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Older iPad (OS 12 or older) is no longer able to use Spectrum App.

billandkathy
billandkathy Posts: 4 Spectator

This morning I was informed by my wife she can no longer watch spectrum tv on her older ipad. It says she needs an upgraded OS. Her ipad will not upgrade to that OS. The screen says to use an older version of the spectrum app. When we clicked that it just keeps bringing the same screen up.. Has spectrum made my ipad obsolete? Is there a way to use what we had before which was working pretty well?

Best Answers

  • Randy_S
    Randy_S Posts: 514 Spectrum Employee
    edited March 2023 Answer ✓

    Good morning and thanks for the great question.

    We don't have the ability to make third party equipment obsolete. Apple ( and any other company like that) stops allowing upgrades on devices because the needs of the operating system outgrows the ability of the hardware and may cause looping like you are experiencing.

    You could try to update your web browser (Safari, Google Chrome) and watch through http://watch.spectrum.net. Also, if there are specific channels with their own apps (like HBO Max) you could try to use those and just login with your Spectrum credentials.

    Randy

  • William_M
    William_M Posts: 1,021 ✅ Verified Employee Moderator
    edited March 2023 Answer ✓

    We are not blaming Apple. All operating systems receive regular updates and there will be a point with every device when it will not be compatible with the latest update. It is generally not recommended to connect those devices to the internet at all as security vulnerabilities are always found in older versions and will not be patched out, which can lead to other devices on your network being compromised.

    Development and testing of our app is always done on the latest OS versions and so likewise there will always be a point where devices running outdated operating systems will stop working with our app. I'm not aware of any way to download older versions of our app, but I suspect even if you could it would not be able to properly communicate with our servers.

    Currently the Spectrum TV app is only supported for IOS 13+, all supported devices here.

    Are you using the browsers on that iPad or another device?

  • Satch
    Satch Posts: 5,270 Contributor
    Answer ✓

    Guys,

    Knowing someone who is a big computer guy for decades and knows Apple like the back of his hand, the problem is the hardware technology from Apple has update turn-overs every three years. The same is true with Smart TV Apps. For all the controversy with Microsoft and Windows, at least you get a longer support cycle of updates, with a little more time of five years between service builds. and ten years of updates from the date of release for a software or OS build. Microsoft has abandoned the "Windows as a Service" model of updates for the lifetime of the device with the release of Windows 11.

    The problem is, why does the Spectrum app give the message to the i-pad owner asking if he/she would like to download an older Spectrum App that is compatible with the older OS.? And than that option is not avalible? I support that the Spectrum app should be able to offer back version updates for at least one to two years after the release of a new OS, so that people don't have to buy a new device every three years. After that two year grace period for old versions, than, yes, I would say, time to upgrade. However, there should be a solid five years of support for any OS on any device. Anything less than that is too short a time.

    Satch

Answers

  • R_Wagner100
    R_Wagner100 Posts: 3 Spectator

    Randy - you are missing the point. The Spectrum process appears to recognize and ask if the Ipad owner would like to download an older Spectrum App that is compatible with the older OS. After asking that question and selecting the desire to download the older compatible Spectrum - Spectrum process does not do so. The problem Randy is that Spectrum is not downloading the older compatible Spectrum App as noted. BTW this happened a few years ago with my older iPad and Spectrum correctly changed and allowed me to download an older compatible version. Netflix and other apps allow the older versions to downloaded. The older Spectrum version worked just fine. Give us access to it without the deceptive loop. You can do this - Spectrum did this a few years ago Users don't want to spend $400 or more to get a new iPad just to watch Spectrum TV on their iPad - and if they do they might "cut the cable" and just stream. We know Spectrum and you can do this.

  • billandkathy
    billandkathy Posts: 4 Spectator
    edited March 2023

    Thanks R_Wagner, that is exactly the problem. Not only will the spectrum app not work but it will not allow me to log onthat way and I am unable to log in using any of 3 different brand new, just downloaded browsers. Their app keeps referring to using the prior version without providing the prior app. You are 100% right about dumping Spectrum and going to a different streaming provider. Blaming the OS supplier for upgrading the OS I think is dishonest. Just to be clear, my initial complaint was about your app not running on my IPAD I am also unable to log in using watch.spectrum.net now

  • ScottyZ01
    ScottyZ01 Posts: 5 Spectator
    edited March 2023

    I'm in the exact same boat. I just got off the phone with Spectrum support, and was advised that I need to get a new iPad. @billandkathy, did you get a resolution to your issue?

    Thank you.

  • HT_Greenfield
    HT_Greenfield Posts: 666 Contributor
    edited March 2023

    Don’t shoot me. I’m only the piano player. iPadOS 13 has been around for over four years and the iPads not supported by it that are supported by iOS 12 were manufacturing discontinued 6 or 7 years ago. 

    The latest back-version of the Spectrum TV app that can be installed on iOS 12 is 8.54 (last July.) Confounding heuristics notwithstanding, the main reason you can’t install it is if it’s already installed. If you delete it, you can. On first run after installation or re-installation or clearing from memory via app switcher, it - the latest back-version that can be installed on iOS 12 - tells you that you need to install the most recent version. The most recent version is 8.72 and requires iPadOS 13 or later. Tilt. Game over. 

    This is all probably par for the course, at least by comparison with Cox Contour and Xfinity Stream.

  • HT_Greenfield
    HT_Greenfield Posts: 666 Contributor

    Correction: iOS 12 has been around for over 4 years and iPads running it that aren't supported by iPadOS 13 were mfg discontinued six or seven years ago..

  • emmyjustin
    emmyjustin Posts: 2 Spectator

    Same issue and calling Spectrum got me nowhere. Blame it on apple iOS updates. As mentioned above, other apps when prompted to download an older version do just that. When prompted to download an older version of the spectrum app, you are in a continuous loop hitting download without any download. SOMEONE (don't care if it's apple or spectrum) has made the previous version unavailable. I will not be replacing my perfectly functioning iPads because of the spectrum app. SPECTRUM make the older version available!!!!!

  • billandkathy
    billandkathy Posts: 4 Spectator
    edited March 2023

    Okay, so now we know this is not an Apple issue, it is 100% spectrum. I just deleted the version that won't work and apple allowed me to download the previous version that works on the older Ipad. Soon as I fire up the app it demands I download the new version and leaves me frozen on that screen. Spectrum is forcing us to toss perfectly working ipads.

  • billandkathy
    billandkathy Posts: 4 Spectator
    edited March 2023

    Scotty, no resolution. This is all Spectrum however as once I deleted the old version and went to the app store, clicked the latest version and Apple says it won't work on my ipad and did allow me to download the older version that will. Wow, thought I had it beat, went to the app, fired it up and it tells me the same darn thing again, won't run on this version ipad and would I like to download the old version.

  • Satch
    Satch Posts: 5,270 Contributor

    Just to add my two cents,

    This is why I prefer the traditional cable boxes and DVR's over the Spectrum app. Better functionality, more features and you don't have to worry about third party hardware/software if you want to watch something, because everything is self-contained in one OS, the Spectrum box or DVR itself,

    Spectrum updates the boxes and if your box dies, a tech comes out and can replace the box. Signal problems, tech can come out and check your drop line, Plus, with a traditional Spectrum cable box/ box DVR, you don't have to worry about Internet, or some third party company releasing a new version of something, and than you have to buy the new OS to use the product.

    With a Spectrum cable box or Spectrum DVR, you keep Spectrum, all Spectrum.

    Satch

  • R_Wagner100
    R_Wagner100 Posts: 3 Spectator

    Weird. My old iPad just started working again with Spectrum app about 2 weeks ago! Did they hear us?

  • ScottyZ01
    ScottyZ01 Posts: 5 Spectator

    Perhaps. Mine is working again also. Glad I held off on buying a new iPad.

This discussion has been closed.