back to article Itching to stuff iOS 11 on your iPhone? You may want to hold off for a bit

Apple's latest iOS version is out today – iOS 11 – but before you rush into updating, you'll want to check that it doesn't destroy any of your favorite apps. This version will insist on running only 64-bit apps and will kill support for 32-bit apps. That means several things: for one, if you have anything earlier than an …

  1. djstardust

    Oh yeah .....

    Oh, and if you do decide to update straight away, please do the sensible thing and take a backup.

    See, this is precisely the reason I don't use Apple products any more. I had three iOS updates and three failures. I lost everything as the backups were corrupted and wouldn't work after the update.

    Never again.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Oh yeah .....

      Not sure how you managed that, I don't think what you claim is even possible.

      I've never had a problem with iOS updates and I've been using iPhones since the 3gs. I always follow the same recipe, based on how I have always done OS upgrades on anything from a DD-WRT router to high end Unix server:

      1) take a full backup

      2) shut down and restart

      3) perform upgrade

      4) shut down and restart

      1. sabroni Silver badge

        Re: Oh yeah .....

        DougS, you always do it the same way but you don't think what the OP says is possible. How would you know what's possible if you've never varied your approach?

      2. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge

        Re: Oh yeah .....

        Not sure how you managed that, I don't think what you claim is even possible.

        I've never had a problem with iOS updates

        DougS,

        OK, I can understand that iOS has always worked perfectly for you. But surely you've noticed the odd headline in El Reg? Or just know that it's a computer - and they don't "just work".

        Even if it's only a million-to-one chance that someone could get 3 iOS upgrade failures in a row - well million to one chances come up nine times out of ten. Or to be serious, they've now sold hundreds of millions of iOS devices, so million to one chances would be expected to happen hundreds/thousands of times per update cycle. Also if a device and its configuration cause a failure once, it's more likely to do so again.

        I've had one iOS update fail, on an iPad. I'd backed it up - so all I had to do was plug it into iTunes, factory reset it and run the update again.

        Also almost all the updates before about iOS 6 broke WiFi in some way. WiFi on the iPad 1 was a bit flakey, got almost fixed by the later point releases of iOS, but then got borked again when they upgraded to iOS 4 (I think), and the first few iterations of iOS 5 re-introduced some problems. I remember having to give my iPad a fixed IP address to make it reasonably reliable at staying on the network for a few months.

        I don't recall seeing an iTunes backup be corrupted, but it's a file on a disk, so that's just to be expected sometimes. Another poster points out that iOS backups over-write each other, and I know people who've plugged in a problematic iDevice to get iTunes to reset it, and it's done an auto-backup on top of their previous good one and so destroyed their only backup by pisspoor software design. They should at least be rotating backup files.

        Finally I had a friend on a 3GS who wanted to upgrade to a later iPhone. And I was unable to back his phone up - because he'd never done it, and iTunes got into some weird cycle of trying to sync/backup and couldn't do either as it hadn't been connected for so long. Which is pretty shit given they wrote/approved all the software and designed the hardware. Because when Apple stuff doesn't 'just work' they don't give you much in the way of tools or help to try and get it going again.

        1. Rob D.
          Coat

          Re: Oh yeah .....

          "Even if it's only a million-to-one chance that someone could get 3 iOS upgrade failures in a row"

          Problems have come up and I agree with the article that holding fire looks like a good bet but on this thread it looks more likely that the OP was exaggerating or mistaken.

          Neck on the line (my wife is a maths teacher, not the forum backlash) but a million to one chance (your figure) for 3 iOS upgrade failures in a row means the chance of an iOS upgrade failure is on the order of one in a hundred each (assuming they are the only three the OP was talking about and making various daring assertions about the randomness of the occurrence). And 1 in 100 is not really tenable as a failure prediction given the numbers of iPhones out there.

          Even if you allow one in a hundred chance of upgrade going wrong, you then need to factor in three lots of probabilities for taking a backup and each time the backup gets corrupted which I would argue must be higher than one in a hundred. But again even allowing one in a hundred for corruption, you are still at the one in a thousand billion chance (100^6) that what the OP posted is likely to happen.

          Upgrade fails x Backup corrupt x Upgrade fails x Backup corrupt x Upgrade fails x Backup corrupt

          Someone will have another way to slice that no doubt, but those odds are probably low anyway. The chances are that something about the specific approach the OP was taking was wrong rather than just bad luck. Unfortunate but it does mean it would probably make sense to get some advice when a method keeps stuffing the iPhone and without some extra evidence does rather undermine the idea that the OP statement is a reason not to use Apple products.

        2. swissarmyknife

          Re: Oh yeah .....

          I see what you did there, Nobby would be proud.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Oh yeah .....

      See, this is precisely the reason I don't use Apple products any more. I had three iOS updates and three failures. I lost everything as the backups were corrupted and wouldn't work after the update.

      You may have been caught out by the one thing Apple has bizarrely not implemented, backup versioning. As a side effect of the otherwise remarkably good working automation, iTunes defaults to automatically backing up an iPhone that gets connected. The problem: it does so by overwriting the old backup instead of keeping one or two copies around and rotating them out.

      To do it right, you first need to make a backup of your iDevice, then dig it out in the iTunes "devices" and right-click on it to mark it "Archive" which makes iTunes treat it as read-only. Only then can you be sure that the next backup doesn't overwrite the previous one.

      I'm looking at the backup functions of iMazing - that has an automated backup for iDevices on WiFi, and it does keep past versions around. As a pure device data handling tool it's a lot better than iTunes, especially now iTunes had its apps management ripped out - you know, just when you need it to manage a new OS install? I'm not exactly impressed by that.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Oh yeah .....

      Never again.

      Luckily Android's out there to give you the reliability and stability you crave. And, as Android phones never receive updates anyway, you'll be doubly fine.

    4. This post has been deleted by its author

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Oh yeah .....

        "Backups are a waste of disk space. You wouldn't keep stale food in your fridge, so why keep stale data on your disks?"

        Well trolled, but I ain't gonna bite.

    5. Stevie

      Re: Oh yeah .....

      Even if the backup works when you restore from it, you don't get a return to what you had.

      I had to restore my iPad after an iTunes update borked it good and proper. Afterward I was faced with umptytump app reloads from the appstore except that a couple I used a lot were just gone. How is this possible if a proper backup was taken? You got me. Don't do it without fat pipe WiFi is my only piece of wisdom.

      Then the iTunes wouldn't sync properly. Turns out there's an undocumented hard limit on the number of music files that can be synced in one operation. Dunno what the number is, but I had to break my reload into lots of a thousand. Would have been very helpful to have been able to read some sort of log, but Apple apparently eschews these on the grounds that if it just works you don't need 'em. Oops.

      And boy are the Appleteenies defensive about that. The forums I found were full of frustrated people asking about logs and lectures to same about having a better attitude. I kept well out of it, since we were obviously in the arena of faith-based computing and had been declared apostate and heretic.

      And when I found the answer to the problem and posted it on the top Google hit for the most obvious search term, I got ambushed by an Appleteenie who felt that because the forum had been dormant for a few years my post was inappropriate. He backed down when I explained that Google sent anyone there asking in basic terms WTF was going on, but sweet Azathoth's Nebular Nodes what do these people do for a living if they have time to squat on "dead" forums?

      What was the question?

  2. deanb01

    App Store still thinks it's in beta

    Tried to leave a review of an app on the new App Store and got an error message saying I could not leave reviews on a pre-release version of iOS. Oops.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "Don't update to iOS 11 – you really don't need to. Just let the hype wave roll over you, it's not worth it."

    Just so we are clear, are you suggesting that an Apple owner do the one thing they just can't do?

    That's like putting a fox in a hen house and saying don't eat the chickens.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Installed fine on all my devices. Seems a bit snappier too in operation

    Installed fine on all my devices (iPhone 7, iPad Air 2, Apple TV 4th Gen, Apple Watch S2).

    Seems a bit snappier too in most operations but so far nothing major stands out.

    New iPad keyboard and dock are nice and new Siri voice sounds more natural.

    Only had 2 32bit apps that no longer work (as only 64 bit apps supported now),deleted and replaced with something very similar (1 app haven't used for years)

    Worth an upgrade but dont expect anything too radical, a lot of under the hood stuff.

    1. JamesPond
      Mushroom

      Re: Installed fine on all my devices. Seems a bit snappier too in operation

      @AC - "Worth an upgrade but dont expect anything too radical, a lot of under the hood stuff."

      Are you sure, just checked for the update and it says "IOS 11 brings hundreds of new features to iPhone and iPads" I mean, if Apple says it's true, it must be...

      But I won't be upgrading anytime soon, I'll wait for the 11.0.7 or maybe 11.1.0 to be released first.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Installed fine on all my devices. Seems a bit snappier too in operation

      a lot of under the hood stuff.

      That's what they want you to believe, and you do. Apple owners, they're just sooo obliging. Can I interest you in the top deals network operators are offering on an iPhone X, in the range of £80-90 per month? It's a bargain. And you want it, you know you do.

      “They were once men. Then Jobs the deceiver gave to them iPhones of great shine. Blinded by their greed, they took them without question, one by one falling into darkness. Now they are slaves to his will. They are the Fanbois, Phonewraiths, neither living nor dead. At all times they feel the presence of the iPhone, drawn to the power of Cupertino.”

      1. Dan McIntyre

        Re: Installed fine on all my devices. Seems a bit snappier too in operation

        Have an upvote just for this:

        “They were once men. Then Jobs the deceiver gave to them iPhones of great shine. Blinded by their greed, they took them without question, one by one falling into darkness. Now they are slaves to his will. They are the Fanbois, Phonewraiths, neither living nor dead. At all times they feel the presence of the iPhone, drawn to the power of Cupertino.”

      2. SuccessCase

        Re: Installed fine on all my devices. Seems a bit snappier too in operation

        “They were once men. Then Jobs the deceiver gave to them iPhones of great shine. Blinded by their greed, they took them without question, one by one falling into darkness. Now they are slaves to his will. They are the Fanbois, Phonewraiths, neither living nor dead. At all times they feel the presence of the iPhone, drawn to the power of Cupertino.”

        Quick, organise a party to take them to the Land of Korea. Only the NiCAD fires of mount Samsung are strong enough to melt the phones of power. I vote you should be the phone bearer as only a short arsed Android Fanboi can resist the power of The Phone.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Installed fine on all my devices. Seems a bit snappier too in operation

      Are you happy that you lost 20% storage and 20% of your RAM? As that is the additional overhead of forcing 64bit apps that don't need it...

      As usual, delusional Apple fanboys just blindly defend every apple move without actually engaging brain to allow free independent thoughts.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Installed fine on all my devices. Seems a bit snappier too in operation

        As a long-time Android and Windows phone user, now trying iOS for the first time, that's a limitation I can live with no problem.

        The thinking that's gone into integrating hardware and software is way more than at Goggle and Microshit who merely want to slurp your data and generally annoy the hell out of you.

        Apple are far from perfect and their fanboys are annoying turds, but they do produce a pretty decent product.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Trollface

          Re: Installed fine on all my devices. Seems a bit snappier too in operation

          Apple are far from perfect and their fanboys are annoying turds

          Errm, all due respect and all that, but from the rest of your post its rather looking like you're now one of them fanbois.....

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Installed fine on all my devices. Seems a bit snappier too in operation

          Apple slurp is EXACTLY the same as Google and Microsoft slurp. You might to spend a little time reading the privacy policies from all 3 and see there is no difference whatsoever.

          If you think buying apple stops them selling your anonymised data, you are sorely mistaken, they also do this.

          1. werdsmith Silver badge

            Re: Installed fine on all my devices. Seems a bit snappier too in operation

            Well what do you know! I had upgraded but not thought of checking storage, but looks like I have a bit more space, not much - maybe a lossless album worth of space.

            And I notice there is the automatic offload for unused apps that will save even more space.

            Everything else seems just the same, maybe rearranged the UI and changed icons but I really don't care about all that it does the same stuff.

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: Installed fine on all my devices. Seems a bit snappier too in operation

              Weird, as I had yet to update, so I checked before and after, and LOST over 700Mb of space. Not happy, as I don't have alot of apps installed, and going forward, I'm not happy that apps use more space than they used to.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Installed fine on all my devices. Seems a bit snappier too in operation

        This gets the stupid comment award... ^^^

        So, we are we now supposed to believe that the fact most Android phones never get the latest update is a "feature"?

        Thanks. But when I buy a device I expect many years of upgrades for the OS.

        It's the opinion is pretty universal that iOS 11 runs faster, so it's probably worth deleting a small video clip that I didn't need anyway to get it.

        To the article author:

        How is Apples fault some apps creators don't update their apps, even when they have had years of warnings? Do it make sense to wait? No. Those app creators aren't ever going to update their apps anyways.

        FYI: I use an IPad, but have an Android phone. So sorry, no fanboy here.

        1. Graeme Mudie

          Re: Installed fine on all my devices. Seems a bit snappier too in operation

          My nexus 7 received regular updates until Google released the Pixel range. Now I use a samsung tablet and my wife's old samsung note 4 - both are running android 7 - thanks to regular updates from Samsung.

      3. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Forcing 64 bit only SAVES storage and RAM

        Only a clueless troll thinks that iOS 11 costs 20% of storage and RAM. It actually requires less than iOS 10, because Apple left out all the 32 bit libraries. Previously Apple (and Android still does) have had to include both 32 bit and 64 bit libraries, which obviously doubles the storage requirement for those libraries. More importantly, when both 32 bit and 64 bit apps are loaded at the same time, both 32 bit and 64 bit versions of all the common libraries are present in RAM, doubling the RAM requirement for those libraries.

        That's the reason Apple decided to cut ties with apps that haven't been updated for several years and are still 32 bit only. It also allowed them to reduce design/validation time for the A11, since its CPU cores are 64 bit only. Sure, they could have supported 32 bit apps via software emulation if they had really wanted to (after all they emulated PowerPC on x86 when they migrated the Mac, which is an order of magnitude more difficult) but they deliberately chose to drop 32 bit support to avoid needlessly wasting RAM and storage keeping dual copies of the same library.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Forcing 64 bit only SAVES storage and RAM

          Not how it works, you have been hoodwinked.

        2. Charlie Clark Silver badge

          Re: Forcing 64 bit only SAVES storage and RAM

          Previously Apple (and Android still does) have had to include both 32 bit and 64 bit libraries

          Nah, Android comes in 32-bit and 64-bit flavours and most apps have their bytecode jitted to native.

          That said, you're right that the 64-bit / 32-bit issue is generally misunderstood. Practically apart from drivers it shouldn't make much of a difference.

    4. macjules

      Re: Installed fine on all my devices. Seems a bit snappier too in operation

      Me too. Then again iOS always seems faster on initial update, it is later on Apple load so much crap into it that it starts to slow down ... and then it's time for another update.

      By the way, Addison Lee might want to update their iOS app to 64 bit.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Holmes

    "iOS 11 will provide you with a few minutes of small talk"

    "So, I downloaded the new ios 11"

    - "Wow, that's hot"

    "You're hot"

    - "Tee-hee-hee - I know!!"

    "See? Animated poop emojis"

    - "OMG"

    1. JamesPond

      Re: "iOS 11 will provide you with a few minutes of small talk"

      Don't forget the talking unicorn.

  6. Geezheeztall

    Updated with no drama.

    I had updated to iOS 11 on my 7plus. Two old, unused apps were a casualty, but to no bother. The 'files' app was a let down. I hoped for much more local or home network functionality than it offered, but it's Apple so I'm not surprised. I'm not going to bother asking about flac. Aside from communication apps like Phone, Messages, and Facetime, I have no push notifications engaged, so battery life seems the same - I didn't guzzle power before, and it isn't guzzling now. Aside from a couple of new icons, it pretty much feels like iOS 10. Meh.

    1. Mad Hacker

      Re: Updated with no drama.

      It supports FLAC.

      1. john.jones.name

        Re: Updated with no drama.

        They also support OPUS !

        finally we get WebRTC without the annoying plugin's or app's !

        (Conference calls don't have to require silly app's and simply connect with good adaptive rate sound encoding)

        would be nice if they had a API for a native SIP client like Android provides since they already have the library support for LTE... but thats wishing

        http://john.jones.name

        1. Dave 126 Silver badge

          Re: Updated with no drama.

          http://www.idownloadblog.com/2017/09/14/iphone-x-hardware-flac-codec/

          From the above article: The 7, 8 and X models apparently have hardware FLAC decoding. The ability to play FLAC on other models by software appears to be limited by Apple to save battery life.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Updated with no drama.

        It supports FLAC.

        WoooooHHOOOOOOOOO! Are you telling me that something built into Android 3.1 back in 2011 has just been announced as one of the many advances of IOS 11? My, they must have been busy at Cupertino.

  7. Youngone Silver badge

    It takes too long

    Phhhh... backups? Why bother, what could possibly go wrong?

    Oh....

    1. puckwudgie

      Re: It takes too long

      "I think that the minute that you have a backup plan, you've admitted that you're not going to succeed."

      --Elizabeth Holmes

      I am updating because of sheer boredom.

  8. kmac499

    Simple Safety tricks

    Why don't people just copy their apps and data to the SD card, then if the upgrade screws up you can easily reset by popping the battery out..

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Simple Safety tricks

      Post of the decade!

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Simple Safety tricks

      Because Windows Mobile phones are no longer available?

    3. Roland6 Silver badge

      Re: Simple Safety tricks

      >Why don't people just copy their apps and data to the SD card

      Because not everyone has forked out the £29 for the SD card reader and for some strange reason expect iCloud Backup to work.

      1. Charlie Clark Silver badge

        Re: Simple Safety tricks

        @roland6

        the irony is weak with this one. I-Phones have neither SD card support nor removable batteries…

        1. werdsmith Silver badge

          Re: Simple Safety tricks

          iPhones have SD card support for the photos app only.

  9. ecarlseen

    Questionable advice

    OS updates usually contain security fixes. It's very reasonable to delay a major version update until the bugs are sorted out, but to delay indefinitely is not good advice (the inability to revert to a previous release is obnoxious).

    The article also leaves out my favorite new features: Safari will no longer support "autoplay" videos - they must be started manually, and screws up cross-site tracking cookies enough to make advertisers throw an absolute conniption fit (contrast with the Google / Android approach of "we'll kinda sorta maybe fiddle with autoplay a little bit as long as it doesn't interfere with ad revenue, and you'd better believe we'll still track you").

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Questionable advice

      Why would El Reg leave out something as fundamental as that?!

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Questionable advice

        Because they want to be the voice of negativity when all the other tech press will be writing puff pieces about "Five major things iOS 11 brings" or "15 hidden tips and tricks you didn't know iOS 11 could do".

        They'd do the same when an Android upgrade is released, but the minority who will ever even get to install it on their phone have to wait months for it to become available to them so there is never a time like this where hundreds of millions of Android phones will be upgraded within a few weeks of each other.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Questionable advice

          "but the minority who will ever even get to install it on their phone have to wait months for it to become available”

          You are clearly too dumb to understand consumer choice. If you want apple like update cycles, you buy a nexus or pixel, or android one. If you don't care and just want something you don't care about dropping and don't care about updates, just buy a £100 android phone each year. Both options are infinitely better than buying Apple....

          1. Dave 126 Silver badge

            Re: Questionable advice

            I've got a Nexus 5, it feels fast and snappy and runs anything I've had cause to throw at it. Google stopped supporting it earlier this year, 3.5 years after its release.

            Even Google's Nexus and Pixel phones are sourced from a range of OEMs and contain components from a range of ODMs, and until Oreo the nature of Android was such that creating updates for specific phones was a headache.

    2. Charlie Clark Silver badge

      Re: Questionable advice

      It's not an update, it's an upgrade. The security fixes should be available for the previous version as well.

  10. Chris 3

    Certainly worth it if you are on iPad

    I've been running the beta in on a 2017 standard iPad and all the split screen and multitasking stuff is really good.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "if you have anything earlier than an iPhone 5S in your pocket, you will not get the update at all (and your phone is going to slowly die)"

    In other words, a 2012 iPhone 5 is in the same support position as a 2016 Motorola G4, or a pre-2015 Nexus.

    "Oh, but Android is sooooo much cheeeeeaper..."

  12. theniginator

    Been public beta testing it for months and it has been fine. This addition to their testing regime I think has resulted in a much better release candidate. And yes backup beforehand you fools.

    1. HCV

      "And yes backup beforehand you fools."

      Thank you, Gandalf. Mind the landing.

  13. Justin Clift

    Ugh

    Ugh, Civilisation Revolution (iPad version) is 32-bit only. Doubt it'll get updated, so looks like this iPad Pro is going to be stuck on iOS 10 forever. :(

    1. Roland6 Silver badge

      Re: Ugh

      It made me smile that after updating all my apps, Apple's "iTunes U" still appeared on the list of apps to be trashed. Fortunately, there is a 64-bit version in the App Store which solved that problem.

    2. Jay 2

      Re: Ugh

      Whilst checking though what apps are going to potentially stop working I noted that all my 2K games (CivRev, Pirates, Ace Patrol, AP: Pacific Skies) are in the list. Also annoyingly I found that EA dropped Flight Control some time back.

      I guess as they've both already got my money, they don't care...

    3. Dave 126 Silver badge

      Re: Ugh

      And there has never been a version of Civilisation released for Android. The closest I've come is to install a Nintendo DS emulator on my Nexus and try to play that version of Civ... but playing a game written for a two-screen device on a phone isn't fun.

  14. Chad H.

    >>> It is very, very likely that lots of developers either don't know this is coming or need their users to make a fuss in order to shift management into allocating funds for an update.

    Its not exactly been a secret, especially given new 32 bit apps haven't been accepted for some time....

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      >Its not exactly been a secret, especially given new 32 bit apps haven't been accepted for some time....

      You've not been able to update an existing app since January 2015 without including a 64-bit binary either. If dev hasn't touched in in that long you can safely assume it's abandoned....

  15. joed

    Not as bad as changes forced by MS onto Windows users

    but maybe only because no iPhone users had ever got used to any level of freedom. My upgrade plans all but evaporated yesterday night when Apple decided to show middle finger to its users in iTunes 12.7. I can accept buggy software but removing "transfer purchases" was one bridge too far. The only option that let me move mp3 files out of the "walled garden" of the iPhone (podcasts, no illicit activity here) gone without much of warning. FTS. Some time later I was back to iTunes 12.6.2 and my phone has tvos profile installed to keep me from upgrade nags and protect the limited storage space (no updates available as of last check few minutes ago). I plan to keep this status quo as long as possible, especially that none of updates are of particular value to me (including the nanny state mode when carplay is active).

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Not as bad as changes forced by MS onto Windows users

      There's other ways of syncing MP3s on iOS and across decives without handing them over to the walled garden. You might also want to use independent music purchase and streaming services such as Spotify.

  16. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    iPhone 5s - v10.3.3 here

    Going to: Settings > General > About > Applications just shows a number next to Apps.

    Nothing else. No idea what might die.

    Methinks I shall not bother.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: iPhone 5s - v10.3.3 here

      French Soldier: You don't frighten us with your silly knees-bent running around advancing behavior!

    2. Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

      Re: iPhone 5s - v10.3.3 here

      That means that you don't have any 32-bit apps. You are in the clear.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: iPhone 5s - v10.3.3 here

        Nobody expects the null return!

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: iPhone 5s - v10.3.3 here

      That means you have no 32bit apps

  17. Rainer

    FlightControl

    Oh, the very first game I ever downloaded on an iPhone.

    Then I downloaded/bought another one.

    And that was it.

    I certainly don't contribute too much to the "Services" part of their business.

    The subscription to WeatherPro ist sometimes the only thing in a year.

    1. Jay 2

      Re: FlightControl

      It would appear that EA (who now hold the rights to Flight Control) dropped it a few years back as they couldn't be bothered to support it any longer. They've already got your money, why do they care?

      Annoying as it was also one of the first games I purchased too.

  18. wolfetone Silver badge

    2FA

    Thank you Reg for pointing out the 2FA issue if you don't use a keychain. I tried to set mine up yesterday and got stuck when it kept talking about the keychain. I thought I just forgot the pin code to the keychain even though I swore I never used it.

  19. John Riddoch

    To be fair to Apple

    "Apple always screws up the first iteration" - never use a .0 release of anything is a common mantra in computing, that's not limited to Apple. Of course the new code is going to have bugs and the .1 release will fix most of them (and introduce some new ones, no doubt...). In general, wait a couple of days for the early adopters to find the issues, figure out what they are and figure out if the new features are worth the hassle of the new issues.

  20. This post has been deleted by its author

  21. Steve the Cynic

    "You can force your phone to require a PIN to unlock rather than a fingerprint"

    I don't understand this comment in the article. My phone uses a PIN to unlock rather than a fingerprint. I have an iPhone 7 on iOS 10.3.3. I have *never* used a fingerprint. OK, my first iPhone was a 4,(1) but I went from that to a 5S and from that to a 7, and never turned on fingerprints, and so I use a PIN to unlock.

    (1) This may be why, of course, since I've managed to migrate the settings every time I upgraded EITHER the phone OR the OS.

    And I checked my list of not-64-bit apps. Nothing I'll miss. I'd say that pretty much all of them were last launched a couple of years ago, if not longer. That sort of "I won't miss it". So when the phone decides to let me know about the OS upgrade, I'll pick a time to do it, but not until then.

    1. Brangdon

      Re: "You can force your phone to require a PIN to unlock rather than a fingerprint"

      There's a new feature where-by if it is set up to use a fingerprint or facial scan, you can force a PIN by tapping 5 times. Hopefully the police will politely wait for you to get your phone out and do that.

      1. Rob D.

        Re: "You can force your phone to require a PIN to unlock rather than a fingerprint"

        PIN-only is preferred by some because it is a private code (mostly!). The police aren't waiting for PINs - they are waiting for a fingerprint or a face they can use. If they can obtain your PIN by legal means, they can definitely obtain your fingerprint or face.

        If the means to fool the facial recognition or fingerprint recognition is established, then you cannot keep your face and fingerprints secret. An issue for US border entry is whether you can be forced to put your finger on the device (or face in front) for a border search; you cannot be directly coerced to reveal a PIN.

        Top travel tip: Depending on your jurisdiction and level of co-operation, you may need to reset your facial recognition after the police interviews.

        1. fidodogbreath

          Re: "You can force your phone to require a PIN to unlock rather than a fingerprint"

          PIN-only is preferred by some because it is a private code (mostly!).

          Fun factoid. There's a 1 in 50,000 chance that a random person's fingerprint will unlock an iPhone with Touch ID; the slop factor for face ID is supposedly 1 in 1,000,000 (source). I don't know what the reliability stats are for Android fingerprint unlock, but I imagine it's not much different since they all work by scanning partial prints.

          There are numerous documented exploits where fingerprint unlock can be fooled by manipulating a lifted print, or even from a photo of a hand. Lest you get comfy about the 3D scanning of Face ID, there are apps that can generate a 3D face mask from a 2D photo.

          Point is, the current generation of "biometric security" on mobile devices is a convenience feature -- somewhere between a 4-digit PIN and pattern unlock. A 6-digit PIN or a password are far more secure.

  22. Nameless Faceless Computer User

    and... welcome to Apple's un-paid beta testing program. It's way cheaper than hiring people to test their software because there are millions of rubes who will do that for them.

    1. Naselus

      In fairness to Apple, which major software vendor doesn't work like that now? And, come to think of it, was there ever a time when they didn't?

    2. D@v3

      beta testing

      iOS11 has been in public beta for weeks, if not months.

  23. Chloe Cresswell Silver badge

    First calls

    First call about os11 update this morning "I can't access my CCTV anymore" - maker hasn't updated the app, and has no plans too (their way to handle the switch to 64bit only apps was to pull all their old apps from the apple store completely...)

  24. ukgnome

    The install went well

    Just a few apps that need to update the screen overlay as the alignment with battery and mobile signal is a little out. It makes a mess of the top line.

  25. Anonymous Cowerd
    Flame

    contact the apps developer?

    Tried that through the app store, but they've removed the 32-bit apps and thus the ability to contact the developer.

    I won't be "upgrading", but I will be getting a different phone when my iPhone 6 eventually dies.

    1. fidodogbreath

      Re: contact the apps developer?

      Tried that through the app store, but they've removed the 32-bit apps and thus the ability to contact the developer.

      Some of the old timers around here tell whispered tales of something called a "search engine..." It's some kind of magical machine in the clouds: you type in something like the name of a product, and it searches all the world's knowledge for you.

      Personally, I think it's just a legend.

  26. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    So what's changed in the Ts&Cs?

    I must admit I clicked straight through - I do think there should be a law on clear language (not legal) on these documents and summarised in 1 - 2 pages.

  27. dubno

    Office365/Outlook.com broken in Mail app

    It would appear that long-suffering users of O365 and Outlook.com will also be unable to send emails using the default Mail app

    https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4043473/you-can-t-send-or-reply-from-outlook-com-office-365-or-exchange-2016-i

    Does anyone testing anything anymore? (obviously not it would appear!)

  28. anthonyhegedus Silver badge

    I've been using the beta of ios 11 on my phone for weeks, and on my ipad for a week, and have had absolutely no issues with the betas. Lasst night, I updated my wife's iphone and ipad from ios 10 to 11 and of course it went extremely smoothly, to the point where I didn't need to think about it.

    The update downloaded quickly too, so no problem with their servers being overloaded.

    All in all, I wish people would stop whingeing about these things. Apple's updates might not always be perfect but compared to Microsoft (they abandon products and their updates are unreliable beyond belief) and Google (Android updates are 6-9 months late - if you get them at all!), the Apple update process is smooth as silk.

  29. chivo243 Silver badge
    Meh

    been getting warnings for months

    "The developer of this app needs to update the app, it will not run on the next release of iOS." As I always to see what the kool-aid does to others, I'll wait a while, check my fav apps for 64bit goodness and then maybe I'll pull the trigger on updating.

  30. psychonaut

    wifi

    wifi has stopped connecting on 2 phones belonging to one customer today after the update ...be careful out there....

    1. Naselus

      Re: wifi

      Completely screwing up wifi connectivity with a software upgrade was practically a tradition until about 2014. Hell, this happening again is probably considered the return of a beloved feature.

  31. Joe Gurman

    Sorry

    But if apps haven't responded to repeated warnings in over three years, they're not "good" or "important." They're unsupported.

    Whether for lack of continuing interest on the coder's part, or lack of a revenue stream, they're unsupported. At some point, the OS vendor has to say they're not particularly good or important to its App Store.

    Don't know about Android, but anyone using iOS apps who eve looks at App Store updates realizes that most supported apps are updated weekly or at least monthly for big fixes, &c. That probably means the ones with decent revenue streams.

  32. silks

    iPad & iPhone Upgraded OK

    Upgraded two iPads to iOS 11 on release day, no problems. One account (iPad Pro, mine) used 2FA, the other (iPad Air toddler's) no 2FA, both upgraded no problems.

    Day 2, upgraded iPhone 7 (2FA enabled account), no problems seen so far :)

  33. silks

    iOS 11 Features

    There's maybe more benefit here for the iPad (dock), but Files app handy for both iPad and iPhone :)

  34. jonnycando

    Hmmm....I installed it on my 6S Plus...and everything went swimmingly. I got lots of memory though so it wasn't crammed trying to get it on there.

  35. This post has been deleted by its author

  36. D@v3

    "like a great conversion app"

    Would that be MultiConvert by any chance? I am going to miss that.

    I don't use it that often, but it has soooo many conversions to offer. I can understand why it hasn't been updated in so long, afterall, what do you change in something that offers factual conversions? maybe add some more categories, but it is already pretty exhaustive. I hope the developer does 'update'' it.

  37. Roland6 Silver badge

    Control Center...

    Updated an iPad - without problem.

    The most noticeable change has been to the Control Center, where to get the volume/brightness etc controls to display now required a double up swipe rather than the single one previously. Also the volume and brightness controls themselves aren't obviously slide controls, even though that is what they are.

    Beyond that, the changes don't seem so pronounced.

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