iPod Touch Won't Update Past iOS 4.2.1

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iPod Touch Won't Update Past iOS 4.2.1

I have a 16gb, 3rd generation iPod Touch (purchased September, 2009) that will not update past iOS 4.2.1. I know that the 16gb 3rd gen model didn't get all of the iOS 4 features that the rest of the 3rd gen models did, but I can't find anything on the Apple page about 4.3 that would indicate that some subset of the 3rd gen iTouches would be unable to get the update. I'm running Windows 7 64-bit and iTunes version 10.2.2.12. Any ideas what's going on?

iPod touch, Windows 7

Posted on May 11, 2011 8:19 AM

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Answer 1

dbmeboy Author

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May 11, 2011 9:04 AM in response to dbmeboy

Update: well this is strange. When I entered my serial number hereit told me that I had a 2nd generation. In the past it was identified as a 3rd generation. Can they retroactively change what generation my iTouch is?

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Answer 2

May 11, 2011 9:10 AM in response to dbmeboy

No they can't, the generation is a specific version of the hardware that makes up the device, not the software, it can't be changed.

What error do you get when trying to update your iPod?

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Answer 3

dbmeboy Author

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1 points

May 11, 2011 9:15 AM in response to dbmeboy

It just says that it has the most up-to-date software. From what I can tell, when they originally released the 3rd generation iPod Touch, the 16 gb one still used the 2nd generation hardware. At the time, it was still called 3rd generation. As recently as last summer when iOS 4 was released, it was still refered to as 3rd generation (the iOS 4 release information had asterisks on the 3rd gen iPod Touch to say that various features like multitasking wouldn't work with the 16 gb model). Now Apple seems to have retroactively decided to just call it 2nd generation. I'm not very happy since it was sold to me as 3rd generation...

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Answer 4

May 11, 2011 9:38 AM in response to dbmeboy

There is no 16GB iPod touch, it must be a 2g, I had the same problem, I thought it was 3g, tried to update, did not go further that 4.2.1 in updateds and found out it was 2g.

Look here, There is no iPod tough 3g with a 16GB capacity(scroll down to models): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPod_Touch

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Answer 5

dbmeboy Author

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1 points

May 11, 2011 9:43 AM in response to dbmeboy

I'm trying to find the old iOS 4 release page from last summer, because I'm pretty sure that as recently as then they were still calling the 16 gb model "3rd gen." I know that now it is refered to as 2nd gen.

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Answer 6

May 11, 2011 11:49 AM in response to dbmeboy

dbmeboy wrote:

I'm trying to find the old iOS 4 release page from last summer, because I'm pretty sure that as recently as then they were still calling the 16 gb model "3rd gen." I know that now it is refered to as 2nd gen.

No, the 16GB model was never listed as a 3rd generation Touch. The 16GB model was only available in 1st and 2nd generation. The 3rd gen family was only the 32 and 64GB models -- the 8GB model sold at the same time was actually 2nd generation, much to the dismay of buyers.

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Answer 7

dbmeboy Author

Level 1

1 points

May 11, 2011 11:55 AM in response to rockmyplimsoul

That doesn't explain how I purchased a 16gb iPod Touch in late September 2009 (after the 2nd generation was discontinued) where my options were 16, 32, or 64gb. It's a moot point now though since my screen has decided to die in the last couple of hours anyways. I guess I should have expected a ~2 year life from a device that is pretty much an iPhone, given that phones seem earily good at dying right around the time their 2 year contracts expire.

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Answer 8

May 11, 2011 12:26 PM in response to dbmeboy

*Whispers... "It's a conspiracy to make sure you buy a new phone as often as possible." My iPhone is nearing it's two year contract expiration, it's a 3GS, I planned on upgrading to an iPhone 4, seeing as how Apple's not supposedly planning on releasing an iPhone 5 this Summer.

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Answer 9

May 11, 2011 4:27 PM in response to dbmeboy

dbmeboy wrote:

That doesn't explain how I purchased a 16gb iPod Touch in late September 2009 (after the 2nd generation was discontinued) where my options were 16, 32, or 64gb.

Actually it does -- if you made the purchase in September '09 there were plenty of 2nd generation Touches still in the pipeline while the 3rd generation was rolled out. Even Apple continued to sell 2Gs for awhile to clear out inventory.

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