Updating did not work. I got stuck in recovery mode and had to restore, and I had iCloud backup disabled since I was on the beta. Luckily iTunes (12.6.2) automatically backed up before I got the error. I had to update to iTunes 12.7 (12.6.3 wouldn't install for some reason) so I have no issues with sync missing apps.
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Does iTunes 12.6.3 work with iOS 11.3
- Thread starter saudor
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the sync seems to work fine. Heck you can even sync apps one at a time. The problem seems to happen when restoring (restore from backup and im pretty sure itunes wont even do an OS restore of 11.3) The apps on the ipad spin as if they're being transferred but it's stuck.
Ive only tried it once so maybe it'll work for someone else and i just got unlucky
I am sure there are enough people who are still on 12.6.3. So if enough people expressed their dissatisfaction to Apple regarding iOS 11.3 forcing them to upgrade iTunes to 12.7.3 or higher, maybe Apple might come out with 12.6.4 to support iOS 11.3 so that we can continue to benefit from the pre iTunes 12.7 features.
My intention last night was to restore the iPad Air 2 so in preparation I backed up then erased. It was at this point the you need to update iTunes message popped up. When I restored the backup to the still 11.2.5 device I had the same problem. A bunch of apps wouldn't install.
My fix was with iPad plugged in to deselect then reselect those non syncd items and then sync again via iTunes. This did the trick although messed up my folder organisation.
I subsequently updated both iPhone 7 and iPad OTA to 11.3 and seem to be able to exchange via iTunes as before. Others may find differently, but it appears just to be the system update itself that is the problem, not subsequent use of iTunes sync
Okay - trying to summarize all of this.
Is this correct?
1) If you update to iOS 11.3 OTA rather than through iTunes you will be able to continue to sync the phone/manage apps/ringtones through iTunes 12.6.3
2) Except this may not be true for iPhone X, where iTunes 12.7 may be required.
3) You may confront issues doing a backup/restore of iOS 11.3 to any iPhone using iTunes 12.6.3
Perhaps waiting a few days for 12.6.4 is the answer?
Is this correct?
1) If you update to iOS 11.3 OTA rather than through iTunes you will be able to continue to sync the phone/manage apps/ringtones through iTunes 12.6.3
2) Except this may not be true for iPhone X, where iTunes 12.7 may be required.
3) You may confront issues doing a backup/restore of iOS 11.3 to any iPhone using iTunes 12.6.3
Perhaps waiting a few days for 12.6.4 is the answer?
that is correct so far. It might not work for iphone 8 at all either (perhaps this extends to all devices that shipped with ios11)
The fact that itunes is demanding an upgrade to 12.7.3 for iOS11.3 might be a sign that they wont release 12.6.4. Previously, new iTunes were needed for new iOS versions/devices so it’s weird that a new one is required for an incremental upgrade of iOS11
I believe iPhone 8 should be fine if everything I read in this thread will apply.
iTunes 12.6.3 came out just to guarantee iPhone 8 would work too, before it was 12.6.2 that wasn't working with the new device. iPhone X came after so probably Apple didn't care to update 12.6.3 again, let's hope they will. In the meantime I posted a feedback at Apple asking for 12.6.4 and everyone should do the same. More feedbacks = more chances to get it
https://www.apple.com/feedback/itunesapp.html
Thanks to all of you for the insights.
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I have started playing around with Apple Configurator 2 again (tried it when 12.7 first came out) and it has improved. Looks like you can update apps, move them around, and sync the apps.
I also am trying iMazing.
I have years worth of Healthkit stuff via my AppleWatch that I do not want to loose.
I also am trying iMazing.
I have years worth of Healthkit stuff via my AppleWatch that I do not want to loose.
This is what I wrote with the link you provided. I would encourage others to also write Apple. You are welcome to copy and paste or change what I wrote and submit it to them. If enough people write, they will do something about it.
Dear Apple,
a lot of your customers like the features still available in iTunes 12.6.3. However with the most recent iOS 11.3 update, you are forcing your customers to update to a higher level of iTunes and loose the features of iTunes 12.6.3. Please could you come out with iTunes 12.6.4 that keeps the features of 12.6.3 and supports iOS 11.3.
Thank you,
[doublepost=1522451063][/doublepost]
The answer to Point # 2 is: you can still sync with iPhone X and iTunes 12.6.3 after an OTA update to iOS 11.3.
Dear Apple,
a lot of your customers like the features still available in iTunes 12.6.3. However with the most recent iOS 11.3 update, you are forcing your customers to update to a higher level of iTunes and loose the features of iTunes 12.6.3. Please could you come out with iTunes 12.6.4 that keeps the features of 12.6.3 and supports iOS 11.3.
Thank you,
[doublepost=1522451063][/doublepost]
The answer to Point # 2 is: you can still sync with iPhone X and iTunes 12.6.3 after an OTA update to iOS 11.3.
I already wrote to Apple via the feedback form. Everyone who is staying on iTunes 12.6.3 should as well.
Lucky you. The only device I can't sync is iPhone X with iTunes 12.6.3. It works fine with 10.5 iPad Pro and iPhone 8 Plus. But not iPhone X for some reason.
I just wrote something like this:
"Can you please release another version of iTunes (12.6.4) that allows app syncing for iOS11.3? Having to download apps over the internet for every single device after a restore gets tedious especially when a broadband connection is not available/or is limited in remote areas. There are also cases when a simple restore can fix issues/problems going on with the device. As such, being able to restore apps from iTunes like before greatly alleviates this issue. Thank you. "
"Can you please release another version of iTunes (12.6.4) that allows app syncing for iOS11.3? Having to download apps over the internet for every single device after a restore gets tedious especially when a broadband connection is not available/or is limited in remote areas. There are also cases when a simple restore can fix issues/problems going on with the device. As such, being able to restore apps from iTunes like before greatly alleviates this issue. Thank you. "
I haven’t been able to use 12.6.3 to manage apps on my iPhone since November, when I encountered AppleID difficulties:
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...app-store-apps-i.2076327/page-2#post-25598750
As I point out in that post, it is now easier for me to connect the iPhone to my home wifi and update apps via iOS. Very irritating for me but it must be a nighmare for businesses trying to manage the apps on multiple iPhones.
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...app-store-apps-i.2076327/page-2#post-25598750
As I point out in that post, it is now easier for me to connect the iPhone to my home wifi and update apps via iOS. Very irritating for me but it must be a nighmare for businesses trying to manage the apps on multiple iPhones.
Chatted with Apple Care. They can confirm iPhone X is not comparable with iTunes 12.6.3.
Hi chineseguy38,
I have an iPhone X and I have being sync it and update it to various versions of iOS 11 with iTunes 12.6.3 without any problem until iOS 11.3. This latest iOS version was the only version where I had to complete an OTA iOS update before I could sync it again with iTunes 12.6.3. My iPhone X is not hacked and is being sync on a Mac with the most recent High Sierra update that came out a few days ago. I am not sure why Apple Care would tell you that iTunes 12.6.3 is not compatible with iPhone X.
I have an iPhone X and I have being sync it and update it to various versions of iOS 11 with iTunes 12.6.3 without any problem until iOS 11.3. This latest iOS version was the only version where I had to complete an OTA iOS update before I could sync it again with iTunes 12.6.3. My iPhone X is not hacked and is being sync on a Mac with the most recent High Sierra update that came out a few days ago. I am not sure why Apple Care would tell you that iTunes 12.6.3 is not compatible with iPhone X.
Have you tried restoring it ? Even with ios10, syncing might work with an incompatible iTunes but when it came to restoring, it would fail and the phone had to be updated to the latest OS
It's confirmed with Apple Care. Only iPhone X isn't compatible with iTunes 12.6.3. Which is very stupid.
I normally do an OTA iPhone update, but I tried to update my iPhone X via iTunes and got the error about needing to update iTunes.
I'm glad I did it this way and was alerted to the issue, because it was only a 1 in 10 chance that I would have gone this route. Then I'd be forced to roll back asap to iOS 11.2.6 before too late, and before I'd possibly wiped over my 11.2.6 backup.
We have too many iDevices to re-download apps on each of them in case of a restore or a re-download - Apple only allows an Apple ID to have 10 devices authorized to re-download content, and we have 5 iPhones, 5 iPads, and 5 Macs in my 7 person family.
So, we set it up so that 5 Macs and 5 iPhones can download or re-download content = 10. Then we have to side-load apps and other content onto the iPads via the Mac's iTunes (me, my wife, my kids, & mother-in-law).
If I upgrade to iTunes 12.7 then I cannot install any more apps on several of our devices, which must download them directly via WiFi, because they're not all authorized!
Also, with so many devices we cannot afford the bandwidth when (1) each device has 10-30GB of apps and (2) all of them need to be updated via WiFi each time instead of via iTunes with just one download required (in iTunes). That's why we stayed with iTunes 12.6.3.6 on each of the 5 macs.
I wanted to test it but I can't get Configurator 2 to work on the iMac that sync's most of my devices right now, because AC2 has been accidentally updated at some point by my wife, while iTunes hasn't been. And so I don't know how well AC2 will work to save apps on the hard drive (which occurs when you update apps I'm told, and then I'm told if you want to keep an archive of old apps that you have to copy that to a backup folder so that you don't lose it later). I've had to roll apps back in the past, and I have several years worth of old app backups saved for just in case (>500GB on the NAS).
How well does iTunes 12.7 + Apple Configurator 2 work to do what iTunes 12.6.3.6 has been doing in the past?
I'm glad I did it this way and was alerted to the issue, because it was only a 1 in 10 chance that I would have gone this route. Then I'd be forced to roll back asap to iOS 11.2.6 before too late, and before I'd possibly wiped over my 11.2.6 backup.
We have too many iDevices to re-download apps on each of them in case of a restore or a re-download - Apple only allows an Apple ID to have 10 devices authorized to re-download content, and we have 5 iPhones, 5 iPads, and 5 Macs in my 7 person family.
So, we set it up so that 5 Macs and 5 iPhones can download or re-download content = 10. Then we have to side-load apps and other content onto the iPads via the Mac's iTunes (me, my wife, my kids, & mother-in-law).
If I upgrade to iTunes 12.7 then I cannot install any more apps on several of our devices, which must download them directly via WiFi, because they're not all authorized!
Also, with so many devices we cannot afford the bandwidth when (1) each device has 10-30GB of apps and (2) all of them need to be updated via WiFi each time instead of via iTunes with just one download required (in iTunes). That's why we stayed with iTunes 12.6.3.6 on each of the 5 macs.
I wanted to test it but I can't get Configurator 2 to work on the iMac that sync's most of my devices right now, because AC2 has been accidentally updated at some point by my wife, while iTunes hasn't been. And so I don't know how well AC2 will work to save apps on the hard drive (which occurs when you update apps I'm told, and then I'm told if you want to keep an archive of old apps that you have to copy that to a backup folder so that you don't lose it later). I've had to roll apps back in the past, and I have several years worth of old app backups saved for just in case (>500GB on the NAS).
How well does iTunes 12.7 + Apple Configurator 2 work to do what iTunes 12.6.3.6 has been doing in the past?
Configurator 2 does find and update the apps but I am unsure if it downloads them to a Mac. You can also organize the apps on the Mac as well.
I also am a paid user of Imazing. It does connect to the App Store to update apps and download them but it is not an easy process. You have to manually download or update each app one-by-one. Also, you cannot organize the apps like iTunes. I do like the auto back-ups though. For me, it is not an iTunes replacement.
I am torn on keeping 12.6.3 and keeping fingers crossed or use Configurator 2 and keep IMazing as a back-up. I have 12.7 and Configurator 2 on a work iMac and 12.6.3 on my main MacPro at home.
I also am a paid user of Imazing. It does connect to the App Store to update apps and download them but it is not an easy process. You have to manually download or update each app one-by-one. Also, you cannot organize the apps like iTunes. I do like the auto back-ups though. For me, it is not an iTunes replacement.
I am torn on keeping 12.6.3 and keeping fingers crossed or use Configurator 2 and keep IMazing as a back-up. I have 12.7 and Configurator 2 on a work iMac and 12.6.3 on my main MacPro at home.
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When you do a restore in Imazing, does it auto restore the apps along with it like itunes or is this the part you were saying was manual
It does not have the easy app update when new versions come out...you have to do each update individually.
Here is a link that describes how it all works:
https://imazing.com/guides/how-to-manage-apps-without-itunes
Here is a link that describes how it all works:
https://imazing.com/guides/how-to-manage-apps-without-itunes
Apple has released an updated iTunes 12.6.4 today which has resolved the connectivity and sync issues with iPhone X under iOS 11.3.
This updated 12.6.4 version of iTunes continues to provide the necessary device backup, app-management and content-sync functionality that was completely/partially lost when Apple stripped-down iTunes (v 12.7.x) to be an Apple-Music focused applet.
This updated 12.6.4 version of iTunes continues to provide the necessary device backup, app-management and content-sync functionality that was completely/partially lost when Apple stripped-down iTunes (v 12.7.x) to be an Apple-Music focused applet.
EDIT: Here is a link to the update https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208079
[doublepost=1522800263][/doublepost]Unfortunately you still can't update devices in the iTunes app. Doing so will still prompt you to download iTunes 12.7.
[doublepost=1522800263][/doublepost]Unfortunately you still can't update devices in the iTunes app. Doing so will still prompt you to download iTunes 12.7.
By that do you mean you can't upgrade to 11.3 via a download in the iTunes [12.6.4] app and have to do OTA?