iOS 15.4 Beta 5 ― Bug Fixes, Changes, and Improvements

[Pearsey]

The wrong way: what everyone else does which seems to mess up their phone.
The right way: the way I do it as my phone works perfectly.

I use the OTA method; never had issues.

You’ve definitely got issues buddy, you’ve got 6 legs and purple 😆😂

 

[Pearsey]

As long as they know what they’re doing, let them have at it.

I’m not against either method, pick your poison and hope for the best lol.

Everyone else at the moment that’s not engaged in the OTA vs IPSW debate. 👇

😆😂.

I’ve said enough on the subject. Boring myself.

Move along shall we, spit spot

 

[adrianlondon]

You’ve definitely got issues buddy, you’ve got 6 legs and purple 😆😂

That's normal for me. Working as expected.

 

[LFC2020]

😆😂.

I’ve said on the subject. Boring myself.

Move along shall we, spit spot

That's normal for me. Working as expected.

Let’s get this thread back on topic before we get it closed down lol.

What’s all this about? did I miss something?

Haven’t had any issues with promotion recently. 🤔

ProMotion too aggressive with variable refresh rate?

13 pro max 120hz certainly not as good as the 120hz on my s22 ultra and fold 3 but I think it’s All battery related and why the battery is so much better on the iPhone

forums.macrumors.com

 

[gwhizkids]

The almighty Craig Federighi himself can put an end to the debate and any lingering doubts. He says OTA or IPSW shouldn't make any difference as the OS has checks in place and that there's only one way about it.

Impressive. Most impressive.

 

[gwhizkids]

Does it really matter if he is or isn’t?

End of day, some people prefer going the IPSW route, while others prefer OTA.

Simple as that I reckon.

Yes. But the difference is whether this (installing via IPSW vs OTA) is a placebo or not.

If the email is genuine (no way to know), feeling like something works better, even if backed by seemingly confirming evidence, is not dispositive as there could be many other reasons explaining the same set of facts.

Not saying Pearsey is wrong, but there is a possibly a universe where his reality can be explained by something other than the IPSW- install.

 

[gwhizkids]

It matters if someone who’s not involved in development is questioning an expert in the field. Preference is another thing. I usually do OTAs myself and only IPSW when I’m having any problems. I’ve been thinking that OTAs do the whole copy to replace till now but apparently that’s not the case.

In the end it’s up to the individual user to proceed how they choose. But at least the longstanding question as to which is better has been answered.

…assuming the provenance of the email, of course.

I could quickly gin up something that looks just like that where Craig “says” Apple will be handing out MacBook Pro’s for free or that he will soon be changing his hairstyle to a buzz cut. Doesn’t make either accurate, however.

 

[gwhizkids]

According to Markus Gurman, we won’t be getting a RC, beta 5 is the final release.

Looks like we’ll be jumping straight onto iOS 15.5 beta 1.

I’m thinking you may possibly have misread him: he said this was likely the final seed. It is quite conceivable that this build will be the RC, but with the appended build info removed, as we have seen in the past.

 

[Pearsey]

Yes. But the difference is whether this (installing via IPSW vs OTA) is a placebo or not.

If the email is genuine (no way to know), feeling like something works better, even if backed by seemingly confirming evidence, is not dispositive as there could be many other reasons explaining the same set of facts.

Not saying Pearsey is wrong, but there is a possibly a universe where his reality can be explained by something other than the IPSW- install.

I hear that buddy. Its not just me though seeing better results, otherwise I could have been a fluke and wouldn't pipe up so much on the benefits for some doing it. 👍🏼

 

[Pearsey]

Pearsey was right after all then 😁

Cant take any credit buddy, read it off that Gurman chap. Thanks for looking out though 👊🏼

 

[OhMyMy]

If I understand correctly, Craig said, updating using either ipsw (using option-update) or OTA will result the same. The answer is the same since the installed binary will be checksum for integrity check.
And… this is different than what being discussed here, whether we need to reinstall the OS (using option-restore) which will wipe everything on the phone storage (including some leftover config files etc), or just simply run update (either OTA or thru ipsw file). We don’t know for sure what happen with those leftover files if updating. In Mac these files shouldn’t affect anymore - assuming the update process run smoothly.

Again, nothing wrong with directly update (via OTA or ipsw) - as Apple recommends us. But in case of having issues (like mine, where battery drains overnight, phone frequently become warm, and large system files) the reinstall method can be an option - and it worked for me.

The discussion was about just the update as was evident from all the posts I quoted which is why I decided to shoot an email.

 

[OhMyMy]

Why don’t you just email your Bezzie mate Craig 😆😂

There’s emoji at the end. So this must be a joke🙄

 

[OhMyMy]

…assuming the provenance of the email, of course.

I could quickly gin up something that looks just like that where Craig “says” Apple will be handing out MacBook Pro’s for free or that he will soon be changing his hairstyle to a buzz cut. Doesn’t make either accurate, however.

I just posted a screenshot of his response to my email as he’s known to respond to technical questions. Believe or not believe doesn’t change anything for me personally.

 

[gwhizkids]

I just posted a screenshot of his response to my email as he’s known to respond to technical questions. Believe or not believe doesn’t change anything for me personally.

Of course. But I think you can forgive the rest of us for being at least a little skeptical given the ease with which something like this could be created. The contents of that email certainly have the whiff of accuracy but that’s what makes most faked things appear real.

I’m not saying I necessarily think this is a forgery; I am merely telling you why you are being greeted with some skepticism about this.

If real, I applaud your initiative in getting this info.

 

[Pearsey]

I just posted a screenshot of his response to my email as he’s known to respond to technical questions. Believe or not believe doesn’t change anything for me personally.

Ok let’s just entertain this for a while here, if, IF, you have access to Craig responding, please can you ask, to get to the bottom of this for us all…

Why, even though the out come “should be the same as he states” do you get different results relating to bugs after beta iOS updates via OTA or using the IPSW?

Background to the question is,
OTA for some people has created problems and more bugs, the fix has been using the IPSW alt check for update method in finder, not a restore, or, just using this method to update beta software has had a noticeable reduction in bugs on iPhones.


my history is i used to do OTA all the time, until iOS 15 where an OTA created a host of issues. Reinstalling the iOS via finder alt IPSW (not a restore) cleared up those bugs. I recognised the “healthier” way of installing software onto my phone using this method, witnessed the bugs from this forum I wasn’t getting and concluded after other people had the same results as me, that this method was better, in our cases, for installing beta software. The mind boggles if OTA and IPSW should have the same outcome, when through examples from people on this forum and myself, it doesn’t have that desired effect.

I would love to go back to OTA, but it’s not worth the bother for my phone and there’s a lot of uncertainty and doubt in this process. IPSW is a “cleaner” I call it, way to install the software with dramatically less bugs in my findings on my iPhone 12.

 

[OhMyMy]

Ok let’s just entertain this for a while here, if, IF, you have access to Craig responding, please can you ask, to get to the bottom of this for us all…

Why, even though the out come “should be the same as he states” do you get different results relating to bugs after beta iOS updates via OTA or using the IPSW?

Background to the question is,
OTA for some people has created problems and more bugs, the fix has been using the IPSW alt check for update method in finder, not a restore, or, just using this method to update beta software has had a noticeable reduction in bugs on iPhones.


my history is i used to do OTA all the time, until iOS 15 where an OTA created a host of issues. Reinstalling the iOS via finder alt IPSW (not a restore) cleared up those bugs. I recognised the “healthier” way of installing software onto my phone using this method, witnessed the bugs from this forum I wasn’t getting and concluded after other people had the same results as me, that this method was better, in our cases, for installing beta software. The mind boggles if OTA and IPSW should have the same outcome, when through examples from people on this forum and myself, it doesn’t have that desired effect.

I would love to go back to OTA, but it’s not worth the bother for my phone and there’s a lot of uncertainty and doubt in this process. IPSW is a “cleaner” I call it, way to install the software with dramatically less bugs in my findings on my iPhone 12.

You don’t have to entertain this.

 

[Pearsey]

You don’t have to entertain this.

It’s just a quick copy and paste to Craig, and would mean a lot to me and others. No skin off your nose if what your saying is true 🤔

 

[OhMyMy]

It’s just a quick copy and paste to Craig, and would mean a lot to me and others. No skin off your nose if what your saying is true 🤔

Nope!

 

[Pearsey]

Mask Face ID is working just as quick as without on this beta.

@LFC2020 you noticing that, as it was quite slow for you on B4 right?

 

[nortonandreev]

Ok, so something that I have just discovered... the Magic Keyboard brightness toggle in the Control Centre (also known as the Keyboard Brightness) which some, including me, have reported that doesn't work (and then it started working again, magically) only works when it's dim in the room. The keyboard brightness is zero when in a lit up room and the Keyboard Brightness setting doesn't do anything. As a minimum, in my opinion, the slider should become disabled when this is the case, otherwise, it just looks as if you can overwrite the brightness settings and you actually can't.

 

[dk001]

Unlike everyone on this forum he’s directly involved with the development of the iOS. So you can’t know for a fact and definitely not better than him.

Are you even involved in any sort of software development at all? You knowing something without any kind of proof besides your personal experience would be considered an opinion which isn’t the same as a fact.

That’s the rub.
Software dev? For me? Yep. Review, testing, and documenting too. Sigh.

Based on what has been communicated there should be no difference. However …. We are seeing it AND it is an option that Apple itself suggests / recommends when you have issues.

There is Apple tech support and then there is Apple Marketing to the user support. Apple has many mouths and they are not all speaking the same.

 

[dk001]

Yes. But the difference is whether this (installing via IPSW vs OTA) is a placebo or not.

If the email is genuine (no way to know), feeling like something works better, even if backed by seemingly confirming evidence, is not dispositive as there could be many other reasons explaining the same set of facts.

Not saying Pearsey is wrong, but there is a possibly a universe where his reality can be explained by something other than the IPSW- install.

Whiteboard vs typing “run”.

 

[LFC2020]

Mask Face ID is working just as quick as without on this beta.

@LFC2020 you noticing that, as it was quite slow for you on B4 right?

It was that slow for me, I ended up turning it off and going back to ⌚️🔒

I'll give it another crack today.

 

[dk001]

Ok, so something that I have just discovered... the Magic Keyboard brightness toggle in the Control Centre (also known as the Keyboard Brightness) which some, including me, have reported that doesn't work (and then it started working again, magically) only works when it's dim in the room. The keyboard brightness is zero when in a lit up room and the Keyboard Brightness setting doesn't do anything. As a minimum, in my opinion, the slider should become disabled when this is the case, otherwise, it just looks as if you can overwrite the brightness settings and you actually can't.

Just tried mine (IPP11 G2 w/ MK) and mine is working. I’m in my office with bright lights on. Had to shade one edge to really see the effect.

 

[OhMyMy]

That’s the rub.
Software dev? For me? Yep. Review, testing, and documenting too. Sigh.

Based on what has been communicated there should be no difference. However …. We are seeing it AND it is an option that Apple itself suggests / recommends when you have issues.

There is Apple tech support and then there is Apple Marketing to the user support. Apple has many mouths and they are not all speaking the same.

The thing that Apple suggests as a troubleshooting measure is Recovery restore. The one I asked Craig about was IPSW update. They're different. And I don't think Apple would be profiting in anyway regardless of how a user updates. So hard to see a reason for him to lie when he could've just ignored to respond to my email.
Having said that, there could be plenty of other reasons why different users have different results with the same update on the same iPhone model. Every one has different apps installed which could theoretically be infinite configs. From what he said, the OS only checks for the iOS volume's integrity itself to see if it's been tampered with. And the checksum should match exactly.