Apple is no longer signing iOS 15.3 for the iPhone

Iphone 12 Pro Ios 15 Work Focus
Iphone 12 Pro Ios 15 Work Focus (Image credit: Christine Romero-Chan / iMore)

What you need to know

  • Apple has stopped signing iOS 15.3.
  • Users will no longer be able to install iOS 15.3 on their iPhone.
  • The only version of iOS that is now available to be installed is iOS 15.3.1.

Apple has stopped signing iOS 15.3 for the iPhone. This means that anyone who wants to install iOS must install iOS 15.3.1 on their device.

Apple is known to stop signing older versions of iOS to make sure that users are running the latest version of Apple's software for the iPhone. Newer versions of each software not only include new features and bug fixes but performance improvements and security updates as well.

Now, anyone who attempts to restore an iPhone will have only iOS 15.3.1 as an option. Those who are on the developer and public beta train can, of course, still install the iOS 15.3 beta.

While some do enjoy the option of downgrading to an earlier version of iOS as a backstop to issues with a newer version of the software, that opening is usually short. If you are running iOS 15.3.1 and experiencing issues, you'll need to wait until Apple releases a newer update.

iOS 15.3.1 is the latest public version of iOS 15 and brought with it the usual mix of enhancements and bug fixes.

Joe Wituschek
Contributor

Joe Wituschek is a Contributor at iMore. With over ten years in the technology industry, one of them being at Apple, Joe now covers the company for the website. In addition to covering breaking news, Joe also writes editorials and reviews for a range of products. He fell in love with Apple products when he got an iPod nano for Christmas almost twenty years ago. Despite being considered a "heavy" user, he has always preferred the consumer-focused products like the MacBook Air, iPad mini, and iPhone 13 mini. He will fight to the death to keep a mini iPhone in the lineup. In his free time, Joe enjoys video games, movies, photography, running, and basically everything outdoors.