Apple sends iPhones into 'Coma Mode'
iPhone 3.1: The 'buggiest' update yet
Complaints about Apple's new iPhone OS 3.1 are flooding the web, with one poster calling it "the buggiest update that Apple has yet released for the iPhone."
The problems being reported are legion. They include iPhones becoming totally unresponsive, dropped calls, poor battery life, difficulties with Wi-Fi connections, failed Microsoft Exchange syncing, dead GPS service, loss of signal after syncing, tethering no longer working in "legally" unlocked phones outside the US, and more.
It should, of course, be noted that on some message boards there's an "everything's fine with mine" post for every complaint - and we've experienced no problems with OS 3.1 on our iPhone 3GS - but the sheer volume of problems being reported can't be ignored.
Take the unresponsive-iPhone reports, for example. Tartly dubbed "Coma Mode," it's a hot topic on Apple's own Apple's "Using iPhone" user forum.
Reports vary, but they have one common thread: that the iPhone chooses to simply disregard all input and needs to be fully rebooted before it will work again. Users report seemingly random occurences, sometimes when the phone has been put to sleep, sometimes when it's locked, and sometimes just whenever it feel like it.
A blogger at the Detroit News provided a detailed description of his attempted - and unsuccessful - workarounds, and a poster in an Apple thread entitled "Mysterious random total shut downs following 3.1 update" described how he reset his iPhone to factory settings, restored it, set Autolock to Off, deleted his email account, and removed all third party apps - all to no avail.
That poster also tried to downgrade his iPhone OS to version 3.0 - but, unfortunately, Apple's iTunes doesn't provide that option. One tech-savvy user, however, has posted a YouTube video of how he used the Mac OS X Terminal to restore iPhone OS 3.0 from an iPhone running the iPhone 3.1 beta.
Finally, as of Thursday morning in a decidedly unscientific poll on Phones Review, 70 per cent of respondents had answered the question "Is your Apple iPhone useless after 3.1 update?" with "Yes and I am so ticked off."
Even those lucky enough to have their iPhone remain functional after the OS 3.1 update are expressing frustration. On the Apple discussion boards alone, there are threads devoted to problems making and receiving calls even when a strong signal is available, reduced battery life, flaky Wi-Fi, and disabling of tethering in unlocked phones outside of the US.
Other users have reported a loss of signal after syncing (YouTube video), and a multitude of problems reported on MacInTouch, Macworld, and iPhone Chat, including problems with GPS service, the ability to restore, and many, many other problems.
And there's also a thread on the Apple discussion boards and a series of posts on DSLReports about the inability to sync with Microsoft Exchange on iPhone 3G phones that have been upgraded to OS 3.1. This frustration, however, involves the new hardware encryption in the iPhone 3GS, and AppleInsider has a comprehensive article explaining the problem and providing a server-side workaround for iPhone 3G users.
Apple did not respond to our request for comment. ®
COMMENTS
@Nokia fanbois
Don't be so smug - your Nokia doesn't need an update to cause problems. I've had Nokias since the early 90s and they all reboot just when they want, drop calls, have battery life problems.
But I'd still much rather have that that what M$ call a "smartphone" - says a bunch about their smart people I guess.
Hardware & Software in Perfect Harmony
You see this is where the Apple ecosphere comes into its own. Unlike Microsoft, which has to code for a wide and varied range of processors, motherboards, components and peripherals, Apple can design for a limited range of hardware which it has full knowledge of, thus reducing the likelihood of any possible conflicts and erro ... no, wait...
Warranty Concerns
Cheers to Alien8n.
I've looked an Govt advice and the act concerned. The act is typical of Govt legislation and nigh on impossible to get sense out of but I've persevered and will send my recorded letter to the O2 Complaints review dept.
This abuse of customers by big Telcos (or any business in fact) is pretty dire, but I content that the reasonable length of time they're responsible for a product couldn't be less than the time they offer contracts on a phone for. Worth a few quid in the small claims court certainly. I've also required that they train their CS staff to understand their obligations under the Act, and make the procedure for claiming in this method public.
Will update with any success.
Tata
Alex
If I pull this off though it'll be very interesting.
Downgrade not possible with the 3GS!
Please note that downgrading as mentioned by A. Coward above can only be done with the older 2G/3G models.
I sure miss tethering on my officially unlocked 3GS. My iPhone will go back into the box until Apple fixes this.
3.1 fine with me so far...
I've just run the 3.1 update, which went very smoothly as I've come to expect and appreciate with these releases. A cursory check over the phone doesn't reveal any problems, in fact if anything it seems to be responding a bit quicker. I'll post again if I encounter any disasters.
