How stop iOS 15.1 forced upgrade nag/tricks from iOS 14?

[WannaGoMac]

I understood I could stay on iOS 14 for another year. Today Apple made it almost impossible for me to not install 15.1. It presented me the usual trick screens with no options other than install now or later. When turned off the iPhone off and on repeatedly didn't stop it either. I have updates and downloads turned off but i see no longer the option to get iOS 14 updates only.

Really just horrible. When iOS 15 first came out Apple didn't do this trickery and it was easy to stay on iOS 14 with updates.

Is there any way to stop this crap?

 

[Shirasaki]

Other than jailbreak or carry a portable router that blocks Apple update server and route ALL iPhone network traffic through that router, there is no way to stop it. Even tvOS beta profile trick doesnt work anymore.

 

[Paddle1]

They don't make it easy. There are a few tricks to suppress it a bit later on in this thread: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...moved-up-in-update-screen-ios-14-8-1.2322629/

 

[msephton]

I'm seeing this too.

On 14.8.1 and I'm in the United Kingdom.

I've not been forced to go to 15.2 at this point in time, but 14 no longer appearing on the iOS Settings > General > Software Update page.

So maybe only a matter of time?

 

[nebulosan]

Other than jailbreak or carry a portable router that blocks Apple update server and route ALL iPhone network traffic through that router, there is no way to stop it. Even tvOS beta profile trick doesnt work anymore.

Not true. I use the service NextDNS which is aimed at regular users and uses the official API introduced in iOS 14 to be set as a DNS provider without any workaround or hack. It's just a simple app you download from App Store, then manage from a web interface. No jailbreak or anything. You just block these addresses in the service:

mesu.apple.com
appldnld.apple.com
swscan.apple.com
xp.apple.com
gdmf.apple.com

 

[Shirasaki]

Not true. I use the service NextDNS which is aimed at regular users and uses the official API introduced in iOS 14 to be set as a DNS provider without any workaround or hack. It's just a simple app you download from App Store, then manage from a web interface. No jailbreak or anything. You just block these addresses in the service:

mesu.apple.com
appldnld.apple.com
swscan.apple.com
xp.apple.com
gdmf.apple.com

Ok sounds cool. But apple is not a stranger in terms of whitelisting their own applications from firewall and system protection etc.
The better way would be implementing hardware solutions outside of apple devices so they cannot bypass, unless apple devices stops working when they cannot “phone home”.

 

[msephton]

I'm now using NextDNS on my router! Cheers

 

[kwokaaron]

Not true. I use the service NextDNS which is aimed at regular users and uses the official API introduced in iOS 14 to be set as a DNS provider without any workaround or hack. It's just a simple app you download from App Store, then manage from a web interface. No jailbreak or anything. You just block these addresses in the service:

mesu.apple.com
appldnld.apple.com
swscan.apple.com
xp.apple.com
gdmf.apple.com

Has anyone tried blocking these domains via the Lockdown app rather than through their router? Sounds like a more persistent option?

 

[msephton]

Has anyone tried blocking these domains via the Lockdown app rather than through their router? Sounds like a more persistent option?

Try it and let us know?

 

[now i see it]

As much as we don’t want to install the still buggy iOS 15 at the moment, it does patch a critical flaw that iOS 14 is vulnerable to- the Pegasus zero click maleware.

While everyday joe blows likely wouldn’t be a target of that attack- still it’s not something you’d ever want to have infect your iPhone.

I held off upgrading my iPhone 6+ 5 years ago and kept it on iOS 9. It’s still is on iOS 9. I did dodge the iOS 10 throttling fiasco and the horrible slowdown from iOS 11, but progress moves on and eventually it became unusable on the internet and no new apps would work with it.
It became miserable to use.

After that 1/2 decade experiment, I vowed I’d never do that again. My current plan from here on out is to install the current version of iOS in August a few weeks before the next one drops and don’t install any new Ios software until the following August.

 

[Paddle1]

As much as we don’t want to install the still buggy iOS 15 at the moment, it does patch a critical flaw that iOS 14 is vulnerable to- the Pegasus zero click maleware.

While everyday joe blows likely wouldn’t be a target of that attack- still it’s not something you’d ever want to have infect your iPhone.

It looks like that was patched in iOS 14.8: https://www.macrumors.com/2021/09/13/ios-14-8-zero-click-exploit-pegasus/

 

[Jack Neill]

I caved and installed 15.2 on my iPad, I got the widgets and icons finally how I want them after fighting with it in an epic battle of wits. Going to live with it.