NOTE: This article refers to an iOS version that Apple and Imprivata Mobile Access Management no longer support. It is included for reference purposes only.
Summary
iOS 12.1.1 was released on December 5, 2018. We have received reports that attempting an update to iOS 12.1.1 will fail on many launchpads with the error “Failed: OS install procedure completed with failure.” We have traced this issue to older versions of an Apple support library, MobileDevice. This software should be updated on each GroundControl Launchpad Mac and Windows PC. We included version check and update instructions below.
We do not believe this is a bug with iOS 12.1.1. Future iOS versions should require the same update, so you can’t “skip” iOS 12.1.1 and avoid this. Please follow the instructions below and update your systems.
Impact
Many of our customers have not yet experienced these failures. At this time, Apple is still signing iOS 12.1, and GroundControl customers using Delayed iOS Updates have not yet seen this issue. Also many customers already have up-to-date libraries and do not experience this failure. As iOS 12.1.1 is adopted, we expect more systems to be affected.
What is Apple MobileDevice?
For certain operations, such as performing iOS updates, GroundControl uses Apple libraries. On Windows, Apple bundles this software with iTunes. On Mac, Apple bundles this software with the operating system. Usually this code is very stable and does not require maintenance. We can remember only one other “breaking update” that required an iTunes update. That was iOS 10 in 2016.
Checking your version of Apple MobileDevice
GroundControl displays the version of Apple MobileDevice in the Launchpad and in the admin console’s Launchpad detail. Click the triangle next to the Launchpad version display to show the OS version and the MobileDevice version.
Updating Apple MobileDevice
Windows: Update iTunes using the Apple Software Update utility in your Start menu. If you like, you can choose to keep Apple software up to date here.
Windows DLLs: Follow the instructions for “silent install” in our documentation and distribute the updated DLLs to your Windows PC.
Mac: On Mac, we recommend updating to Mac OS 10.14 “Mojave” at this time. On Mac, Apple no longer bundles MobileDevice with iTunes. Instead a unique install system is used, making it difficult to maintain this singular component. MobileDevice updates are (sometimes) triggered when you connect iOS devices, with a dialog that says “A software update is required to connect .to your iOS device.” Apple has more info here.
We are researching alternative update methods that do not require a Mac OS update. Please contact us for more info.