Apple Addresses GSM iPad 2 Activation Bug With Revised iOS 9.3, But Broader Issue Remains Unfixed [Update: Fixed]

[TMRJIJ]

I picked up an iPad 2 16GB for next to nil last week to see what this was all about. It's fast, it runs smoothly. The battery runtime is absolutely insane. I've found myself using it for reading a lot more than I thought I would have.

Simple answer, because old doesn't mean useless. It doesn't need to die with dignity because from a usefulness perspective, it isn't ready to die. But I figure as a project head of a team of developers enabling OS X to run on older machines, you're fairly familiar with this concept.

Agreed. I had my iPad 2 for a long time. While I enjoyed it for light use. It just didn't work out to well for productivity and development uses as I was going through software updates. It belongs to my Grandfather now while I got the Air 2. He uses it everyday.

Still I wish I knew how to modify iOS 9+ just like I do with OS X on some of my old Macs. I would've had that thing running better than when it was new.

 

[segfaultdotorg]

Just received a refurbished iPad mini 2 today. It won't update to 9.3. It does have the Smart Cover on screen volume display bug--if you unlock the iPad by opening the Smart Cover, pressing the volume keys will not bring up the on screen volume display (but if you unlocked by pressing the home button, the on screen display comes up).

 

[ardent73]

I'm not criticizing, but I've never fully understood this problem.
I have a single apple ID I setup over 10 years ago on my first mac. Then I used the same one for the itunes store, and then the app store, and it still works for all of apples services.

Why do so many people have separate IDs for each individual service?

Originally Apple_ID was locked to email address so if your email changed, kiss old Apple_ID goodbye.

In my case I was a Windows PC user and had bought Quicktime Pro and then the original iPhone. Apple_ID#1
Then when I bought a Mac and setup the .mac email it became Apple_ID#2
So now you can change the email on the Apple_ID but cannot merge them. FFS.

 

[DoctorKrabs]

And yet, when Forstall was in charge you couldn't get more than a year out of your iPhone before the next iOS version slowed it to a snail's pace. iOS 5 was a drag and iOS 6 was a total nightmare on the iPhone 4.

Apple has made huge strides with iOS 7 and beyond in terms of keeping older devices from grinding to a halt just for tapping the update button.

Bugs like this are a drag, but don't act like it's all been downhill for iOS since Forstall. Things have improved immensely for the overall user experience, and the bugs that do slip through the cracks can and do always get fixed.

I'm pretty sure iOS 6 wasn't bad on the iPhone 4. Certainly not like iOS 7 for the 4S, which should be the equivalent. And that's not to mention that iOS 7 came out for the iPhone 4 and destroyed it completely. Lol.

And I anticipate that you'll say the iPhone 3G was bad on iOS 4, but iOS 4 was optional and Apple wouldn't stop signing the last good version like they do now. People who had problems with iOS 4 on the 3G were allowed to go back to 3.1.3. When iOS 7 came out, iOS 6 was pulled away after 3 days.

Things have improved immensely for the user experience?

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVQFi5tAhOgeBCheLWnovZExMXFRhQnu-

I have found way more user-facing UI issues in only the first 2 months of using iOS 9 than I did in 3.5 years of using iOS 6. Do you have any counterexamples to what my videos show with iOS 6 being just as bad?

Clearly if things have improved immensely, it would be possible to give more examples of UI bugs from iOS 6 that are user-produceable at any time.

They do always get fixed? My videos are of iOS 9.1 and none of them were fixed in 9.2 or 9.3. I reported the bugs in the Feedback app and after three whole months, I got replies saying they were fixed. They weren't fixed. Oops!

If you can't remember your Apple ID password, you've got way bigger problems than upgrading iOS. I don't understand why this is Apple's "issue".

Literally right from the article you're commenting on:

"After downloading iOS 9.3, some iPad 2 users received the following message: 'Your iPad could not be activated because the activation service is temporarily unavailable,' a problem the update aims to fix. "

I'm guessing you know that in that case, it is Apple's issue.

 

[SeattleMoose]

When you outsource your software testing to Microsoft....

 

[Tech198]

The iPad 2 is officially dead, officially. Long live the best selling tablet ever.

Well, Apple DID discontinue it.... i guess now this is proof they have . Now you know why i don't go for cellular enabled tablets More convenient, yet adds one more thing to go wrong..

My parents have an iPhone 5c, and sister 5s.... I wonder if they'll affected. You can't even roll back if it doesn't work.....

Good to see this only affects if u set up iOS this way......

By the way can't u just ignore this at start up, and login when later ?, u may still have issues with Apple's servers but at least u'll have a working device.

 

[MH01]

If you can't remember your Apple ID password, you've got way bigger problems than upgrading iOS. I don't understand why this is Apple's "issue".

It's the original password you used, which becomes a major issue of you were given a device or bought used. That makes it a real bummer for the people affected by this bug.

This is not a customer issue. It's apple issue, hence they are pullimg updates and release patches.....
[doublepost=1458976057][/doublepost]

When you outsource your software testing to Microsoft....

You have a source that they tested this update ?

 

[vooke]

"prevents older device owners from activating their iPhones and iPads if they can't remember the Apple ID and password originally used to set up the device."

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this the same security feature that we have already, to discourage theft?

No it is not. If your device has been activated severally before with different Apple IDs and it is now linked to your Apple ID, after the update you are suddenly asked to furnish those historical credentials even if the previous users had successfully signed out
[doublepost=1458979025][/doublepost]

I have a hard time sympathizing with people who "can't recall" their AppleID and password. This reeks of "get your sh*t together"/user error, not an OS problem.

It's not your Apple ID and password that you can't remember, but rather previous users Apple ID that was used to activate the device. This is notwithstanding the fact that they successfully logged out.

Let's say X activates an iDevice with their Apple ID. They sign out and give it to you. You activate with your Apple ID. Every time you wipe, you are prompted for your Apple ID. Now, all over sudden after updating to 9.3, your Apple ID can't be used to activate the device, you need X' Apple ID

 

[Googlyhead]

I blame the FBI. Recent events obviously spurred Apple to look into guarding against abusing the software update process on a device you are not entitled to.

 

[definitive]

I blame the FBI. Recent events obviously spurred Apple to look into guarding against abusing the software update process on a device you are not entitled to.

are you seriously blaming someone else for apple's screw-up?

 

[Googlyhead]

are you seriously blaming someone else for apple's screw-up?

Well; it was an exaggeration of a comment actually.
That said; although the code/bug is down to Apple, it could be partially true...

 

[oldmacs]

I'm pretty sure iOS 6 wasn't bad on the iPhone 4. Certainly not like iOS 7 for the 4S, which should be the equivalent. And that's not to mention that iOS 7 came out for the iPhone 4 and destroyed it completely. Lol.

iOS 6 was pretty good on the 4 - iOS 7 was also pretty good on the 4S. I thought iOS 7 on the 4S was better than iOS 6 on the 4 - that being said it wasn't until 7.1 that Apple really cleaned up iOS 7.

 

[macfacts]

Not having Night Mode doesn't make it "obsolete"

I mean... you never had Night Mode. So nothing has changed in that respect.

He use to have an iPad that got updates. Now that has changed.

 

[Thunderhawks]

It's not really that hard. You create your Apple ID and password and use it for all of your personal devices. If your employer allows you to activation lock a work issued device with your personal Apple ID they are crazy. If you leave or get fired are you gonna give them your info so they can unlock the device. Probably not. I would recommend that employers lock the device to a work issued email account and password. That way if the employee leaves they can still get into the device. They can always restore to factory to remove passcode lock.

Apple ID is almost like your SSN.

Not really, I only have 1 SSN.

The fun begins when you buy something with your first Apple ID and then months or years later change your
e-mail. The buy something with your new e-mail.
If you had a .mac id which was changed to .me it continues.

Put all your apps onto your ipad/iphone and see how often it will ask you to log in and not recognize what you want to happen.

Fact is Apple does not let you combine purchases under ONE id or combine accounts.

 

[Morac]

The Apple ID is the bane of my existence. The idea of it isn't bad, the problem is the way it evolved.

For a long time I had an iTunes account. Then I created a MobileMe account. When MobileMe morphed into iCloud I ended up with an iCloud Apple ID and an iTunes Apple ID.

Apple originally said they would allow merging them, but they backed off that, so now I'm stuck with multiple Apple ID. Throw in 2-factor authentication and it gets more complicated to the point of being impossible.

 

[testcard]

Same here - iCloud ID and an iTunes ID. Time Apple looked at resolving this with a better solution.

 

[Mac 128]

The Apple ID is the bane of my existence. The idea of it isn't bad, the problem is the way it evolved.

For a long time I had an iTunes account. Then I created a MobileMe account. When MobileMe morphed into iCloud I ended up with an iCloud Apple ID and an iTunes Apple ID.

Apple originally said they would allow merging them, but they backed off that, so now I'm stuck with multiple Apple ID. Throw in 2-factor authentication and it gets more complicated to the point of being impossible.

I fixed it with Apple ID family sharing. Now all of my Apple IDs are linked, and I have access to all my old content from the IDs I no longer use anymore.

 

[Cameron Hood]

Last night, Apple released a new build of iOS 9.3 (13E236) designed specifically for the GSM iPad 2, addressing an issue that prevented the GSM iPad 2 from accessing Apple's activation servers. After downloading iOS 9.3, some iPad 2 users received the following message: "Your iPad could not be activated because the activation service is temporarily unavailable," a problem the update aims to fix.

There has been some confusion over the iPad 2 iOS 9.3 update, because there is a second separate activation bug affecting many older devices, including the iPad Air and earlier and the iPhone 5s and earlier.

The second activation bug, which spurred Apple to stop signing iOS 9.3 for multiple products yesterday, prevents older device owners from activating their iPhones and iPads if they can't remember the Apple ID and password originally used to set up the device.

While the iPad 2 iOS 9.3 update fixes the first activation issue, it does not address the second activation bug that affects many more devices. Apple has not resumed signing iOS 9.3 for older devices, so many customers who have an iPad Air or earlier, iPad mini 2 or earlier, or iPhone 5s or earlier are not able to download and install iOS 9.3 if they have not done so already.

Apple has said it is working on a fix for the second activation issue, which will be released in the form of a new update to iOS 9.3 in the next few days. Until that time, customers who have an older device will need to remain on iOS 9.2.1.

Article Link: Apple Addresses GSM iPad 2 Activation Bug With Revised iOS 9.3, but Broader Issue Remains Unfixed

So it’s Apple’s fault if you forget your passwords? Uhhh…what about keys, and wallets? If I forget them, is that Apple’s fault for not having an app to remind me? Err, ahh…and to people who inherited phones from deceased loved ones, I have much sympathy for their loss, but this issue will be showing up TIME AND TIME AGAIN on everything from bank accounts to Netflix. We are all mortal; if your time is nigh, please PASS YOUR PASSWORDS ON TO LOVED ONES. And NONE of this is Apple’s fault; it’s Obama’s…

 

[brianvictor7]

Last night, Apple released a new build of iOS 9.3 (13E236) designed specifically for the GSM iPad 2, addressing an issue that prevented the GSM iPad 2 from accessing Apple's activation servers. After downloading iOS 9.3, some iPad 2 users received the following message: "Your iPad could not be activated because the activation service is temporarily unavailable," a problem the update aims to fix.

There has been some confusion over the iPad 2 iOS 9.3 update, because there is a second separate activation bug affecting many older devices, including the iPad Air and earlier and the iPhone 5s and earlier.

The second activation bug, which spurred Apple to stop signing iOS 9.3 for multiple products yesterday, prevents older device owners from activating their iPhones and iPads if they can't remember the Apple ID and password originally used to set up the device.

While the iPad 2 iOS 9.3 update fixes the first activation issue, it does not address the second activation bug that affects many more devices. Apple has not resumed signing iOS 9.3 for older devices, so many customers who have an iPad Air or earlier, iPad mini 2 or earlier, or iPhone 5s or earlier are not able to download and install iOS 9.3 if they have not done so already.

Apple has said it is working on a fix for the second activation issue, which will be released in the form of a new update to iOS 9.3 in the next few days. Until that time, customers who have an older device will need to remain on iOS 9.2.1.

Article Link: Apple Addresses GSM iPad 2 Activation Bug With Revised iOS 9.3, but Broader Issue Remains Unfixed

I noticed that my 5S took an unusual amount of effort to activate. Had to do it over wifi.

 

[^^BIGMac]

HELLLLLO APPLE...

 

[brianvictor7]

This is the point. I saw in the last two IOS many little problems. It seem to me that the attention at the details went down in Apple. But if you want sell products at a premium price because are Apple products you must pay very attention at the details and quality.

Rather peculiar that we see the bugs we do considering how much effort beta testers (like I have been in the past) put into alerting Apple.

 

[Michael Scrip]

He use to have an iPad that got updates. Now that has changed.

He still gets updates... but he cannot run certain software features that require certain hardware.

Let's not forget that the iPad 4 came out in late 2012 and shipped with iOS 6. Now it's on iOS 9.3.

How many other tablets get three major OS updates? That's over three years of updates and counting.

That doesn't sound "obsolete" to me

 

[jtfolden]

His job as CEO was not to write code.
But you knew that.
His job was to make sure that something like the last five years
of wretched hardware and software disasters didn't happen.
Apple's incompetence of late is just stunning.

You must be new to Apple or you would know there were numerous and much more damaging issues even under Jobs.... like the iTunes update that would completely erase hard drives that didn't have a space in their name... good times!

John

 

[leroypants]

It just works...

 

[gren81]

I have a hard time sympathizing with people who "can't recall" their AppleID and password. This reeks of "get your sh*t together"/user error, not an OS problem.

I think you missed the point. To download and install the update, you must use your current Apple ID and current password. However, by doing that, the verification does not work because it is now trying to verify against your Apple ID and original password that was use to activate the iPad during its initial setup.

Thus, this is not an user error, but a software OS problem. A little more empathy and understanding please.