iOS iNsecurity

jn2002dk

@baldguru said:
All this 'freezing' at a set level is fine in theory. The problem is, Apple does not allow you to restore to an older version of iOS. So when (not if) your device goes batsh't - there goes your 'frozen snapshot.' Planned obsolecense at its best. You know it going in, but it has always felt just this side of criminal to me they are allowed to get away with this. Just sayin'

Why would an older iOS version start acting up on it's own? If it's not connected to the internet i don't see what would do that except a hardware error

Also, if you ever found yourself at a point where you needed to restore and for some reason factory reset wasn't enough, you could always jailbreak and install an older iOS version

This whole planned obsoleteness is somewhat overblown in my opinion. I know people still using an iPhone 3gs. As long as you don't update iOS and don't mind not being able to update apps or get most of the new ones, it's not really an issue

BiancaNeve

I wonder if it would be possible to find a new copy of Windows XP to load on a new laptop
and whether it would even run if you could.

jn2002dk

@BiancaNeve said:
I wonder if it would be possible to find a new copy of Windows XP to load on a new laptop
and whether it would even run if you could.

It should be able to run on modern hardware since it's still x86. However, finding drivers for your video card, ethernet etc. is going to be an issue. There could also be issues with UEFI since XP wasn't designed to boot using that but i haven't actually tried it oh and it wouldn't recognise more than 4gb ram unless you use the pro 64 bit version

srcer

@ExAsperis99 said:
I'm not actually talking seriously about forced updates. I'm kind of just speaking metaphorically, which certainly has led to confusion. I am just caught in the paradox of admiring an ephemeral instrument.

The beauty of software is that it is malleable, the beast of software is that it is malleable.

There is a technical 'solution'. Backups.
You'll need a computer, or maybe more than one if you're really paranoid (prudent). With a backup (or two, XP sure is getting old isn't it?) of the installer for the OS that works with it. Download the full installer for iTunes, keep a backup. Use iTunes to download the current version of iOS for your iDevice, keep a backup (This needs to be the one you want to use, if you want an older one you're already out of luck) Apple 'signs' this software, but there's a step that must be done right before using it to reflash your iDevice. This bit is retrieved from Apple servers at the time. It's possible to back this up. You'll need a third party tool. The bits are called shsh blobs. Finding the tools and using them I'll leave as an exercise for the user. IF you have the shsh blobs down the line. You will be able to use iTunes to restore THAT particular iOS version, to THAT particular iDevice (literally that one, not the same model, not one bought at the same store, THAT ONE). If you have more than one iDevice, you'll need to backup the shsh blobs while Apple is still 'signing' that version of iOS. So if you're going to have 'backup' iDevices you need to acquire them and retrieve the shsh blobs proactively. Get the iDevice setup the way you want it. Back it up with iTunes. Backup that backup.

So assuming you have all that you can run a desktop OS that will run a version of iTunes that will reflash a particular version of iOS to a particular iDevice. You can then restore the backup of said iDevice. This will exclude IAPs, those need to contact Apple's servers (and possibly vendor's) in order to be restored. Also will exclude anything downloaded within an app marked 'transient' (that stuff isn't backed up to save space in the backup file, good luck knowing which is which, only way to know for sure is to test by restoring a backup) Barring those restrictions you can make regular backups and restore to a 'known good' state. Beauty, beast.

If following that recipe smells delicious to you, you may want to consider a career in system administration. Also a good candidate for librarian of the future

Processaurus

@srcer thanks for the rundown, it's good to be reminded you need to save the blobs for the ios version you like NOW, to get to be able to restore it in the future.

telecharge

@Processaurus said:
@srcer thanks for the rundown, it's good to be reminded you need to save the blobs for the ios version you like NOW, to get to be able to restore it in the future.

+1

There really needs to be an easier way to image an iOS device to capture it in its current state.

Littlewoodg

@JohnnyGoodyear said:

@Littlewoodg said:
@JohnnyGoodyear
iSequence!
Had it fired up in my classroom the other day, GUI projected on the wipeboard while the kids had their breakfast-in-the-classroom...had their heads bobbin' and toes tappin'

It's a great app. As is it's a great app. But if you could import in a little and move things around a little more it'd be the future. That place where someone else has solved all your problems for you. Where you don't have to sit and just get on with the work. As it is I'm left with the excuses of myself, which -surely- must be somebody else's fault...

You can blame moi, it's a service I provide both at home and on the job: I'm a husband and a public school teacher, whatever it is, it's my fault