When it comes to software support on its products, Apple is among the industry leaders, with many phones, tablets, and computers receiving years of updates after the initial release. Even after the end of mainstream support, old Apple products remain usable for a long time. However, at some point, certain features stop working, and that is what is happening to iOS devices with iOS 8 and older.
Users noticed that Apple sent out emails about the end of iCloud backup support on iPhones, iPads, and iPods with iOS 8 or earlier. Effective December 18, 2024, users can no longer back up their iOS 8-based Apple products to iCloud. Moreover, Apple will remove all existing backups from iCloud, leaving no way for users to restore their devices from the cloud. The change applies to iOS versions 5 through 8.
If you have a device with iOS 8 and you do not feel the need to update, you can still make a backup to keep important data around. According to a support document on the official Apple website, users can still back their devices up using iTunes (Windows or macOS Mojave and earlier), Apple Devices (Windows 10 and 11), and Finder (macOS Catalina and newer). Of course, updating to iOS 9 or newer is also an option, assuming your device supports it.
Apple's refusal to support iCloud backups on pre-iOS 9 versions is likely due to the migration to CloudKit in iOS 9. Now, Apple is allegedly shutting down the old cloud backup system for iOS 8 and earlier, resulting in some very old iPhones, iPads, and iPods unable to back up or restore data from iCloud copies.
Here is the list of supported devices in iOS 9:
| iPhones | iPads | iPods |
|---|---|---|
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Via MacRumors
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