Finding an iPhone 6S with iOS 9.3 or lower on it
#17
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I'd agree, a native 9.3 in-the-box phone is best bet if you can find one.
I only upgraded from 9.3.5. 9 days ago on a 6S+. An older version (can't recall) of iTunes didn't recognize the 10.3.1 release, so iTunes had to be upgraded first (to 12.6.0), and this may have been due to the signing issue.
If you can't find a "9.3" iPhone in the box, an older version of the firmware and iTunes may be an option, no guarantees, to get around the signing issue.
A possible direct link to iTunes 11: http://appldnld.apple.com/iTunes11/0...nes64Setup.exe
There are Apple serial number decoders. If you find a non-refurbished 6S, running the serial number through a decoder may give you an idea of the Date of Manufacture, and from there, you'd know if it was boxed before IOS 10 was released, which seems to be reported as September 13, 2016. I've used everymac in the past: http://www.everymac.com/ultimate-mac-lookup/
If you seek a 6S, also check the serial number here: https://www.apple.com/support/iphone...ectedshutdown/ to ensure it's not one with a battery issue. If it was sent back, even if free service, I doubt it would come back with less than the current version of iOS.
I only upgraded from 9.3.5. 9 days ago on a 6S+. An older version (can't recall) of iTunes didn't recognize the 10.3.1 release, so iTunes had to be upgraded first (to 12.6.0), and this may have been due to the signing issue.
If you can't find a "9.3" iPhone in the box, an older version of the firmware and iTunes may be an option, no guarantees, to get around the signing issue.
A possible direct link to iTunes 11: http://appldnld.apple.com/iTunes11/0...nes64Setup.exe
There are Apple serial number decoders. If you find a non-refurbished 6S, running the serial number through a decoder may give you an idea of the Date of Manufacture, and from there, you'd know if it was boxed before IOS 10 was released, which seems to be reported as September 13, 2016. I've used everymac in the past: http://www.everymac.com/ultimate-mac-lookup/
If you seek a 6S, also check the serial number here: https://www.apple.com/support/iphone...ectedshutdown/ to ensure it's not one with a battery issue. If it was sent back, even if free service, I doubt it would come back with less than the current version of iOS.
#18
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Can you elaborate?
At the root of this, we're dealing with a user who is already taking personal responsibility for going over the wall of of the walled garden.
Advice in this thread isn't intended for joe-average-iphone user. That advice would be run 10.3.2 or higher for the very latest security patches, don't jail break your phone, only use Apple approved apps and wear clean underwear in case of a car crash.
At the root of this, we're dealing with a user who is already taking personal responsibility for going over the wall of of the walled garden.
Advice in this thread isn't intended for joe-average-iphone user. That advice would be run 10.3.2 or higher for the very latest security patches, don't jail break your phone, only use Apple approved apps and wear clean underwear in case of a car crash.
#19
Join Date: Mar 2017
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Can you elaborate?
At the root of this, we're dealing with a user who is already taking personal responsibility for going over the wall of of the walled garden.
Advice in this thread isn't intended for joe-average-iphone user. That advice would be run 10.3.2 or higher for the very latest security patches, don't jail break your phone, only use Apple approved apps and wear clean underwear in case of a car crash.
At the root of this, we're dealing with a user who is already taking personal responsibility for going over the wall of of the walled garden.
Advice in this thread isn't intended for joe-average-iphone user. That advice would be run 10.3.2 or higher for the very latest security patches, don't jail break your phone, only use Apple approved apps and wear clean underwear in case of a car crash.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201222
Usually people who like to jailbreak and run non-approved apps tend to focus more on the functionality they're getting and forget about the huge number of zero-day and other exploits that Apple patches almost constantly.
#22
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Like this FT Thread: "does anyone carry their smartphone without a lock screen?" everyone has different security needs.
#23
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You can find one on eBay probably. My cousin wanted a jailbreakable iPhone 5S and he found one that was on iOS 8.4 and already jailbroken, it was a bit more expensive than the ordinary 5S's available on eBay but obviously because it was on a lower OS version.... 10.2.1 or higher) would do fine as well.
I'm astonished that anyone lets iOS (or Windows for that matter) auto-update the OS without carefully checking the updates first. Likewise with software; if there is a "notify but don't update" option I'll always take it (in part because I've discovered that some newer versions of software just aren't as good as older ones -- FoxIt Reader, Copernicus Desktop, MS Word).
#24
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"At work" enterprises push changes automatically to all. The blind update methodology has become ingrained.
Some software publishers push out versions as soon as a new iOS or Android OS comes out and add] support for the new OS. Others also remove support for the older ones at the same time. More pressure to change to the newer OS, which is not always an upgrade.
In Windows besides windows update settings, you need to dig around in the Task Scheduler to remove/disable vendor-installed update cron jobs created when you first install the software. For some, you need to stay on it, as the 'update' might restart the update task. It's whack-a-mole.
#25
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#26
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Ya think they might be stolen? And if iCloud-locked, useless?
Are folks really that gullible?
#27
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I'm astonished that anyone lets iOS (or Windows for that matter) auto-update the OS without carefully checking the updates first. Likewise with software; if there is a "notify but don't update" option I'll always take it (in part because I've discovered that some newer versions of software just aren't as good as older ones -- FoxIt Reader, Copernicus Desktop, MS Word).
#28
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The Apple Trade in is currently just over $200.
I wouldn't buy one for $100. If not encumbered with carrier or 'ownership' problems, if it's an honest price, it's probably beat up.
Ya think they might be stolen? And if iCloud-locked, useless?
There are a number of 3rd party web sites that claim to check for _carrier_ lock, I don't think those help with stolen, but could provide other useful information, YMMV.
If you ask the seller for the IMEI so you can do a 'stolen' scan, and the seller provides it, it suggests something different than if you never hear from them again.
Are folks really that gullible?
#29
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Updates are what introduced the security hole. Maybe the update wasn't a bug fix, but a feature enhancement that introduced the problem. Rarely the problem was there from the beginning and only just discovered, but it happens.
Updates, auto or manual, solve known problems and create new problems. For this thread, 9.3.2 has features valuable to a user that 10.x.x makes impossible.
The purpose of security is to keep a system usable. There are notable past events where the 'security' solutions degraded or disabled systems, and not enough has changed to prevent this. That last ransomware event was bad for a number of people, but it's just as bad when $antivirusprogram false positives $bootprogram as virus and deletes it.
Updates need to be managed.
Up in the air, you don't want to start a Gogo or other for-pay, limited session, then find out that some piece of software as woken up and decided now is a good time to go get a large update.
On the ground, the last thing you want is to try to start that presentation or try to leave for the day to catch a flight and find out that Windows has decided "I am updating. Don't turn your computer off. Estimated time to complete: Let me get back to you on that"
Updates and patches have value, but it's a balance and auto-update doesn't strike that balance.
#30
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Instead, you could be hit by the current wave of ransomware cyberattacks, rather than being protected by a patch that was released in an update 3 months ago.