Apple Releases OS X 10.11.6, iOS 9.3.3, tvOS 9.2.2, and watchOS 2.2.2
Time to update ‘em all! Apple has updated all of its operating systems with security improvements and mostly unspecified bug fixes, but no new features.
As always, we recommend waiting a week or so before installing these updates, and then checking to see if early adopters are complaining about any problems. The updates are:
- OS X 10.11.6 (716 MB): The OS X 10.11.6 update fixes a bug that prevented settings from being saved in accounts with parental controls enabled and another that prevented some network devices from accessing SMB share points. Mac admins and enterprise users will also appreciate faster startup times when connecting to a NetBoot server and faster Active Directory authentication, plus a fix for a bug that prevented startup from a NetBoot image created with an OS X 10.11.4 or OS X 10.11.5 installer.
In addition, the update includes 36 security fixes. Currently, you can get the OS X 10.11.6 update only via Software Update, though we expect standalone downloads to appear soon on Apple’s Support Downloads page.
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iOS 9.3.3 (55.1 MB on iPhone 6): The iOS 9.3.3 update mentions no bug fixes in its minimal release notes, but a separate security post lists 26 security fixes. You can obtain the iOS 9.3.3 update via Settings > General > Software Update or through iTunes.
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tvOS 9.2.2 (Download size unknown): The tvOS 9.2.2 update includes 18 security fixes, and you can get it by going to Settings > System > Software Updates > Update Software.
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watchOS 2.2.2 (114 MB): Finally, Apple has updated watchOS to 2.2.2, which gains 12 security fixes. The update can be found in the Watch app on your iPhone, in My Watch > General > Software Update. To update, the Apple Watch needs to be in range of your iPhone, connected to its charger, and charged to at least 50 percent. The entire process could take 30–45 minutes all told, so make sure you have time.
What is the chance of iOS 9.3.3 finally addressing the long-standing failure of iBooks to work with iCloud located ePub/PDF content …
Thumbnail generation failures for the library content has stymied its successful operation for the last 5x releases of the OS now, I'm rapidly giving up hope for resolution :(
Not only does it not work that way, but you can no longer add NON-Apple sourced ePubs to iBooks via iTunes; only ePubs purchased/downloaded from Apple can be added to iBooks via iTunes. I'm checking out other ePub/PDF readers to see what I'll replace iBooks with. Oncne that happens and iOS 10 is out, I'll be deleting iBooks from my iDevices.
A quick and dirty way around that is to use some other generic utility to access the ePub (such as DeskConnect or Documents by Readdle) and then "Open in iBooks", which cross-loads the content to the iBooks library on the device.
I may not agree with this , but at least its just a policy implementation (which stands a chance of overturn if you flag it). My serious issue is that my iOS devices (particularly my iPad) are serious work devices on which I load ~600 documents (both PDFs and ePub) necessary for my job, reference materials, reports, courses, etc. Since migrating my library to iCloud I've effectively lost use of my iBooks app unless I cripple iCloud access and hence 550+ entries access.
A cursory investigation (via logs and crash reports) shows that an internal service (thumbnail generation for the iCloud located book covers) is the culprit, crashing and taking out the calling iBooks process, why is Apple still not resolving this widespread issue?
Why? Because Apple still does not take cloud services seriously. I hate to say it, but it appears that if you want platform agnostic document access (outside the Apple ecosphere), you'll need to use a non-Apple device; if my businesses depended on such access I'd likely use a Microsoft Surface Pro or one of the OEM clones thereof. Fortunately (for me) I'm past that necessity. That said, I get ePubs from Amazon to use on my Kindle. PDFs I can fortunately still read on my Mac.
Apple also released security updates for Yosemite and Mavericks which can installed via the App Store or downloaded from the aforementioned Support Downloads page (https://support.apple.com/downloads/). I assume these cover most if not all of the security fixes included in the OS X 10.11.6 update, though, as usually, it's hard to tell for sure.
The latest version of iOS also requires the downloading of many iBooks as it simply refuses to open them. And it's less than friendly as well on material, both epubs and PDFs, that I've had sent to me directly from publishers. I hope that this fixes that problem.
Updating my 4th gen AppleTV to 9.2.2 has caused it to flash at 1-3 second intervals.
NOT recommended
Any suggestions for remediation very welcome
Sorry to hear that. Maybe try a restore in iTunes?
Thank you taking the time to reply. I have tried an iTunes restore but after the phone verification I get a white screen with central spinning wheel.
I think it is bricked.
Beware of 10.11.6 is good advice. It updated fine on iMac and Macbook AIr but on my Macbook Pro...failed miserably! It would not boot. Spinner and beachball forever! Erased the drive and copied back from complete backup..FAILED! Had to do a clean install of 10.11.5 "migrate" from another backup and then update to 10.11.6. Now it works better than before. FAST! There must have been something damaged in the older OS though it seemed to be working well. All of the above took many hours. Lessons? Make a backup of your entire hard drive. Make more than one!
9.3.3 killed all the destinations in my iPad Air 2's iBooks, i.e., Search, NY Times, etc. All work in my iPhone 6.
Can't find a solution.
Since updating iPad Pro to 9.3.3 IBooks no longer works and 3 hrs on line with Apple could not resolve the problem, I have to order and download books on my laptop then sync books with iPad using iTunes to get books on the iPad pro
So, after seeing all the reports of iPads vs. iBooks, do you think Apple will be coming out with a fix that iPad owners would be wise to wait for?