Unauthorised iOS updates

iOS 7 downloaded without permission

I have posted this issue before but have only encountered disbelief This is a post I lodged on MacWorld;
"I have complained about this before but probably not in the right places way back when iOS 6 was released. Yesterday when I opened my iPhone there was the message "Software Updates are available for your phone."
Don't get me wrong I was looking forward to iOS 7 and now that i've installed it I love it. What I am complaining about is that when I went to Software Update I find that iOS 7 has already been downloaded. So while I was sleeping with my iPhone in it's dock iOS 7 was downloaded without my permission or consent. This is what happened with iOS 6 and although I was happy, even keen to update I wonder what would have happened if i wasn't?
Would the installer just sit there taking up valuable space on my 16 Gb iPhone until I eventually succumbed or can it be uninstalled? Did I miss an option in Settings which prevents automatic software downloads?
Then just to add insult to injury I connect my iPhone to iTunes to check for app updates and find that " The iPhone ............ cannot be used it requires iTunes 11.1. Please connect to the app store and update iTunes."
Forgive me if I'm being petty here but wouldn't it be reasonable to include in the information about this iOS update that an update of iTunes will also be required before syncing will be possible.
Perhapes they just assume that we are all connected to high speed internet services so a 200 + Mb update will only take a minute or two so whats the beef? Well the beef is I'm in Bali, Indonesia with a very shaky 250 kb/min ADSL cable service which regularly drops out meaning a 200+ Mb download can take up to 2 hrs.
No doubt I would have updated anyway but armed with a little more info I would have been able to pick my time instead of waiting for hours to download a few photos I took last night so that I can email them to a friend.
I guess we live and learn.
Unfortunately I received only comments (and this is from developers) that what I was claiming was essentially impossible. There were some good arguments which I agreed with but there was no doubting the facts in my mind.
the same issue has occurred again with iOS 7.0.3 update but this time I have taken screen shots. I awoke this morning to find a "1" on my settings icon, on following it to the software update screen I see, and this is the exact wording" iOS7 7.0.3" followed by "Apple Inc." followed by "Downloaded" below that is a panel saying "Learn More" and below that a panel with blue text saying "instal Now"
So I realize this is a bit disjointed but I am puzzled to say the least. I have been told there is no window that says "Downloaded" and told quite rightly if Apple simultaneously downloaded updates to the estimated 600,000,000 world users thier servers would melt down. My wife on the other hand had to search for updates before finding and downloading iOS 7.0.3 as I would expect. We are both on the same WiFi network so why the difference? Don't get me wrong here, having the software already downloaded while I sleep is great, saves a lot of time, it's just that everybody has told me this is impossible.
Thoughts please.

Paragraphs?

Your post is difficult to read because it appears as a wall of text......

Anyway, the best answer I can guess at is that somewhere along the way you gave permission for updates to be downloaded automatically. Your wife didn't.

There is no such permission

Thanks but there is no such permission/setting.

chscag said:

Paragraphs?

Your post is difficult to read because it appears as a wall of text......

Anyway, the best answer I can guess at is that somewhere along the way you gave permission for updates to be downloaded automatically. Your wife didn't.

Click to expand...

There is no such permission.

@RodSprague: You really need to post replies in the same thread. Otherwise things can get confusing REALLY fast!

- Nick

p.s. Yes...I see that you figured it out.

chscag said:

Paragraphs?

Your post is difficult to read because it appears as a wall of text......

Anyway, the best answer I can guess at is that somewhere along the way you gave permission for updates to be downloaded automatically. Your wife didn't.

Click to expand...

Do you have difficulty reading more than 10 lines? Half of my post is a previously logged thread, for reference purposes. Let me put it concisely for you. iOS 7 downloaded, do you wish to install? The point here is it's already downloaded without my permission or consent. This, according to the experts is "impossible". I have screen shots that show it's not.

Yes, many people have problems reading what is commonly referred to as a "wall of text" on computer screens.

Took me less than 30 seconds to find the setting in iOS 6

Settings
iTunes and App Stores
where you will find an "Automatic Downloads" section where you can turn on and off the following:

You will find the same settings available in iOS 7 and it adds the option of 'Updates' to the list of Automatic Downloads.

Would quit asking whomever you have been asking questions of.
If the so called developers you've been talking to don't know how to open up "Settings" and browse around, not sure how good they are at developing either.

I will repeat once again - every user - should - at least one time

in iOS, open and browse "every single individual" option in Settings

in OS X, open and browse "every single individual" option in System Preferences

That 15 minutes or half an hour can save a lot of folks lots of time and frustration.

This is the third time I have raised this matter and have received some suggestions, in particular thanks to TattooedMac but the issue continues.
This morning my wife picked up her iPhone 4 off her dock and found that iOS 7.0.6 had been downloaded and the "Install Now" button was active.
I had to search for updates first on my iPhone 4 and I received the update available message with the "Download and Install" button. I have screen shots of all of this.
This originally happened with the major iOS update from iOS 6 to iOS 7 and it happened on my iPhone but not my wife's.
Our settings are the same and automatic updates are off so how can this happen?
My original question was what if I had not wanted to update to iOS 7?
TattooedMac rightly suggested that if Apple sent automatic system updates to all users the minute they were available their servers would melt down.
So what is going on?
Are we the only ones, if so what are we doing that is so different?

I don't know if this is the case but it's possible that the automatic updates for apps also includes OS updates. If you go to Settings > iTunes & App Store on each device, are their different settings for your devices?

vansmith said:

I don't know if this is the case but it's possible that the automatic updates for apps also includes OS updates. If you go to Settings > iTunes & App Store on each device, are their different settings for your devices?

Click to expand...

Thanks vansmith, but I did already cover your two queries in my question and in the first instance we're talking about a full system update. ie. iOS 6 to iOS 7

I wondered what would happen if I just chose not to instal it, the problem I imagine would be removing it.

Unwanted Automatic Updates of iOS

I have posted this issue a few time now with no real answers from this forum.
I have been told at different times that it is impossible or that i must have been mistaken. For those doubting the credence of my question please read this; http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1651841&highlight=ios+updates
Unfortunately there is no answer here that does not involve complex and time consuming process'.
Surely there must be a simple answer other than filling up my iPhone memory or blocking the URL of the server.
If not there is a problem that needs to be addressed.

merged multiple threads