Have a bricked iPad with iOS 9.3? There's a fix for that

iOS 9.3 problem news
iOS 9.3 problem news

Apple's iOS 9.3 update is powerful enough to fix your poor sleeping habits with its new Night Shift feature, but it's also destructive enough to brick your older iPad, especially the iPad 2.

The good news is that the Cupertino company has already issued a fix for this iOS 9.3 problem, which has left eager updaters stalled at the password screen after failing to authenticate the software.

Since Monday, users have reported seeing a message: "Cannot activate because the activation server is temporarily not available."

Trying again later or updating via iTunes through as hardwired connection were solutions that worked fine for some, but not all. Now, with the new update in place, it should be fixed for everyone.

Apple went as far as to briefly suspend the firmware update yesterday, telling iMore that, "For these older devices, we have temporarily pulled back the update and will release an updated version of iOS 9.3 in the next few days."

More iOS 9.3 fixes on the way

iOS 9.3 the first major mid-cycle firmware updates for iPhones and iPads in several years, with notable front-facing features and design tweaks.

However, this authentication issue isn't the only troubleshooting people have experienced with the new operating system version. Expect an iOS 9.3.1 eventually with more patches rolled into it.

Rare cases like the inability to install iOS 9.3, experiencing reduced battery life and all-out software freezes are among the problems we have heard from users trying to update.

Despite these frustrations, most users have updated without a problem. That may be because Apple gave public beta testers early access iOS 9.3 in January. Look for the same with iOS 10 in June.

Matt Swider