Apple will end iCloud backup support for iOS 8 and earlier

Owners of iPhones running on iOS 8 and earlier will soon lose the ability to use iCloud device backups, unless they update to iOS 9 or later.

As a way to keep hold of your data, iCloud backups are extremely convenient to users, but it won't be usable by everyone. Apple has started to warn users of devices running on iOS 8 or earlier that it will stop working in one month's time.

In a support document titled "How to keep your devices and data backed up in iOS 8 or earlier," first published on Monday and found by 9to5Mac, Apple advises that support will be curtailed for older iOS installations. From December 18, 2024, "device backups will require iOS 9 or later," the post states.

According to Apple, the reason for the change is to "align more closely with our published minimum software requirements."

The function will still work as usual until December 18. However, backup data stored on Apple's servers will eventually be deleted unless the devices are updated to iOS 9 or later.

After December 18, devices running iOS 5 to iOS 8 won't be able to create new backups, and existing backups for those devices won't be accessible either. However, the devices themselves will continue to function normally and retain any on-device data, as they won't be directly affected.

Users have a few choices on how to proceed. The main one, if users want to keep using iCloud device backups for their older hardware, is to update to iOS 9 or later.

Updates can be performed via the Settings menu, under General then Software Update, on most Apple mobile devices. It can also be updated via the Finder in macOS, or iTunes on a Windows PC.

The second main option is to back up the affected iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch manually. This again is available via the Finder on macOS, or iTunes in Windows and older versions of macOS.

AppleInsider recommends trying to update the operating system if possible, of the two options Apple presents. The manual backup method is better suited for devices running older apps that don't support newer iOS versions, or for people who want to preserve the older operating systems for archival purposes.

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5 Comments

DAalseth 3066 comments · 6 Years

About 1 month ago

What is the cut off for devices that won’t run iOS9?

EDIT: I dug around and it appears that the iPhone 4 is the last one that won’t go to iOS9*. It appears that the 4S will. Anyone still running an iPhone 4 would be lucky if it worked with anything. We’re talking well over a decade ago. I keep my stuff longer than most, (running an 11 right now) but a 4 would be crazy.

*Feel free to let me know if this isn’t the case.

Stabitha_Christie 582 comments · 3 Years

DAalseth said:

What is the cut off for devices that won’t run iOS9?

EDIT: I dug around and it appears that the iPhone 4 is the last one that won’t go to iOS9*. It appears that the 4S will. Anyone still running an iPhone 4 would be lucky if it worked with anything. We’re talking well over a decade ago. I keep my stuff longer than most, (running an 11 right now) but a 4 would be crazy.

*Feel free to let me know if this isn’t the case.

Any device that ran iOS 8 also run iOS 9. And the original iPhone + iPhone 3G never supported iCloud backups. So, the only people impacted by this are people still using the iPhone 4 and the original iPad. I guess some iPod touch users as well.

Stabitha_Christie said:

DAalseth said:

What is the cut off for devices that won’t run iOS9?

EDIT: I dug around and it appears that the iPhone 4 is the last one that won’t go to iOS9*. It appears that the 4S will. Anyone still running an iPhone 4 would be lucky if it worked with anything. We’re talking well over a decade ago. I keep my stuff longer than most, (running an 11 right now) but a 4 would be crazy.

*Feel free to let me know if this isn’t the case.

Any device that ran iOS 8 also run iOS 9. And the original iPhone + iPhone 3G never supported iCloud backups. So, the only people impacted by this are people still using the iPhone 4 and the original iPad. I guess some iPod touch users as well.

That’s kinda’ what I’m thinking. I’m not even sure an iPhone 4 would work with current cell networks any more and compatible software would be hard to find for any devices of that age. Then if the phones before a 4 wouldn’t even connect to iCloud, this won’t be impacting many people at all.

DAalseth said:

Stabitha_Christie said:

DAalseth said:

What is the cut off for devices that won’t run iOS9?

EDIT: I dug around and it appears that the iPhone 4 is the last one that won’t go to iOS9*. It appears that the 4S will. Anyone still running an iPhone 4 would be lucky if it worked with anything. We’re talking well over a decade ago. I keep my stuff longer than most, (running an 11 right now) but a 4 would be crazy.

*Feel free to let me know if this isn’t the case.

Any device that ran iOS 8 also run iOS 9. And the original iPhone + iPhone 3G never supported iCloud backups. So, the only people impacted by this are people still using the iPhone 4 and the original iPad. I guess some iPod touch users as well.

That’s kinda’ what I’m thinking. I’m not even sure an iPhone 4 would work with current cell networks any more and compatible software would be hard to find for any devices of that age. Then if the phones before a 4 wouldn’t even connect to iCloud, this won’t be impacting many people at all.

I guess I forgot about the 3Gs. So 3Gs and iPhone 4.

As far as connecting to a network goes, it probably depends on the country. The big three carries in the U.S. have started phasing out 3G support. I was in another country last week and my phone dropped down to a 3G connection at one point. So it still exists out there, it was just painful to use.