canyonwalker (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
canyonwalker) wrote2021-01-12 09:50 am
canyonwalker) wrote2021-01-12 09:50 am
Entering & Escaping (Mostly) Upgrade Hell
Sunday night I decided to upgrade iOS on my iPhone. I was on version 12.something, 12.2 I think. It was old enough that apps were starting to break and updates required a newer iOS. Hawk assured me that she's on 13.something and nothing's wrong with it.
"Nothing's wrong with it" is an important recommendation because often there is something wrong with an upgrade. Compelling new features are rare anymore— and "New: 25 animated emojis!!!" is not a compelling feature to me— so most of what you get with upgrades is risk of something you relied on breaking. I'll stick with a rock-solid OS as long as I can. For example, I'm still running Windows XP (launched in 2003, last updated in 2008) in a VM for two Windows-only apps I own.
I backed up my phone and checked iTunes for upgrades. 12.4 was the newest version it offered. "That's weird," I thought to myself. Hawk's already on 13.x. I check my iPhone's upgrade settings and found it was ready to leap to 14.3. "I wonder why iTunes only shows 12.4?" I started the 14.3 upgrade on my phone and soon the answer became apparent. "You must update your software to connect to this iPhone," my computer informed me.
"I wonder if I can roll back to an older iOS that works with my MacOS version," I asked aloud. "But probably not, because Apple doesn't doesn't make going backwards easy at all."
"I had a similar problem when I updated my iPhone, and just decided I should buy a whole new computer," Hawk replied. A new computer and the new software would up my cost for this fix to $1,500! I'll tell you the truth, though. That thought had already crossed my mind at that point.
Thankfully a solution did appear. Though not in the place I expected.
I searched first for a method to downgrade my phone OS. I found a blog from not too long ago that described how to down-rev from version 14 beta to version 13.x. I wasn't sure it would work with 14.3 but I was willing to give it a try.
Good news/bad news. The down-rev didn't work (bad news). But it failed in a very interesting way (good news). It prodded iTunes and Photos into pulling unadvertised updates. Once each updated it recognized my iPhone and restored the functionality I enjoyed previously. Now I'm good to continue not upgrading my MacOS, my desktop applications, or my computer for probably another year!
"Nothing's wrong with it" is an important recommendation because often there is something wrong with an upgrade. Compelling new features are rare anymore— and "New: 25 animated emojis!!!" is not a compelling feature to me— so most of what you get with upgrades is risk of something you relied on breaking. I'll stick with a rock-solid OS as long as I can. For example, I'm still running Windows XP (launched in 2003, last updated in 2008) in a VM for two Windows-only apps I own.
I backed up my phone and checked iTunes for upgrades. 12.4 was the newest version it offered. "That's weird," I thought to myself. Hawk's already on 13.x. I check my iPhone's upgrade settings and found it was ready to leap to 14.3. "I wonder why iTunes only shows 12.4?" I started the 14.3 upgrade on my phone and soon the answer became apparent. "You must update your software to connect to this iPhone," my computer informed me.
How Much to Fix this Upgrade?
iTunes and Photos were not showing any updates available to help, so it looked like I'd have to upgrade my computer OS to be able to manage my phone anymore. And that would mean buying new copies of a few key applications I use daily. You see, I stick on old versions of software, too. I have a few 32-bit apps that aren't supported on Apple's newer, 64-bit-only MacOS versions. I'm on the newest MacOS that still has 32-bit support. Updating to any newer version means replacing those apps, at a cost of $150-200."I wonder if I can roll back to an older iOS that works with my MacOS version," I asked aloud. "But probably not, because Apple doesn't doesn't make going backwards easy at all."
"I had a similar problem when I updated my iPhone, and just decided I should buy a whole new computer," Hawk replied. A new computer and the new software would up my cost for this fix to $1,500! I'll tell you the truth, though. That thought had already crossed my mind at that point.
Be Steadfast. The Way Back Will Come.
Before giving in to spending anywhere from $200 to $1,500 to fix the problems caused by the update I decided to look for a free solution. Free should be in quotes, though, because while the purchase price might be zero, if it requires a lot of time it's expensive. As a well paid professional I know that the time-money tradeoff is a real thing. Compared to a few hours of exasperating effort to get it working, spending $200 could well be the less annoying solution. So I set a short time limit on my exploration.Thankfully a solution did appear. Though not in the place I expected.
I searched first for a method to downgrade my phone OS. I found a blog from not too long ago that described how to down-rev from version 14 beta to version 13.x. I wasn't sure it would work with 14.3 but I was willing to give it a try.
Good news/bad news. The down-rev didn't work (bad news). But it failed in a very interesting way (good news). It prodded iTunes and Photos into pulling unadvertised updates. Once each updated it recognized my iPhone and restored the functionality I enjoyed previously. Now I'm good to continue not upgrading my MacOS, my desktop applications, or my computer for probably another year!
no subject