iOS Update Problems

Whenever Apple releases a new version of iOS for their iPod, iPhone, and iPad, everyone flocks to their computers to grab the latest and greatest. Most of the time everything goes fine and you can enjoy the new features, but occasionally something goes wrong and a cryptic error dialog pops up, leaving you frustrated and without the use of your device.

This problem seems to be most common for with people who dabbled with jailbreaking their device. While Apple has not specifically said “thou shalt not jailbreak,” they are not usually forthcoming with assistance in case of failure. Most of the issues stem from putting a new, jailbroken version of the iOS on the device, then trying to go back to an earlier, unmodified version. The device will give an error code and fail to update, and in many cases will do nothing but show the Connect to iTunes graphic. In this case, you usually have to go back to the people who released the jailbreaking software you used in the first place to correct the problem. Sometimes doing a restore in recovery mode will fix the problem, but you will lose whatever was on the device.

The other issue that we get calls about concerns the inability to update your device’s iOS in iTunes. Upon connecting your device, you may find that iTunes insists it is already running the latest software. If you just bought an iPad 2, you don’t need to update – it ships with iOS 4.3 installed. Also, the iOS update does not apply to the Verizon CDMA version of the iPhone. Apple has not said whether a separate update for the Verizon iPhone will be made available later, but one of the bigger features of the update (Personal Hotspot) has been available on the Verizon model since launch. Finally, iOS 4.3 does not support the iPod touch 2nd gen, classic, or nano so these devices will not show an available update.

A common cause of update failure is when iTunes can’t access necessary websites over ports 80 and 443. This mostly affects Windows users running a firewall that blocks ports on an application basis. Check your security software to make sure iTunes can use those ports. Many firewalls, such as Norton, have an option to temporarily disable the firewall to test this out. If it works while the firewall is off, you know where to look for the solution.

Some other not-so-obvious issues have also come up:

iTunes does not recognize the device: When you plug the device into a USB port, it should automatically launch iTunes and show up under “Devices.” If it does not, make sure you’re running the latest version of iTunes (10.2.1 as of this writing). Windows systems need Windows XP Service Pack 2 or later, Vista, or Windows 7; Mac systems need OS X 10.5 or later.

Error 1013: While downloading the update, iTunes shows this error and puts the device into recovery mode, showing nothing but a Connect to iTunes graphic. This can sometimes be caused by using a jailbreaking app that modifies networking files (such as a manual entry in the HOSTS file on Windows systems). This prevents iTunes from downloading the “legit” software until the edits are removed.

One thing to be aware of before taking the plunge – in case of a problem with the update, you may have to use recovery mode to make the device work again. This will wipe the device before updating the software, so when it is done it will behave as if it was new out of the box. Make sure you have everything synchronized with your iTunes library before you attempt the update. iTunes will not “reverse sync” your device – if the device has never been synchronized with iTunes, or you connect the device to someone else’s computer, iTunes will attempt to erase all data to set up a new sync connection. There are utilities available to back up a device without using iTunes, but Apple does not recommend or support such things if something goes horribly wrong.

If all else fails, a great resource is Apple’s Support article, found here.