HELP~ itunes 12.3.3 compatible with XP?

Apple's update system is broken in that it offers 12.3.3 as valid version on Windows XP. Support for Windows XP (and Vista) was dropped when Apple released iTunes 12.2 last year. The latest (and almost certainly last) version to support XP is 12.1.3.6 - this is an out-of-sequence release from September 2015 that adds support for iOS 9 devices but lacks Apple Music and other features added in iTunes 12.2 and 12.3. Links to the installer:

iTunes 12.1.3.6 for Windows XP SP3, 32-bit: iTunesSetup.exe

This is, however, not going to be a long term solution as its highly unlikely that Apple will issue any further updates to support new releases of iOS on ancient Microsoft OSs. Any PC running Windows XP is likely to be have exceeded its expected operational life and (even setting aside the vulnerabilities to viruses and other malware) is going to be prone to major hardware failures - hard drives and power supplies in particular.

hhgttg27 wrote:

Apple's update system is broken in that it offers 12.3.3 as valid version on Windows XP.

I think OP says his/her iTunes detects itself as the latest version:

(yet my itunes tells me i have the current version)

but OP's security software detects a newer version which is correct but the security software does not check OS compatibility.

I recently learn the following:

- iTunes 12.1.2 on Windows 10 is unable to detect anything newer

- iTunes 12.1.1 on Windows 7 detect 12.1.2 as the most current version

So you're right, Apple software auto update is unreliable.

If the question is "What should I buy first, a new PC or a new iPhone?" then the answer is "new PC." Apple iTunes no longer supports XP. In theory it should be possible to support an iPhone 6s (but not an iPhone SE) running iOS 9 using iTunes 12.1.3, although in practice many problems have been reported. But there will presumably be an iOS 10 released about five months from now, and you can forget about supporting that with any iTunes version that can be installed on Windows XP or Vista.

wenchwendy wrote:

the info page for itunes 12.3.3 indeed says update for XP, however the sys req/software info gives no indication.

I have a Vista PC and can confirm that confusing nonsense: There is no iTunes 12.3.3 for XP and Vista:

Yes, the version detection script on the iTunes download page is badly broken. I've tried to pass a message up the chain but it doesn't seem to have got very far. 😟

tt2

I have a similar issue. I always backed my 4s to iTunes on my windows PC running XP. On the basis that 12.3.3 would run on XP, I bought an iphone SE and I'd be able to restore it from my itunes backup. As part of the purchase from the Apple store I traded in my old 4S - so that's no longer around. Now frantically trying to find a way to restore to my new phone!!!

Seems like that not only can I not carry out the restore, there's no way to move a backup from iTunes to iCloud (which would be an eminently sensible facility to have I'd have thought). Is there any way around this that anyone's aware of?

Ideally you would have backed up the iPhone to both a computer and iCloud before parting with it. There is no way to upload the backup taken on a computer to iCloud.

See Backup your iTunes for Windows library with SyncToy and Find and manage your iTunes backups - Apple Support. If you can get access to a computer running iTunes 12.3.3 you should be able copy the iOS backup folder into the correct location for iTunes to see it, connect to your library hosted on an external drive, and restore the backup. Temporarily rename the existing user's backup folder and then restore it when you are done if you are borrowing use of a friend's/colleague's computer for this task.

tt2

Another way:

If you have a spare hard drive, download Windows 10. The trial version is free. Install Win10 on the spare drive, download iTunes 12.3.3 and install it. Then copy all iTunes related contents from your WinXP to Win10. Open the copied library. Voila! Now you can restore without messing up your Win XP (or someone else's) hard drive.

Good idea. 🙂

tt2

Thanks for the help guys. Unfortunately wasn't able to fully copy the backup from iTunes (I suspect due to encryption of the backup, but may well be wrong on that). Regarding loading Windows 10, I'd have to upgrade to Windows 7 first (at the normal Microsoft cost of course) and then install 10. Again I may be wrong about this, but the upgrade to Windows 7/10 would be a fresh install and effectively wipe my desktop, so I avoided that route as well.

My solution has been to borrow an old 4s from a local Apple repair centre which I then restored from my iTunes. They will then backup it up to a 12.3.3 version of iTunes, then I'll restore that to my SE.

Excellent. I'm glad you've found a workaround. 🙂

tt2

WJRob01 wrote:

Regarding loading Windows 10, I'd have to upgrade to Windows 7 first (at the normal Microsoft cost of course) and then install 10. Again I may be wrong about this, but the upgrade to Windows 7/10 would be a fresh install and effectively wipe my desktop, so I avoided that route as well.

I was talking about temporary workaround by using an extra (unused) hard drive just to get iTunes 12.3.3 working. My previous post says "you can restore without messing up your Win XP (or someone else's) hard drive" so I wasn't talking about upgrading your Windows XP. Anyway, your solution works too.