Apple last week released iOS 9.3, and as it sometimes happens, the software update contained several unexpected glitches. Most notable were the activation and verification errors encountered by owners of older iPhones and iPads, a problem that forced Apple to pull the update for these legacy devices. While older device owners struggled to get their devices operational, other users encountered problems with opening links in both Safari and Apple Mail, random freezing while browsing and more. Read on for tips and tricks to help you deal with these some of these iOS 9.3 issues.
“Unable to Activate” or “Activation server unavailable” error
Some owners, especially those with older iOS devices, reported activation errors in which the iPhone would not move beyond the activation screen. If you experienced this error, the fix is an easy one now that Apple has released a patch for this issue. The patch was released as iOS 9.3 with a build number of 13E237. It is available only for older devices including the iPad 2, iPad mini, iPad mini, iPad 3, iPad 4, iPad Air, iPad mini 2, iPhone 4s, iPhone 5, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5s, iPod touch 5G.
To upgrade to the latest build, iPhone and iPad owners with access to their device can follow the steps below.
- Open the Settings app.
- Select “General and then “Software Update.”
- Follow the installation instructions for iOS 9.3.
If you are not prompted to install the new version of iOS, you may have to delete any existing 9.3 update downloads from your iOS device by going to Settings > General > Storage & iCloud Usage > Manage Storage. Find the iOS 9.3 listing and delete it to remove the downloaded files. When you return to the software update screen, you should be prompted to install the new version of iOS 9.3.
Some users may be stuck on the activation screen, making it impossible to access the Settings app and other parts of the operating system. In these cases, users will have to connect their phone to their computer using a USB cable and download the new iOS 9.3 build using iTunes as follows:
- Connect your device to your computer and open iTunes.
- Force restart the device by pressing and holding both the Power and Home button for at least 10 seconds. Keep holding the two buttons until you see the recovery mode screen.
- iTunes will ask you if you want to Restore or Update the device, choose Update if you want to preserve the data on your device. If you don’t mind losing your data, then select Restore.
- iTunes will download the iOS 9.3 update.
- Follow the instructions to update iOS.
Once the download and install are complete, you can go back to using your iOS device. If you selected to restore your device, you will have to start over and configure it again for iTunes, iCloud and more.
iOS 9.3 Safari problems
Some users who updated to iOS 9.3 reported problems with random freezing while using Safari and links not opening in Safari and Mail app. There are no announced fixes for these issues, but there are a few tricks you can use to limit how often you are affected by these and other similar glitches. The video below gives a better idea of the Safari bug in iOS 9.3:
Ultimately, the final resolution will come when Apple releases another version of iOS 9 that addresses this problem. In the meantime, you can try the following:
- Disable Javascript in Safari – Open the Settings app and scroll until you see the entry for Safari. Tap Safari > Advanced and then find the option for Javascript and use the toggle to turn it off. Quit and relaunch Safari for the changes to take effect.
- Force a reboot or hard reset – Hold down the Sleep/Wake (Power) button and Home button until the phone turns off and the Apple logo appears. Release the buttons and wait for the phone to restart.
- Clear the history and browser cache for Safari – Open the Settings app and then find the entry for Safari. Select Safari and use the options to clear the history, clear the cache and clear the cookies as needed. Shut down and restart Safari for the changes to take effect.
- Chrome for iOS – Install and use Chrome for iOS in the interim until Apple releases a fix for Safari.
Your experience with iOS 9.3
Have you encountered any problems with iOS 9.3? What steps have to you taken to fix them? Did you install the iOS 9.3 fix from Apple? Please share your experiences with Apple’s latest iOS version in the comments.
