Updated Feb. 7 with more details of the update and confirming exactly how to upgrade to it as over-the-air does not apply.
When Apple released the most recent iPhone software update, iOS 18.3, it was for every iPhone from the iPhone XS onwards. You can read comprehensive details of what’s in it here, and whether you should upgrade to it here. Now, Apple has re-released the software with a new build number, for three iPhones only: iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max. What’s more, to install it, you have to sideload it: you can’t just do it the usual way by opening the Settings app, and choosing Software Update, a process which I’ve been able to independently confirm.
“It’s available for the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max only at this time. If you want to install it, you have to use a Mac or Windows computer, plug in your device and install it that way through the finder by clicking update,” according to Aaron Zollo at YouTube channel Zollotech.
Zollotech also says that even if you’re updating from earlier software and you choose the over-the-air solution, you’ll still get the earlier build, not the new one.
I can confirm that that’s correct: I took my purple iPhone 11 out of retirement and used the regular way to update. It took a little while—it’s been sitting doing nothing for almost five years, to be fair, so the download was pretty big. When it had finished I checked the build number (by going to Settings, About and tapping “iOS Version” to reveal that it is indeed build number 22D63.
I then connected the iPhone to my MacBook Pro by USB-C to Lightning cable, confirmed to each that I trusted the other device, opened the Finder and clicked on the iPhone. Initially the message in the window that opened said that the phone was up to date.
However, clicking on Check for Update opened a message that read, “A new iPhone software version (18.3) is available for the iPhone… Would you like to download it and update your iPhone now?”
Apple’s release notes then appeared, listing Visual Intelligence and Notification summaries changes (not applicable to the iPhone 11) and a recap of what is relevant.
This read, “This update includes the following enhancements and bug fixes: Calculator repeats the last mathematical operation when you tap the equals sign again. Fixes an issue where the keyboard might disappear when initiating a typed Siri request. Resolves an issue where audio playback continues until the song ends even after closing Apple Music.”
The update was big, weighing in at 8.25GB, and took less than two minutes to download, followed by a few minutes to back up the iPhone and then install the software. A few minutes later, I checked the build number again and it had updated to 22D64, the iPhone 11 special version. By the way, I also connected my iPhone 16 Pro Max to the Mac to see if I could persuade it to update to the new build number, but it wouldn’t. Which confirms that this build number is for the iPhone 11 series only.
Apple still hasn’t given any details of why the iPhone 11 series is getting this extra version, but a bug issue seems the most likely reason. Some users on Reddit have variously referred to reports of Safari breaking and Mail issues, but neither has been confirmed by Apple.
The original update was released on Monday, Jan. 27 with build number 22D63. But on Monday, Feb. 3, Apple released iOS 18.3 with a new build number, 22D64. You wouldn’t need to know this unless you have one of the iPhone 11 series handsets, first released in fall 2019. If you do, and you go to the Settings app and choose Software Update, you’ll find the option to update to the new version.
As to what’s in it, Apple hasn’t gone into detail. We know what’s not in it: the many Apple Intelligence changes that iOS 18.3 brought to the most recent iPhones. Only the iPhone 15 Pro, Pro Max and iPhone 16 series are compatible with Apple Intelligence.
So, the new version most likely is there to fix something that didn’t quite take in the first release, something that only the iPhone 11 series somehow continued to find a problem.
The notes only point to issues other iPhones have seen fixed in the latest update, that is, these three things. First, the Calculator app now repeats the last mathematical operation when you tap the equals sign, something which it used to do before, and now can again. Second, it fixes an issue where the keyboard might disappear when initiating a typed Siri request. And third, the update Resolves an issue where audio playback continues until the song ends, even after closing Apple Music. Sucha weird one, that.
If you have an iPhone 11 series, even if you upgraded to iOS 18.3 already, Apple is recommending you install this new version. As the similarity of build numbers suggests, it’s very close to the last one, only this time it’ll fix things, let’s hope.
