iPhone 5s Gets New Software Update 13 Years After Launch

Posted by angott 1/27/2026

iPhone 5s Gets New Software Update 13 Years After Launch(www.macrumors.com)

157 points | 84 commentspage 2

throwway262515 1/27/2026|

> Apple also released new versions of iOS 18 and iOS 16.

Has anyone gotten hold of a newer ios 18 for phones more recent than 5s?

t1234s 1/27/2026||

Any hope for ipad 1,2 or ipod touch?

tropicalfruit 1/27/2026||

i would NOT install this update

tokyobreakfast 1/27/2026|

TLDR it replaces an expired certificate, no software is being "updated" here.

Wake me when old versions of OS X can access the App Store again.

Telaneo 1/27/2026||

What versions can't access the App Store anymore? I've tried Catalina recently, and that still worked fine, but it only stopped getting security updates in 2022, so it's only been a few years.

Also, I've barely ever used the OSX/MacOS app store anyway, and from what little I've heard from other people, it's not really all that great nor popular a place to get your software from.

rtpg 1/27/2026|||

There's a problem with older Macbooks on older MacOS/factory reset where they can't access the App Store, so they can't directly download newer MacOS, you gotta go sidecar it

Of course this is completely opaque to people who have to do this, it just ends up prompting you to login and things like that.

I think newer MacOS avoids this stuff by not having OS updates be linked to the App Store

tokyobreakfast 1/27/2026||||

> Also, I've barely ever used the OSX/MacOS app store anyway, and from what little I've heard from other people

Thanks for the advice.

ezfe 1/27/2026|||

10.12 appears to have issues

FireBeyond 1/27/2026|||

Yeah, I just had to re-pave an M1 MBP with Monterey. That was an adventure. Got the installer. Ran through part one, "This is no longer supported, click here to run in reduced security mode, or cancel the install?" Reduced security mode. "The installation of reduced security mode failed." Cool.

My journey to figure it out found me a Monterey IPSW image. Try to install it via DFU and a second Mac. "Nah, you can't do that, I won't even let you try."

ChatGPT hinted that I needed to do it from a similar vintage OS. "Even an Intel Mac running Ventura could work for this." As luck would have it, my partner still had her old MBP Core i5 running Ventura!

Alright, install Apple Configurator on the Ventura Mac.

"Nah. You need a Mac running 15.7 to install Apple Configurator."

Chicken and egg.

I mean, this OS (Monterey) only came out FOUR YEARS AGO. Ventura was three.

I got lucky with a Reddit post where someone asked for and got a zip file of an old version of Configurator.

I was then able to DFU re-image the M1 Mac with Monterey.

(Why do I need Monterey on it? Because someone else abandoned their software.)

So this Kafkaesque process to even get a four year old OS on a four year old Mac laptop means we shouldn't just be slobberingly praising Apple.

(I realize you, personally, weren't. Just when you said 10.12, I got flashbacks.)

giancarlostoro 1/27/2026|||

Cant you technically access the old jailbreak app stores on a 5? I would assume these phones were jailbroken far more commonly than modern iPhones. I feel like I dont hear about anyone jailbreaking them anymore.

jsbisviewtiful 1/27/2026||

Yeah a lot of the features people jailbroke for are generally available these days.

apparent 1/27/2026|||

I cannot remember ever installing something from the App Store onto a Mac. What software do people install that way?

vlovich123 1/27/2026||

I’m honestly surprised how they kept track that the certificate for an old version of the OS and deprecated hardware was expiring in the first place AND the executives approved cutting a release to roll it.