Updated my iPhone to iOS v9, now can't use it with my iTunes

Katfox -

1) There is a forum for iTunes for Windows. You'll get more directed assistance for your platform there. That said, I believe iTunes 12.3 requires Windows 7 at least. See http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/

2) If you're worried about losing things it means you indeed have bigger worries about losing your entire computer because you do not maintain a backup. Nobody should be allowed to purchase a computer without first showing a document they own a backup drive and know how to use it.

Hi Limnos

Thank you for replying. I DO back up the phone - through iTunes! 🙂

I'm worried about losing all the files in my libraries ie playlists, mp3 files, videos, TV shows etc.

My regular files including my itunes library is backed up onto an external hard drive. I guess I'm just worried that my libraries will be wiped and it'll take ages to reconnect everything as I'm about to travel.

I'll check out the forum for Windows.

Apple says if you have itunes already on your computer you should use the 'check for updates' solution. But this doesn't work. The message I get says to download the latest version from itunes.com. I've downloaded the file which is 12.3 but am worried if I try to install it, particularly as I already have 12.2 on, that everything will get messed up.

Does that make sense?

No, you need to backup the computer too. Backing up a device does not, for example, backup media.

I have never used the software update feature. I always download the installers from Apple's site. I also keep the installers on an archive drive so if I should wish to install an older version and Apple has removed it from its downloads I still have a copy.

In theory nothing should get messed up, but sometimes it does. This is why you need a computer backup. I backup, then install without real concern because if something goes wrong I can restore from my backup. I do "clone" backups where I can restore things 100%.

Uh, doing a set of updates is not something to do the day before traveling.

I thought I'd report back that I did indeed 'bite the bullet' and update from 10.6.8 to 10.10.5. The update went relatively smoothly and required the inevitable update of secondary drivers and software. The new OS and its associated Mac apps is quite different in many ways, so a lot of searching and googling was necessary to find out how to do some things which one takes for granted with 10.6.8, like how to get out of full-screen mode when there is no green button, and how to find internet radio in iTunes, and stuff like that. But all-in-all after a day of faffing around, only an old (PowerPC) copy of Excel had to be consigned to the bin (so far), with everything else seemingly running okay, albeit after a few updates. Mail decided to 'flag' hundreds of emails that were not flagged before, and also told me that hundreds more emails were unread, and after a forced rebuild did the same thing again with different emails, so I had to remove all flags!

My iPhone synced fine (iOS9 seems to store smaller versions of all photos, saving space), but my iPad mini threw a wobbly and refused to sync the photos, telling me that I was massively over-memory even though the pictures were already on the device! In the end I restored the iPad to factory settings and then did a fresh sync, which lost me all my settings and config values, only to find the same thing happening again. After many more hours trying everything I could to get things to work, only after I disabled Find-my-iPhone did everything sync properly (after which I enabled it again), so there is clearly a nasty bug there!

So I did it, spent a full day doing so, but now I have a working and up-to-date Mac OS and device OSs. The Mac OS was free and things could be worse: I could be trying to update Windows!

Sorry Rob, I have a Mac Pro (Early 2008) 2 x 2.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon running predominantly Adobe CS4 (Photoshop, Indesign, Illustrator, Dreamweaver etc.). I guess you need to be running a 64-bit Intel chip for Yosemite.

The Late 2006 iMac actually has a 64-bit CPU. That's not the only reason Apple locks out models from upgrade, though.

My general recommendation to anyone who has a stable and functioning older Mac: if you're happy with your performance, I would take extra precaution, or figure out another workaround before making the knee-jerk jump to Yosemite simply because /iTunes says you should. You will notice the speed differences, and likely encounter compatibility problems with some of your apps.

I, personally, do not like iTunes 12 at all. The error that you need 12.2.2 is FALSE and MISLEADING (cue conspiracy theory music). YES, UPGRADING WORKS…, but if there is a way to avoid ITUNES 12 entirely, and keep all other things equal, I would do so...and have. See my post on page one for how I got my iPad to work with iTunes 11.4…unless you want to upgrade, then don't let me stop you 🙂

Sorry, but I've just proven myself to be WRONG, WRONG, WRONG! The "requires iTunes 12.2.2" message returns after quitting and re-opening iTunes 11.4, which I rarely ever do.

This is unfortunate and disturbing. Not only does Apple NOT tell us these things prior to the update, but it works like magic until one reloads iTunes, which, I'm sure, will cause untold confusion…like we had.

Apple is doing a bang-up job creating these subtle smacks and jabs that force us to comply to their will.

OK, OK, I started backing up my phone to a different machine. now I have the problem that any time my phone is on WiFi at home, iTunes on my Mac puts up that error over and over again. If I leave it unattended, it queues them up so it basically cannot be dismissed. How can I make it stop doing that? I can't plug in the phone and change the WiFi setting because it won't talk to it. Anybody know the defaults settings to change?

This morning I upgraded my iphone 5c to IOS 9.0.2 using my G5 10.6.8 and itunes 11.4. No warnings of incompatibilites from itunes of course. After upgrading the phone is no longer compatible with itunes 11.4 as we now know.

"The iphone cannot be used because it requires a newer version of iTunes..."

There is no itunes upgrade beyond 11.4 available for Mac OS 10.6.8

There is no system upgrade beyond 10.6.8 for old machines (or maybe you have lots of 10.6.8 dependent software hardware)

There is no way of reverting back to IOS 8.41 on the phone as Apple have stopped signing that version a few days back.

I talked to three levels of Apple support who all tried hard to find a solution but confirmed that there was no way to fix the problem. They did acknowledge that itunes 11.4 should not allow a fatal upgrade like this without some kind of warning.

I can see no way out of this problem with out new hardware, mac OS, itunes etc unless someone smarter than me hacks an IOS downgrade process.

Very very frustrated to have been stupid enough to accept an upgrade.

phil

My commiserations. Apple is so focused on everyone being part of the "upgrade herd" now, that they simply don't consider those who aren't. They talk a good game, but the inception and continuation of annual *major* releases (which are often no better than point releases in historical terms) is probably so difficult for them to maintain, that it's become a quality and reliability "race to the bottom" that is hurting us all.

Why CAN'T I downgrade to an earlier version of iOS? Don't feed me security jargon. There's no good reason, except that once I see new features that require me to change the way I work…EVERY YEAR, I might go back! Certainly, they don't want me miss the new Music and App Store ads, and if I don't feel compelled to upgrade gear, they will lose revenue!

Guess what, Apple! I'm considering just that…upgrading to another platform. You forced me into iOS 9, forced me into iTunes 12, forced me into buying additional adapters of the kind that once used to be included in the box, dropped the quality of input devices, heavily diluted the suite of apps formerly known as iWork, are beginning to force me out of Mountain Lion (10.8) by resetting initial iCloud events that others with Mavericks (10.9) or above don't see. It's sneaky how they can send these little hints that tell us that we're not welcome using old hardware or software anymore. Why wouldn't I upgrade, they ask? It's free! You build quality and I'll follow. You force me, and I'll bail. Thanks and that's it!

The default setting to change, according to Apple, is YOU! YOU have to change. Download iTunes 12, upgrade to 10.9 or above, buy a new Mac, etc. It's the broken iTunes 11 that's issuing the errors and until you can connect your device, you won't be able to turn it off.

You might gain an advantage if you experimented with removing iTunes .plists or .xml files until you reset iTunes to remove the dialog, but you'd probably time and money ahead to just follow the Apple-preferred upgrade path. Surely, if you wanted to retain any of your sync settings, or ever back up your phone locally again, this is the best option.

Technology devices (Macs, iPhones, iPads, iPods, Watches) are no longer tools for us to use, they are indispensable vanity devices that require annual education and entertainment subscriptions to fully realize their (our?) potential.

I heard that IOS 9.0.1 (currently on 9.0.2) might still work with itunes 11.4 and also it is still down gradable from 9.0.2. I have not been able to confirm as I have not found an ipsw that is accepted. I have access to another machine with the latest itunes and every time I Option click Restore and select and older ispw it says it is not compatible eg Apple is blocking the downgrade. I tried various ispw for 9.0, 9.0.1, 9.0.2 could not get anything to install.

Super annoyed. Lost eight hours to this today and still no better off. Looks the only way back is to buy a used iphone that is still on 8.4.

unbelievable...phil

I am having the same problem. I have 10.6.8 on my 2010 iMac and it won't sync with my iPhone 6 with 9.0.1 or 9.0.2. If I bite the bullet and upgrade my OS, any advice on which operating system to upgrade to? I don't have a lot of special software but have a Microsoft Suite from 2008 that could be affected by an update. Any advice would be much appreciated. I'm not very happy with Apple at the moment.