6 ms·

iOS 7 “activation required” error on iPhone and iPad

47 points by zengr 13y ago

taspeotis 13y ago
This seems like a non-issue (only affecting users with beta versions of iOS 7) and a generally uninformed article: > Apple seem to have pushed out an update that forces users to update to the current version of iOS 7 Previous betas have had expiration dates hard-coded into them. So the "update" that Apple "seem to have pushed out" is probably "the future". EDIT: It seems like this is the first time an iOS beta has expired for some developers. Get a GM release and (command|shift) click [1] on "check for updates" in iTunes [2]. This is basically how you do non-OTA updates between different beta versions. EDIT 2: The blog post has been updated and "Apple seem to have pushed out an update" no longer appears in the body text. I wonder why... [3] [1] Some modifier key is the right one. I don't remember which. [2] http://www.jailbreaksquad.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Browse-and-Select-iOS-6.1-IPSW.png http://www.jailbreaksquad.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Bro... [3] http://i.imgur.com/zN2EttW.jpg http://i.imgur.com/zN2EttW.jpg
- chucknelson 13y ago
  I love how basically every headline for this event makes no mention of expiring betas. This is not that exciting, but gotta get those clicks and make it seem like iOS 7 in general is crapping out across the globe.
  - nonchalance 13y ago
    The main reason I like HN is because of this: one of the first few comments, in pretty much any discussion, points out that the title is sensationalized (and gives a more levelheaded discussion)
    - jasonlotito 13y ago
      I'd rather people just flag false articles like this so it gets removed.
MiguelHudnandez 13y ago
Got this on my iPad, thought "ohh shit, I should back up my phone right now, it's next..." I backed it up and within 20 minutes it had been disabled. Interestingly, it put it in a state in which it was unable to ring for incoming calls. I wish Apple would not report that your iOS version is "up to date" in iTunes if you are running a time-bombed beta build. Even if they don't want to support a direct upgrade path from beta to GM, they could indicate in their software that your software is not up to date. Not everyone can afford dedicated dev devices--even though that is in their terms of use.
- bookface 13y ago
  This really screwed me over this time. My developer account expired a few weeks ago and I got worried because I still had the beta installed. I tried upgrading via iTunes, but it said I was up to date, and I assumed that meant that the phone had updated itself to the release version over the air automatically or that I'd forgotten that I already updated manually. And now that phone is bricked until I get back to my computer tomorrow.
  - objclxt 13y ago
    Not to come off as uncaring, but I think you screwed yourself over if you installed the iOS 7 beta and didn't read the release notes. iOS betas have always expired, going back years, and this has always been documented in the release notes. It's also made clear in the release notes that you can't upgrade via iTunes to the public release from a beta - you have to manually download the IPSW and update it yourself.
    - bookface 13y ago
      I was going to add a line at the end of my post saying that this was all, of course, my fault, but figured it went without saying. Lesson learned.
- 37prime 13y ago
  Bear in mind that Apple then released the GM version of iOS 7. For those who actually read and comprehend the release notes installed the iOS 7 GM over the beta ones. This is one of many reasons why people who have no business installing beta software should NEVER install beta software on their devices.
jonhmchan 13y ago
This happened to me less than an hour ago - it puts you on an infinite loop if you try and do a login from the phone without a USB connection. I'm a developer that's been using the beta - it seems to have only affected those that haven't upgraded.
RMacy 13y ago
Good luck if you had "find my phone" turned on.
- onats 13y ago
  I have Find My Phone turned on. Can I just upgrade / restore the iPhone?
  - tpurves 13y ago
    If you have find my phone turned on: 0. Go to iCloud and disable find my phone for your device 1. Download the GM final OS7 build 2. Restart in recovery mode: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1808#sthash.qByAjn0z.dpuf http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1808#sthash.qByAjn0z.dpuf 3. Do NOT click ok when prompted to restore your phone 4. Click the secret command/alt combination with the restore button. 5. Select the downloaded OS7 file. your phone will fix itself Real asshole move of Apple to suddenly brick your phone then provide no instruction for how to do this instead of... you know just allowing the phone to automatically update or activate. Hope that you didn't have anything better to do with your life for the last hour.
    - joeld42 13y ago
      Thank you for posting this. I was in this boat and I don't think I would have figured it out otherwise. I owe you a beer. Also, in case anyone else is reading this, I was also getting mysterious "Unknown Errors" from iTunes when trying the restore, it was because I hadn't updated iTunes to the very very latestest.
- emp 13y ago
  Required starting in DFU mode + restore. Didn't think to try option + update as eggbrain mentioned above. Does this mean Find My iPhone can be circumvented with a DFU mode restore?
  - taspeotis 13y ago
    > Does this mean Find My iPhone can be circumvented with a DFU mode restore? I am just speculating, but perhaps iOS 7 GM and later cannot be circumvented but the beta versions could be. This might be intentional - after all, it's beta code. The circumvention might be a plan B.
eggbrain 13y ago
Just hit this error myself -- found an easier way than restoring from backup. First, download the latest iOS7 version (I used an ipsw from this website: http://www.iphonehacks.com/2013/09/update-ios-7-beta-ios-7-public-release.html http://www.iphonehacks.com/2013/09/update-ios-7-beta-ios-7-p...) Open up iTunes and go to your iPhone, and press alt/option + the "Check for Update" button. This will open up a window that will allow you to browse to your ipsw download. Choose the iOS7 ipsw you downloaded for your phone, and choose it. After 20 minutes, your iPhone will update, and you'll be ready to go -- no restore required.
- benguild 13y ago
  That's lucky. It didn't use to work. Before the iTunes Betas would expire and the beta iOS versions would only sync with those. Also they wouldn't allow updates to the final GM.
31reasons 13y ago
Did anyone find this extremely rude. I was suddenly locked out of my own hardware for which I paid hundreds of dollars. I stopped receiving calls in the middle of the day. Why do they have to treat people who installed beta like they are criminals on a parole. Where is the magic Apple ?
- 37prime 13y ago
  There’s the part about common sense and reading the release notes. It is a beta software. Historically, iOS betas do expire.
  - 31reasons 13y ago
    It can always give a gentle warning before locking people out.
    - 37prime 13y ago
      It is in the release notes.
    - gibwell 13y ago
      Did you not notice that the GM had been released? I think it was mentioned in the press...
- gibwell 13y ago
  You locked yourself out by deliberately installing a time limited piece of software and then neglecting to update it when a complete version was offered to you for free. You aren't being treated like a criminal on parole. You're being treated like a software developer who understands how to handle pre-release software.
- glitch 13y ago
  Read the continual developer release notes next time. When Apple released the GM, they had specific instructions about updating from the betas. If you are a developer engaging in the beta program, this is something you should have kept tabs on. Having said that, yes, Apple should have handled this more smoothly. However, it was documented in the developer documentation.
sausman 13y ago
I was able to update my 4S by downloading the official release and updating it in iTunes by option+clicking "Check for Update" and selecting the file. If you have a 4S: http://thepiratebay.sx/torrent/8936924/iPhone_4S_iOS_7.0_(11A465)_Official_Release http://thepiratebay.sx/torrent/8936924/iPhone_4S_iOS_7.0_(11...
- objclxt 13y ago
  You can also just download the IPSW directly from developer.apple.com, if you have a paid-up developer account. And if you don't you probably shouldn't be using iOS betas on your device.
wavesounds 13y ago
I was just in the apple store and heard someone complain about this. She was there for some other reason and it just so happened to strike her phone while she was waiting. The guy helping her was pretty puzzled and kept insisting she must have reset her phone.
klimthn 13y ago
I understand the misfortunate situation revolving around this "issue", but shouldn't this of been seen miles away? I mean a beta version/GM version were running on the phone. A developer would know that beta/GM development release are mean't to expire, and for good reason. Heck this even happened to me and it was my own fault. I knew that I needed to update to the public release of iOS7. This reminds of the kids who were buying developer accounts just to get the iOS7 betas, and walking into the apple store when their phone takes a dive. Finally, a developer or a person who reads the TOS know that shit happens, and when it does, usually they know the instructions to recover from this.
- taspeotis 13y ago
  > Heck this even happened to me and it was my own fault. You sound like the type of developer that would read the manual before asking for help.
far33d 13y ago
For everyone saying "you should have read the release notes" - yes I agree. However, there are two things that made this very opaque and should have been better. 1) all sources indicate everywhere that the software is "up to date". I realize that as a developer I should be keeping better tabs on things but I usually trust things not to just lie to me. It's pretty opaque. 2) The error you get when the beta expires makes no mention of the fact that the beta expired. Without judicious twitter searches and a quick look on hacker news, I didn't know what the source of the error was and assumed something was wrong w/ apple's activation or that someone had compromised my account in some way.
- yeldarb 13y ago
  So much this. And since it happened with no warning on a weekend evening I was not at home and wasn't able to even look it up since my phone all of the sudden self destructed AS I WAS USING IT. It just rebooted and all of the sudden was non-functional. As the responsible DD for tonight this put me in a tough spot where the drunkies I was responsible for were unable to contact their driver. This was a ridiculous way to handle this. I had even tried to manually update to the public release manually via iTunes last week and since it said "Up to Date" I thought it had worked.. but apparently not.
- ctdonath 13y ago
  Yes, this. No hint that anything would happen or when. No apparent means of updating, or to what. No ability to back up when it hit. I was at a confluence of development needs & tools & deadlines which delayed a sensible update sequence.
- gibwell 13y ago
  So you're saying you didn't know the GM had been released?
mortenjorck 13y ago
There are lots of comments here that rightly point out that you have no reasonable expectation of uninterrupted functionality using beta software. But to me, there's a bigger, more interesting picture here: There's clearly a demand for pre-release Apple software among people who don't really have any need for it. I'm sure I'm not alone in having seen people this summer running iOS 7 betas on their personal phones, even people with no software development experience who probably couldn't tell you what Xcode is. It's not in Apple's interest for this to be happening, as it leaves a bad taste in people's mouth when things like this inevitably happen. Restricting access clearly doesn't work. Everyone who knows the beta exists knows someone who can hook them up. There's got to be something else, some other way Apple can make these betas less appealing to the casual user, without lessening the betas' usefulness for people actually trying to test things.
- misiti3780 13y ago
  I agree - they should change the registration process so each developer account only install firmware on a single phone
  - taspeotis 13y ago
    You should be able to answer this one for yourself: why is this a bad idea? Hint: there is more than one type of iPhone.
  - objclxt 13y ago
    That's a terrible idea that assumes each developer only needs one phone. But someone who is making a full-time living off iOS development probably has several devices: a 5/5x for the taller screen, a 4/4S, until recently maybe a non-retina model...
    - MaysonL 13y ago
      As well as a number of beta testers (who when they offer useful feedback can be worth their weight in gold).
dangero 13y ago
This is semi related tangent. I've worked in at a lot of software companies where they spent a lot of time being concerned about small groups of customers that were using old builds, how we would keep their setup working, etc. It always impresses me how Apple moves forward in spite of who may be left behind and I assume that this is a conscious choice they constantly have to revisit. The counter example would be Microsoft that still supported DOS for more than a decade after they moved on from it. I don't know any engineers who like maintaining legacy systems, so it seems to be a perk of working with Apple and I also think that this lack of concern for legacy is allowing Apple to move forward faster. At my last job every time a new project was requested by management I would ask, "What old project will we remove then? Because maintenance takes time." I pretty much never got an answer on that. It takes discipline to stay lean and to non-engineers legacy costs can be invisible a lot of times. One area where I see progress accelerating is XCode. You basically need to be running latest XCode to publish apps to the App Store, so people always run latest. On the other hand, I've got Visual Studio all the way back to 2003 on hand because clients don't want to take the time to upgrade. It drives me nuts. There's something satisfying about progress and something very depressing to me when I sit down to make changes to a project using Visual Studio 2003 .NET. Anyone know what I mean?

47 points by zengr 13y ago

This seems like a non-issue (only affecting users with beta versions of iOS 7) and a generally uninformed article: > Apple seem to have pushed out an update that forces users to update to the current version of iOS 7 Previous betas have had expiration dates hard-coded into them. So the "update" that Apple "seem to have pushed out" is probably "the future". EDIT: It seems like this is the first time an iOS beta has expired for some developers. Get a GM release and (command|shift) click [1] on "check for updates" in iTunes [2]. This is basically how you do non-OTA updates between different beta versions. EDIT 2: The blog post has been updated and "Apple seem to have pushed out an update" no longer appears in the body text. I wonder why... [3] [1] Some modifier key is the right one. I don't remember which. [2] http://www.jailbreaksquad.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Browse-and-Select-iOS-6.1-IPSW.png http://www.jailbreaksquad.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Bro... [3] http://i.imgur.com/zN2EttW.jpg http://i.imgur.com/zN2EttW.jpg

chucknelson 13y ago
I love how basically every headline for this event makes no mention of expiring betas. This is not that exciting, but gotta get those clicks and make it seem like iOS 7 in general is crapping out across the globe.
- nonchalance 13y ago
  The main reason I like HN is because of this: one of the first few comments, in pretty much any discussion, points out that the title is sensationalized (and gives a more levelheaded discussion)
  - jasonlotito 13y ago
    I'd rather people just flag false articles like this so it gets removed.

MiguelHudnandez 13y ago

Got this on my iPad, thought "ohh shit, I should back up my phone right now, it's next..." I backed it up and within 20 minutes it had been disabled. Interestingly, it put it in a state in which it was unable to ring for incoming calls. I wish Apple would not report that your iOS version is "up to date" in iTunes if you are running a time-bombed beta build. Even if they don't want to support a direct upgrade path from beta to GM, they could indicate in their software that your software is not up to date. Not everyone can afford dedicated dev devices--even though that is in their terms of use.

bookface 13y ago
This really screwed me over this time. My developer account expired a few weeks ago and I got worried because I still had the beta installed. I tried upgrading via iTunes, but it said I was up to date, and I assumed that meant that the phone had updated itself to the release version over the air automatically or that I'd forgotten that I already updated manually. And now that phone is bricked until I get back to my computer tomorrow.
- objclxt 13y ago
  Not to come off as uncaring, but I think you screwed yourself over if you installed the iOS 7 beta and didn't read the release notes. iOS betas have always expired, going back years, and this has always been documented in the release notes. It's also made clear in the release notes that you can't upgrade via iTunes to the public release from a beta - you have to manually download the IPSW and update it yourself.
  - bookface 13y ago
    I was going to add a line at the end of my post saying that this was all, of course, my fault, but figured it went without saying. Lesson learned.
37prime 13y ago
Bear in mind that Apple then released the GM version of iOS 7. For those who actually read and comprehend the release notes installed the iOS 7 GM over the beta ones. This is one of many reasons why people who have no business installing beta software should NEVER install beta software on their devices.

jonhmchan 13y ago

This happened to me less than an hour ago - it puts you on an infinite loop if you try and do a login from the phone without a USB connection. I'm a developer that's been using the beta - it seems to have only affected those that haven't upgraded.

RMacy 13y ago

Good luck if you had "find my phone" turned on.

onats 13y ago
I have Find My Phone turned on. Can I just upgrade / restore the iPhone?
- tpurves 13y ago
  If you have find my phone turned on: 0. Go to iCloud and disable find my phone for your device 1. Download the GM final OS7 build 2. Restart in recovery mode: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1808#sthash.qByAjn0z.dpuf http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1808#sthash.qByAjn0z.dpuf 3. Do NOT click ok when prompted to restore your phone 4. Click the secret command/alt combination with the restore button. 5. Select the downloaded OS7 file. your phone will fix itself Real asshole move of Apple to suddenly brick your phone then provide no instruction for how to do this instead of... you know just allowing the phone to automatically update or activate. Hope that you didn't have anything better to do with your life for the last hour.
  - joeld42 13y ago
    Thank you for posting this. I was in this boat and I don't think I would have figured it out otherwise. I owe you a beer. Also, in case anyone else is reading this, I was also getting mysterious "Unknown Errors" from iTunes when trying the restore, it was because I hadn't updated iTunes to the very very latestest.
emp 13y ago
Required starting in DFU mode + restore. Didn't think to try option + update as eggbrain mentioned above. Does this mean Find My iPhone can be circumvented with a DFU mode restore?
- taspeotis 13y ago
  > Does this mean Find My iPhone can be circumvented with a DFU mode restore? I am just speculating, but perhaps iOS 7 GM and later cannot be circumvented but the beta versions could be. This might be intentional - after all, it's beta code. The circumvention might be a plan B.

eggbrain 13y ago

Just hit this error myself -- found an easier way than restoring from backup. First, download the latest iOS7 version (I used an ipsw from this website: http://www.iphonehacks.com/2013/09/update-ios-7-beta-ios-7-public-release.html http://www.iphonehacks.com/2013/09/update-ios-7-beta-ios-7-p...) Open up iTunes and go to your iPhone, and press alt/option + the "Check for Update" button. This will open up a window that will allow you to browse to your ipsw download. Choose the iOS7 ipsw you downloaded for your phone, and choose it. After 20 minutes, your iPhone will update, and you'll be ready to go -- no restore required.

benguild 13y ago
That's lucky. It didn't use to work. Before the iTunes Betas would expire and the beta iOS versions would only sync with those. Also they wouldn't allow updates to the final GM.

31reasons 13y ago

Did anyone find this extremely rude. I was suddenly locked out of my own hardware for which I paid hundreds of dollars. I stopped receiving calls in the middle of the day. Why do they have to treat people who installed beta like they are criminals on a parole. Where is the magic Apple ?

37prime 13y ago
There’s the part about common sense and reading the release notes. It is a beta software. Historically, iOS betas do expire.
- 31reasons 13y ago
  It can always give a gentle warning before locking people out.
  - 37prime 13y ago
    It is in the release notes.
  - gibwell 13y ago
    Did you not notice that the GM had been released? I think it was mentioned in the press...
gibwell 13y ago
You locked yourself out by deliberately installing a time limited piece of software and then neglecting to update it when a complete version was offered to you for free. You aren't being treated like a criminal on parole. You're being treated like a software developer who understands how to handle pre-release software.
glitch 13y ago
Read the continual developer release notes next time. When Apple released the GM, they had specific instructions about updating from the betas. If you are a developer engaging in the beta program, this is something you should have kept tabs on. Having said that, yes, Apple should have handled this more smoothly. However, it was documented in the developer documentation.

sausman 13y ago

I was able to update my 4S by downloading the official release and updating it in iTunes by option+clicking "Check for Update" and selecting the file. If you have a 4S: http://thepiratebay.sx/torrent/8936924/iPhone_4S_iOS_7.0_(11A465)_Official_Release http://thepiratebay.sx/torrent/8936924/iPhone_4S_iOS_7.0_(11...

objclxt 13y ago
You can also just download the IPSW directly from developer.apple.com, if you have a paid-up developer account. And if you don't you probably shouldn't be using iOS betas on your device.

wavesounds 13y ago

I was just in the apple store and heard someone complain about this. She was there for some other reason and it just so happened to strike her phone while she was waiting. The guy helping her was pretty puzzled and kept insisting she must have reset her phone.

klimthn 13y ago

I understand the misfortunate situation revolving around this "issue", but shouldn't this of been seen miles away? I mean a beta version/GM version were running on the phone. A developer would know that beta/GM development release are mean't to expire, and for good reason. Heck this even happened to me and it was my own fault. I knew that I needed to update to the public release of iOS7. This reminds of the kids who were buying developer accounts just to get the iOS7 betas, and walking into the apple store when their phone takes a dive. Finally, a developer or a person who reads the TOS know that shit happens, and when it does, usually they know the instructions to recover from this.

taspeotis 13y ago
> Heck this even happened to me and it was my own fault. You sound like the type of developer that would read the manual before asking for help.

far33d 13y ago

For everyone saying "you should have read the release notes" - yes I agree. However, there are two things that made this very opaque and should have been better. 1) all sources indicate everywhere that the software is "up to date". I realize that as a developer I should be keeping better tabs on things but I usually trust things not to just lie to me. It's pretty opaque. 2) The error you get when the beta expires makes no mention of the fact that the beta expired. Without judicious twitter searches and a quick look on hacker news, I didn't know what the source of the error was and assumed something was wrong w/ apple's activation or that someone had compromised my account in some way.

yeldarb 13y ago
So much this. And since it happened with no warning on a weekend evening I was not at home and wasn't able to even look it up since my phone all of the sudden self destructed AS I WAS USING IT. It just rebooted and all of the sudden was non-functional. As the responsible DD for tonight this put me in a tough spot where the drunkies I was responsible for were unable to contact their driver. This was a ridiculous way to handle this. I had even tried to manually update to the public release manually via iTunes last week and since it said "Up to Date" I thought it had worked.. but apparently not.
ctdonath 13y ago
Yes, this. No hint that anything would happen or when. No apparent means of updating, or to what. No ability to back up when it hit. I was at a confluence of development needs & tools & deadlines which delayed a sensible update sequence.
gibwell 13y ago
So you're saying you didn't know the GM had been released?

mortenjorck 13y ago

There are lots of comments here that rightly point out that you have no reasonable expectation of uninterrupted functionality using beta software. But to me, there's a bigger, more interesting picture here: There's clearly a demand for pre-release Apple software among people who don't really have any need for it. I'm sure I'm not alone in having seen people this summer running iOS 7 betas on their personal phones, even people with no software development experience who probably couldn't tell you what Xcode is. It's not in Apple's interest for this to be happening, as it leaves a bad taste in people's mouth when things like this inevitably happen. Restricting access clearly doesn't work. Everyone who knows the beta exists knows someone who can hook them up. There's got to be something else, some other way Apple can make these betas less appealing to the casual user, without lessening the betas' usefulness for people actually trying to test things.

misiti3780 13y ago
I agree - they should change the registration process so each developer account only install firmware on a single phone
- taspeotis 13y ago
  You should be able to answer this one for yourself: why is this a bad idea? Hint: there is more than one type of iPhone.
- objclxt 13y ago
  That's a terrible idea that assumes each developer only needs one phone. But someone who is making a full-time living off iOS development probably has several devices: a 5/5x for the taller screen, a 4/4S, until recently maybe a non-retina model...
  - MaysonL 13y ago
    As well as a number of beta testers (who when they offer useful feedback can be worth their weight in gold).

dangero 13y ago

This is semi related tangent. I've worked in at a lot of software companies where they spent a lot of time being concerned about small groups of customers that were using old builds, how we would keep their setup working, etc. It always impresses me how Apple moves forward in spite of who may be left behind and I assume that this is a conscious choice they constantly have to revisit. The counter example would be Microsoft that still supported DOS for more than a decade after they moved on from it. I don't know any engineers who like maintaining legacy systems, so it seems to be a perk of working with Apple and I also think that this lack of concern for legacy is allowing Apple to move forward faster. At my last job every time a new project was requested by management I would ask, "What old project will we remove then? Because maintenance takes time." I pretty much never got an answer on that. It takes discipline to stay lean and to non-engineers legacy costs can be invisible a lot of times. One area where I see progress accelerating is XCode. You basically need to be running latest XCode to publish apps to the App Store, so people always run latest. On the other hand, I've got Visual Studio all the way back to 2003 on hand because clients don't want to take the time to upgrade. It drives me nuts. There's something satisfying about progress and something very depressing to me when I sit down to make changes to a project using Visual Studio 2003 .NET. Anyone know what I mean?