iTunes not downloading .ipsw files

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iTunes not downloading .ipsw files

Hey everyone, I've got a major headache so I'm hoping someone has some ideas.

I do IT for a company and one of the things I handle is our mobility. This means I'm using iTunes a lot to restore and update apple devices. Historically, whenever I try to perform one of these actions iTunes automatically downloads the .ipsw file required. However, as of March 29th and the introduction of the 12.128.2 update my iTunes is no longer doing this. Instead it opens a file explorer window and prompts me to select one myself. The newest update didn't resolve this issue, and when I contacted Apple Support their suggestions basically amounted to "Try a different computer". Hoping someone has a recommendation/solution.

Notable details:

-This is iTunes for Windows

-I have other users in my org experiencing the same issue, no apparent pattern of windows version or laptop model

Posted on Jun 6, 2023 2:23 PM

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Answer 1

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NerdE Author

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Jun 19, 2023 9:04 AM in response to NerdE

Well I've got an update with a work around, but still no solution:

If you are part of the Apple Developer program then you can download the .ipsw files directly from that website. This is a rather annoying workaround, but at the very least it allows me to continue restoring apple devices. Haven't tried to update one yet using this method however.

Additionally, after a lot more testing the only pattern I have noticed is that the issue only arises when updating to the newest iTunes version. I have tried many devices across different brands, versions of OS, security settings, none of it matters once I update to the newest iTunes version. Apple Support continues to maintain that they have never heard of this issue before and there is nothing they can do about it.

Hopefully either myself or someone else has a solution soon, I'm surprised there are not more people running into this issue.

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iTunes not downloading .ipsw files

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