Apple Ends iCloud Support for Older Devices

According to Apple’s newly published support documentation, devices running iOS 10 or macOS 10.12 no longer meet the minimum system requirements for iCloud services. As a result, these systems will lose access to backups, photo synchronization and the Find My service. The updated policy now requires users to run at least iOS 11 or later in order to continue using iCloud’s suite of services, including cloud storage, backups, Keychain and device location tracking.

Those unable to upgrade their systems may still access the web version of iCloud, though it does not support essential features such as system backups or automatic photo synchronization. iOS 10, first released in September 2016, was the final version supported by the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5c, which are now considered obsolete and have been formally dropped from Apple’s support lifecycle. Apple is gradually retiring support for older versions to streamline iCloud’s infrastructure, enhance efficiency and reduce long-term maintenance costs.