Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Apple Pulls Ability to Restore iPhone 5c, iPad Mini, and More

MacRumors

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster


Apple has stopped signing several older versions of iOS for a group of legacy iPhone and iPad models, cutting off the paths to reinstall or downgrade the affected software.

iPhone-5c-Yellow.jpg

Apple will no longer validate over-the-air (OTA) or direct IPSW installs of the builds in question. Once a version is unsigned, there is no longer a way to restore or install it through Finder or iTunes.

The change is narrower than a typical signing update. Apple has not stopped signing the iOS versions themselves. Instead, it has ended signing for the baseband firmware, the low-level software that runs each device's cellular modem, tied to those releases.

The affected releases span iOS 6 through iOS 10. The full set of devices and versions that can no longer be restored is as follows:

  • iPhone 4 (CDMA): iOS 7.1.2 IPSW installs
  • iPhone 4S: iOS 6.1.3 and iOS 8.4.1 OTA installs, plus iOS 9.3.5 and iOS 9.3.6 IPSW installs
  • iPhone 5 (GSM and CDMA): iOS 8.4.1 OTA installs, plus iOS 10.3.3 and iOS 10.3.4 IPSW installs
  • iPhone 5c (GSM and CDMA): iOS 10.3.3 IPSW installs
  • iPad 2 (Wi-Fi + 3G, CDMA): iOS 6.1.3 and iOS 8.4.1 OTA installs, plus iOS 9.3.5 and iOS 9.3.6 IPSW installs
  • iPad 3rd generation (GSM and CDMA): iOS 8.4.1 OTA installs, plus iOS 9.3.5 and iOS 9.3.6 IPSW installs
  • iPad 4th generation (Wi-Fi + Cellular): iOS 8.4.1 OTA installs, plus iOS 10.3.3 and iOS 10.3.4 IPSW installs
  • iPad mini (Wi-Fi + Cellular): iOS 8.4.1 OTA installs, plus iOS 9.3.5 and iOS 9.3.6 IPSW installs

Tellingly, every model caught up in the change is a cellular variant. Wi-Fi-only iPads are untouched, since they carry no cellular modem and therefore there is no baseband to sign in the first place.

The oldest hardware on the list is the CDMA iPhone 4, which never advanced beyond iOS 7.1.2, while the newest builds affected are iOS 10.3.3 and iOS 10.3.4 on the iPhone 5 and the fourth-generation iPad.

For context, Apple did not separate iOS and iPadOS until iPadOS 13, so these much earlier iPad releases were all running iOS at the time.

One of the more interesting entries is the OTA version of iOS 8.4.1, which Apple had kept signing to serve as a stepping stone. Certain devices had to pass through iOS 8.4.1 on the way to iOS 9, and the same signed build gave owners a route back if they wanted to revert. That fallback now disappears for nearly every device on the list, from the iPhone 4S up to the iPhone 5.

A device that is already up and running on its current firmware carries on as normal, but owners lose the fallback of a fresh install should that firmware ever break. It also shuts the door on restores for anyone holding onto old hardware to test apps, check compatibility, or preserve software.

Signing changes like this usually target the latest releases instead, often landing within days of a significant security patch for a current version of iOS or iPadOS. Pulling signatures for decade-old builds on aging devices is rarer, and it touches only a tiny fraction of users in 2026, since everything on the list is more than ten years old.

Article Link: Apple Pulls Ability to Restore iPhone 5c, iPad Mini, and More
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2026/07/09/apple-pulls-ability-to-restore-iphone-5c-and-more/
Apple,

giphy.gif


I don't understand.

They should have fixed the activation server for iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, and iPhone SE 2016 still running iOS 9.x

They should just allow iOS 6.1.3/6.1.4 iPSW restore for iPhone 4s and iPhone 5.

They should just allow iOS 8.4.1 iPSW restore for iPhone 4s, iPhone 5, iPhone 5c, and iPhone 5s.

Why block iPSW restore for older devices?
 
  • Like
  • Haha
Reactions: uacd, Parowdy, tonmischa and 1 other person
First Mario kart tour, my 2019 - 2023 addiction is getting deleted (luckily I spent no money on it)

Now THIS!?
We need stop killing devices next…

(Also that iPhone 17 pro is 100% gonna work in that time capsule)
 
  • Like
Reactions: uacd
This is a massive deal if it is intentional and not an error.

This effectively means Apple has the ability and intention to turn your device into a brick by preventing a needed restore many years down the road.

This isn’t about the age of the devices, this is about principle. Apple is, effectively, in control of how long your device is to last, and has the intention to set that line down the road.

Does this seem plausible to you?!
 
  • Like
Reactions: robvalentine, uacd, racerhomie and 6 others
fenderbass146 said:
Am I reading this correct. If you have one of these (say a dumb phone for a kid to use) you literally can't restore it anymore? So if a kid locks it out because they set a password for example that no-one knows I wouldn't be able to DFU restore it from a IPSW file?
Click to expand...

Correct, because no firmware is signed for your device.

Mind you, after investigating this issue, it seems they’re only unsigning baseband firmwares, but without the signatures for those you’re unable to complete a successful restore.
 
  • Like
Reactions: michaelnugent and winxmac
vertsix said:
This effectively means Apple has the ability and intention to turn your device into a brick by preventing a needed restore many years down the road.
Click to expand...

Many years down the road? Apple could turn off signing for anything at any time. They could easily stop the signing on the 17 series, for example.

They rely on so much in the background that we don't truly own these devices.
 
  • Like
Reactions: uacd, FatLouie, artifex and 4 others
These devices became useless due to software updates long ago this is just the final nail from Apple. Aka go buy another one
 
My guess is Qualcomm got ahold of Mythos and finally scanned their older code bases for problems, and Apple is probably contractually obligated to stop signing a vulnerable baseband firmware after so many days - so no either Apple ponies up for a team to fix the issues, or turns the devices into e-waste.

A few years ago, I'm willing to bet Apple would have gotten the problem fixed but this new Apple seems to be about extracting as much money as possible with as little expenditure as possible, so I'm not going to hold my breath.
 
ab2c4 said:
That 5c was a nice looking phone. I know phone designs have changed a lot but dang phones used to look so much nicer on the older models compared to these lifeless looking blocks we have now.
Click to expand...
The problem with those phones were the screen size was too small, and the battery life wasn’t that great, I’m glad that battery tech has advanced and chips too
 
  • Disagree
Reactions: thejadedmonkey and Slix
Give it a couple days and we are going to get some juicy news about how these have some sort of a security problem.
 
fenderbass146 said:
Am I reading this correct. If you have one of these (say a dumb phone for a kid to use) you literally can't restore it anymore? So if a kid locks it out because they set a password for example that no-one knows I wouldn't be able to DFU restore it from a IPSW file?
Click to expand...
Not exactly. You can still restore them. What you can’t do is downgrade.
IE: you used to be able to downgrade the iPhone 4S from 9.3.3 to 8.4.1, and then downgrade again to 6.1.2.
This is no longer possible, at least on that particular model of iPhone. For the iPod Touch and wi-Fi iPads, you still can.

On one hand, this sucks.
On the other hand, the newest device that this affects is still almost 15 years old, it’s kind of hard to complain about that long of support.
And every single device since then still receives software updates, the iPhone 5S received a software update earlier this year.
 
I think what this means is that you can still reset one of these on the device itself, but if you needed to use iTunes or Finder to restore one (say because you forgot your passcode on an old device) you can no longer do that.

So, what actually happens now if you try to restore one of these? Does it just fail to restore and kick you back to where it was before? Or does it refuse to restore at all?
 
  • Like
Reactions: uacd and winxmac
Lounge vibes 05 said:
Not exactly. You can still restore them.
Click to expand...

are you sure about that? and if so please explain how...

I don't quite get it but the article certainly makes it sound like you cannot restore them at all.

I don't know if that's a misunderstanding of the writer, unclear writing or it's actually true.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: FatLouie
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back