Apple Re-posts iOS 9.3 Build For Older Devices Affected By Activation Lock Bug

An anonymous reader cites an article on MacRumors: Just a few days after releasing the iOS 9.3 update, Apple stopped offering it to a selection of older devices including the iPad Air and earlier and the iPhone 5s and earlier due to an activation issue. When the update was pulled, Apple promised to release a new version of iOS 9.3 shortly. Apple today made good on that promise and has released a new version of iOS 9.3, build 13E237, which is now available for all iOS 9 users with older devices as an over-the-air update or through iTunes. Customers with older devices who had not yet updated to iOS 9.3 will be able to do so now.

And the Apple minions rejoice

[mitcheli]

I do admit, I like the promptness of Apple when they do release upgrades. They may take a long time to actually patch a bug, but a bulk of their user base has the upgrade is rather short order compared to Android.

Re:

[ledow]

Because it's a very different kettle of fish to publish and test updates only for your own devices, and to publish them for several hundred different manufacturer's.

Fact is, if Apple don't want to fix the bug, you're stuffed. iPad 2 users have already found that out before with iOS 8 (was it?) that killed their performance. And there are still bugs in iOS and the default apps that aren't fixed and have been known for a while.

Re:

[mitcheli]

What the heck is "inconsistent user experience"??

It's trying to figure out how to hang up a phone call while the screen is locked in a method that takes less than 20 seconds of fumbling. And then repeating the procedure between brands.

Re:

[ledow]

Press the power button.

Re:

[guruevi]

That seems to be the solution for all Android problems, it's Windows 2000-2010 all over again.

Re:

[narcc]

I'll agree that the differences are fairly insignificant to most technical users, but there are inconsistencies. I wouldn't complain about that, but I can see how some people would find that frustrating.

That said, Android is lagging behind iOS as far as the UI goes. Giving credit where credit is due, Apple has had the good sense to actually improve over the years, addressing many of my earlier complaints. I can understand why a user, today, without any ideological motivation would willingly choose iOS ove

Doctorow's Law

[tiltowait]

I'm glad this was fixed, but for several days I had a bricked device (you ended stuck on the activation screen, with no option to skip that process) and in a situation best summed up by Cory Doctorow: “Anytime someone puts a lock on something you own, against your wishes, and doesn’t give you the key, they’re not doing it for your benefit.”

Re:

[NatasRevol]

I'm glad this was fixed, but for several days I had a bricked device (you ended stuck on the activation screen, with no option to skip that process)

Meh. This happened to me on an iPad2.

I fixed it by plugging it into the computer. Worked fine then.

Re:

[Streetlight]

I'm not an Apple hardware user but it seems to me if your hardware is bricked it can't be recovered without extraordinary means. Maybe we should call hardware that doesn't seem to work when updating software "sponged", kinda like a soft brick.

Re:

[NatasRevol]

Or users that only try one method of updating as 'full of hot water'.

Re:

[Streetlight]

Is the user full of hot water or is the sponge full of hot water? Maybe we have dry sponges and wet sponges!

Anway, if getting a device restarted by a simple method like rebooting, plugging into a computer, removing the battery in a removable battery device (not easy these days), or some combination of these, I wouldn't call the device bricked, I'd call it sponged. Really, really bricked means one is excellent at diagnosing problems and need to take it to the Apple store or send it to the manufacturer for

Re: Doctorow's Law

[andymadigan]

Meanwhile, I'm glad they finally released the update so that I could install it. My iPad kept prompting me to install iOS 9.3 but then told me that it couldn't. Even today, I couldn't use the OTA update mechanism and instead had to plug in the iPad (I almost never connect it to my Mac) and update using iTunes. All because some idiots couldn't remember their iTunes password.

What about the hyperlink bug?

[Len]

What about the bug that crashes apps when you tap on a hyperlink? [macrumors.com]

would you like to learn more?

[Thud457]

you don't really expect us to click that, do you?

Re:

[Len]

And of course if you read that article it turns out the bug is with a third party app and not iOS so I don't know why you'd think Apple would be responsible for fixing it.

Nonsense. I did read the article. (Obviously, since I linked to it, right?) No, it's not the app's fault. The app had a file that was "too big". Except it wasn't too big until now, and Apple didn't say "don't make that file too big". It is a bug in iOS 9.3.

Re:

[windwalkr]

So uninstall the app. Problem solved.

If you RTFA, you'd know that uninstalling the App doesn't fix the problem. This is an OS-level denial-of-service style bug.

Well I outsmarted them this time!

[stackOVFL]

This happened to me. But after a few panicked moments I remembered. I wrote my password on a postIt! Glory be I was saved. Now your all gonna tell me how I shouldn't write my passwords on PostIts! In my defense, I did put the posit under the mouse pad on my gaming system. I should not have told you that....

Bad Versioning

[rcharbon]

Why isn't this iOS 9.31? When my phone already running 9.3 told me that and upgrade to version 9.3 was now available, I didn't know whether it actually was a new version.