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17/05/2022
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5 Things to Know About the iOS 15.3 Update

Apple’s released its iOS 15.3 update for iPhone and the firmware brings several important changes with it.

iOS 15.3 is compatible with all iOS 15-powered phones, a list that includes the iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone SE, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone SE 2, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max, and the iPhone 13 series.

Unlike iOS 15.2.1, iOS 15.3 is a milestone upgrade (x.x) though it’s much smaller than your typical milestone release. It doesn’t have any known features on board though it does include important security patches and bug fixes.

With that in mind, we want to take you through everything you need to know about Apple’s new iOS 15.3 update for iPhone.

In this walkthrough we’ll take you through all of iOS 15.3’s changes, the software’s performance, iOS 15.3 problems, the iOS 15.3 jailbreak status, and more.

We’ll start with some quick thoughts on iOS 15.3’s performance.

iOS 15.3 Review

If your iPhone is currently running iOS 15.2.1, you’ll see the smallest download size.

For iOS 15.2.1 users, the iOS 15.3 download is fairly large. It’s a 972.5 MB download for iPhone 12 Pro users moving up from the previous version of iOS 15.

The iOS 15.3 download size depends on your iPhone model and the version of iOS it’s currently running. So if your iPhone is running an older version of iOS, you’ll probably see a bigger download because your iOS 15.3 update includes the changes from iOS updates you skipped.

The installation process should take less than 10 minutes to complete. It took about seven minutes to install on an iPhone 12 Pro that was previously running iOS 15.2.1.

For more on the iOS 15.3 download and installation, take a look at our guide.

We’ve been using iOS 15.3 on a few iPhone models for several days now and here’s what we’ve learned about the software’s performance thus far:

Connectivity

App Performance

Speed

If you’re running into bugs or performance issues on iOS 15.2.1, iOS 15.2, or an older version of iOS, you might want to install the iOS 15.3 update on your iPhone right now.

If you need help making a decision, please check out our reasons to, and not to, install iOS 15.3.

iOS 15.3 Problems

iOS 15.3 is causing problems for some iPhone users. Some of these problems are brand new, others have carried over from iOS 15.2.1 older versions of iOS.

The current list includes installation issues, UI lag, Exchange issues, problems with first and third-party apps, hotspot problems, touchscreen issues, issues with Touch ID and Face ID, charging issues, and stuttering.

If you run into problems on iOS 15.3, take a look at our list of fixes for the most common iOS 15 problems. We’ve also released tips that could help you improve your phone’s performance and tips that could help fix bad iOS 15 battery life.

Apple has stopped signing on iOS 15.2.1 which means you can’t drop your phone’s software back to the previous version of iOS 15 in an effort to improve its performance. You can’t downgrade to anything older than iOS 15.2.1 either.

Keep this in mind if you’re having a good experience on iOS 15.2.1 or an older version of iOS. Once you make the move to iOS 15.3, you won’t be able to go back.

For more on the downgrade process, check out our guide.

iOS 15.3 Features: What’s New

Apple’s milestone updates almost always bring new features, security patches, and under-the-hood improvements to iPhone users, but again, iOS 15.3 isn’t your typical milestone release.

5 Things to Know About the iOS 15.3 Update

We aren’t aware of any new features on board, but Apple’s latest software does bring a couple of important bug fixes to iPhone users.

iOS 15.3 should patch up an issue with Safari that leaked users browsing history and Google ID, an issue that was first discovered by FingerprintJS.

According to MacRumors, iOS 15.3 also fixes an issue where HomeKit camera thumbnails were failing to refresh within the Home application.

iOS 15.3 also has 10 new security patches on board and you can read all about those over on the company’s security site.

iOS 15.3 Jailbreak

If you still jailbreak your iPhone, make sure you avoid the iOS 15.3 update.

The developer teams behind the Checkra1n and unC0ver jailbreaking tools have released versions that are compatible with newer versions of iOS 14, but only Checkra1n is compatible with iOS 14.5. They don’t support iOS 15.3, iOS 15.2.1, iOS 15.2, iOS 15.1.1, iOS 15.1, iOS 15.0.2, iOS 15.0.1, iOS 15.0, iOS 14.8, iOS 14.7.1, iOS 14.7, iOS 14.6, or iOS 14.5.1 yet.

The newest version of unC0ver is compatible with newer iPhones including the iPhone 12 series. That’s big news if you’ve been waiting to jailbreak your new phone. Unfortunately it’s only compatible with versions up to iOS 14.3.

There’s no way to downgrade your phone’s software to iOS 14.5 or older versions of iOS which means you’re out of luck if you upgrade, or you already upgraded to newer iOS software.

What’s Next

Apple’s confirmed a new version of iOS 15 and iOS 15.4 is currently in beta testing.

The company hasn’t confirmed a specific iPadOS 15.4 release date, but it should drop sometime next month. Apple is reportedly gearing up to launch new hardware on March 8th.

Apple will almost certainly launch a new iPad Air and a new iPhone SE and we expect new software to accompany these devices to shelves.

If your problems on iOS 15.3 (or older iOS software) are really bad, you might try downloading the iOS 15.4 beta onto your iPhone right now.

For more on iOS 15.4 and the beta, have a peek at our walkthrough. For more about the iOS 15.4 release date, check out our guide.

4 Reasons Not to Install iOS 15.4 & 11 Reasons You Should

Install iOS 15.4 for Better Security

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If security is important to you, you'll want to think about installing Apple's iOS 15.4 update right away.

The iOS 15.4 update has a whopping 36 new security patches on board and they will help protect your phone from harm.

If you want to learn more about these patches, head on over to Apple's security site for the particulars.

If you missed iOS 15.3.1, it had one security patch on board. You'll get it with iOS 15.4. For more about it, head over to Apple's security page.

If you missed iOS 15.3, you'll get its patches with your upgrade. iOS 15.3 brought 10 new security patches to iPhone users. If you're interested in the details, you can read more about them right here.

If you missed iOS 15.2.1, you'll get its security patch with your upgrade. You can learn more about the change over on Apple's website.

If you missed Apple's iOS 15.2 update, you'll get its 30+ security patches with your upgrade. You can read all about them over on the company's security site.

iOS 15.2 also included some important upgrades to privacy. The software brought the company's App Privacy Report to Settings. This lets you see how often your apps have accessed your location, photos, camera, microphone, contacts and more during the last seven days. You can also see their network activity.

In addition, iOS 15.2 brought Apple's communication safety features for kids. You'll find these features in the Messages app, in Siri, in Spotlight, and in Search.

If you missed iOS 15.1, iOS 15.4 will bring its security patches to your iPhone. You can read more about them on Apple's website.

If you missed iOS 15.0.2 you'll also get its security patch with your upgrade. You can learn more about it right here.

iOS 15.0 also brought numerous security patches to your iPhone. If you'll be moving up from iOS 14 and you're interested in the exact nature of these improvements, you can read about them over on Apple's security website.

Apple's updated its website with new information about iOS 15's batch of security patches. The company now says the software patched up an issue that could have exposed a user's private Apple ID information and in-app search history. It also says iOS 15 patched up an issue that allowed apps to override Privacy preferences.

If you skipped iOS 14.8 or any older versions of iOS, you'll get the security patches from those updates with your iOS 15.4 update as well.

In addition to those patches, iOS 15 comes with some security and privacy upgrades including improvements to Siri. Requests made to Siri are now processed on the device itself using Neural Engine. This makes it more secure.

If you're an Apple Card user, you'll now get a security code that changes regularly to use when you make online transactions.

Apple's also included a built-in authenticator that's similar to Google Authenticator. This will let you generate verification codes for enhanced sign-in security under your Passwords.

There's also a Mail feature that hides your IP address. The company will add a new App Privacy report feature in the next version of iOS 15 that will tell you when an app has accessed sensitive information.