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Apple's IPhone 3G Firmware Update Bombs
Posted by
CmdrTaco
on Wed Aug 20, 2008 09:37 AM
from the oops-they-did-it-again dept.
from the oops-they-did-it-again dept.
JagsLive writes "After lots of complaints about iPhone 3G connection issues, Apple released a firmware update Monday with hopes it would fix the issues. But early reports suggest it didn't work as planned.
Complaints have included dropped calls, abrupt network switches, poor reception, and service interruptions.
Apple declined to offer details about its iPhone 2.0.1 update, other than saying it included 'bug fixes.' However, comments in Apple's support forum say plenty about the latest attempt to rectify poor user experiences. In fact, the update seems to be causing new issues, apparently interfering with the GPS function, among others."
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Tough to fix hardware issue with firmware patch (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Tough to fix hardware issue with firmware patch (Score:5, Interesting)
Not at all. Just reduce the "number of bars" shown in the user interface and make the phone lose connection predictably at a higher threshold. Problem fixed.
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Re:Tough to fix hardware issue with firmware patch (Score:5, Interesting)
Tough to fix hardware issue with firmware patch
Tweak the firmware so the hardware issues are less obvious. Drop to edge quicker.
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That's the problem (Score:5, Interesting)
Actually, some independent analysis has shown that's the issue - the firmware is too anxious to jump to EDGE. Another problem is that in some places, ATT's equipment is placed at 2.5G distances, but 3G needs closer towers, so ATT needs to step up and get some upgrades in place. But there are a lot of indicators that it's the immature software ON the infineon chip, not the chip itself, that is causing issues.
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Re:Tough to fix hardware issue with firmware patch (Score:5, Interesting)
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Re:Tough to fix hardware issue with firmware patch (Score:5, Informative)
Yes, except that several European countries do not have an Edge network (we went straight from GPRS to UMTS/3G), so people *will* notice if they do that. The issues have been quite widely reported in the Netherlands, also in mainstream news.
I predict more drama bombs if it turns out this is indeed what the update is mostly about...
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Re:Tough to fix hardware issue with firmware patch (Score:4, Insightful)
It's fortunate that there's a 30 day return policy. I returned my iPhone 3G at 29 days and went back to Verizon and got a Blackerry Curve. Though the Blackberry doesn't have as nice of an interface, it's much more stable. In the argument of stability vs usablity, stability wins. I had a friend who also returned his. I'm not sure how many more will return theirs, but I don't feel like taking chances with my $200.
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Re:"it just works my ass" (Score:5, Funny)
No way man, you're forgetting how Macs are like, TOTALLY the gold standard in interface design unless you want to do something crazy like look up stuff in the help feature or add titles to a video or change the box sizes for titles in iMovie or close a rules window in Mail without having to hide your dock or extract stills in iMovie without adding the still to the video or have it wait until you're finished recording multiple videos before it makes you wait for it to break them up or upload a picture to photobucket that iPhoto has kidnapped or actually have a fucking clue what your emails to others will look like when you embed pictures in the text or want to see at a glance which email address you're sending to or use Adobe Acrobat without annoying update warnings that require good reflexes to turn off or charge your iPod without having good enough reflexes to keep it from deleting everything when you don't want to sync or move the iPod library on one computer to another or ...
Oh, I'm sorry, was it hard for you read all of that in one sentence? Now, pretend I told you that that style was the gold standard in writing, and now you know what it's like to use a Mac.
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Re:"it just works my ass" (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:"it just works my ass" (Score:5, Insightful)
While I do agree that WiFi transfer would be nice, I would hardly call that a UI problem. That's more like a missing feature than a UI problem or inconsitancy. I've never used Lotus Notes, so I have no idea what UI element you are refering to with the last statement.
What I don't understand is, where is the BLUETOOTH transfer? Isn't this what Bluetooth was DESIGNED to do, is to sync hardware devices by simply being in proximity? My Mac Pro has Bluetooth, my iPhone has Bluetooth, so where's my auto-sync?
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Re:"it just works my ass" (Score:5, Funny)
Vista: It Just Works (on tomorrow's hardware)
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Re:Tough to fix hardware issue with firmware patch (Score:4, Insightful)
Why would they? There are countless iPhones that do work correctly, and it seems most of the issues are a software problem. I would expect if the problems were consistant across all the iPhones they can fix the problem quicker. However I suspect it is one of those conditions that A then B then C need to meet and the cell towers need to aligned right for the problem to occur. Making it difficult to track down. So except for fixing the problem like an engineer where they can duplicate the problem then apply the fix and know it will work they will need to work more like doctors. Using their knowledge of the system and think of what possible could cause this (not an easy task as when they developed it they tried to think of all situations already) then apply a patch in hope it may fix it, with hit or miss results. Returning all the iPhones will not do any good as it reduces the number of people who report the problem and may finally get the clue on what is the problem.
Yes you paid to be a Beta Tester it kinda sucks at least if they fix the problems you will have a nice phone.
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Re:Tough to fix hardware issue with firmware patch (Score:5, Informative)
But the chances of that happening are zero. apple has never did a recall and replace of defective equipment.
Not true, there have been numerous defective logic board and battery replacement programs.
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Re:Tough to fix hardware issue with firmware patch (Score:5, Insightful)
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2.0.1? (Score:5, Informative)
The crap linked article doesn't even get the version number right - I recommend reading ars techinca's take [arstechnica.com] (the amusingly named Hope you didn't plan to actually make calls on iPhone 2.0.2) or even Apple insider. [appleinsider.com]
I for one welcome our new haha overlords.
Re:2.0.1? (Score:5, Informative)
Well, in the summary's defense, they were referring to 2.0.1 and the lack of information Apple put out about that one. But the new update (unnumbered in the summary) has "plenty of information", at least from the people who had the misfortune of installing it.
Anyway, thanks for the links.
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Re:2.0.1? (Score:4, Insightful)
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Obligatory... (Score:5, Insightful)
"Just Works" post.....
Interestingly, I find it fairly insightful to see how the great unwashed masses are complaining about this, yet, for the most part, Apple is getting a "free pass" from pundit's, media, and most of the public because of past marketing.
What would the reaction have been if this was some other company?
Just a though that rattles around in my brain.
Re:Obligatory... (Score:5, Insightful)
Well, if it were MS, there would be a 'defectivebydesign' tag already
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Re:Obligatory... (Score:4, Insightful)
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Re:Obligatory... (Score:5, Interesting)
It's pretty sad that the 3G iPhone is running into problems. Especially since it has such high visibility due to everyone wanting one.
Actually, if this was any other cellphone company you would just get some bad reviews on a hardware site... and that's it. The fact that it's Apple means that it is appearing in more mainstream media.
Oh no, the Nokia xxxx is dropping calls left and right. Yawn. Oh no the Razor isn't great. Yawn.
Umm there's a problem with the iPho... OMG! CNN needs to cover this!
I've had/used cellphones that were pieces of garbage; dropped calls, poor reception, etc.
I guess that's the problem with a re-design; had they just refreshed the original iPhone there would be few technical glitches. But rolling out a new circuit board is causing them some headaches.
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Re:Obligatory... (Score:5, Insightful)
The reason this one is getting so much press is Apple's "It Just Works" campaign. They're saying it just works, and when it turns out to not "just work", it's a pretty big issue.
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Re:Obligatory... (Score:5, Insightful)
You must have missed all the "Google is now evil" stories floating around.
Anyway, IJW isn't an ideal as you put it. According to Apple it's practically the primary reason to buy their hardware. Why buy a Mac if not because of IJW? Are they really going to change their ad campaigns to "It just has prettier icons"? I think not.
If you attack your competition with arrogant adverts that personify them as unattractive, old fashioned people that don't work, and then sell stuff that doesn't work, people are going to notice. That's life.
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Re:Obligatory... (Score:5, Insightful)
It's pretty sad that the 3G iPhone is running into problems. Especially since it has such high visibility due to everyone wanting one.
But the real kicker is that this is Apple's own hardware. I can understand when Microsoft's updates fail (at least to some extent) because of the multitude of different machines trying to run the software. But Apple owns the specs and built the machines. To me, failed software updates from them are inexcusable, but likely the fault of the bean-counters with MBA's (I like that expression for some reason, but I can't remember who to attribute it to) pushing out the update too fast.
Based on other comments, I get the impression that this news is a little outdated, and I know that anti-Apple statements are a sure-fire way to get modded down. But please: consider all the factors of Apple products, especially if Apple insists on preventing other companies from writing OSes for their devices.
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Re:Obligatory... (Score:5, Insightful)
First, I don't have an iPhone nor do I plan on getting one. And while I use a MacBook Pro at home I'm not a zealot... I've had tech issues with my Apple products.
Apple isn't perfect. They have the occasional hardware issue with their rev A systems and a poor OS update here and there. As a whole their systems are usually pretty darn stable, but they still get major issues.
Heck, I was suffering with a known keyboard issue on my MacBook Pro for a year before they fixed it. A year.
But in their defense, they're still somewhat new to the Cellphone arena. Sure, this is their second phone and some of the insides are similar to the iPod touch, but they're still new. It's like if a Car designer was asked to design and build a great riding lawn mower. They'd make one, but their first 2 models might have issues.
Meanwhile, Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Samsung, etc have been pumping out Cellphones for a while and have gone through their growing pains. They know what to avoid when designing hardware and what to do when sending out a software update. And yet with all of this neither they are perfect.
I've had issues with cellphones from other companies, and know some people that experience MAJOR issues with other cellphones. It happens.
Here's hoping that third time's a charm.
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Re:Obligatory... (Score:4, Insightful)
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Re:Obligatory... (Score:5, Insightful)
You don't get the mainstream press interested in a new phone being released, but they were all out for the iPhone.
Live by the sword and all that.
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Re:Obligatory... (Score:4, Informative)
Within each series, typically, the higher the number, the better, newer the model.
No, but if they ever did it cross-platform they'd end up with the iPhone Sprint, instead. Hint: this joke is an affectation of the carrier, not the manufacturer, either wanting custom firmware or using different radio frequencies. So unless you want either a) to stick with one carrier for your phone offering, or b) are planning on getting a six-plus band radio installed in it, whoever you are, you'll be making different models for the US carriers. It's a sad travesty that any other tri/quad band phone can work with every other carrier on the planet (leaving aside GSM vs CDMA etc), yet you can't get a GSM phone in the US that'll work on all US GSM networks, everywhere (pockets of [unique]mhz coverage only).
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Re:Obligatory... (Score:5, Insightful)
Apple is getting a "free pass" from pundit's, media, and most of the public because of past marketing.
It's always "marketing", isn't it? It certainly isn't that people buy their products and honestly like them.
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Re:Obligatory... (Score:5, Funny)
Stop mocking Apple d00d...
I'm posting this from my updated iPhone, and obviou
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Re:Obligatory... (Score:5, Interesting)
"Just Works" post.....
Interestingly, I find it fairly insightful to see how the great unwashed masses are complaining about this, yet, for the most part, Apple is getting a "free pass" from pundit's, media, and most of the public because of past marketing.
What would the reaction have been if this was some other company?
Just a though that rattles around in my brain.
Not only is it "past marketing," it's the clamorous fan-base that sends death-threats to columnists who say negative things about Apple products that make them very reluctant to criticize too quickly.
The RDF is real. When I used Windows, if something was broken or I needed some application to do something, I would get a range of suggestions and, frequently, sympathetic remarks from other Windows users with the same problems. The attitude from Apple forums is generally that if an Apple product doesn't meet my needs or expectations, there's something wrong with my needs and expectations. There is a lot I like about my MacBook, but I'm getting fed up.
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never buy 1st gen apple hardware (Score:5, Insightful)
Right now, i'm feeling pretty damn happy I decided to wait on the iphone 3g. I do have an iphone and it works perfectly. I think i'll wait for a few more months before I upgrade to the 3g
Re:never buy 1st gen apple hardware (Score:4, Insightful)
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The update was to 2.0.2 (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:The update was to 2.0.2 (Score:5, Informative)
2.0.1 was the last update 2.0.2 is the most recent. And for the record my first gen iPhone works fine. The update fixed the slow typing bug and the battery drain bug. I don't know yet if it fixed the shuffle my home screen icons bug. True I wish Apple would give a complete change log. It sure would make it easier for us to give them feedback about those bugs if we knew what they were.
Well let me prefix this with "I love my iPhone 3G, but..." *cough* yeah right..
Apple doesn't want feedback. It's a privilege to use their products, if you don't like it, you know where to take it.
The audiobook reader speed adjustment is *STILL* broken on my 5G iPod, I haven't dared to try on my iPhone 3G. Apple will never fix it. I'm afraid the same applies for many bugs on the iPhone.
And no, I still have the slow keyboard bug with 2.0.2, except now my contacts list of 60 is unresponsive for up to 30 seconds after launching it. Excellent!!
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Disabled Apps (Score:5, Interesting)
On my iPhone, 2.02 completely disabled all 3rd party apps. Any apps installed run for just a few seconds before returning to the app screen. Deleting and re-installing doesn't help.
Good job apple.
Re:Disabled Apps (Score:4, Informative)
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Paging RoughlyDrafted.. (Score:5, Funny)
From: steve.jobs@apple.com
To: daniel@roughlydrafted.com
Subj: Hello
Daniel,
Looks like we're in a bit of bind right now. QA signed off on the 3G 2.0.1 update despite not testing it fully. (The guilty parties are being punished as we speak.) For the time being, could you write another pro-iPhone article? Be sure to mention how it is "substantially less buggy" than competitors phones, and how beautiful it is. Also, be sure to make a jab at Zune (the Internet always eats that stuff up.) It'd also be great if you could work chair throwing in there as well. Thankfully, the masses eat up tired memes without even realizing it. One article should buy us enough time and mindshare to fix these issues.
Sincerely,
Steve
terrible article (Score:5, Informative)
First off, the firmware that was just released was 2.0.2, not 2.0.1 which had been out for a while already. Second, Apple never claimed that this update contains the 3G fix. As usual, they have been secretive and cryptic about what the update actually contains, but this was just a minor update, not the big radio firmware fix we've been waiting for. And finally, although a few people have complained about the GPS in the new version, most of the reports seem to indicate that the GPS has IMPROVED.
Disclaimer: I own an iPhone and am suffering from the 3G issues. I'm certainly no fan of the way Apple has handled this so far, but this article is just a pointless and error-filled troll.
just like the iProduct (Score:5, Funny)
"I buy Apple products. It just makes me feel special."
http://cache.gizmodo.com/gadgets/images/iProduct.gif [gizmodo.com]
This really brings me more joy than it should (Score:5, Funny)
Makes me want to whack some crazy Apple fanboy with a one-button mouse while they're down.
It's all Steve Jobs' fault for yelling (Score:5, Interesting)
I happen to know the guy who headed the RF software group for the original iPhone. He's a low-key sort, from the industrial high-reliability real time world. He did not like being yelled at by Steve Jobs. So, shortly after the first iPhones were out and working, he quit.
Apple found someone else to do the 3G version. Probably not someone from the industrial high-reliability real time world.
The Plural of Anecdote is Not Data (Score:5, Insightful)
...however, since everyone is offering anecdotal "evidence", I'll point out that we have two 3G iPhones in our home, and neither have had 3G issues. A few applications crash on startup, but most of my apps run just fine, before and after the 2.0.2 update.
My biggest gripe is -- Apple has neither stated there is a known 3G connectivity problem, nor did they state the 2.0.2 patch contains a 'fix' for any such problems. So ask yourself, how have these people writing articles about it able to claim such a thing? The answer is, the same reason everyone thinks there's a widespread problem with 3G... hear-say.
Re:Oh, come on (Score:5, Insightful)
Because Apple gets a premium for its product based on the style and the "just works" philosophy. Nearly everyone will agree that apple products do not have the breadth of features or the extent of customization of many other products in their respective niche. Their market success has been based on the basic feature set being nearly bulletproof - a claim that many others cannot make. This is exactly the thing Apple users have come to forget happens with mediocre CE.
It also means that someone wasn't minding the store when it went out, and it can mean a serious problem with their growth process. Steve can't be around to hold their hand forever.
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Re:Oh, come on (Score:4, Insightful)
Why are bug reports on the iPhone always blown way the hell out of proportion?
My twenty dollar Nokia doesn't drop calls, nor have service interruptions, or any of the other problems the iPhone has.
A six hundred dollar telephone ought to work. Period. There is no such thing as "blowing it out of proportion."
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Re:Oh, come on (Score:5, Insightful)
It's what else is on the market. It is a perfectly fair comparison, the iPhone doesn't live in a vacuum.
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Re:Oh, come on (Score:5, Funny)
They've come down in price that much? I mught buy one once they get out of beta.
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Re:Oh, come on (Score:4, Insightful)
Why are bug reports on the iPhone always blown way the hell out of proportion?
Maybe it's because some are insisting that a phone should be able to make phone calls, while other are using a metric based on "user experience"?
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Yep I noticed the wrong ver in the article too (Score:4, Interesting)
I am more frustrated at the fact it has to do a complete reload, not just a patch. I've been generally happy with my iPhone (3G) but tying up your phone for almost 30 minutes while it downloads (at work no less) isn't pleasant. Then, I absolutely had to use it and forgot it was still downloading. I had a brick until I could spend another 10-20 minutes doing a "restore". The Apple software doesn't update after a restore, so guess what...I clicked, "Next" thinking it would continue to something else, but nope, got to wait another 20 minutes while it restored a second time.
As far as changes, I still have keyboard lag and the little quirks it had before 2.01 and 2.02. Battery drain I can't comment because I'm constantly plugging it in due to the habit I formed after having it die so often the first week I had it. I now instinctively plug into the car charger while driving, plug in at work, and then plug in at home. I even leave a cable attached to my XBOX360 to charge (even though the 360 won't recognize the iPhone like it would my iPod Video).
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Then Turn Off Apple Stories. (Score:5, Insightful)
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