Apple Stops Signing iOS 9.2.1, Downgrading From iOS 9.3 No Longer Possible

[MacRumors]

As of today, Apple has stopped signing iOS 9.2.1 for compatible iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch models, meaning users can no longer upgrade or downgrade to that version of iOS using iTunes. Apple is now signing iOS 9.3 and iOS 9.3.1 only.

iOS 9.3 was released to the public on March 21, and iOS 9.3.1 was released 10 days later on March 31.

iOS 9.3 has suffered from several bugs since it was released, which may have prompted some users to downgrade to the more stable iOS 9.2.1 release. An Activation Lock issue on some older devices caused Apple to temporarily pull the iOS 9.3 update for some users shortly after iOS 9.3 launched, and the iOS 9.3.1 update was released to fix a second major bug that caused apps to crash or freeze after tapping or long pressing on a web link. Both issues have now been solved.

Article Link: Apple Stops Signing iOS 9.2.1, Downgrading From iOS 9.3 No Longer Possible

 

[garirry]

inb4 people start complaining about how they don't like what Apple does despite the fact that they do that every time a new update is released.

 

[Pakaku]

inb4 people start complaining about how they don't like what Apple does despite the fact that they do that every time a new update is released.

I still think not being able to downgrade to an older major version is pretty inconvenient.

 

[RedOrchestra]

Incredibly cheeky of Apple with 9.3 still in flux.

 

[garirry]

I still think not being able to downgrade to an older major version is pretty inconvenient.

I know that, and I agree. I'm just unhappy when people bitch about it on every topic about it, when it has become a regular thing.

 

[simonmet]

At least they waited until they fixed that crippling broken links bug. My phone was almost unusable for a while there.

 

[XTheLancerX]

At least they waited until they fixed that crippling broken links bug. My phone was almost unusable for a while there.

I never encountered this bug. Was it 6S/6S Plus only? What types of links triggered it?

 

[dannyyankou]

Incredibly cheeky of Apple with 9.3 still in flux.

Speaking of flux, I love the night shift feature!

 

[puckhead193]

i'm still scared to update to 9.3.1....

 

[XTheLancerX]

i'm still scared to update to 9.3.1....

May I ask why? 9.3 has been incredible for me compared to 9.2.1... Huge huge change in performance on my iPad mini 2 although it still isn't perfect. Control Center is perfect now on iPhone 6, and everything is overall more zippy.

I never had the freezing bug with the links and I don't know how to trigger it or anything.

 

[LovingTeddy]

May I ask why? 9.3 has been incredible for me compared to 9.2.1... Huge huge change in performance on my iPad mini 2 although it still isn't perfect. Control Center is perfect now on iPhone 6, and everything is overall more zippy.

I never had the freezing bug with the links and I don't know how to trigger it or anything.

Well.. There is no ticket for you to going back now, if the update screwd your phone, your stucked with it.

I am still stay at iOS 7 with my iPad Mini first generation and iPhone 4S. iPod touch 6, iPhone 6S, iPad Mini 4 and iPad Air 2 still at iOS 9.2. After all these bugs, I am not going to update.

I don't really care with my Android phones (Nexus, Moto, Xiaomi and Meizu), all I need to do is reflash old firmware and be happy (Nexus and Moto need flash files and adb commond, while Xiaomi and Meizu just need put .zip file on the root directory and hit restore).

 

[hlfway2anywhere]

Well.. There is no ticket for you to going back now, if the update screwd your phone, your stucked with it.

I am still stay at iOS 7 with my iPad Mini first generation and iPhone 4S. iPod touch 6, iPhone 6S, iPad Mini 4 and iPad Air 2 still at iOS 9.2. After all these bugs, I am not going to update.

I don't really care with my Android phones (Nexus, Moto, Xiaomi and Meizu), all I need to do is reflash old firmware and be happy (Nexus and Moto need flash files and adb commond, while Xiaomi and Meizu just need put .zip file on the root directory and hit restore).

All these bugs? I feel like there are probably more recorded bugs in 9.2. What known 9.3.1 bugs are there?

 

[Infinite Vortex]

inb4 people start complaining about how they don't like what Apple does despite the fact that they do that every time a new update is released.

I've got nothing to complain about… still on iOS8 for my devices.

 

[pat500000]

I know that, and I agree. I'm just unhappy when people bitch about it on every topic about it, when it has become a regular thing.

Why not? People can say whatever they want. It's their opinion. Don't like it? That's too bad. You're complaining about them. They could say the same thing about you.

 

[JosephAW]

They should allow any version to be signed and installed.
Yes I know they are not updating older iOS' but the user should be allowed to choose for various reasons like compatibility or testing software or 32 bit desktop hardware like me. iOS 8.4.1 is working fine for me on my iPhone 6.

 

[mistasopz]

inb4 people start complaining about how they don't like what Apple does despite the fact that they do that every time a new update is released.

Well maybe they wouldn't complain if Apple's updates didn't screw up their phones and introduce new bugs. Like the browser crashing when visiting websites. This is not trivial.

 

[Aston441]

Well maybe they wouldn't complain if Apple's updates didn't screw up their phones and introduce new bugs. Like the browser crashing when visiting websites. This is not trivial.

I'm surprised. I thought 9 would be solid as a rock by now, the way 8, and 7 were in years previous. I wonder what the underlying issue is behind the scenes. Maybe their top software geniuses are working on something else? Like a copy of Amazon's Echo?

 

[TechFann]

I've got nothing to complain about… still on iOS8 for my devices.

Honestly, for me personally, iOS 9 blows iOS 8 out of the water. iOS 8 had too many glitches/issues for me. iOS 9 fixed all of those issues.

 

[MH01]

Fair enough, apples choice not to allow downgrading at a certain point , though they really should get a stable release out before doing so. Unless Apple believes 9.3.1 is finally stable.....been a rough release .

 

[G4DPII]

You should be able to restore a device to the iOS it shipped with. Same as the OSX side of things.

 

[Steeley]

So glad I managed to downgrade in time. Both 9.3 and 9.3.1 resulted in random restarts of my iPad 3 that nothing would fix. Multiple times per hour.

It was most likely a rogue app causing a memory leak or something, but I'm back to rock solid stability on 9.2.1 with the same apps installed.

Shame, I really want the iBooks iCloud feature.

 

[sudo1996]

So glad I managed to downgrade in time. Both 9.3 and 9.3.1 resulted in random restarts of my iPad 3 that nothing would fix. Multiple times per hour.

It was most likely a rogue app causing a memory leak or something, but I'm back to rock solid stability on 9.2.1 with the same apps installed.

Shame, I really want the iBooks iCloud feature.

Uh, yeah, this is why I'm going to be on 9.2 for a while. I'm pretty sure iTunes has told me several times about 9.3.1 even though I told it to stop telling me. Ugh. I hate modal popups.
[doublepost=1459922853][/doublepost]

All these bugs? I feel like there are probably more recorded bugs in 9.2. What known 9.3.1 bugs are there?

There was this one on the MR front page, for one:

A Siri vulnerability that allowed access to a user's photos and contacts on a locked iPhone running iOS 9.3.1 was patched server-side this afternoon by Apple.

The other reported bugs were for 9.3.

 

[pika2000]

I used to be in the pro Apple side. It makes sense to ensure people on the latest OS for API and security reasons. At the same time Apple has made iOS updates reliable that upgrading does not cause huge user experience issues.

iOS 9, on the other hand, has made me extremely cautious. In the past, I usually a dot one update before upgrading. Now, looks like I have to wait for dot dot one update to have a more reliable experience. Not too happy about this. I realize the iOS is getting more complex. On the other hand, unlike Android, Apple has a specific set of hardware to test them. I am having less and less excuses for Apple. I think I expect Apple to have better QA on iOS.

Maybe it is time to focus on optimization and code review/cleanup instead of another feature bullet point for presentation sake.

 

[smacrumon]

I wish and hope Apple would allow downgrades to previous versions of iOS.
My experience upgrading iPhone 4s to iOS8 was shocking. Everything was slow and laggy and jittery. I downgraded almost immediately back to iOS7 before Apple stopped signing it and my life was more stable again. I didn't bother attempting iOS8 or iOS9 on my iPad because of the terrible experience. BUT I would try those newer versions if I had a path back to my original home. Just too risky. It means some new apps won't be available. Who knows iOS9 might be great, but I'll never know, because if it too is awful on my device there will be no option but to stick with an awful experience.
From a developer point of view, I also would love to test on multiple iOS versions on my device, but I can't do this on a real device, I'm more or less locked into one version. Unfortunately the simulator doesn't catch all issues that are present on device.
Apple's policy on this issue doesn't make sense apart from trying to increase sales of new devices or reduce the lifespan of devices by making the user experience poorer after upgrading and not being able to revert back.
So disappointed in this approach, Apple.

 

[pika2000]

From a developer point of view, I also would love to test on multiple iOS versions on my device, but I can't do this on a real device, I'm more or less locked into one version. Unfortunately the simulator doesn't catch all issues that are present on device.
Apple's policy on this issue doesn't make sense apart from trying to increase sales of new devices or reduce the lifespan of devices by making the user experience poorer after upgrading and not being able to revert back.
So disappointed in this approach, Apple.

Depends. A developer with limited resources might only want to focus on the latest version of the OS with the latest APIs. Thus Apple's action makes sense, as it ensures that most iOS users will be on the latest OS. It simplifies a lot of legacy headaches.

Now, this is ideal when it is paired with Apple putting an effort in ensuring the high quality of the latest release. iOS9 has been quite rocky. Even iOS8 was not alright until several versions later. Thus I can understand people's desire for a downgrade. If every latest release is high quality, there might not be a need to downgrade.