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Moving from Beta to Public release questions

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macrumors 603
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Aug 6, 2015
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Hi all,

I usually join the PB at around this point and just wanted to double-check something.

In the past, having gone through the remaining betas, once the public release was out for all, I would always restore my devices, wanting to clean up any remaining beta stuff still lingering. Kind of a habit from my Windows days, I guess. ;)

So my question is - based on your experience, at this point in iOS development, do we still actually need to do these restores to clean things up after running betas, or is the modern OTA update process sufficient to take care of any residual beta stuff? Ideally, I would like to avoid having to restore at the end of the beta period, as my iPhone has a dual-SIM setup (eSIM + physical SIM), so I am worried the restore process might harm the eSIM in the process.

What do you think? Thank you all for your advice!
 
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macrumors 603
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Subliminal87 said:
I’ve always waited until the main release comes out then removed the beta profile and restarted and that was it and never had an issue.
Click to expand...

I understand removing the beta profile bit. My question is more about whether modern iOS installations clean up any previous beta junk. If so, is it worth it to still do a “fresh” installation once the final release is out?
 
Subliminal87

Subliminal87

macrumors regular
Jan 4, 2015
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one more said:
I understand removing the beta profile bit. My question is more about whether modern iOS installations clean up any previous beta junk. If so, is it worth it to still do a “fresh” installation once the final release is out?
Click to expand...
I personally don’t think so. Maybe someone more technical will come along and say maybe it’s needed and give a reason though.
 
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papbot

macrumors 68020
May 19, 2015
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Subliminal87 said:
I’ve always waited until the main release comes out then removed the beta profile and restarted and that was it and never had an issue.
Click to expand...
Yep, that’s all that’s necessary. All the old beta stuff will be removed. That’s exactly what I do.
 
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macrumors 603
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Knowlege Bomb said:
You’ll always have people from both camps in these discussions: those who swear by doing a full restore with the IPSW and those like me who have been doing OTA updates for years and get by just fine.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I guess. ;) Have you tried doing betas first and then moving to the public release, all OTA?
 
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papbot

macrumors 68020
May 19, 2015
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Yeah, I guess. ;) Have you tried doing betas first and then moving to the public release, all OTA?
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That’s the way I’ve done since I started with betas years ago. Haven’t updated a device by my computer in 10 years, or at least when OTA first became available. With my phones which I upgrade more frequently than my iPads I remove the beta configuration profile once the final release of the new ios comes out, that way I’m on whatever the current release is if I choose to replace the phone. Saves a lot of effort and time not having to hassle with a beta when setting up a new phone. Since the quick start function became available that’s all I do now followed by an iCloud backup restore. I always try to save myself extra headaches and haven’t had any issues doing it the easy way.
 
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VigneshB

macrumors newbie
Jul 28, 2022
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Unless you’re facing any lingering issues, save your time and just remove the beta profile once the public version is released and kepp enjoying your phone!

As far as your esim worries are concerened, all esims are preserved both during a DFU restore and the erase all contents and settings unless you explicitly state to remove all data profiles while performing a erase all contents and settings procedure.

I do understand the need to enter DFU mode and reinstall the OS or do the erase all content from the settings page; but more often than not modern day updates are pretty stable. At least on macOS this is how it works:
Early during installation, the Data volume is unmounted, ensuring that its contents are protected from any ill-effects of failed installation. The System volume is mounted for writing and SIP disabled, then the contents of the update are written to it, just as would happen in Mojave. With all the updated system files in place, a SHA-256 hash is then calculated for every file in the system, and stored in its file system metadata. Each group of hashes is then hashed again, and so on until there’s one top-level hash, known as the Seal.
Click to expand...

If a single bit in any of those system files changes, that changes that file’s hash, which no longer matches its set value. That error propagates right up the tree, and the Seal itself no longer matches that laid down by Apple for that version of macOS. When that happens, the Seal is broken, and that Mac can no longer boot from that copy of macOS, so enters Recovery mode for the user to re-install macOS. The Seal therefore guarantees the integrity of every single bit in every single file on the System volume.
Click to expand...

Rather than booting from that sealed System volume, the installer then makes a snapshot of the System volume, which contains all the hashes and the Seal itself. After enabling SIP, the System volume is unmounted, and macOS boots from that snapshot. Snapshots are immutable, in that even macOS can’t change them, a protection far stronger than mounting the System volume read-only as in Catalina. The Data volume is mounted, and any changes made to it are completed for that boot.
Click to expand...
Quoted from https://eclecticlight.co/2021/10/29/how-macos-is-more-reliable-and-doesnt-need-reinstalling/

I do be willing to assume a similar strategy for iOS/iPadOS. If anyone knows how an update on those devices take place, it would be great to learn about it.
 
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OhMyMy

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Oct 21, 2021
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You're totally fine with just straight up updating via OTA to the public release from the final beta. Once you install the public release all the beta logging would be removed regardless of the profile being installed. And that's why you don't see the Feedback Assistant app once you install the public release.

General consensus on the forums is that an IPSW update is a better way to ensure less bugs but I haven't seen anyone provide empirical evidence either way. Some users reported an issue or two experienced after an initial OTA being resolved after an IPSW update. Problem with that is you can only do OTA once and that same issue might've resolved itself if you can do an OTA a second time.
I was in the same boat until 15.3 betas but have had the opposite experience since then. My itchy fingers went for the IPSW update after the initial OTA update just cuz I was bored and had new issues creep up. This was the case for me with 15.4 betas as well. I'd been doing only OTA updates for iOS 16 and other than experiencing a bug or two that have already been reported by others my installation has been flawless. And with the latest beta those issues had been resolved as well. I'm not experiencing any of the overheating issues or abysmal battery life experienced by others with my OTA.

As for your main question, yes, you'd be absolutely fine with updating via OTA to a general release and not have to worry about any lingering "beta stuff" as that was never an issue with iOS. Don't need to burden yourself with doing a complete restore after a general release.
 
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