Apple Just Stopped Signing iOS and iPadOS Versions For These Older iPhones and iPads

Apple has stopped signing several older versions of iOS and iPadOS on older models of the iPhone and iPad, respectively, reports 9to5Mac.

As first spotted by Aaron Perris on X, Apple stopped signing over-the-air (OTA) and direct IPSW installs for several older iPads and iPhones:

Starting today, Apple will no longer validate:

• iPhone 4 (CDMA): iOS 7.1.2 IPSW installs
• iPhone 4S: iOS 6.1.3 and iOS 8.4.1 OTA installs, plus iOS 9.3.5 and iOS 9.3.6 IPSW installs
• iPhone 5 (GSM and CDMA): iOS 8.4.1 OTA installs, plus iOS 10.3.3 and iOS 10.3.4 IPSW installs
• iPhone 5c (GSM and CDMA): iOS 10.3.3 IPSW installs
• iPad 2 (Wi-Fi + 3G, CDMA): iOS 6.1.3 and iOS 8.4.1 OTA installs, plus iOS 9.3.5 and iOS 9.3.6 IPSW installs
• iPad 3rd generation (GSM and CDMA): iOS 8.4.1 OTA installs, plus iOS 9.3.5 and iOS 9.3.6 IPSW installs
• iPad 4th generation (Wi-Fi + Cellular): iOS 8.4.1 OTA installs, plus iOS 10.3.3 and iOS 10.3.4 IPSW installs
• iPad mini (Wi-Fi + Cellular): iOS 8.4.1 OTA installs, plus iOS 9.3.5 and iOS 9.3.6 IPSW installs

Apple has not stopped signing the iOS versions themselves. Instead, it has ended signing for the baseband firmware, the low-level software that runs each device’s cellular modem, tied to those releases.

As a reminder, Apple split iOS and iPadOS starting with iPadOS 13, which means that iPads running older system versions ran iOS.

A device that is already up and running on its current firmware carries on as normal, but owners lose the fallback of a fresh install should that firmware ever break.