Apple Services Except iCloud to Stop Working on Some Older Software Versions

[MacRumors]

Apple services except for iCloud will stop working on some older iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS versions starting in early May, according to information shared by Twitter account @StellaFudge, a source with a proven track record.

Users will not be able to access any Apple services except for iCloud on these software versions:

• iOS 11 through iOS 11.2.6
• macOS 10.13 through macOS 10.13.3
• watchOS 4 through watchOS 4.2.3
• tvOS 11 through tvOS 11.2.6

In an internal document, Apple said affected users might receive a push notification prompting them to update their device to a newer software version.

"Some older software versions will no longer support Apple Services like the App Store, Siri, and Maps," said Apple, in a support document published last month. "Update your software to the latest available version to continue using these services."

Apple did not explain why most of its services will stop working with these older software versions, released between late 2017 and early 2018, but the move will affect only a small percentage of users. As of mid-February, for example, Apple said only 8% of actively used iPhones were running iOS 14 or older.

Apple offers a wide range of services, including Apple Music, Apple Arcade, Apple TV+, Apple Fitness+, Apple News+, and others.

We've reached out to Apple for comment and will update this story if we hear back.

Article Link: Apple Services Except iCloud to Stop Working on Some Older Software Versions

 

[stiligFox]

I wonder what the full list of services is... I still use an Apple Watch Series 0 frequently for stuff, and I know my mom's iPhone is still on iOS 14 and she uses it for Podcasts all the time. I wonder if basic stuff like Podcasts will stop working?

 

[segfaultdotorg]

SAD! Apple iNews Pro just came out, and now it's abandoned on devices which initially supported it! Why do we pay all this money to Apple?

 

[jz0309]

I don’t really use any Apple services except the free iCloud and my OS versions are always the latest, so no impact to me. But why Apple? There can’t be a technical reason, so this does not make any sense to me

 

[randomando]

Makes sense. These OS versions probably use very old API endpoints or possibly rely on certain restrictions / expectations that have since changed on newer OS versions. Best to set a cut off for supporting them since it's infeasible to test back so many versions and removing them would reduce clutter.

 

[allenvanhellen]

I wonder what the full list of services is... I still use an Apple Watch Series 0 frequently for stuff, and I know my mom's iPhone is still on iOS 14 and she uses it for Podcasts all the time. I wonder if basic stuff like Podcasts will stop working?

I believe this only affects iOS up to 11.2.6.

 

[XXPP]

nothing special/

 

[Slix]

Before everyone freaks out, this is first of all, not confirmed yet, and secondly, only affects a small amount of Apple device versions on older versions, and of those versions, only a few before the final version. For example, macOS High Sierra went up to 10.13.6. Why anyone would not be running that version and instead running 10.13.2 at this point, I’m not sure. I’m curious what features will not work, because iCloud covers a lot of services under its umbrella.

 

[ghanwani]

Glad I upgraded from iOS 15 to 16 in time. Unfortunately even with the new one some services like the volume bar when playing videos in safari are not working for me.

 

[eicca]

This happened a year or so ago with my 2011 MacBook on High Sierra. They conveniently forgot to renew a certificate and most of my iCloud services stopped syncing, even though Apple’s documentation said they should work all the way back to Mavericks.

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

Ok for iOS and all, but macOS 10?? wasn't it like 3 years ago?

 

[visualseed]

Seeing these are very specific version ranges I suspect these have unpatched vulnerabilities that they don't want being used to compromise online services. Any devices that ran these versions also support later OS versions that are presumably still supported.

 

[zorinlynx]

I'm willing to bet money that it's an SSL certificate that's expiring.

And seriously, why would anyone be on these versions? Upgrade to the latest version for your device!

 

[fwmireault]

Ok for iOS and all, but macOS 10?? wasn't it like 3 years ago?

macOS 10.13 (High Sierra) was released in 2017

 

[1madman1]

Latest release of High Sierra is 10.13.6, so I guess my server is safe for now. They stripped way too much out of Server.app for 10.14 and beyond.

 

[antiprotest]

The purge is coming.

 

[segfaultdotorg]

Sad! My iPhone 5 Pro Plus Ultra will no longer be supported!

 

[BellSystem]

Mac sales are down.......let's see.....how can we boost them? Yes! Kick people off older ones by force.

They choose to do this not because of technical reasons but because of sales reasons. They have more than enough employees to validate and test back a few versions. And I don't buy the API bull. They can do whatever they want as they own it. Tim & Co want everyone on M(X) now and off Intel. Doing this will bump the sales up or at least take some Intel Macs out of the game.

Keep the $$$$ moving.

 

[ccsicecoke]

Mac sales are down.......let's see.....how can we boost them? Yes! Kick people off older ones by force.

They choose to do this not because of technical reasons but because of sales reasons. They have more than enough employees to validate and test back a few versions. And I don't buy the API bull. They can do whatever they want as they own it. Tim & Co want everyone on M(X) now and off Intel. Doing this will bump the sales up or at least take some Intel Macs out of the game.

Keep the $$$$ moving.

Time to move back to Windows

 

[abhibeckert]

I wonder what the full list of services is... I still use an Apple Watch Series 0 frequently for stuff, and I know my mom's iPhone is still on iOS 14 and she uses it for Podcasts all the time. I wonder if basic stuff like Podcasts will stop working?

They only dropped support for WatchOS 4.2. As long as your series zero is running WatchOS 4.3, you'll be fine.

It's the same with all the others - if you're on the latest software that your hardware can run, you're still supported.

 

[HVDynamo]

Latest release of High Sierra is 10.13.6, so I guess my server is safe for now. They stripped way too much out of Server.app for 10.14 and beyond.

Yeah, I spotted that too. High Sierra isn't losing access, just the older versions of High Sierra. Based on this, if you are updated to 10.13.6 stuff will still work.

 

[Westside guy]

I wonder what the full list of services is... I still use an Apple Watch Series 0 frequently for stuff, and I know my mom's iPhone is still on iOS 14 and she uses it for Podcasts all the time. I wonder if basic stuff like Podcasts will stop working?

Some would argue Apple Podcasts stopped working years ago...

 

[anshuvorty]

Planned obsolescence, what a wonderful concept folks. Just wonderful.

 

[bLackjackj]

We've reached out to Apple for comment and will update this story if we hear back.

Just out of curiosity, has Apple customer service ever responded to Macrumors?

 

[bLackjackj]

I wonder what the full list of services is... I still use an Apple Watch Series 0 frequently for stuff, and I know my mom's iPhone is still on iOS 14 and she uses it for Podcasts all the time. I wonder if basic stuff like Podcasts will stop working?

Just use Pocket Casts,..its a far better casting app.