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Heads up: iOS device recovery mode guide (legacy devices) now obsolete

I am posting this here, so it is known in advance. As of 2/14/2022 I am considering the legacy device recovery mode guide obsolete.

I am doing this for multiple reasons:

  • I have not had to update the guide in 3 years and 10 months, but I did make a few minor edits to the guide before I considered it a done deal —this final major revision is being done so I do not have to come back and address these issues later. However, this isn’t the sole reason for retirement.

Now, for the main reasons:

  • With the impending 3G shutdowns and Sprint LTE network sunset, this method is no longer used on these devices, and the iPhone 7 used a TOTALLY DIFFERENT PROCEDURE which is completely different from the other phones. The modern iPhones (8-present) use a standard method that is TOTALLY different from the 6s and below, as well as the 7. As it stands, this "old method" only applies to the devices being affected by the 3G/Sprint LTE/CDMA shutdown.
  • In addition to the 3G GSM shutdown, the Sprint devices T-Mobile is abandoning use this method since they only work on Sprint LTE. The replacement devices which will be required use the newer method.
    • NOTE: In regard to the iPod Touch, these are aging as well but are not impacted by the cellular shutdowns. The last Touch to use it was capped at iOS9, just to give you an idea of the age of them.
  • Comments were always low but there has been no comment activity for the past 2 years and 6 months. This is not uncommon (and is not a sole indicator to "obsolete" a guide), but in the case of this guide it was pointing to non-use, for years. It has been accepted as unofficially obsolete, so I'm making it official.
  • Guide views have gone down drastically as the devices age, and newer devices take their place. As of when I write this, these are the current stats:
    • Past 24 Hours: 4
    • Past 7 Days: 15
    • Past 30 Days: 113
    • All Time: 47,192

This was not an easy decision (to a point, but that’s due to the 5/5s being largely dropped with activation blocks, and for Sprint a lot of the older iPhones -- including the 6 being dropped by T-Mobile. I wanted to do this for a few years for the above reasons, but the shutdown was not imminent and there was no Sprint/T-Mo merger, so I was not in a rush to make it official (though I always unofficially considered it "onofficially obsolete" neglecting it for 3+ years).
With the Sprint shutdown and 3G GSM shutdown and dwindling views, I’m ready to say it's official, and stop updating it. Outside of extreme situation where I need to address the issue, what I did as a last edit stands. I will leave the guide up for the foreseeable future for the legacy devices, especially seeing as the 6s is still widely supported on GSM/CDMA, and the 6 on GSM networks (Sprint ones are "EOL", and the Verison one still works). I hope everyone understands my decision to abandon the guide but leave it up. I will not be monitoring the guide unless I see a major issue come up.

Normally I mark these as “private” as I have done with the old version once I finalized the replacement if they’re close, but I’ve been moving away from that as preservation becomes more of an issue. Unless the replacement is substantially similar (and better written), then it’s not a good way to handle the retirement process of the old guide. Officially this guide was 9 years old when I made it official, 7 unofficially.

As far as replacement goes, I do plan on getting an iPhone to use for the current (iPhone 8 and newer) method, but I have no ETA at this time.

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@nick , thank you for sharing your plan. I think this is completely valid and appreciate you taking the time to let us know your rationale.

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@krisrodriguez Just wanted to make it known here so people know not to link it unless the device is pre 6s/6th gen Touch/compatible iPad AND if there's an issue, then they need to work around it in their answer or edit the guide. The CDMA 3G shutdown in general was one of the final nails, tbh. You have the Sprint merger leading to the end of Sprint CDMA (3G)*, Verizon shutting it down in 2023, AT&T dropping it this month, T-Mobile dropping it as well and the 2G shutdown for the remaining few who still offer it. Plus, if I buy a phone for the guide new OR used, I intend to use it once I'm done so it means I'm not buying an iPhone 8 for one use because I got it cheap if I want a 12 256GB.

The problem is I can maintain it for eternity or leave it up but provide an "as-is" warning or pull it. Pulling it removes the information (or I need to bring it back later because someone needed it and then there's pressure to not end it) - worst option. Ending it with an "as-is" warning means errors are permanent if nobody fixes it (the forum needs to spot these and adjust their answer) - meh option, but better then removal. I can also maintain it forever (even if the device population this benefits from is 0.01% and it's time to move on) - if I want to end it. then I'll get more pushback compared to what I got by doing it when it's truly towards the end.

Either way, all of them have negative consequences. And even then, since Repair 2.0 if someone sees an error or a chance to do something better, they can edit it and it will get approved if it's good. Even then, you probably have employee produced guides (as well as others here) no longer fix but let live on due to age, so it's not like I'm alone here. I'm just providing a warning.

*Well, if the CPUC doesn't let Dish whine and they get their way. Otherwise, it may live on until 2023**.

**Even then, if that delay being forced back by the CPUC keeping the CDMA phones alive one more day, it's OVER. I just wanted to wait until the devices were even older so when I did it, it wasn't premature. I'll let someone with a 7 cover that device; I'm not touching those due to the Intel baseband issues and the fact there are 3 KNOWN variants (AT&T/T-Mo Locked GSM/Intel radio that fails/no CDMA support, Verizon/unlocked with GSM and CDMA, Factory Unlocked/GSM and CDMA).

This is me classifying it on its own for ease, but I consider Sprint devices unique due to their nonstandard bands and often hardlocked GSM radios since they're often specially configured. Good riddance, Sprint. Well, outside of the mounds of eWaste T-Mo merging what they want and dumping what they don't but that also means the "weird" hardlocked phones are dying with Sprint :-). Less caution needed. Secondhand Sprint phones are notorious for getting pawned around like a hot potato when people find out what they are and how much they suck to work with outside of Sprint -- like Verizon CDMA phones.

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Nick will be eternally grateful.