Apple no longer signs iOS 16.3.1: restoration and update blocked

Apple has stopped signing iOS 16.3.1 to its servers, meaning that it is no longer possible to install this version on your iPhone, either as an update or as a restore.

Apple released iOS 16.3.1 on February 13. There were no new features with this version, only fixes and optimizations. Here are Apple’s notes:

• iCloud settings may not respond or display incorrectly when apps use iCloud.
• Siri requests for the Find My app might not work.
• Crash detection optimizations on iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro.

We then got iOS 16.4 on March 27. For once, this version was the occasion to have several changes:

• 21 new Emoji including animals, hand gestures and objects are now available in Emoji Keyboard.
• Notifications for web apps added to the home screen.
• Voice Isolation mode for cell calls emphasizes the sound of your voice and blocks out surrounding noise.
• The Duplicates album in Photos now supports detecting duplicate photos and videos in an iCloud shared photo library.
• VoiceOver is now supported for maps in the Weather app.
• Accessibility setting to automatically darken video content in which flashes or strobes are detected.
• Visual search is now available in Belgium and Switzerland.
• Fixed an issue that could prevent children’s purchase authorization requests from displaying on the parent’s device.
• Fixed an issue that could cause Matter-enabled thermostats to become unresponsive after pairing with Apple Home.
• Crash detection optimizations on iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro.

And this week, Apple released iOS 16.4.1 which fixes a bug with emojis, Siri, and mouths security vulnerabilities. To date, Apple signs iOS 16.4 and iOS 16.4.1. There is also the beta of iOS 16.5.