IOS 16.3 update breaks iCloud backups

On the forums Apple Community And MacRumors There have been reports from iPhone and iPad users who have updated their devices to iOS/iPadOS 16.3 and have noticed an issue with automatic backups via iCloud.

Users affected by this bug write about the inability to enable automatic backups in the settings. At the same time, in some cases, the data is uploaded to iCloud as usual - just the function switch remains inactive.

In some cases, the problem was fixed by enabling two-factor authentication (F2A) in iCloud. Because of this, there were rumors that in this way Apple is trying to impose additional protection. But this is hardly the case: for some users with an error, F2A backup was already enabled, while for others, enabling it did not help solve the problem. In addition, in this case, Apple would have written the requirements more specifically, and not limited to the usual error message.

Apple is already working on an iOS 16.3.1 update that could fix this bug. Until then, it makes sense to enable manual backup if it doesn't work automatically.