Apple Stops Signing iOS 16.3 Following iOS 16.3.1 Launch, Downgrading No Longer Possible
Following the launch of iOS 16.3.1 on February 13, Apple is no longer signing iOS 16.3, the previously available version of iOS. Now that Apple has stopped signing iOS 16.3, it is no longer possible to downgrade to that version of iOS after installing the iOS 16.3.1 update.
Apple routinely stops signing older versions of iOS after new releases come out in order to encourage customers to keep their operating systems up to date, so it is not unusual that the iOS 16.3 update is no longer being signed.
iOS 16.3 was a relatively minor update that introduced support for physical security keys for Apple IDs, expanded Advanced Data Protection globally, added support for the second-generation HomePod, and more.
While iOS 16.3.1 remains the current public version of iOS, Apple released the first beta of iOS 16.4 last week with support for new emoji characters, web push notifications, and more.
(Thanks, Aaron!)
Popular Stories
Apple today released several open source large language models (LLMs) that are designed to run on-device rather than through cloud servers. Called OpenELM (Open-source Efficient Language Models), the LLMs are available on the Hugging Face Hub, a community for sharing AI code. As outlined in a white paper [PDF], there are eight total OpenELM models, four of which were pre-trained using the...
Apple is set to unveil iOS 18 during its WWDC keynote on June 10, so the software update is a little over six weeks away from being announced. Below, we recap rumored features and changes planned for the iPhone with iOS 18. iOS 18 will reportedly be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history, with new ChatGPT-inspired generative AI features, a more customizable Home Screen, and much more....
Apple has announced it will be holding a special event on Tuesday, May 7 at 7 a.m. Pacific Time (10 a.m. Eastern Time), with a live stream to be available on Apple.com and on YouTube as usual. The event invitation has a tagline of "Let Loose" and shows an artistic render of an Apple Pencil, suggesting that iPads will be a focus of the event. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more ...
Apple has dropped the number of Vision Pro units that it plans to ship in 2024, going from an expected 700 to 800k units to just 400k to 450k units, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Orders have been scaled back before the Vision Pro has launched in markets outside of the United States, which Kuo says is a sign that demand in the U.S. has "fallen sharply beyond expectations." As a...
Apple is finally planning a Calculator app for the iPad, over 14 years after launching the device, according to a source familiar with the matter. iPadOS 18 will include a built-in Calculator app for all iPad models that are compatible with the software update, which is expected to be unveiled during the opening keynote of Apple's annual developers conference WWDC on June 10. AppleInsider...
Best Buy is discounting a collection of M3 MacBook Pro computers today, this time focusing on the 14-inch version of the laptop. Every deal in this sale requires you to have a My Best Buy Plus or Total membership, although non-members can still get solid second-best prices on these MacBook Pro models. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Best Buy. When you click a link and make a...
Top Rated Comments
* An update usually is accompanied by a reboot so all sorts of things can change even with a reboot (see this whole android ROM development scene story above... I suspect 99% of people seeing battery issues would see battery life change with a reboot whether or not they update their OS or not)
* 99% of blaming new builds never tries to revert to an older build to compare the difference. New York Times addresses this as confirmation bias ('https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/07/03/upshot/a-quick-puzzle-to-test-your-problem-solving.html') which is a huge problem in almost all problem solving. Everyone likes to claim how they can "reproduce the bug," which is fine, but if you claim to know what causes the bug the you in theory can also turn off that bug. Most people, even some of the brightest engineers probably at Apple are capable of showing what causes the bug, but since it takes time to run a new experiment to see how you can turn OFF the bug, most people skip that and assume they have a solution (see NYT problem)
* People facing bugs typically blame the wrong thing (update) when you can likely reproduce their issues on another build as well.
I'm not trying to diminish anyone's problems with their devices, but I do feel that "latest version bug bias" is a real placebo effect.
If you're the one person affected by the bug introduced in the newest OS, the newest OS is hot garbage in your eyes.
I don't like how Apple refuses to allow downgrades, especially when their upgrade screws something up.