[6.0 only])
Once you have created this, Shift-Update the iPhone using the same DFU ISPW file and it should act like it's restoring. Afterwards, it should be a black screen and should be recognized by iTunes and Redsn0w.
At this point, you can manually update it with Redsn0w and jailbreak your phone, or you can use a clean, new, ISPW for iTunes to restore it with.

Hope this helps!

tymaster50 · Nov 4, 2012

Water11110 said:
Gladoscc,

I too had the same problem, but I found a solution.
First, download the new Redsn0w and make a custom DFU ISPW file to use for iTunes. (Execute Redsn0w as Administrator, then press Extras--> More Extras--> DFU ISPW, then select your firmware[6.0 only])
Once you have created this, Shift-Update the iPhone using the same DFU ISPW file and it should act like it's restoring. Afterwards, it should be a black screen and should be recognized by iTunes and Redsn0w.
At this point, you can manually update it with Redsn0w and jailbreak your phone, or you can use a clean, new, ISPW for iTunes to restore it with.

Hope this helps!

Dude you're late lmao iOS 6 came out like 2 months ago he made this in July.

iPhoneUnlockCR · Nov 17, 2012

Solution!!! This error can be fixed

Well, i had this problem for about two weeks and my head was going crazy so i google for the solution and noting works but i found a this guy and he said he can fix it, this guy was my last chance so i took his email and contact him, he told me about the problem and ask my for some info and the payment, i sent all what he asked and about 8 hours later i can activate my iPhone with any sim, if you want the contact you can contact me using the PM option

Could Not Activate iPhone iOS 6 beta

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