You may recall that Apple recently started signing iOS & iPadOS 17.3.1 again for unknown reasons after initially unsigning it. In effect, this meant that iPhone and iPad users could downgrade to iOS & iPadOS 17.3.1 from newer firmware again because Apple’s online servers would have provided the green flag necessary to move forward with it.
In an unexpected turn of events, iOS & iPadOS 17.3.1 appears to be re-signed again despite Apple’s original un-signing of the firmware on March 12th.
Apple earlier this month released iOS & iPadOS 17.3.1 to the general public with bug fixes and improvements for iPhones and iPads.
Apple just this week stopped signing iOS & iPadOS 17.2.1, 17.2, and 16.7.4 in a move that prevents iPhone and iPad owners from downgrading their device’s firmware from the newer iOS & iPadOS 17.3 that was released just last week.
Apple regularly stops signing older version(s) of iOS and iPadOS as the company releases newer versions to the general public. Doing so works as a mechanism to prevent firmware downgrades.
The iTunes Store only sells music and ringtones now, with a splash screen telling folks to buy or rent movies and TV shows via the Apple TV app instead.
Apple has updated iTunes for Windows with the ability to listen to podcasts and audiobooks provided the Music and TV apps are already installed on your PC.
News broke late Wednesday night that Apple stopped all firmware downgrades from any version of iOS or iPadOS 17 to iOS or iPadOS 16 after iOS & iPadOS 16.6.1 stopped being signed. But that’s not all that happened…
Apple last week released iOS & iPadOS 16.6.1 to the general public with a patch addressing some serious security concerns on iPhones and iPads.
Apple’s iTunes Movie Trailers app and website no longer serve the latest Hollywood trailers, which you can now watch on the company’s TV app (or YouTube, of course).
Just last week, Apple released iOS & iPadOS 16.6 to the general public with a bevy of security patches to make the company’s mobile devices more secure.
Apple officially stopped signing iOS & iPadOS 16.4 this evening, a predictable move that prevents ordinary iPhone and iPad users from voluntarily downgrading their device’s firmware from the newer iOS & iPadOS 16.4.1 software update that Apple released on Friday, April 7th with bug fixes and security improvements.