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Install iOS 4.2 for iPad without Developer account

jongriff

jongriff

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 28, 2003
192
128
Lawford, UK
I had been looking around for information on whether or not it was possible to update my iPad to iOS 4.2 without having to register my device with Apple (as I do not have a developer account).

I found a lot of discussions all saying that it is necessary to register your device's UDID with Apple and without it you would have to revert back to 3.1.3. There were also a few people who had claimed to have installed it without this requirement and given the benefits of multitasking etc I decided to take the plunge and go for it.

I'm happy to report that if you get hold of the iOS4.2 ipsw file you can update your iPad (using option-click on update in iTunes) and the OS installs with no problems and doesn't require registration. I just wanted to make this clear for all those who weren't sure and were looking for a definitive answer.

[I was running iTunes 9.2 on Mac OS (SL) and an iPad on 3.1.3 that had never been jail broken]
 
jongriff said:
I had been looking around for information on whether or not it was possible to update my iPad to iOS 4.2 without having to register my device with Apple (as I do not have a developer account).

I found a lot of discussions all saying that it is necessary to register your device's UDID with Apple and without it you would have to revert back to 3.1.3. There were also a few people who had claimed to have installed it without this requirement and given the benefits of multitasking etc I decided to take the plunge and go for it.

I'm happy to report that if you get hold of the iOS4.2 ipsw file you can update your iPad (using option-click on update in iTunes) and the OS installs with no problems and doesn't require registration. I just wanted to make this clear for all those who weren't sure and were looking for a definitive answer.

[I was running iTunes 9.2 on Mac OS (SL) and an iPad on 3.1.3 that had never been jail broken]
Click to expand...

That is incorrect.

I performed the same steps as you did and my iPad did not activate after loading the OS. Some people appear to be either:

a) Lucky
b) Lying.

The only definitive way to get 4.2 early is to get a developer ID or get registered by a helpful dev. Thanks again Graeme43!
 
Of course he is lying, no iPad ever ran 3.1.3, right? The only operating official operating systems the iPad has had have been 3.2, 3.2.1, and 3.2.2.

Maybe the OP got his version mixed up (or he is talking about the iPhone) but honestly with these beta releases you have to have your UDID registered. Maybe someone somewhere registered your UDID. This could be due to an accident (i.e. someone keyed in your UDID instead of theirs on accident) or this could be due to getting a refurbished device that had been previously registered.

I guess it is feasible that your UDID wasn't registered and you somehow were still able to install but this would have to be a bug and it isn't working for many other people. But if you were able to install congrats, I'm finding that 4.2 on the iPad has been very good. 4.2 on the iPhone 4 is horrid.
 
Wow, wasn't expecting to be called a lier but there you go. You are right though, I was running 3.2.2, sorry my bad. It updated with absolutely no issues and behaved just as a normal software update would (except for the option-click step).

Perhaps it is because I am running iTunes 9.2?
 

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Have you ever beta tested a developer's app? This would mean your iPad would have already been added to Apple's test database.

I am running iOS4.2 and I specifically remember during install that iTunes said, "verifying device with Apple..." and iTunes connected to the internet to check my device was registered.

I wouldn't recommend someone risking it because you may not be able to get your iPad back to normal until iOS 4.2 releases in November. It's quite easy to find a nice developer who doesn't mind adding you into the list, just look on some app store development forums and be very friendly.
 
EssentialParado said:
Have you ever beta tested a developer's app? This would mean your iPad would have already been added to Apple's test database.

I am running iOS4.2 and I specifically remember during install that iTunes said, "verifying device with Apple..." and iTunes connected to the internet to check my device was registered.

I wouldn't recommend someone risking it because you may not be able to get your iPad back to normal until iOS 4.2 releases in November. It's quite easy to find a nice developer who doesn't mind adding you into the list, just look on some app store development forums and be very friendly.
Click to expand...

No i haven't and the iPad was bought new from apple so isn't a refurb either. I would be interested to hear if anyone else has managed the same thing.

I agree with your advice re not doing it due to the risk of not being able to revert back as simply not trying is the safest thing to do. For those who are interested though I did check up on the ability to revert back to 3.2.2 and as far as i could tell this wasn't actually too difficult, just a matter of installing through iTunes using the option-click pointing to the 3.2.2 ipsw file. If anyone has been successful with this then perhaps they could chime in as clearly i have had no need to attempt to revert back to 3.2.2 as I am very happy with 4.2 (albeit with a few bugs, it is a beta after all!)
 
EssentialParado said:
Have you ever beta tested a developer's app? This would mean your iPad would have already been added to Apple's test database.

I am running iOS4.2 and I specifically remember during install that iTunes said, "verifying device with Apple..." and iTunes connected to the internet to check my device was registered.

I wouldn't recommend someone risking it because you may not be able to get your iPad back to normal until iOS 4.2 releases in November. It's quite easy to find a nice developer who doesn't mind adding you into the list, just look on some app store development forums and be very friendly.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure why you feel a need to tell him that he's incorrect. I do have a developer account and have tried different installations different ways and he is correct. You can see this by removing the device from the registered ones and trying both update and restore options. The behavior is different.

And you can restore back to 3.2.2 if you know how. While I don't recommend non-developers use 4.2 beta 1, your facts are incorrect.
 
For me, I didn't need any dev registering to opt-click update with 4.2. However for a clean restore, I did.
 
bcaslis said:
Exactly. That is how it works.
Click to expand...

Interesting... I'm tempted to try it. I'm even considering becoming a developer, but I may just wait for the official release. it will be buggy enough anyways, so imagine how buggy this beta must be. Plus, I use and rely on my iPad on a daily basis, so can't risk running into critical problems with it.
 
Amazing Iceman said:
Interesting... I'm tempted to try it. I'm even considering becoming a developer, but I may just wait for the official release. it will be buggy enough anyways, so imagine how buggy this beta must be. Plus, I use and rely on my iPad on a daily basis, so can't risk running into critical problems with it.
Click to expand...

If you use the iPad daily don't use the beta 1 release. While the OS isn't too bad there are a ton of apps with small to large problems with this release. Most of my third party apps just aren't usable under this release, the more I tried them, the more issues I found.
 
I find it quite funny that people are paying developers to get their UDID registered when you can do it without (which i can confirm can absolutely be done).

It's true though that some aspects of the beta are a bit unstable, mostly third party apps.
 
I feel so strongly about this that I made a forums account just to reply.

jongriff's experience is exactly like mine. Most people insisted you need to register your UDID. A couple said otherwise, so I tried it. I found the ipsw file, shift-clicked in iTunes to update, and it worked. I was sweating when it got to the "verifying" stage, but miraculously, it worked. I've been running 4.2 with no problems ever since, and I am one happy user.

Full disclosure, technically I have a developer account, but I'm not part of a developer program, i.e. I haven't sent them $100. For all intents and purposes the count is derelict. I've never done anything with it and I don't know how to program.

I have iTunes 10 and Windows 7, and I was running whatever version of iOS was most recent before the beta, if any of that is relevant. In any case, let's not be so quick to call this guy a liar.
 
What are the proper backup procedures one should perform before using the "update" method? I would like to test out 4.2, but want to be able to go back to 3.2.2 (was my shipping ROM) when all is said and done... or am I SOL, and need to register my UDID in order to restore to 3.2.2? Please pardon the n00bness of this, all my unlocking/flashing experience is with WinMo and Android, and all I can find regarding this relates to 3.2.1 and being jailbroken in order to create a back up file.
 
yea, soooo this didn't work of me :(, am i reletively screwed, or can i reletively easily put past software back on?
 
pjcforpres2020 said:
What are the proper backup procedures one should perform before using the "update" method? I would like to test out 4.2, but want to be able to go back to 3.2.2 (was my shipping ROM) when all is said and done... or am I SOL, and need to register my UDID in order to restore to 3.2.2? Please pardon the n00bness of this, all my unlocking/flashing experience is with WinMo and Android, and all I can find regarding this relates to 3.2.1 and being jailbroken in order to create a back up file.
Click to expand...

So....I thought iOS 4.2 was great. There are a few bugs here and there but nothing to worry about, until of course I downloaded VLC last night and it didn't play any video. After some searching it seemed that 4.2 was to blame so I therefore decided to revert back to 3.2.2 which was very easy and straightforward - just download the ipsw file and then option-click update in iTunes.

I have come across a problem however, which I am sure is probably well documented elsewhere but that I simply hadn't read. While in iOS 4.2 I placed many of my applications in folders. This meant that when back in 3.2.2 those applications were no longer on the Springboard. Even after removing them from iTunes, syncing, and then re-adding them to the iPad they refused to show up. Restoring the software (from an iTunes backup) also didn't work. I then re-installed 4.2 (the apps were visible again), removed the apps from the folders and then re-installed 3.2.2 once again only to find the apps still missing from the Springboard.

Finally, I restored the iPad back to 3.2.2 but this time set it up as a new iPad (rather than from a backup) and all is now well again (apart from the time needed to transfer >50GB of data onto the new device!). In short, downgrading should be easy, but for me not so much! They call it a beta for a reason i suppose.
 
jonnycube said:
I feel so strongly about this that I made a forums account just to reply.

jongriff's experience is exactly like mine. Most people insisted you need to register your UDID. A couple said otherwise, so I tried it. I found the ipsw file, shift-clicked in iTunes to update, and it worked. I was sweating when it got to the "verifying" stage, but miraculously, it worked. I've been running 4.2 with no problems ever since, and I am one happy user.

Full disclosure, technically I have a developer account, but I'm not part of a developer program, i.e. I haven't sent them $100. For all intents and purposes the count is derelict. I've never done anything with it and I don't know how to program.

I have iTunes 10 and Windows 7, and I was running whatever version of iOS was most recent before the beta, if any of that is relevant. In any case, let's not be so quick to call this guy a liar.
Click to expand...

Great to see that other have been able to do this too, thanks for the support jonnycube
 
Is it possible to revert the OS from 4.2 if your not a developer by simply putting the iPad into DFU mode, and pointing it to the 3.2.2 ipsw file?

I managed to get a copy of the 4.2 beta 1 last week, but I haven't had the guts to actually update my iPad, but reading this thread is making me want to try. But if i end up not liking it, I would like to downgrade.

Are their any special tricks to downgrade, or is DFU mode is good enough?
 
saving107 said:
Is it possible to revert the OS from 4.2 if your not a developer by simply putting the iPad into DFU mode, and pointing it to the 3.2.2 ipsw file?

I managed to get a copy of the 4.2 beta 1 last week, but I haven't had the guts to actually update my iPad, but reading this thread is making me want to try. But if i end up not liking it, I would like to downgrade.
Click to expand...

Well DFU mode may prevent the apps problem I had (described above) but I honestly don't know, someone just has to try, just be prepared for the fact it may not be as straightforward as you hope. In my experience though it is VERY difficult to truely ruin your iDevice, you can always start from scratch again (correct me if I'm wrong people). I am now back on 3.2.2 just by clicking Restore and starting afresh. Option-clicking update will also take you back to 3.2.2 but perhaps with problems. I do not have a developer account.

Oh, and now that I am back to 3.2.2 VLC works perfectly. One very good reason to not move to 4.2 just yet - it's just so hard to resist if you know it's possible!
 
Thanks for the reply.

I'm going to go to bed soon, but I I'll give it a try later on this morning when I wake up and report back any issues I may have had or a success story with tips.
 
I just wanted to lay out a friendly reminder that sometimes you cannot downgrade these betas and betas can really break a lot of functionality. It's usually best to wait for the gm build before putting it on your system. Even if the os is fine, the apps may not be.
 
chrono1081 said:
I just wanted to lay out a friendly reminder that sometimes you cannot downgrade these betas and betas can really break a lot of functionality. It's usually best to wait for the gm build before putting it on your system. Even if the os is fine, the apps may not be.
Click to expand...

Thanks, chrono1081, good to know that trying this is not without risk
 
jongriff said:
I have come across a problem however, which I am sure is probably well documented elsewhere but that I simply hadn't read. While in iOS 4.2 I placed many of my applications in folders. This meant that when back in 3.2.2 those applications were no longer on the Springboard. Even after removing them from iTunes, syncing, and then re-adding them to the iPad they refused to show up. Restoring the software (from an iTunes backup) also didn't work. I then re-installed 4.2 (the apps were visible again), removed the apps from the folders and then re-installed 3.2.2 once again only to find the apps still missing from the Springboard.
Click to expand...

Too bad I didn't catch you before you set up as new. I would have suggested you go into settings and try Reset Homescreen Layout. Or you could have created a backup after you reinstalled 4.2 and took the apps out of folders, then restored from *that* backup - you don't say if you did so or not.
 
Back to 3.2.2

Well I did the upgrade to 4.2 over the weekend, saw some great things, but needed to go back to 3.2.2. I am here to tell you, you can do it, **however it was painful for me.

1. I did the click option and choose a 3.2.2.ipsw
2. All apeared to be fine
3. After it was done, recieved an error from iTunes(1015)
4. iPad was stuck at the good ol itunes/USB screen.
5. Tried Hard reset, soft reset, nothing seemed to work.
6. Everytime iPad came back up into Itunes/USB screen the iTunes onthe computer wanted me to restore.
7. Finally got a hold of Umbrella,and "kick" the iPad out of recovery mode.
8. iTunes then restored my backup from 3.2.2 back onto iPad and it works just fine now.

It did downgrade. but was a painful day.
 
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