Washington: In a significant shift, Apple has officially stopped supporting iCloud backups for iPhones and iPads running iOS 8 or earlier.
As announced in November, this change took effect this week, marking the end of iCloud backup capabilities for older devices, according to MacRumours.
Starting now, iPhones and iPads that are operating on iOS 8 or older can no longer use iCloud for creating backups.
Apple has also deleted any existing iCloud backups of devices running these older operating systems, as per MacRumours.
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The change aligns with Apple's move to streamline and modernize its cloud services, which now require a minimum of iOS 9 or later for backup functionality.
Apple clarified that while iCloud backups are no longer available for these older devices, the apps and data stored on the devices themselves are unaffected.
Users can still back up their devices manually to a Mac or Windows PC. However, if you own a device running iOS 8 or older and wish to restore iCloud backup capabilities, the only option is to update the device to iOS 9 or a newer version.
The discontinuation of iCloud backup support for devices running iOS 8 or earlier is part of Apple's broader strategy to align its cloud services with more modern software requirements.
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With the release of iOS 9, Apple transitioned to CloudKit for iCloud backups, leaving behind an older backup system that is now being phased out.
For users who are unable to update their devices, manual backups to a computer remain the only available option for data preservation.
