UPDATE: It looks like Apple is now pushing out a new update to the iPad 2 that address the activation issue.
Last week, Apple began pushing iOS 9.3 to the public after months of beta testing. Unfortunately, it turns out that the update wasn’t kind to some folks on older iOS devices, and so Apple is pausing the rollout for them.
Many iOS users are reporting in the Apple Support Communities that they’re unable to activate their devices after updating them to iOS 9.3. The issue appears to be affecting older devices like the iPad 2 and iPhone 5. Apple has confirmed that an issue exists, and so it’s temporarily pulled the update and will soon release a new version to these older devices to skip the activation step.
Apple’s full statement to iMore is as follows:
“Updating some iOS devices (iPhone 5s and earlier and iPad Air and earlier) to iOS 9.3 can require entering the Apple ID and password used to set up the device in order to complete the software update. In some cases, if customers do not recall their password, their device will remain in an inactivated state until they can recover or reset their password. For these older devices, we have temporarily pulled back the update and will release an updated version of iOS 9.3 in the next few days that does not require this step.”
Until then, Apple has posted an official support document for the issue. Included are instructions that will help folks that’ve already updated their older devices to iOS 9.3 and can’t activate them. For example, Apple says that you can connect your iOS device to iTunes and activate it that way.
It’s probably pretty frustrating to update your device and expect to play with new features, only to be locked out of your iOS phone or tablet because of a bug. And while it took Apple a few days to pause the iOS 9.3 update due to these issues, the problem has been identified, and hopefully it won’t be long before Apple pushes out a new update.
Have any of you had issues updating to iOS 9.3?
