Apple pauses iOS 9.3 update for older iPhones and iPads in response to 'Activation Lock' bug
The iOS 9.3 update can render older devices unusable
A few days ago, Apple started rolling out the iOS 9.3 update for all compatible devices. In the days that followed, however, an alarming number of users reported that installing the update rendered their devices unusable. Essentially validating these reports, Apple has just announced that it will pause the iOS 9.3 update for these older devices.
The suggested solutions are removing the Activation Lock via iCloud or activating the device through iTunes from a computer. For detailed instructions on how to bypass the iOS 9.3 'Activation Lock' glitch, check out the source below.
On affected devices, users are unable to pass through activation stage after updating to iOS 9.3. Talking to Apple-centric blog iMore, an Apple spokesperson said:
Updating some iOS devices (iPhone 5s and earlier and iPad Air and earlier) to iOS 9.3 can require entering the Apple ID and password used to set up the device in order to complete the software update [...] In some cases, if customers do not recall their password, their device will remain in an inactivated state until they can recover or reset their password. For these older devices, we have temporarily pulled back the update and will release an updated version of iOS 9.3 in the next few days that does not require this step.
Note that this isn't the first time that Apple had to pause an iOS update. Back in September 2014, Apple temporarily pulled the iOS 8.0.1 update following reports that the new software caused some people to lose cellular service.
source: Apple
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