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iPad 2 [CDMA, iOS 4.3.5 (8L1)] update fails: unknown error occurred (9)

I'm trying to update (or even reset) an iPad 2 (Model A1397, EMC

2424, iOS 4.3.5 (8L1)), but attempts to do either a normal iTunes update

or an iTunes recovery-mode update fail with: "An unknown error occurred

(9)." shortly after the messages:

Verifying iPad restore with Apple...

Waiting for iPad...


I know nothing, but, in my book, a useful error message will include

some clue as to what the program was doing when the failure occurred,

and what, exactly, failed. "An unknown error occurred (9)" fails on all

counts.


All the usual suggestions (different computer, USB cable,

"/etc/hosts" file, and so on) had no effect or did not apply. Around

here: iTunes version: 12.2.1.23; Mac OS X versions 10.10.5 (MacBook) and

10.11.1 (Mac Pro).


Apple phone support suggested using WiFi instead of USB, or turning

off the iCloud service, but this is iOS 4.3.5, which predates both WiFi

updates and iCloud, making this advice about as useful as the error

message.


A visit to the local Apple store was even less productive,

duplicating the whole range of failures, but offering nothing except a

$250 swap to solve what sure looks to me like a software problem (in a

device which is not worth close to $250 these days). Aside from being

unable to get updated via iTunes, this iPad seems to work just fine. If

someone could run some real hardware diagnostics which reported some

actual problem, then I'd be satisfied, but declaring a hardware problem

based on a nearly content-free iTunes error message is most

unsatisfying.


Best of all, any iTunes update attempt leaves the unit in a

persistent I-want-an-update mode. So far, the only known cure for that

is a little fiddling with a third-party program ("Wondershare Dr.Fone

for iOS", in "free trial" mode), which restores normal operation.


So far as I can determine, Apple does not allow updates to any iOS

version other than the latest (9.1), but making a leap smaller than from

4.3.5 to 9.1 would be one thing I might try if it were not prohibited.


So, having gotten nothing useful from Apple support, I'm asking here

for help. I'm open to suggestions, and am willing to provide any

information I can, on request.

iPad 2, iOS 4.3.3, Actually it says iOS 4.3.5 (8L1).

Posted on Nov 25, 2015 8:25 PM

Reply
5 replies

Nov 27, 2015 8:03 AM in response to Steven Schweda

Hello Steven.


First off, great job so far with reaching out for help with your unknown error (9). The following Knowledge Base article offers up what that error indicates and provides some recommendations:


Get help with iOS update and restore errors


Check your security software

Errors: 2, 4, 6, 9, 1611, 9006.

Sometimes security software can stop your device from communicating with either the Apple update server or with your device.

Check your security software and settings to make sure that they aren't blocking a connection to the Apple servers.

If you still see the error message, check for USB connection issues.


Thanks for reaching out to Apple Support Communities.


Kind Regards.

Nov 27, 2015 11:21 AM in response to pedro d

> The following Knowledge Base article offers up what that error

> indicates and provides some recommendations:

> [...]


Thanks for the response, but, as I thought that I had made clear:


> All the usual suggestions (different computer, USB cable,

> "/etc/hosts" file, and so on) had no effect or did not apply.


Also:


> A visit to the local Apple store was even less productive,

> duplicating the whole range of failures, [...]


Beyond the OS itself, I have no "security software" on either my

MacBook or my Mac Pro, and I assume that the fellow in the red shirt at

the Apple store had none on his MacBook, either. (He certainly seemed

to expect his update attempts to work. He acted as if had done this

before, with more success.)


Similarly, getting the same result with all combinations of my two

USB cables and two computers left me pretty confident that the problem

lay elsewhere. Again, the fellow in the red shirt at the Apple store

used _his_ cable with _his_ MacBook, and got the same result.


So, as I said, "All the usual suggestions (different computer, USB

cable, "/etc/hosts" file, and so on) had no effect or did not apply."


My complaints remain:


o Attempts to update from iOS "4.3.5 (8L1)" to 9.1 fail.


o The resulting error message is worse than useless.


o Apple's idea of a "diagnosis" in this situation appears to be to

swap the whole system (for $250) rather than to demonstrate an actual

hardware problem using some real hardware diagnostics (like Apple

Hardware Test for a Mac), or try to load some new firmware using some

alternative (simple) program in an attempt to work around whatever the

actual (software) problem with iTunes might be.


I remain open to suggestions, but repeating the usual first-line

advice will, most likely, waste more of everyone's time.

Dec 5, 2015 8:05 PM in response to DJDevvyDev

Thanks for the confirmation.


I reported the results of my update attempts (failure, as described

above) to the iPad owner, along with my hypothesis that the actual

problem is some incompatibility between the current update software

(iTunes) and the old iOS version, rather than any actual problem with

the iPad hardware (as the Apple Store "experts" claimed to believe).


Between the two of us, we had made at least three calls to Apple

Support and two visits to a local Apple Store, and the best we could get

was a $250 swap offer (to replace a device which, to a casual observer,

appeared to be working as well as it ever did).


In a last-ditch attempt to get a less useless response, my friend

called the general contact number (1-800-MY-APPLE, not the support

number). According to my friend, in response to another $250 swap

offer, he explained that before he would pay $250 to replace a working

iPad because of an iTunes software problem, he'd rather throw the iPad

into the garbage (where it belonged), spend $50 to get a comparable

Android device, and never again deal with Apple or any Apple products.


This seemed to get the attention of the Apple agent. As I understand

what happened next, after a little more conversation, which included an

admission that the actual problem probably was what I thought it was,

and a little negotiation, my friend paid another visit to the local

Apple store, and came away with an iPad 3 (with current firmware, so

that it might be possible to keep it up-to date).


I can't promise that this approach will work in general, but it might

be worth a try. I can't prove anything, but it seems likely that most

of the old iPads in the field got more timely iOS updates, and that this

problem affects only a relatively small number of units with especially

old iOS versions.


As a software developer, I understand the problems with trying to

maintain compatibility over a broad range of program versions, but

Apple's policy of removing access to older iOS and/or iTunes versions

makes such compatibility all the more important.


Perhaps the actual problem here is different, but, if Apple does, for

whatever reason, choose to leave devices with older iOS versions

stranded, orphaned, and useless, then it would be reasonable to expect

Apple to replace such devices. Unhappy owners of such devices would be

doing Apple a service by informing them of their situations. Certainly,

Apple has, in the past, established special programs to deal with

defective hardware of various types:


https://www.apple.com/support/exchange_repair/


If this is a software problem which can be solved only by replacing

hardware, then such an exchange program might be more reasonable than

expecting victims to pay $250 each to solve it. Or, Apple could provide

some kind of working iOS update method. As usual, many things are

possible, and how Apple handles this problem is up to them.

Dec 30, 2015 12:46 PM in response to Steven Schweda

I have the exact same issue. I tried to update an Ipad 2 on 4.3.5 to the latest iOS version using iTunes. The update proceeds and downloads. Soon after checking with Apple, there is an error message stating the update failed with error (9). I tried performing the update on a Macbook Pro with iTunes, and also on a Windows 10 machine with iTunes, yielding the same result. To make matters worse, the update locked the iPad in an unusable state, with the screen simply indicating that I should plug in the iPad. The only way I was able to unlock the iPad was using the third party software mentioned above. I found this user experience to be horrible, because not only did the update not work, but Apple left my device completely crippled.

iPad 2 [CDMA, iOS 4.3.5 (8L1)] update fails: unknown error occurred (9)

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