Don't – don't – install iOS 9.3 on your iPad 2: Upgrade bricks slabs
Apple's latest iOS update, version 9.3, is bricking iPad 2 devices. Reg readers, along with those on Apple's support and discussion boards, say their iPad 2s are unable to fully update to iOS 9.3 due to error messages that, for the time being at least, render the device unusable. The hardware is left in a mid-install limbo, it …
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Wednesday 23rd March 2016 20:47 GMT Amos1
Yeah, it happened to me. Connecting it to iTunes as recommended gives a dialog box that something was wrong and asks if I would I like to upgrade or restore. I selected Upgrade to 9.3 and it churned for a while, tried it and failed to activate again.
It was about 1 AM by then so I just selected Restore to 9.2.1 and went to bed. When I got up it was operational and I had to go through the initial setup stuff as usual. But when I tried to check for software updates, it said I was already on v9.3. Maybe that happened because I had tried the iTunes upgrade to v9.3 initially. Or maybe it's lying to me. Whatever. It did restore perfectly.
Unfortunately the old iPad 2 does not get Night Shift functionality, so I was sad again. :-)
Wednesday 23rd March 2016 21:26 GMT JLV
>Unfortunately the old iPad 2 does not get Night Shift functionality
Really? This is becoming a regular scam of Apple's, purposefully throttling new iOS features on older HW so that you are pushed towards upgrades.
I mean, maybe it is due to their newer graphic chipsets being able to bit-shift RGB values more efficiently and those not being available on older stuff. Maybe.
But they are not coming out clean about it and only letting you know after you install the slower-on-your-older-device-release. Ditto for the gushing reviewers.
11 15 Reply
Thursday 24th March 2016 09:27 GMT dave 93
Disappointed, but now less so...
I use F.lux on my desktop, and was looking forward to the Night Shift feature of 9.3. I can't think of a technical reason why older hardware can't alter the colour of the screen.
I'm not sure it helps me sleep, but it is definitely easier on my eyes in the evening, although I often disable it for watching video with more brightness.
No doubt some enterprising app developer will get around the hacks that the inventors of f.lux used to get themselves kicked off the app store.
On the upside, the 9.3 update 'just worked' on my iPad 2, and on my iPhone 5c (also not compatible with Night Shift - grrr)
Thursday 24th March 2016 09:42 GMT Tessier-Ashpool
Re: Disappointed, but now less so...
Night Shift looks quite grotty to me. I activated it and turned it off straight away. It's not something that suits everyone, apparently. You won't find an official answer as to why it's not supported on older devices, but bear in mind that this is also true for a number of recent features.
Thursday 24th March 2016 10:29 GMT Kristian Walsh
Unaccustomed as I am to defending Apple...
It's possible that the older iPads used a cheaper video subsystem without the necessary RGB gamma curve lookup feature needed to implement this.
Normally, white-point correction (which is what this is) is implemented by the video chipset. Just before the R,G,B bytes are sent to the DAC (or, these days, sent digitally to the panel driver), each colour-component value is looked up in a gamma table. The idea is that if your display has non-linear response to, say, the red signal, you can apply an opposing non-linear curve to the signal you send to that display, so that the result is effectively linear. For driving higher-quality displays, video chipsets can map the 8-bit RGB values to corrected values within a 10 or 12-bit-per-channel colour space.
Virtually all PC video chipsets support this function, but iPads aren't PCs, and don't use PC components. Tablets' LCD display drivers, so the theory goes, are calibrated in factory, so there should be no need for a programmable RGB adjustment before pixels hit the panel, so it's a natural thing to cut from your video module (it requires 256 x 3 words of registers that need to run at the speed of the pixel clock; no big ask, but why add the space to the chip if you don't need to).
In the absence of this hardware support, every drawing operation would have to be mapped, in software, into the "corrected" colour-space. That's another layer of "slow" that the older iPads really don't need.
Of course, it's equally possible that the iPad does have colour calibration support, but Apple deliberately don't activate it, in order to boost replacement sales.
Sunday 27th March 2016 15:53 GMT Dieter Haussmann
I don't know but it's also disabled by battery-saving mode, so maybe just inefficient process.
Thursday 24th March 2016 11:38 GMT Jon 37
"This is becoming a regular scam of Apple's, purposefully throttling new iOS features on older HW so that you are pushed towards upgrades."
When you bought the iPad 2, no-one promised you Night Shift, and you decided to buy it anyway. You clearly thought that it was worth the money.
The fact that new models have a new feature is totally normal; the fact that Apple backported Night Shift to some of their older models was very good of them - most vendors don't do that. The fact that they didn't enable it on really old hardware (for whatever reason) is not a "scam".
Thursday 24th March 2016 17:50 GMT JLV
"Scam" is perhaps too strong a word. And I did mention a possible valid reason for the functionality not being available.
But I don't have an iPad 2, I have an iPad 4. When I installed 9.0 (which I regret as it has been very slow on my machine, I installed it thinking I was getting the great new iOS 9 features). Which Apple and the reviewers were all crowing about. Chief among them was ad-blocking.
Turns out that, no, those features were locked out and ad-blocking requires an iPad Air 1 or 2.
I understand the reason why new features might not be feasible in HW. And I appreciate the fact that Apple provides updates to older devices (not to mention that certain other mobile operating systems really should be throwing stones in that regard).
But in that case:
a) make it obvious in the release notes what is supported or not.
b) reviewers - do your work, not everyone buys new bling every time Apple farts
c) architect the OS so that the new features do not hog performance on older hardware, if those features are not enabled on it. That will avoid us having to choose between vulnerabilities and unacceptable performance.
re. point c) if iOS 9 did not bring any new features to my iPad 4, why is it so much slower?
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Wednesday 23rd March 2016 20:51 GMT Anonymous Coward
Brick iPad, get new one?
If you install an official update that bricks your iPad, could you be entitled to a new device?
Since iPad 2s aren't made any more, perhaps this would be a way to snag a sneaky upgrade?
Re: Brick iPad, get new one?
>If you install an official update that bricks your iPad, could you be entitled to a new device?
Yes the Statutory Warranty on most Apple hardware is 6 years (in the UK) - if the hardware (other than battery) fails or an official update bricks it, they'll replace it free. Usually they offer a newer model for a modest fee, but you can hold out for a like for like refurb/replacement or refund if you're really patient.
It wouldn't be a permanent bricking
This is why Apple allows updates from DFU mode, so they can release a 9.3.1 a couple days later that fixes this.
Now they're going to have to figure out a way to restrict DFU mode updates for locked devices to stop the FBI from making them hack their phones, but still provide a way to recover from bad flashes. The secure enclave in newer devices might help here (and potentially leave older devices still vulnerable to the FBI's shenanigans, but that's a problem that will solve itself over time as older devices are retired)
Thursday 24th March 2016 09:40 GMT Jess
Re: a way to restrict DFU mode updates for locked devices
Make DFU updates always produce a fresh erased system. make the update procedure include a backup with a a page to sign if you skip it, saying you understand the risk.
Thursday 24th March 2016 05:47 GMT Pookietoo
Re: Statutory Warranty on most Apple hardware is 6 years
That's not true - you have six years from the date of purchase to make a claim against a seller, but items that might reasonably be expected to have a shorter lifetime don't have six years of cover. If the court decides that an iGadget has an expected lifetime of four years and yours fails after five years the six years is irrelevant. Even if it fails after three years you can only expect to be reimbursed a quarter of the purchase price.
Thursday 24th March 2016 09:23 GMT Anonymous Coward
>If the court decides that an iGadget has an expected lifetime of four years
The court has already decided Sale of Goods Act applies to most hardware (ie Phones, iPads, Macs but not headphones, keyboards etc) in the UK - since a telling off a couple of years ago by TS, Apple inform you of this on the page the compares Apple Care with your Statutory Entitlement.
Wednesday 23rd March 2016 21:19 GMT djstardust
The keep stock of old versions for battery replacements.
Thursday 24th March 2016 14:47 GMT John 104
Don't be daft. They don't keep entire iPads around just in case someone needs a battery. Or do you really think that Apple products aren't serviceable?
Thursday 24th March 2016 01:17 GMT Martin-73
You would certainly be allowed a repair or replacement.
And that ...
... boys and girls, is why I operate a minimum 24h windows between the appearance of an update, and me actually applying it (that's a minimum, usually it's 48h).
That was a lessons learned in the wonderful world of Microsoft. Apple has been considerably better, but that should not lead to an assumption of perfection, as thus demonstrated..
20 0 Reply
Wednesday 23rd March 2016 21:31 GMT GBE
Re: And that ...
I usually wait a few weeks. Sometimes it takes a several days for more subtle borkedness to rear its head, get written about, and for me to read about it. Installing something like an iOS or Androind system update during the first 24 hours it's available is nuts. Not that I'm not grateful to all the beta-testers who _do_ install the updates without waiting a week or three.
Too late for me - I did wait 3 days and was unaware of the ipad 2 issue until it happened. Too add to the frustration DFU reset is being hampered by incredibly slow software download - current ETA 18 hours to completion.
Apple may have done me a favour. The restoration has returned my iPad 2 to a fully functional and snappy machine now. Redownloading apps and setting up accounts didn't take that long either.
All those previous updates and upgrades hc taken their toll I think.
PS to reg- your app does not let me log in to post comments so am using browser version.
Thursday 24th March 2016 06:10 GMT jerkyflexoff
And that is why I don't buy that apple.garbage.
7 14 Reply
Thursday 24th March 2016 06:15 GMT KeithR
"That was a lesson learned in the wonderful world of Microsoft"
But how many BRICKED Win devices have you had?
I care about productivity. I know for a fact that as soon as the word "update", "patch" or even worse "new version" appear I'm heading for potentially serious downtime, and especially the "patch" part has been very, umm, patchy. THAT was the unexpected discovery when I bought a Mac for research, followed over time by the realisation of just how much usability Microsoft destroyed in its search for new features to sell its warez.
You will not hear me claim that *ANY* platform is perfect, I'm too realistic (and too old) for that, but I can tell you what allows me to spend more time working rather than fighting to keep it safe and working, and it's nothing made by Microsoft.
If you want an indication of how much Microsoft cares about your productivity, let me point at a feature they introduced over 2 decades ago that is STILL blighting productivity today: the inclusion of formatting data with a text paste operation, instead of just pasting plain text. I ended up being a sort of "document rescuer" in the previous decade because I could take a document that was crashing in Word because of all the formatting fragments scattered around by paste operations, take it into OpenOffice and clean it up. It's still the default, and in alternatives like OpenOffice and LibreOffice, some utter idiot came up with the idea to insert a menu in the path of an unformatted text paste ("Paste special" => pick from &^%$ menu) so you can't even swap over the functionality.
Here we return again back to Mac native code: they still don't make a plan paste a default, but there is at least a single command for a plaintext paste called "Paste and match style". That's productive.
(slight aside: one of the reasons this is a mess is because few people ever get taught about the difference between content and style, and so produce complete monsters of documents, even professionally. Personally, I would make a month using LaTEX mandatory)
Thursday 24th March 2016 11:01 GMT HamsterNet
The 2000 are calling. Office has had past options, including the the ability to set the default to Plane text, Match style or Keep original formatting for over a decade.
"I care about productivity"
And moving the goalposts.
"I know for a fact that as soon as the word "update", "patch" or even worse "new version" appear I'm heading for potentially serious downtime, and especially the "patch" part has been very, umm, patchy. THAT was the unexpected discovery when I bought a Mac for research,"
Same here on my Mac - lots of very impacting patches deployed seemingly at random. At least Microsoft have a schedule (mostly) and the updates usually are far less irritating....
Friday 25th March 2016 06:15 GMT Anonymous Coward
Really? The only patches that are big are full OS upgrades, and it doesn't even mention them if you take the app store off your dock (and it will not do those automated, unlike a certain company that is rumoured to "help" people do just that with their v10).
It is your choice, though: wait 24h and run a patch, or sit a month on a problem until patch day. My preference is to fix soonest (24h wait for problems to appear).
"But how many BRICKED Win devices have you had?"
Complete mis-use of "bricked", by you and the article. Bricked = unrecoverable. i.e. the firmware has been borked and is no longer able to boot the OS or any form of recovery tools and cannot be reflashed over a cable.
"due to error messages that, for the time being at least, render the device unusable."
Is not bricked, granted it's in a borked state, but it will be recoverable through the firmware tools. It's suprisingly hard to properly brick a modern phone (compared to the WinCE/Mobile days), you have to be fairly neglectful, usually knowingly flashing a bad/incorrect firmware.
"Complete mis-use of "bricked", by you and the article"
So sue me. And quibble about semantic niceties.
While I sit here, never having had a single bricked/borked/broken/buggered/bollocksed Win device caused by an update IN NEARLY THIRTY YEARS.
What's that quote about protesting too much?
I wouldn't have either if I'd stuck with MS-DOS (if I trace 30 years back in their product line). Isn't it time you let go of GEM?
I too have no further worries about such a problem for a good 6 years now, because I no longer use anything made by Microsoft. Life is good.
And that's why you're the one who gets hit by the zero days.
"And that's why you're the one who gets hit by the zero days."
No idea who you're replying to, but:
http://www.zdnet.com/article/apple-zero-day-vulnerability-fully-compromises-your-devices
Wednesday 23rd March 2016 21:08 GMT Grease Monkey
It just works.
Wednesday 23rd March 2016 21:24 GMT Captain Badmouth
It just borks.
Shirley?
Thursday 24th March 2016 08:34 GMT Roq D. Kasba
Well, if they will peddle such trite marketing shit such as 'It Just Works', they deserve to have their noses rubbed in it when it doesn't.
Computers and software are complicated, very complicated. Occasionally, as with all complex interdependencies, something goes wrong for everyone, so campaigns built around 'welcome to our impossible utopia where everything works perfectly all the time and we are god-like creatures who fart rainbows' are clearly 1) dishonest and 2) asking for it.
Although I'm a fairly happy user of Mac products, I 100% agree with you there. What annoys me most is the assumption of people that I use a Mac because I'm somehow arty (definitely not) or don't know what I'm doing, yet it's exactly BECAUSE I know what I'm doing that I use a Mac - it saves me time.
But Apple's occasionally inane marketing very seriously gets on my nerves sometimes.
Take, for instance, the whole song and dance about this Night Shift shite which somehow deserves a whole webpage of waffle. First of all, I've known about this for pretty much a decade so the whole song and dance is irritating but also, their implementation of it is not as good as f.lux. and I would have expected some anti-jetlag thinking in this. So it's not that brilliant. Not that I'll see much of it as I spend more time on a computer and that's where f.lux still does the job.
"Well, if they will peddle such trite marketing shit such as 'It Just Works', they deserve to have their noses rubbed in it when it doesn't."
You'd be forgiven for thinking otherwise based on the overly-sensitive, defensive reactions from some of the Apple "core" (see what I did there?) users on this thread.
Must be an awful thing to feel defined by your OS of choice...
Wednesday 23rd March 2016 21:25 GMT Mike 16
To be fair
A bricked device has very low vulnerability.
Right!!!
Hope the feds throw away the key.......0001, 0002,.....
Wednesday 23rd March 2016 22:26 GMT Mark Exclamation
No problem for me. My iPad 2 is still running 6.1.3, and still runs at full speed. I have no intention of upgrading any further.
But you do have a problem. There have been many security vulnerabilities fixed since 6.1.3 so you're going to have to be very selective in the websites that you visit.
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Tuesday 29th March 2016 03:44 GMT Mark Exclamation
I'm sure it's the only non-patched/vulnerable device on the whole of the Interwebs! Get over yourself, 1980s.
Friday 25th March 2016 13:04 GMT 404
Re: Mark!
BURN THE WITCH!*
*he turned me into a newt!
Wednesday 23rd March 2016 22:32 GMT DJV
Not exactly trouble free...
I did mine late this afternoon (BEFORE this news broke). It wasn't exactly plain sailing but it got there in the end.
In fact, it upgraded itself twice.
I'd connected it to the Mac as it's often safer that way but, after the first update (full download, restart and update shenanigans), iTunes decided that it was still on 9.2.1 and proceeded to do the whole kit and kaboodle a second time! Well, at the moment it seems ok (as far as an iPad 2 can be on 9.x - fingers and wallet crossed).
Wednesday 23rd March 2016 22:37 GMT Adam Jarvis
iOS 9.3 upgrade.
All went fine on several devices, an iPad 3 been the oldest. Text input a bit slow after upgrade, but seemed to have been doing housekeeping, webpages are faster at scrolling, text input a little better, but selection, cut and paste as bad as ever.
Wednesday 23rd March 2016 22:37 GMT PleebSmasher
"don't don't"
Don't don't install it... so do install it.
Wednesday 23rd March 2016 23:43 GMT SoltanGris
One of the dumb lucky ones
For some reason the update installed fine on my ancient Ipad 2 (64GB version) via over
No issue during the process.
Updated from 9. whatever was the prior version.
That said, I've had some apps that normally never hang, do just that since the update.
Sum Ting Wong.
If you read this and have yet to update and are not concerned much about the security issues,
I'd avoid this update until they do a point fix release later.
Thursday 24th March 2016 05:03 GMT JBowler
Re: One of the dumb lucky ones
>That said, I've had some apps that normally never hang, do just that since the update.
That was happening after the previous update (9.2?) I haven't tried 9.3 yet and will wait, perhaps for ever, until doing so; I don't do the "give all my data to Apple" backup option.
John Bowler <jbowler@acm.org>
I don't do the "give all my data to Apple" backup option.
To be honest, I've never used that in my life so that's not an issue for me.
Why the email address disclosure? Lonely? Not enough spam?
Thursday 24th March 2016 04:10 GMT LateNightLarry
iOS 9.3...
I made the mistake of updating my iPhone 4S to iOS 9.3... upgrade went okay, but then during the upgrade process, somehow the switch for accessibility/voice over got flipped and I couldn't log in because I didn't know how to get out of that mode. Finally went to the nearest Apple store and the tech there was familiar with the problem and was able to get me out of it.
The voice over mode is basically intended for blind/low vision people, and you have to tap any key three times in quick succession for the key to activate... Took him all of about three minutes to correct the problem.
Beer, since The Reg hasn't seen fit to give me a wine glass... and it's wine o'clock somewhere...
Mine iPad 2 got bricked by the 9.3 update from 9.2.1, I just reset to factory using iTunes and as it had been running slowly for a while decided to just re-add the apps I actually used rather than restore from iCloud backup.
All good so far and running 9.3 fine (and much faster post-tidy).
I've read a couple of forum threads that suggest this only affects iPad2's which have SIMs installed for mobile - also read a couple of places that suggest removing/rebooting without SIM and/or removing device from 'Find my iPhone' in the iCloud portal having fixed the issue - neither worked for me but YMMV.
Re affects SIM card iPad 2's suggestion
Mine is a sim version that got bricked but had no SIM card installed at the time.
Thursday 24th March 2016 06:11 GMT PCS
More to the point, the Mac OS X upgrade borked three of my customers Mac's.
All three machines suffered Kernel panics and had to be rescued via TimeMachine restores.
Any more data on that? I've had nothing to that effect.
BTW, I NEVER update without taking a full backup that allows a bare metal restore. I consider Time Machine good for version recovery, but a full bore restore using that takes *far* too long. I prefer Carbon Copy Cloner for that.
Thursday 24th March 2016 06:55 GMT JWG
Not a prob
Upgraded both my white 16GB wifi only and white 64GB WIFI/AT&T without any issue, except I had to reset my wifi router because it stopped recognizing both of my iPads, but not my Windows Box on a direct connect. Once the rest was done it was fine. This might resolve the some are seeing, and you can do it either before you start install or during, then they'll recognize the network. As an engineer of 40+ years (now, thankfully, retired) it became evident to me that for some odd reason the oPads weren't recognizing my router, so that's why the reset worked. Pass it along if you wish...jwg
Thursday 24th March 2016 08:16 GMT MR J
My phone got the Marshmallow upgrade yesterday.
It reset the phone, installed the upgrade, and backed up the settings from the cloud.
I had a iPhone once that wouldn't clear the registration process, it turned out that it was the ISP mashing up the activation process. So perhaps all of the issues here at the moment are just a matter of service load (apple), isp, or carrier issue?
Thursday 24th March 2016 08:26 GMT CaptSmegHead
Upgrade worked for me
My iPad 2 upgraded to 9.3 no problem at all. This is the 16GB wifi only version. It runs pretty damn slow though (since about iOS v7). I've uninstalled just about everything non-essential and turned off all the bells and whistles.
Thursday 24th March 2016 10:01 GMT Ralph B
Re: Upgrade worked for me
Same here. On all points.
Mine was getting glitchy too but the full restore after the update bricked it has turned it into good as new.
Thursday 24th March 2016 09:15 GMT Alumoi
You're supposed to buy a new iThing every year, regardless of the fact that your old one does everyting you need.
Don't want to buy? Oh, well, we'll just brick it via some update and they you'll have to.
Re: Didn't you get the memo?
There there, feel better now? The envy will eventually return, though.
It's not envy, it's the opposite from the Fanbois:
https://www.techinasia.com/awkward-moment-apple-mocked-good-hardware-poor-people
Apple - it's useless if it's more than 5 years old...
I'm feeling much better, thanks.
Had a couple of iThings but ditched them in favor of Android and never looked back.
No root, no easy method to install non-approved programs, forced "Apple way or the highway" UI, the list goes on.
I admit the iThings are better (quality wise) than the competition but I see no need to pay twice as much for what's, essentially, a toy.
There wouldn't have been a point - someone else would have picked them up already :)
I use both, and generally prefer the Apple side of things because it integrates quite well. It is, however, not a religion..
Thursday 24th March 2016 10:18 GMT Flywheel
Oh! I applied the update yesterday and it worked fine. I'm now on 9.3 (13E233). This is the 16GB wifi only version and I have about 7Gb free.
Shame about the F.lux thing - I could really have used that.
And the Nagware
The worst thing is that it nags you every few days if you don't upgrade. And if you are on an earlier iOS 9.x there seems to be no way of disabling it.
Thursday 24th March 2016 10:36 GMT JohnMurray
ipad2.
iOS9.3.
iNstalled.
Didn't bother with iTunes, did it direct.
No change in speed, operating or loading software (still slow!!)
Thursday 24th March 2016 10:53 GMT Duffaboy
I neve update till
The BETA testers have bricked their devices.
Thursday 24th March 2016 11:07 GMT Rdad
I wonder if El Reg could reach out to Phil Schiller and ask him his opinion of people using 5-year-old ipads. Presumably he would also consider this to be really sad.
Maybe this is actually a positive move from Apple to ensure that people upgrade in a timely fashion.
Thursday 24th March 2016 11:12 GMT Mihai
Worked for me
Upgraded this morning before reading the article. Had space on it so iOS already on iPad when upgrade started. Took more that half an hour in total.
Works, same speed as before (slow).
Why the smart-asses at Apple decided to change some of the config settings to new defaults (Cloud is ON after the update) I don't understand. They say they're not in the business of monetizing our data but they behave as it they were.
So no issues until now.
PS: direct upgrade, not via iTunes.
Friday 25th March 2016 00:11 GMT Whistlerspa
Re: Worked for me
A full factory restore and update fixed all speed issues on my 5yo iPad 2.
Seems like Windows clean OS is better than an upgrade.
Thursday 24th March 2016 13:21 GMT Stevie
Bah!
On the upside: device now safe from Israeli hacking.
Thursday 24th March 2016 13:51 GMT SoloSK71
So Apple kept f.lux out
of the sandbox until they could program their own version, which as usual is less functional, takes up more space and runs slower ...
Insanity?
"Even when pressing the 'try again' button on the 'Your iPad could not be activated because the activation server is temporarily unavailable...' message screen, no further network traffic appears," our reader reports.
"This is the case regardless of the number of times the 'try again' is pressed – it does nothing."
It didn't work. Push the button again. It didn't work. Push the button again. It didn't work. Push the button again. Just keep doing it. Eventually your results will be different, right?
Are you sure this was a Reg reader?
Updated my iPad 2 to iOS 9.3, no issues at all
Thursday 24th March 2016 20:32 GMT diodesign
Apple has probably fixed its activation servers. We're working on a followup.
Thursday 24th March 2016 20:48 GMT Captain Badmouth
Pardon?
Apple has probably fixed its followup servers. We're working on an activation.
Friday 25th March 2016 09:20 GMT Jim McCafferty
A Complete Farce
This is a complete joke - Part of Apple's mantra is it has a closed ecosystem so it can maximise control over hardware and software. They have a small range of 100% compliant devices to maintain. Compared to other operating systems with more complexity (and smaller profit margins), Apple's complexity issues are highly manageable.
For models like the iPAD2, they should have put a ceiling on the operating system and provided security updates at a minimum. Block App Store installs for products using features which exceed the device's capabilities. Every update is degrading the performance further. "If you think it's slow, maybe you should upgrade" is not a sensible technology strategy. Mind you, they're still making ridiculous profits, and people (like myself) are still buying their products - so hey, what do I know?
Friday 25th March 2016 20:33 GMT Qingdom
I had a perfectly functioning iPhone 5S 64gb running 7.1.2.
Curiosity got the best of me that it was time to update to 9.3 as apps in the store frequently prompt 'You must have iOS 9 to download this purchase'...
I learned a very hard lesson, yet again to never update until months after Apple launches a new iOS.
Used an iMac to attempt to recover, I get an error 50.
Used a Dell XPS to attempt to recover, I get an error -1.
Tried all kinds of methods: recovery mode, dfu mode, different usb cables, usb 3.0 port, usb 2.0 port, etc.
Set a reservation to the Genius Bar, they couldn't do anything about it. Since it was out of warranty, they had the audacity to suggest replacing it for $269 out of pocket.
And because this was a software caused fault such that it no longer boots fully into the springboard dash, they cannot accept it as a valid trade-in of full trade in value cost.
Good thing I had my data backed up, but this iOS 9.3 clusterfuck has caused me an entire week of grief already.
I just feel bad for the other people who weren't as fortunate as myself who are trapped from the data locked within their phones. Worse yet, if they didn't back up their data before the update, all the pictures and memories stored within... lost.
Good job, Apple. What you once touted as promoting an awesome end user experience has taken a complete 180 deg. turn with this latest fiasco.
Monday 28th March 2016 02:47 GMT Anonymous Coward
iPad2 3G No data service after update to 9.3
It ruined my Good Friday night. Being invited for easter dinner over great-auntie's decided to return favor and update her iPad2 3G over cuppa of tea as she complained that it nagged about update. Update itself worked fine - but - After update no data service over 3G anymore!? wtf?! NOT AGAIN, iF*cked...
Tried every trick possible before grabbing said travestry of electronic device with me back to home, leaving her without Skype. After resorting to some forums found someone else had same unfortunate fate.
Now the damn thing works again after DFU restore with iTunes back to 9.2.1 version and endless hours of reconfiguration as the latest backup was while ago and backup made after update of 9.3 of course is not supported to be restored on 9.2.1
I was careless and got reminded again why I dislike iThings.
THANKS APPLE FOR RUINING AUNTIE'S PLANNED EASTER GREETINGS MARATHON.
*finger salute to general direction of Steve's grave*