Update over cellular?

Sorry no. Wifi connection is mandatory to update your device. If you don't have any wifi network available, "borrow" a connection from your friends, or ask for help at an Apple Store or Authorized Service provider. You can update from any WiFi or any internet connected computer with iTunes and a USB cable.

No, you can’t update over cellular.

I guess you didn’t read or didn’t understand what I wrote. The carriers refuse to allow updates or backup over Wi-Fi. It’s not something that Apple has any choice over. And what about the problem of an average backup over cellular taking a day or more?

Carrier bandwidth is YOUR problem, not theirs. If the network becomes overloaded your phone stops working. This already happens sometimes, even without cellular backups. To support the required bandwidth would mean expanding network capacity by 100 times or more. That means 100 cell towers where there is now one. There might be some public objections to darkening the sky with towers. A town near me has been fighting ONE new tower for 3 years, even though a 2 mile swath of the town has no cell coverage.

the limitation isn’t corporate greed, it’s physics.

You are misdirecting your complaint. You need to petition your cellular provider who is the one who limits the amount of data which can be downloaded over cellular. Apple has nothing to do with this, nor do they control cellular providers.

Contact your cellular provider and complain to them.

terra452 wrote:

Sir, you misunderstand my intent - I am not trying to pick a fight with you. I merely meant to point out that a SECURE CONNECTION during a critical security update is essential.

Wi-Fi is 100% secure, because iPhones (actually all Apple products) use end to end encryption, and Apple also requires all apps to use end-to-end encryption whether using cellular data or Wi-Fi. Even using public Wi-Fi all communications between an iPhone and any server are secured this way. It’s only if you use a browser and visit sites that don’t use SSL that there is any security risk with Wi-Fi. But cellular data is no more secure than Wi-Fi, and in some ways is less secure, because there is routing information in the packet stream that does not exist in Wi-Fi, but is recorded by the carrier switches and MTSOs. Even leaving out the Stingray products.

And no, I am not wrong. My 50 years of engineering experience, much of it in microwave technology, as well as my work in the telecom industry (I worked on the design and implementation of AT&T’s network 4ESS and 5ESS switches) means that I know an awful lot about the subject. And my niece is an architect who designs the deployment of cellular towers, and we frequently discuss her travails in getting even one new tower approved. I probably exaggerated on the network expansion requires to support large volume data transfers, but it would still be necessary to expand it substantially. You currently can’t even stream video over the cellular network, although AT&T would love to be able to so they can compete with the big cable companies.

5G technology has the potential to change this, but there is substantial public resistance to deploy it, including claims that it caused the Novel Coronavirus. While perhaps ridiculous to us that hasn’t stopped people from destroying cell towers in the UK and a few places in the US. But it will be a couple of years before 5G is widely deployed, and there are almost no 5G phones currently on the market.

The fact that the cellular network today runs near maximum capacity routinely is a fact. Any time there is a major disaster and lots of people want to call at the same time this is quite evident. That’s why cellular service was almost non-existent after 9/11, and in the aftermath of hurricane’s Floyd and Sandy. We’ve made some progress, because the cellular networks will now allow app downloads that exceed 150 MB (up from 100 MB) over LTE (and prompt if it’s over 200MB, but will still allow them), but I don’t think OS downloads (for any device) are going to be here any time soon.

I’m not trying to pick a fight either, so let’s stick with what we know.

Not being able to update over cellular is a security flaw of epic proportions. Apple show allow updates via cell as a backup option at the very least.

Carrier bandwidth issues are their own problem, they make BILLIONS in profits per month, they can afford to expand, and WE should demand that they (Apple+carriers) do better regarding providing secure options for critical security updates, which over wireless is wholly insecure.

Stonenw wrote:

Thanks for responding, but unfortunately none of those is an option. Perks of living in the country.

You mean you don’t even have a Starbucks? That’s REALLY in the country!

While you may thing you should be able to update over cellular, your cellular carrier doesn’t think so. Cellular networks run pretty close to maximum capacity most of the time. When an update comes out if millions of phones start downloading Gigabyte updates around the same time the entire worldwide cellular network could crash.

Sir, you misunderstand my intent - I am not trying to pick a fight with you. I merely meant to point out that a SECURE CONNECTION during a critical security update is essential.

WiFi is not secure, and using an unknown, or public WiFi to install a critical security update is just plain asking for it when you are left with no other option - and don’t think for a second that bad actors don’t already know this.

So yes, Apple should and can lobby telco’s to allow THE OPTION within their hardware to use cellular data as a mitigating feature if the customer must use cellular data to perform a critical security update. Heck, the telco’s could even charge extra if needed, but to not even have a WiFi workaround is Just deplorable and irresponsible for user security.

As for the numbers you cite regarding expanding a given network footprint to increase bandwidth capacity, well with all do respect Sir you’re just wrong. I work in telco, and there are workarounds to this issue, but there is NO WILL to do so. So it is up to ALL OF US to demand that both Apple, and the telco’s do better when it comes to providing secure solutions.

Again, not trying to pick a fight, just trying to point out a critical security flaw that we should all be concerned about.