atrottmann

Q: Sync iOS 9 on Snow Leopard

I have a Mac Mini (version Macmini1,1) which supports OSX Snow Leopard 10.6.8 and iTunes 11.4. It does not support any newer versions of OSX or iTunes.

 

Said iTunes proposed to update the iOS on my iPhone to version 9, without any kind of warning. After the successful update, it now tells me it needs a newer version of iTunes to synchronize my iPhone, helpfully directing me to Apple's web site, which, of course, still doesn't have magically made a more recent version of iTunes appear that supports my hardware.

 

Is there any kind of plan on Apple's side other than "buy a newer mac"? Will there be any kind of iTunes update that supports both Snow Leopard and iOS 9?

Mac mini, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Sep 18, 2015 1:08 AM

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Q: Sync iOS 9 on Snow Leopard

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  • by Limnos,

    Limnos Limnos Sep 18, 2015 6:16 AM in response to atrottmann
    Level 9 (53,936 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 18, 2015 6:16 AM in response to atrottmann

    I think it exceedingly unlikely Apple will bring out another iTunes for Snow Leopard.  You aren't very specific about your Mini. It may be possible to upgrade the operating system so it can run a newer iTunes.  Get more information about your computer. Go to the Apple in the upper left corner of any window, then  "About This Mac".  Write down what it says about "version"and report that here.  Now continue to "More Info..."  Copy and paste the information here, but omit the serial number and Hardware UUID (if present).

     

    It is unlikely it updated iOS without warning.  If it did then you need to make sure you are awake and fully aware and go into your preferences settings and check what is set to do what and when because you may have checked something such as "automatically update devices".  Turning off automatic updates everywhere is the first thing I do when I get a new computer.

  • by atrottmann,

    atrottmann atrottmann Sep 18, 2015 6:42 AM in response to Limnos
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 18, 2015 6:42 AM in response to Limnos

    Thank you very much for your help!

     

    I am very sure that this particular Mac mini doesn't support OSX Lion (or anything newer than Snow Leopard), as it has a Core Duo CPU and Lion requires a Core 2 Duo at least, as per System requirements for OS X Lion and Mac OS X v10.6 - Apple Support

     

    Here's the info: Version: 10.6.8

      Modellname:   Mac mini

      Modell-Identifizierung:       Macmini1,1

      Prozessortyp: Intel Core Duo

      Prozessorgeschwindigkeit:     1.83 GHz

      Anzahl der Prozessoren:       1

      Gesamtzahl der Kerne: 2

      L2-Cache:     2 MB

      Speicher:     2 GB

      Busgeschwindigkeit:   667 MHz

      Boot-ROM-Version:     MM11.0055.B08

      SMC-Version (System): 1.3f4

     

     

     

    And yes, I was not specific about what iTunes actually did. Indeed it did not update to iOS 9 by itself, but let me choose to update (which I agreed to). I was complaining about the fact that I did not see anything like "beware, if you update, you will not be able to sync your iPhone anymore unless you buy a new Mac" :-) :-(

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Sep 18, 2015 7:55 AM in response to atrottmann
    Level 9 (71,234 points)
    iTunes
    Sep 18, 2015 7:55 AM in response to atrottmann

    You can try installing iTunes 11.4 and then see if you can restore the backup to the iPhone if you want to revert the IOS backwards.

     

    iTunes 11.4 for OS X 10.6

  • by atrottmann,

    atrottmann atrottmann Sep 18, 2015 7:58 AM in response to Eric Root
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 18, 2015 7:58 AM in response to Eric Root

    Thank you for the suggestion, but I don't want to revert the iOS version. I'll rather find a different way to synchronize and back up my iPhone.

  • by Limnos,

    Limnos Limnos Sep 18, 2015 8:11 AM in response to Eric Root
    Level 9 (53,936 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 18, 2015 8:11 AM in response to Eric Root

    My understanding is it is impossible (without going to really extreme hacks) to revert iOS upgrades.  Restoring simply restores data files and such-like.

  • by Limnos,

    Limnos Limnos Sep 18, 2015 8:14 AM in response to atrottmann
    Level 9 (53,936 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 18, 2015 8:14 AM in response to atrottmann

    Options if you cannot upgrade iTunes: iTunes Store purchases can already be downloaded directly to a device. Use iTunes Match or an Apple Music subscription to put non-Store music in iCloud, then sync/download to your device from there. Backup your device directly to iCloud over a wireless connection. Photos can be downloaded from the Camera Roll using Photos or Image Capture.

  • by Robert__K,

    Robert__K Robert__K Sep 19, 2015 7:23 PM in response to Limnos
    Level 1 (15 points)
    Sep 19, 2015 7:23 PM in response to Limnos

    Not true: while an Apple-signed .ipsw is still available (and as of this writing it is for 8.4.1), it is relatively simple to do (search for How to downgrade from iOS9 to iOS 8...good article on macworld.co.uk).

     

    I too was surprised--RUDELY--after I enthusiastically updated my iPhone to iOS 9: I like Snow Leopard and do not want to move to a newer OS X. My solution was to downgrade back to 8.4.1 (but the OP states they do not want to do that).