Why no internet recovery?

[mikethebigo]

So Macs have the ability to boot into internet recovery mode, and re-download the OS if there's a problem. Does anyone know the reason this ability isn't on iPhones and iPads? Apple is trying to position iOS devices as desktop replacements, however I can't imagine doing without a traditional computer if I have no way to recover a corrupted OS.

This isn't criticism, I'm just wondering if anyone knows of any technical limitations or reasons that iOS devices lack the ability to boot into internet recovery mode.

Thanks!

 

[eyoungren]

Is that necessary?

Settings app>Erase All Contents and Settings.

Enter your Apple ID and password then the phone is done, restore from iCloud or iTunes backup.

Pretty easy I think.

 

[T5BRICK]

At this point only the iPad Pro is really being marketed as a replacement to any kind of desktop or laptop computer.

I expect that functionality would be added eventually.

 

[M. Gustave]

Apple is trying to position iOS devices as desktop replacements...

Desktop replacement? No, I've never seen Apple "position" them that way.

Laptop replacement, yes, for some people. But a change of mindset and workflow is often required, which is very difficult for many people.

 

[willmtaylor]

So Macs have the ability to boot into internet recovery mode, and re-download the OS if there's a problem. Does anyone know the reason this ability isn't on iPhones and iPads? Apple is trying to position iOS devices as desktop replacements, however I can't imagine doing without a traditional computer if I have no way to recover a corrupted OS.

This isn't criticism, I'm just wondering if anyone knows of any technical limitations or reasons that iOS devices lack the ability to boot into internet recovery mode.

Thanks!

As already stated, why? What would this accomplish that an iOS erase & reset would not?

 

[mikethebigo]

As already stated, why? What would this accomplish that an iOS erase & reset would not?

If there is a problem with the system code, this wouldn't fix it. I'm sure most anyone that's had an iPhone long enough has had to do an actual system restore at one point or another due to issues with the OS itself. Currently iOS is incapable of doing that independently. Macs can, so I'm just wondering if there is a legitimate reason why.

 

[Sone3D]

Is that necessary?

Settings app>Erase All Contents and Settings.

Enter your Apple ID and password then the phone is done, restore from iCloud or iTunes backup.

Pretty easy I think.

Sorry, this makes same effect as iTunes restore?

 

[timeconsumer]

So Macs have the ability to boot into internet recovery mode, and re-download the OS if there's a problem. Does anyone know the reason this ability isn't on iPhones and iPads? Apple is trying to position iOS devices as desktop replacements, however I can't imagine doing without a traditional computer if I have no way to recover a corrupted OS.

This isn't criticism, I'm just wondering if anyone knows of any technical limitations or reasons that iOS devices lack the ability to boot into internet recovery mode.

Thanks!

If you can still boot into iOS on the device then you can just use the "reset" in Settings -> General -> Reset.

If it doesn't boot into the OS, then you'd likely need a computer or an Apple Store visit to resolve it.

I believe the only iOS device Apple is trying to advertise as a laptop replacement is the iPad Pro.

Sorry, this makes same effect as iTunes restore?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you restore through iTunes I think iTunes has to download the latest version of iOS to complete it. Whereas on the device itself it would just use the existing installation to reset.

 

[mikethebigo]

If you can still boot into iOS on the device then you can just use the "reset" in Settings -> General -> Reset.

If it doesn't boot into the OS, then you'd likely need a computer or an Apple Store visit to resolve it.

I believe the only iOS device Apple is trying to advertise as a laptop replacement is the iPad Pro.


Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you restore through iTunes I think iTunes has to download the latest version of iOS to complete it. Whereas on the device itself it would just use the existing installation to reset.

Even if you can boot into the OS, if there's a corrupted file for say the networking stack or multitasking or some other system function, a reset from settings would not fix it. The reset only deletes your added files and preferences.

You came to the proper conclusion, if this is happening you need a computer to restore the device's system firmware, either your own computer or one at the Apple Store. But Macs have a way to reinstall their own OS, even on a totally blank drive, without the help of anything but an internet connection. It would be a nice feature to see on the iPhone and iPad.

 

[M. Gustave]

Even if you can boot into the OS, if there's a corrupted file for say the networking stack or multitasking or some other system function, a reset from settings would not fix it. The reset only deletes your added files and preferences.

You came to the proper conclusion, if this is happening you need a computer to restore the device's system firmware, either your own computer or one at the Apple Store. But Macs have a way to reinstall their own OS, even on a totally blank drive, without the help of anything but an internet connection. It would be a nice feature to see on the iPhone and iPad.

When is this an issue in real life? I've owned four different models of iPhone, since 2010, and never once had to do a restore, or have the firmware get "corrupted". Are you just making up doomsday scenarios in your head, and then seeing if iPhone fails them?

Newsflash: iPhone isn't a Mac now, and never will be. Thankfully.

 

[cynics]

When is this an issue in real life? I've owned four different models of iPhone, since 2010, and never once had to do a restore, or have the firmware get "corrupted". Are you just making up doomsday scenarios in your head, and then seeing if iPhone fails them?

Newsflash: iPhone isn't a Mac now, and never will be. Thankfully.

I'm curious. Why are you so insistent to make people feel wrong about this issue?

"Are you just making up Doomsday scenarios"? Really? Like he/she is just lying?

Because you (a statistic of one) hasn't had a problem then no one does/will?



Easy to find that image above considering there are thousands of seperate sources of liars.

 

[ericgtr12]

There's no file system to speak of on IOS devices, unlike a mac OS or PC. I agree with others here when they say there's no need for this anyway, it's just a different architecture designed for mobile devices and not laptop or PC level computing. For most, a simple erase and restore will always do the job.

 

[timeconsumer]

There's no file system to speak of on IOS devices, unlike a mac OS or PC. I agree with others here when they say there's no need for this anyway, it's just a different architecture designed for mobile devices and not laptop or PC level computing. For most, a simple erase ant restore will always do the job.

I think the issue is that Apple is advertising the iPad Pro as a "Super. Computer." and also states that it's "Faster than a speeding laptop." as per: http://www.apple.com/ipad-pro/

I realize that information is for the iPad Pro but it also runs iOS just like the iPhone. However, if there's an issue with the device and you can't boot into iOS then you're going to need a computer to perform a restore as described here: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201263 which is a problem if you purchased the iPad Pro as a computer replacement because it was advertised as one. How often this may occur, I don't have those statistics so I couldn't tell you.

Even if you can boot into the OS, if there's a corrupted file for say the networking stack or multitasking or some other system function, a reset from settings would not fix it. The reset only deletes your added files and preferences.

You came to the proper conclusion, if this is happening you need a computer to restore the device's system firmware, either your own computer or one at the Apple Store. But Macs have a way to reinstall their own OS, even on a totally blank drive, without the help of anything but an internet connection. It would be a nice feature to see on the iPhone and iPad.

I see what you're saying and also understand your point. It would make sense for Apple to have a "restore mode" or "recovery mode" that you can boot into, then connect to a wifi network to download the full/latest version of iOS to the device and have it re-install a fresh copy. On iPhones with 16GB or more of storage this should be possible. The problem that I could see is on an iPhone such as the 5c which Apple lists support for iOS 10, they also sold that with an option for a 8GB capacity which I doubt would be enough storage for this. So perhaps once Apple drops support for 8GB devices, this may be possible.

 

[eyoungren]

There's no file system to speak of on IOS devices, unlike a mac OS or PC…

There is a file system. And it operates just like any file system you'd find on a UNIX or OS X computer.

Apple just likes to prevent the user from interacting with the file system.

My iPad Air 2 file system, courtesy of iFile, a jailbreak tweak that allows you to…browse the file system.