A warning for those wanting to remain at iOS 6.x.x

[MadScience2006]

This auto-pushed iOS 7 issue is has been brought to the attention of the media. CNET has a story on it. I'm glad I'm not alone.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-5...complain-about-large-unwanted-ios-7-download/

 

[Tokyo Rose]

Oddly, MS, they didn't pull that in Japan. Yes, it's sitting there waiting for me to download or not. However, a friend ,who lives and breathes Apple said to wait for the next update since I have an iPad 2 and 4s. The beauty of being here is that Apple knows they will get mass hysteria and anger were they to do such a thing ( for better and worse at times ), and they treat their customers with more respect.

 

[Tony C]

I despise the ios7 interface. I think it looks like crap. Since I have an iPhone 4, I don't get very many of the new toys. I just get an ugly phone. I think it is pretty ****ty that I can't revert to 6.1.3. They could at least off us a window to change our mind. Steve Jobs is going to haunt Jony Ive for the rest of his days over this.

 

[Mark W**a]

I despise the ios7 interface. I think it looks like crap. Since I have an iPhone 4, I don't get very many of the new toys. I just get an ugly phone. I think it is pretty ****ty that I can't revert to 6.1.3. They could at least off us a window to change our mind. Steve Jobs is going to haunt Jony Ive for the rest of his days over this.

Do you have an iTunes backup? That's how I did it. Had an old iTunes backup fom July.

 

[dagwood]

Do you have an iTunes backup? That's how I did it. Had an old iTunes backup fom July.

Yeah I did the same, I backed up both iPads to itunes before going iOS 7 just in case there were problems afterwards. So far I'm loving iOS 7. The only thing I really miss after loosing my jailbreaks is the Cydia, iFile app, iFunbox is not as cool on a jailled device

 

[MadScience2006]

An additional note for those who wish to remain at iOS 6 for numerous valid reasons. I've come up with a work-around to prevent the file from repeatedly being pushed to your device. You need to restore as new, thus wiping the iPad clean. This *MAY* work from a backup of your device as well (not tested yet since I'm not sure if the already downloaded iOS 7 ) but you need to be quick about disabling Wi-Fi on the device so the download does not auto-start.

It's posted in the Apple Support Communities "Using iPad" forum here (I am SergZak there):
https://discussions.apple.com/message/23186537#23186537#23186537

I'll also just post it here as well since it's not too long:

For those interested, I've created a work-around. The idea is to fill up the memory on the device with *your own files* so the auto-pushed download will see that there's not enough room on the device and won't begin the download at all. The approx max size you need to leave *free* on the device is ~2.45 GB. The download will not initiate if this size (or less) is on the device. If more memory than this is free, the download will begin again when the device is connected to Wi-Fi and is externally powered.



1. Create a video file on the iPad's video camera of about 5 minutes in length (~684 MB) which you use as "padding", taking up space on the iPad.

2. Copy that file multiple times into a folder on your HDD (use iFunBox see below), renaming each one sequentially IMG_01.MOV (IMG_01 - IMG_20. I have 20 copies on mine.

3. Restore the iPad as new from the iPad itself (Settings>General>Reset>Erase All Content and Settings) to keep the device at iOS 6.x

4. Setup the iPad with Wi-Fi and activate it.

5. Disable Wi-Fi on the iPad.

6. Take one picture with the iPad (to create the Camera folder on the iPad)

7. Download & install iFunBox (Google it)

8. Run iFunBox with iPad connected and access the Camera folder on the iPad

9. Fill the Camera folder with the video padding files you created above. On my 16GB mini, I filled the folder with 17 of the video padding files, leaving ~2.45 GB free on the mini.

10. Re-enable Wi-Fi on the device.

11. Copy your apps/music/etc to the iPad as you would normally. As your memory size reduces on the device, simply delete one or two of the video padding files using iFunBox being careful not to leave *more than* ~2.45GB free. This way, *you* have control over what is being pushed (or NOT pushed) to the device and when you need more memory, you free it up yourself as needed.

 

[Tony C]

When I tried to restore from iTunes, it said that it would not restore the firmware, only the software, I took that to mean I would be spinning my wheels.

 

[MadScience2006]

When I tried to restore from iTunes, it said that it would not restore the firmware, only the software, I took that to mean I would be spinning my wheels.

Are you trying to backdate to iOS 6? If so, you cannot do it any more and you're now stuck with iOS 7. Apple stopped signing iOS 6 on or around Sept 21. Signing means that version of iOS is considered valid by Apple for the device. They usually stop signing the previous firmware a few days after the release of the newest iOS.

 

[canuck]

I downgraded about 24 hours after iOS 7 was released, guess I got lucky. (no, I'm not a Luddite)

 

[Fungi]

I downgraded about 24 hours after iOS 7 was released, guess I got lucky. (no, I'm not a Luddite)

Generally speaking, I don't think people that own iPads are ever called luddites. At least, not for a few years yet.

Edit: Wait, you've got an iPad3? You luddite.

 

[Clawhammer]

Not a fan of iOS 7.

 

[MadScience2006]

I thought I'd post an alternate method to prevent the iOS 7 update from downloading to your device in the first place (if it's already on the device, this won't help...you'll still have to remove it by restoring the device as new from the device itself as explained above).

Somewhere in your router's setup page, you should have an Access Restrictions (or similar) page. What you want to do is block Apple's Update Server from access by your iDevices. The website to enter into your blocking list is:

mesu.apple.com

On my Linksys WRT54G, I have the ability to block either using the device's IP address or by their MAC (or Wi-Fi) address. I chose to block using the MAC address method. You can find your device's MAC address under Settings>General>About>Wi-Fi Address.

In this way, you'll still have full internet access via Wi-Fi and surf the web normally (iTunes, App Store, etc will work fine as well) without worrying about that pesky update being pushed to your device since you've blocked Apple's Update Server from communicating with the devices.

If you do want an update at a later time, just disable the Access Restriction policy on the router.

 

[norbert26]

I thought I'd post an alternate method to prevent the iOS 7 update from downloading to your device in the first place (if it's already on the device, this won't help...you'll still have to remove it by restoring the device as new from the device itself as explained above).

Somewhere in your router's setup page, you should have an Access Restrictions (or similar) page. What you want to do is block Apple's Update Server from access by your iDevices. The website to enter into your blocking list is:

mesu.apple.com

On my Linksys WRT54G, I have the ability to block either using the device's IP address or by their MAC (or Wi-Fi) address. I chose to block using the MAC address method. You can find your device's MAC address under Settings>General>About>Wi-Fi Address.

In this way, you'll still have full internet access via Wi-Fi and surf the web normally (iTunes, App Store, etc will work fine as well) without worrying about that pesky update being pushed to your device since you've blocked Apple's Update Server from communicating with the devices.

If you do want an update at a later time, just disable the Access Restriction policy on the router.

this could fail. Alls it takes is for the device to latch onto an open neighbors network and downloading will begin. if the only WI-FI you ever receive is your own and you never leave its range with the device then it will work.

 

[MadScience2006]

I believe this can be circumvented by forgetting all known networks (except for yours), then setting the Ask to Join Networks to OFF. This way, you would have to join any new networks manually (the pop-up asking you if you want to join a network is disabled). Just don't join any networks besides your own.