iPhone Apple warns iPhone 5 owners to update to 10.3.4

[OtinG]

Apple is warning iPhone 5 owners that they have until 3 November 2019 to update their iPhone 5 to 10.3.4 or they might wind up with a phone that is partially inoperable. The issue is with GPS:

Starting just before 12:00 a.m. UTC on November 3, 2019,* iPhone 5 will require an iOS update to maintain accurate GPS location and to continue to use functions that rely on correct date and time including App Store, iCloud, email, and web browsing. This is due to the GPS time rollover issue that began affecting GPS-enabled products from other manufacturers on April 6, 2019. Affected Apple devices are not impacted until just before 12:00 a.m. UTC on November 3, 2019.

Update your device's software

It's always a good idea to keep the operating system on your iPhone updated. If you have an iPhone 5, it's especially important to update your device's software wirelessly or using your computer before November 3 to maintain accurate GPS location and to continue to use functions that rely on correct date and time including App Store, iCloud, email, and web browsing.
If the update to iPhone 5 is not completed by November 3, 2019, you will be required to back up and restore using a Mac or PC in order to update because over-the-air software updates and iCloud Backup will not work.

I have kept my iPhone 5 as a backup in case my current iPhone goes down, even though it doesn't have a SIM card. I used a wired connection to my MacBook Pro and iTunes thereon to do the upgrade from 9.x.y. It went smoothly. This is the last update that will ever be released for the iPhone 5, according to Apple.

[ilovejedd]

Note, I believe the LTE versions of the iPad 3 and iPad 4 are also similarly affected.

[JSWolf]

This is old news. I updated my iPad 4 on July 22, 2019 when 10.3.4 was released.

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

This is old news. I updated my iPad 4 on July 22, 2019 when 10.3.4 was released.

The release of 10.3.4 might be old news, but the fact that it needs to be installed on iPhone 5 has only recently been discussed on MacRumors and other sites in the past few days. Chill out... And yes this thread is specific to the iPhone 5, not other devices.

Yes other devices need updating too but one needs to see which iOS update they each need.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

This is old news. I updated my iPad 4 on July 22, 2019 when 10.3.4 was released.

With the deadline coming up, it's good to have a reminder.

[OtinG]

That is my thought too. I routinely check out a few different Apple oriented websites like MacRumors nearly every day. Yet I had not heard of this update nor its need to be installed until a few days ago. Admittedly I’m mostly concerned with keeping my current iPhone and iPad up to date and assumed the 9.x.y that was on my iPhone 5 would be okay until the device finally dies some day. After all it is merely a backup in case I have to get my iPhone XR repaired or replaced and need another phone to use for a few days. Since the iPhone 5 mostly sits on a shelf collecting dust it rarely gets turned on. There are probably others like me with an older device they keep just as a backup or an occasional use device who might get blindsided one day if they don't know to update it now.

[JSWolf]

I would have seen the 1 on the settings icon and updated. So I'm surprised by now that anyone with an iPhone 5 has not seen that there is an update by now.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I would have seen the 1 on the settings icon and updated. So I'm surprised by now that anyone with an iPhone 5 has not seen that there is an update by now.

So? Not everyone updates their iPad immediately after release. Some wait for bug reports and there are those who purposely skip updates to prevent slowdown on older devices (myself included).

I still had my iPad 4 on iOS 6 prior to this update so I've been seeing that (1) for 6 years now. This update happens to be critical though as it's necessary to actually keep the device running.

Gotta say, there's very, very noticeable slowdown going from iOS 6 to 10 on the iPad 4.

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I would have seen the 1 on the settings icon and updated. So I'm surprised by now that anyone with an iPhone 5 has not seen that there is an update by now.

Apparently you don't even read the threads, or perhaps lack the attention span to grasp all the details. I, and no doubt others in a similar situation as me, rarely even turn their old iPhone on since it is merely a backup in case the newer phone goes bad. We might not turn them on but once every several months, or even longer. I periodically plug it in to charge, but rarely turn it on and actually check on it. After all it is a only a BACKUP DEVICE in case the daily use device breaks, gets stolen, etc.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

So? Not everyone updates their iPad immediately after release. Some wait for bug reports and there are those who purposely skip updates to prevent slowdown on older devices (myself included).

I still had my iPad 4 on iOS 6 prior to this update so I've been seeing that (1) for 6 years now. This update happens to be critical though as it's necessary to actually keep the device running.

Gotta say, there's very, very noticeable slowdown going from iOS 6 to 10 on the iPad 4.

When you have an EOL Apple product and a new update comes out, you should know it's a security update. Apple does not update EOL products without a very good reason.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

When you have an EOL Apple product and a new update comes out, you should know it's a security update. Apple does not update EOL products without a very good reason.

I have an iPad Pro 10.5 as my primary device.

The iPad 4 is merely a secondary device (more like septenary actually) that I kept on iOS 6 for posterity (last skeuomorphic iOS UI). The firmware on it is too old that it can't actually do a straight update to 10.3.4. On Settings > General > Software Update, it only shows 8.4.1 (which it wouldn't even allow me to install OTA anyhow). If I hadn't been active on MacRumors, I wouldn't even know about this particular update.

Security isn't a concern on the iPad 4 considering its usage (comics, ebooks and fanfics, nothing that requires authentication). If it was just a security update, I wouldn't even bother installing. In this case though, the update is actually necessary to keep the device working.

[JSWolf]

My iPad 4 is on 10.3.4. A number of apps I use needs either iOS 9 or iOS 10. I have two apps on my iPad that no longer work because they can no longer be updated. Other then that, I'm doing pretty well on my iPad.

Eventually, I'll be getting a new iPad. Sometime next year.

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

When you have an EOL Apple product and a new update comes out, you should know it's a security update. Apple does not update EOL products without a very good reason.

You're still not fully engaging your neurons. If someone don't use an older device for months on end, then they won’t even know an update is available for it, at least they won't know via device settings notification. If it isn’t on, it can’t notify you. Period. Take a deep breath and try to view things through other users eyes rather than just your own. That tunnel vision is clouding you mind. The only reason I even knew of the update was because websites like MacRumors started posting about it. I never get update notices via email nor texts from Apple, even when the updates are this important. Apple should probably do that, but they don’t.