iPhone customers lay into Apple after iOS 4.0.1 update fails to install iPhone customers are struggling to install Apple’s latest software patch and have been grumbling about the problems on Cupertino’s support forums. The company released its iOS 4.0.1 update yesterday, and immediately some users began complaining that they couldn’t successfully install it on their iPhones. “On a Win7 PC. …
Actually, worked fine for me too. When things go wrong for someone they scream and shout, and rightly so. But if it works fine they often just go on their merry way. They don't post on forums saying "Just thought I'd let everyone know that X worked as expected". So, just because a number of people complain doesn't mean it's necessary a disaster.
Out of interest, is this happening on Macs & Windows machines or just Windows machines ;)
Fanboi? Maybe.
USB static interference is a pain in the butt for Apple updates - have had several probelms with it in the past. Best fix I've found is before doing the update remove all USB devices excepet the iPhone, power down the machine, unplug it, hold the standby button down to drain all power from the machine totally (well, as much as poss) and then have a crack, preferably from a port furthest away from the power supply.
Took me three hours to update to OS4. No way I'm bothering for this one.
I had a very similar problem to this with my iPad updating to 3.2.1. I was on a laptop with Windows 7 x64 using iTunes x64 9.2.
I got error 14 when trying to update my iPad when trying the initial update and also the restore. I had to go to my x86 Windows 7 desktop and run the restore. Luckily I had a backup of my settings and apps so I just went back to my laptop, copied all the apps back on and then restored my settings backup.
At the time I assumed as per the apple kb that it was a problem with my usb ports (which are a bit funny on this laptop).
Only suggesting this cos it's Friday afternoon. Does anyone else think that there might be a saboteur at Apple? In all honesty if Jobs was to wake up one morning (assuming he sleeps) and think to himself "How could I destroy the reputation of my company?" he couldn't have done a better job than the fiasco the iPhone 4 is turning into.
Is there someone on the inside trying to bring the company down, maybe planted there by MS/Google/Adobe/take your pick of any of a myriad of disgruntled iPhone app developers.....
Is that they got in a panic about the antenna issues and decided they needed to rush out the bar update to try and quieten things down. Unfortunately when you rush out updates they are routinely not very well tested, and one of the hardest thing to test is the installation process.
Funnily enough, Apple's reputation for quality comes partly from the fact that they control the entire stack from hardware through to software. iOS is a significant departure from this in the fact that the application layer has many many more 3rd party apps on it than other Apple platforms. But installation is something that requires 3rd party hardware quite often as well. Anyone willing to bet that Apple don't test updates from anything except Macs? Anecdotally the problems seem to be when installing iOS 4.0.1 from anywhere except a Mac. My suspicion is that they have a non-standard feature in the USB implementation which works fine with Mac OSX hardware. And don't tell me that it is a Windows problem since the installed base of USB devices on windows that don't have an issue is rather a lot larger...
"I have updated iPhones on both windoze and mac, and have been fine - suspect its just hype like all of the reporting so far."
I suspect it's a problem in tolerance and depends on the quality of the USB controller in your computer. Macs are more expensive than low-end Windows boxes because they use high-end components. Mid-to-high-end PCs use the same components as Macs.
If the iPhone USB slave chipset has a low tolerance to static (either in hardware on in the software config) and drops the connections too easily, it won't be an OS-specific problem but rather a hardware-specific incompatibility.
Many device manufacturers have shot themselves in the foot by taking liberties with the specs and producing items that aren't compatible with other devices operating on the same specification....
... the windows program installer and the components of the iPhone that receive the data should have some answer to this kind of error, like, say, several retries, instead of just exiting immediately. Other programs that use USB ports have been doing this for ages.
One way or another, Apple has a lot of responsibility for this failure.
"Unfortunately when you rush out updates they are routinely not very well tested, and one of the hardest thing to test is the installation process."
Except if you'd read the article, you'd know it's due to USB issues. Oh, wait. You did know that since you mentioned it later in your post.
"Not the slightest issue - and it was way fast too" - fair comment. A bit of balance.
"sorry - I know you want as many bad-apples reported but I ain't one of them" - idiot comment whereby you identify yourself as that which you purport to ridicule - an intolerant 'tard not interested in truth - and blow the validity of your initial comment.
Well installed here (remarkably quickly) with no issues.
For a detailed analysis of the update, the marvellous anandtech does the business:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3821/iphone-4-redux-analyzing-apples-ios-41-signal-fix/1
Interestingly they point out how the iPhone 4 works well with much lower signal strengths. So maybe the corollary of having an antenna that can suffer from attenuation is that it can work better at lower strengths.
By putting the antenna on the outside, there is the possibility of working with worse signals. However, you can also get your "bags of salty water" a lot closer to the antenna, so the attenuation is more.
Speaking as someone who lives in areas of dodgy signal, I am happy that there is a way I can hold the phone for maximum signal strength. Saves standing on the toilet seat hanging out the window to get that text to go....
Of course, now that I have a SureSignal, the problem has gone away anyway.... ;-)
Why are seemingly normal, rational people unwilling to accept the fact that the fourth revision of this telephone a dud? They wouldn't accept a defective bar, television, etc but when it comes to a telephone not working they toss all their normal reactions out of the window and get defensive?
Many, including myself, stated you couldn't fix the antenna problem with software and now even some of the Apple supporters now accept Apple has failed (they have already admitted they have an 'issue').
But these people still proclaim they are satisfied.
Maybe I expect people to honour their word, their 'commitments', their warranties and had I any product that failed in such a spectacular fashion I would (and have done) bypass the supplier and sue. I have received two new cars in different settlement, a replacement $1749 bicycle and several monetary awards.
Apple has also treated customers with disdain and arrogance accusing them of not being intelligent enough to know how to hold these things.
Unless people stand up for their rights companies will simply continue cheat them of their due.
Meanwhile we await the pronouncement from the Lemon Factory as to what they are willing to do, without being directed by a court.
So please Mr Blinkered-Expert, define "best phone on the market"?
To me, it's simply being to see the sodding display in sunlight, buttons that were made for adults and not a 5 year old's hands oh and actually being able to make a phone call without jumping through 17 menus to get to it. This isn't levelled at Apple alone, simply modern phones in general.
To my old man, it's a phone with the odd text message once in a blue moon.
To my kids it's ease of texting and nothing else.
To my Missus it's the phone and games.
You see just 'cos it's shiny and you believe the marketing BS, doesn't make it so. People are different in a million wonderful ways and we all like different things for lots of reasons.
Not much been said about IOS4 screwing with 3GS and 3G phones which it is and has reduced mine to a parody of its former self.
Any other company would allow you to un-install crap software and revert back to a previous working version but Church of Jobs is not normal and make it as difficult as possible to do.
And people have been bashing Microsoft for years but at least you have an option with them when they cock something up.
Chances are that they will never admit its them they will blame the finger of god or the weather or a dust cloud or the little aliens for this bless em!
I was about to reply agreeing with you about my 3G running like a dog, but I've just noticed that it's actually zipping along much faster since the update to 4.0.1 this morning - it may be a coincidence, but I'm in a faintly good mood with Jobs for the first time in a couple of weeks today... I have won the victory over myself. I love Big Brother^H^H^H^H^H^H^H Steve Jobs.
Up until today my iPhone 3G has been running like a dog - it crashes Safari every other time I try to load a web page, and it frequently can't even open Mail without crashing. Even when it succeeds it hangs for >30s (to free memory?) before allowing scrolling *every* *single* *time* I use it. Completely frustratingly unusable. As I said above it seems to be fixed now with 4.0.1...
I've seen some really odd issues with that in the past - a device that happily takes the 'full whack' of static shock given in the EU standards, but dies if you give it a half-size shock.
The USB standard doesn't require the shield of the cable to be earthed at the host, which might be part of the problem - that's only recommended, IIRC.
Also, devices may connect the shield to 0v - again, it's optional.
Which leads to ground loops and all kinds of other fun and games - most other standards do specify exactly where and how to connect the shield. (And are then ignored by the cheaper manufacturers.)
For maximum reliability during reflashing I'd genuinely suggest that you don't touch either the device or the PC chassis during the upgrade - relatively large static charges can be built up quite easily.
I am however very confused by the concept of it 'bricking' due to a failed update though. Almost every firmware-upgradable device I've had experience with copies the entire update across into RAM, checks that it's ok and then burns the image into flash.
Loss of connection should just result in "Oh dear - upgrade failed. Please try again."
The only exceptions are the devices that have almost no RAM - we're talking really small embedded systems here, generally based on Microchip PIC or similar.
- Even then you shouldn't lose the bootloader so even if the device is a brick until a firmware update completes, all you do is retry the upgrade.
Any modern phone simply isn't that class of device - they've got RAM sticking out of their ears!
...if Apple is paying retards to post positive comments on all these articles, or if the people are just trying and failing at trolling.
The point of trolling is to outwit your opponents, not to demonstrate a clear lack of knowledge on intellectual debate or statistics.
"...if Apple is paying retards to post positive comments on all these articles, or if the people are just trying and failing at trolling."
Since most of the comments on all these articles are from people who own no Apple gear, have never even seen an iPhone and are just slating Apple, it would seem that the opposite was the case...
you're still alive, if you don't think you can spot a really bad idea and/or patent dishonesty without personally suffering the consequences! One could spend the rest of one's life just listing all the different scenarios for you to die because you dismiss passive observation as a learning tool! But I'll leave that for someone else.
Upgraded to iOS 4.0.1 on my iPhone 3GS last night - the upgrade process went absolutely fine, no problems whatsoever. I can honestly say, mind you, I've never had any problems updating iOS (or iPhoneOS or whatever) right from the days of my 1st Gen iPhone either. Nor, to be honest, do I personally know anyone who has.
I rather suspect this is all being hyped out of all proportion by people with hidden agendas...
Great, rational, balanced, just what I for one want to see...
"I rather suspect this is all being hyped out of all proportion by people with hidden agendas..." and then you crock it. You are the one with the (not very) hidden agenda, which is presumably to deny that people are justified in being astonished, angry, sarcastic at an incompetence and dishonesty you could see from space, coming out of Cupertino this summer. And exasperation at their fellows who really do appear to be brainwashed.
I think it is time psychologists around the world investigated this phenomenon. Maybe it is the same one Milgram elucidated?
"You are the one with the (not very) hidden agenda, which is presumably to deny that people are justified in being astonished, angry, sarcastic at an incompetence and dishonesty you could see from space, coming out of Cupertino this summer."
I'm astonished.
The number of people with problems is less than 0.01% of the number of people who own iPhones.
It seems limited to certain Windows set-ups. It's a USB problem and my suspicion (due to having similar problems with different gear) is that it's a virus checker causing it.
"Great, rational, balanced, just what I for one want to see..."
..I wanted to see it too. It didn't come from you though.
Does any of that clear things up for you?
To hide the wrong number of bars?
With the same duct tape used to protect to insulate the casing, you can just put tape over the bar indicators!
By 2025 Apple will have taken over the world so am adding this disclaimer
*****All Apple products are perfect, By order 2025 ©Apple 2025*****
"Many customers have been reporting firmware problems with the update, which keeps spewing out ‘error 9’ messages."
Out of the 10 pages, how many unique error reports are there?
I've upgraded mine...wife upgraded hers (on her own comp), nobody else out of the five others i know with iPhone 4s had any problems.
So according to my market research, 7/7 people had no problems.
I love the people who don't know what a brick is -- the person quoted in the article claimed the failed install resulted in a brick, then IN THE SAME SENTENCE say they reverted to the factory install. If they managed to do that* they did not have a brick.
*(Without having to crack it open, connect wires directly to some JTAG header, or directly to a flash rom, or whatever...)
Anyway.. *shrug* I won't even give Apple any grief over this. Frankly, Windows USB stuff is fickle, I usually see it work fine, but have seen it not work fine (for no good reason) often enough to not even bat an eye at this.
Yes, but it is still bad to run the update over the USB.
I put the Motorola Phone Tools on Windows7 last night, to back up my pics prior to wiping them and had to 'reinstall' Internet Deplorer to run it's update! Well, I always figured Mobe Co.s are a bucket of shit when it comes to software. But why would Apple be too? They actually have vast experience doing SW.
OTH QuickTime. Safari. iTunes.
Hmm. When I built my non-interactive XP installation disc many moons ago, I made the company name "Microsoft Despisers". And yet Apple make them look good.
My friend applied the software fix today - His experiment seems to dispute Apple's claim that the signal drop is only a problem in low signal areas.
iPhone 4.0.1 signal indicator fix fails to do what Apple claimed - From 5 to 1 in just a grip of the hand... http://bit.ly/9Clh5Y
the tabloids know this...
for every reported failed update there are probably thousands of successfull updates. (and maybe tens of unreported unsuccessfull)
there will always be problems for some people doing this and this is no slight on them, it's just that shit happens.
and as the iPhone is a device that is in the public eye, then every screw up gets more publicity.
as the song goes "that's just the way it is".
I'll be nice and leave the fanbois alone with just that.
Do have to say though, the person commenting in the article does not understand what a BRICK is..
A BRICK is just that, only useful to hold up other bricks, or keep papers from blowing away.
You can not reset a brick, and then turn it into a $600 crappy apple iPwn
When a device is BRICKED its just that... DEAD to the world.
What you had was a device that was hung up, or had a corrupted software, both of which can be fixed with a reset, flash firmware, update driver etc.
The horror of an update or software BRICKING a device is that there IS NO GOING BACK.
Please stop making us all dumber and mis-using words! (understand this was not the authors words, but commentors)
Update worked OK for me, 20 mins start to finish... but bowing to peer pressure I will say it bricked my phone... Can I be in your gang now...
You cant expect a normal USB cable to work... This place has them on special... And you must be to buy one...
http://www.divineaudio.co.uk/audio-cables/wireworld-starlight-usb-cable-type-a-to-type-b-3m/prod_1684.html?review=write
2 bars now ... 5 before... Oooh... its just gone up to 3...
4.0.1 rocks...
Given the press conference announced the ultimate fix is to use rubber covers they'll be supplying, the letters from The Sacred J are going to be classics in the world of botched and premature communication. You fanbois need to get copies of them for framing.
The fix sounds like a large condom type thingies to me.
I'm not getting an iPhone .... but I'm starting to feel sorry for Steve Jobs. You can have a free bumper or send your phone back for a refund - or stfu.
Anyway - all this will be yesterdays news after Microsoft release their fabulous Kin here in the UK ... ... What?!!! No, really - it's going to change everything again .. again!
Sounds like a common problem with USB ports. On Windows computers, there's an option for USB ports to automatically shut off after a period of time to conserve power, especially on laptops. If that interrupts the update (which must be a pretty long update for that to interrupt the connection, I might add), it would logically cause an error. All people need to do is make sure their USB ports aren't set to shut off for power conservation.
Start > Settings** > Control Panel > System** > Hardware** > Device Manager > Universal Serial Bus Controllers > Right-click USB Root Hub > Properties > Power Management
**For Windows XP and earlier only
Too bad Apple's not familiar enough with Windows to warn its customers about this all too common issue.
Fine updating my 3G to 4.0.1 on my Windows XP netbook. Updating my girlfriend's 3G on her Vista machine was a while different story - exactly the problem described, compounded by iTunes then losing the last good back-up and me almost getting my nuts torn off (metaphorically speaking).
Anyone had problems with this on a Mac or XP? Something tells me it's got something to do with Vista and Win 7...
I give.
I couldn't get my older 3G to even take the 4.0 update so I gave up and just am using it on 3.1.3 still.
All I can say is after all this non-sense on Apples part what with the B.S. explanations and excuses, hurried and shoddy rushed out the door patch....
I have finally made a decision to not upgrade to 4 and instead am choosing Samsung's Galaxy S handset which they're calling "Captivate" on AT&T.
For what it's worth AT&T is fine in my particular area, so even though I could move to another provider, and get a Galaxy S based handset that they offer...there's not real incentive to do so.
Our (wife) account is linked together and she gets a small discount on account of her employer + other MaBell services such as u-verse mean I'm pretty well tied to AT&T, so I thank goodness their service is not as horrible in my particular area as the horror stories I've read.
I did have occassion to be in NYC at start of the month and now I 'get' what all the bitching is about. I had horrible signal strength in midtown Manhattan on the 3g, dropped the few calls I made and heaven forbid I tried to pull something up on the web it would take. ... f..o.r...e.....v....e........................................r to load.
It will be my 1st android based phone and I will miss a few apps that I know aren't available (*yet) on the platform....but enough is enough I can't justify forking over another $200 USD for so much grief.
I'll just have to learn how to 'root' it.
Up until 8 days ago I was certain my next phone would be the iPhail 4, but as someone who's not an emotionally invested fanboi to the product, I've seen the light and moving on.
Maybe next major ( tock cycle ) product refresh will see me come back, particularly if the android market fails to produce in the interim time the most important (to me) currently unavailable apps.....but that'll be then, and this is now.
Well right up until the next release of the AndroidOS which your handset manufacturer wont support, and then even if they do, your carrier wont provide. Be careful what you wish for with your phone. The android is potentially a great environment, but like linux it is just too likely to fragment and has even worse issues not down to the OS itself but down to support from the people who want to sell you a new phone. Google can sort this but they wont, as they know they need the handset makers and carriers to get their ad platform out there.
How many handsets on how many carriers have had a real supported "update" to Froyo? Sure good luck with rooting the device and doing your own updates, working in a console to get base stuff working etc, I am sure some people love doing that kind of stuff.
Will I get an Android next year? Possibly, I am not a fanboi, but I also want my phone to just work and to get the latest updates when they are available.
Ok. I'm going to say this. I used to be iPhone tech support tier2 before apple shut down my building. So I don't have ANY love for apple. I do love my iphone though.
Error 9 is generally caused by the low end users ANTI VIRUS. Which when you try to restore. The anti virus says ok there's no device here. Then windows goes. But yes there is I see it right there! IF you disable your anti virus and unplug external storage devices you should have no problem with error 9 unless you have usb timing issues. If you have usb timing issues that would usually be fixed by a simple software update. Error 6 9 12 and 13 are generally just standard error's that people with anti virus's or conflicting usb devices will see.
Works perfectly on 3GS for me, and where previously I could grip the 3GS tightly and see the bars drop, this no longer happens.
Worth noting I did the grip thing as an experiment recently, and sure enough the bars dropped on the 3GS just like every other phone I've tried, however I had never noticed it nor suffered from any issues such as dropped calls.
I have a 3GS which is scandalously denying me a rant at Apple. It, it, it .. well, just works.
Upgrade to iOS4: diverted the phone to another mobile, plugged it in and went shopping. Came back, done. Upgrade to 4.01: left it for a couple of hours while I did something else. Came back to a iPhone that wanted password and SIM unlock, so I have no idea what the fuss is about. I feel left out :)
It appears very similar to an erect d*ck: it stays up as long as you don't mess with it. So far, so good.
Having said that, the 3GS can also be brought to full disconnection if you cup the bottom..
Oh, that other phone? A good old trusty Motorola v3i. Totally crap UI, but the best designed hardware ever. Right size, easy to use flip, swappable battery. If someone could simply take the exact same dimensions and put a decent hardware (3G), OS + UI in it it would mean perfection to me.
I only had one minor problem with the install. When my iPhone rebooted it seemed to bugger up another USB port that was feeding the TV signal into my Mac. It caused the TV picture to freeze and I had to restart my EyeTV app. It happened just as Poirot was about to announce who the murderer was. It was a moment most inopportune.
I updated my old iPhone 3G too, which had been running - ow you say - like a dog since the previous "update" This seems to be better now.
My iPhone 4 doesn't show a dramatic signal loss anymore when I pick it up. It just shows a weak signal all the time. God bless you Steve!
It's one piece of software for use on 1 piece of hardware. Or are the updates designed to work on all iPhones, in which case it's what, 4 phones? Not exactly difficult to test them all properly.
Maybe the problem is due to the USB bus on the device hosting the iPhone. Even so it's quite telling that the iPhone is the only device that won't play nicely with these systems. Presumably these people aren't dumb enough to do a firmware update on a USB port they know doesn't work (wait... scratch that - I can easily imagine them using a cheese string if you told them it was a USB cable)
And why are Apple users so excited about firmware updates anyway? Even the geekiest hardcore Windows gamer doesn't update his BIOS every time a fresh one comes out.
A mate of mine had problems installing the 4.01 update on his 3GS. He tried several times and it failed doing the install (error 14 I believe) from his windows 7 laptop. He had to take it to the apple store to have it fixed (although only took them 5 mins to get it sorted). Same thing happened to him with the 4.0 update too. He also tried several different usb cables including the apple one.
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