Apple pushes ‘critical’ software alerts to iPhones running out-of-date versions of iOS — here’s how to stay safe
- Apple sends iOS alerts to old phones
- You must apply the latest updates to stay protected
- This affects iOS 13 up to iOS 17.2.1
Earlier this month, Apple took the rare step of issuing a public safety warning to users running outdated versions of iOS on their iPhones, and the company went further by sending alerts to the lock screens of vulnerable devices.
As spotted by MacRumors, the alert is labeled as a “critical software” update and urges users to have their phones patched to protect against “attacks targeting outdated iOS software, including the version on your iPhone.”
The attacks Apple is referring to here include fraudulent and compromising web links created via the Coruna and DarkSword exploit kits. As the official support document states, following any of these links could put your device at risk.
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The exploits can work on phones running iOS 13 up to iOS 17.2.1, and equivalent iPadOS versions are also affected. Apple has provided patches to protect you against these attacks – which you should install, if you haven’t already.
How to stay protected
The solution to this problem is simple: update your phone via General > Software Update in Settings. All versions of iOS from iOS 15 are now protected against these threats, and will block access to identified malicious links.
If you are still using iOS 13 or iOS 14, you should update to at least iOS 15 as soon as possible. iOS 15 is compatible with phones as early as the iPhone 6S, launched in 2015, so it’s only on very old iPhones that you’ll still have a problem.
For those of you using anything older than 2015, it might be time to consider investing in a new iPhone, otherwise you’ll find yourself rather exposed to these issues. No fixes are planned for these very old software versions.
Apple says that if you are unable to update your iPhone for some reason, you may want to consider enabling Lock Mode. This is a super secure iOS setup that adds additional protections, but it’s only available on iOS 16 and later.
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