itunes updating

iTunes 12.10.11 is the last version that runs on Windows 7. I think the issue here is that you're overdue updating to Windows 10. FWIW I've done several Windows 7 to 10 upgrades and they've all gone well so far, all gain, no pain, but your mileage could vary. See https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10.

tt2

It might be because of Apple's transition to Apple Music from a while ago. In saying that, I did take note that you are using an iPhone for iTunes. Basically, Apple has made iTunes almost redundant. They have the podcast app, Apple TV...etc.

Can't help you much, but if you go onto www.support.apple.com I'm sure that something will pop up :)

If there is any other relevant information which might be helpful, please let me know.

As tt2 has stated, iTunes 12.10.11 is the most up to date version of iTunes for Windows 7. Apple's message doesn't quite tell the whole story, hence your confusion.

iOS 15 requires iTunes version running on Windows 10. On the day of writing, the latest version of iTunes is 12.12.3.5

Ok, so I do agree what you are saying makes sense, but it doesn't really seem to fully jive with my similar situation. I came across the same issue today as OP is having. Win7 iTunes says its updated, but then tells me I need to update to run the restore on my 7gen iPad which has the latest iOS15.4. Thing is, I had just synced and backed-up this iPad on my Win7 desktop right after updating with zero issues until today. I was running an app update on said iPad for a mobile game that I play, I had it on the charger with the battery ~95% at the time, and I was doing other things not really paying it any mind. Come back about 5mins later to a completely bricked black-screen-o-death iPad! I can't elicit any response from this thing no matter what I do, and lemme tell you, I've done tried everything that's floating around online! I do know it's still alive because when I connect it to iTunes using the recovery mode it sees it and asks if I want to restore it, when I agree is where it suddenly refuses to play nicely with my supposedly archaic version of software even though it synced-up just fine the last time they were together.

So this brings us to what it is I'm not understanding; why do I need a software version update on anything at all when I'm trying to restore an iPad using the back-up and the computer it was created on, just last week?! Not only that, but adding some salt to my wounds, I can see the actual back-up file residing exactly where it should be in the Devices Preferences menu, right there next to the one for my iPhone. Why the **** would I need a different version of iTunes in order to restore something that itself had just created, days before? So now I gotta shell out well over $100 for a Windows 10 license, just so that I can have the pleasure of screwing up a perfectly running Win7 rig that i built and am quite happy with?! And we all know it will most likely start to suffer performance wise when trying to keep up with newer software's demands now being placed on it, all this for something that's completely unnecessary in the first place..

Sorry for hijacking the thread. I'm just highly frustrated and fairly disgusted with it all at the moment. I've encountered so many illogical "non-answers" on this subject today that it's kinda driving me over to the batty side of things. When I came across your response about iOS 15 needing Win10 with the newer iTunes to run it, I felt obliged to dig a little deeper, as that clearly has not been the full story for me, well at least right up until today, that is.. Cheers!

An iOS restore will always want to restore to the current version of iOS, regardless of the build that was on the device when it was backed up. Windows 7 doesn't support a suitable version of iTunes for the current version of iOS. Realistically you now need Windows 10. You shouldn't need to pay for a new licence. See https://www.howtogeek.com/509087/how-to-upgrade-from-windows-7-to-windows-10-for-free for example. I've done several in-place upgrades from Windows 7 to 10 lately and they've all gone smoothly, though of course your mileage may vary.

tt2

Bgee- wrote:

Ok, so I do agree what you are saying makes sense, but it doesn't really seem to fully jive with my similar situation. I came across the same issue today as OP is having. Win7 iTunes says its updated, but then tells me I need to update to run the restore on my 7gen iPad which has the latest iOS15.4.

That sounds to me like exactly the same situation to me: iOS 15 requires a version of iTunes that a Windows 7 machine cannot use. The fact that you cannot use the backup made on Windows 7 for your iOS 15 phone may explain why Apple state that you need a later version of iTunes; in other words, the process is unreliable.

So this brings us to what it is I'm not understanding; why do I need a software version update on anything at all when I'm trying to restore an iPad using the back-up and the computer it was created on, just last week?!

Perhaps the older version of iTunes can read the phone in order to create a backup but cannot write back to the phone, possibly because of the additional steps that the phone running iOS 15 requires. While it all makes sense to a software engineer, I doubt that we ordinary folk would be able to understand every detail of the newer software, which in turn means that simply have to accept what we're told. (In this respect, I do.)

I know very little about the inner workings of software (except that it's quite boring), and I certainly don't speak for Apple in this respect, but consider this: you can not reasonably expect Apple to write iTunes to work specifically with software (Windows 7) that Microsoft (the owner of Windows 7) no longer supports.

So now I gotta shell out well over $100 for a Windows 10 license, just so that I can have the pleasure of screwing up a perfectly running Win7 rig that i built and am quite happy with?!

Before you go that far, I strongly suggest that you make sure that your computer can run Windows 10. Let me explain: when Windows 10 was first launched, Microsoft's checker clearly stated that I could run Windows 10 on my machine. However, subsequent updates to Windows 10 put a stop to that and I had to buy a new computer.

Here's a tip though: go for a Windows 11 machine. The computer I bought less than two years ago to replace my Windows 7 machine will not run Windows 11. But of course, Microsoft wait until now to tell me this! Ggrrr!

Oh, so this is about Windows...sorry, can't help much with that. What version of Windows are you using? Might help the others on this thread to help you more......