Apple has a PR nightmare brewing…

Tons of people on Twitter are reporting problems with their iPhones. Including my son. Including Jeff Clavier. Anyone else having this problem? These are people who have not unlocked their iPhones. I’m about to update mine and will report what happens. A bunch more reports are over on TechMeme and Dave Winer is tracking them too.

How about you? How did your update of your iPhone go?

Oh, and Patrick’s iPhone lost all of its data. Made worse because his Mac had a bunch more problems (this is the second time it’s been in the shop) and so he’s praying now that Apple didn’t delete everything off of his hard drive.

UPDATE: My iPhone update seems to have gone well. New icon on home screen says “iTunes.” Meanwhile the Twitters from people with updates that didn’t go well continue to come in. Here’s another one.

Comments

  1. Eric says:

    Yeah, I am telling friends and family now to stay away from iPhone and instead to go with Nokia’s N95.

    I also didn’t have apps installed and did unlock but still had to restore the software before it would work.

    Apple has become so sloppy and I am losing trust real fast.

    I already told myself that my next computer is a Lenovo running Ubuntu.

  2. Eric says:

    Yeah, I am telling friends and family now to stay away from iPhone and instead to go with Nokia’s N95.

    I also didn’t have apps installed and did unlock but still had to restore the software before it would work.

    Apple has become so sloppy and I am losing trust real fast.

    I already told myself that my next computer is a Lenovo running Ubuntu.

  3. Ann says:

    Unmodified iPhone is iBroken after update, factory restore, reset. This is my third phone, on first most of touchscreen never worked, second kept reseting when turned on, both of which were replaced before I could obtain service.

    iGiveup

  4. Ann says:

    Unmodified iPhone is iBroken after update, factory restore, reset. This is my third phone, on first most of touchscreen never worked, second kept reseting when turned on, both of which were replaced before I could obtain service.

    iGiveup

  5. lynn says:

    Well tried to update to 1.1.1 First Phone had to be restored. After restoration phone came up on 1.1.1. I lost all my mail and had to add my wifi security again. Now it only synchs contacts and calendar. All my tunes and pod casts and videos are gone. iTunes will not restore via sync anything other than contacts and calendar. Did another restore and same problem. Now on long long LONG hold with apple for technical support. Steve Jobs I thought you did not sell crap?

  6. lynn says:

    Well tried to update to 1.1.1 First Phone had to be restored. After restoration phone came up on 1.1.1. I lost all my mail and had to add my wifi security again. Now it only synchs contacts and calendar. All my tunes and pod casts and videos are gone. iTunes will not restore via sync anything other than contacts and calendar. Did another restore and same problem. Now on long long LONG hold with apple for technical support. Steve Jobs I thought you did not sell crap?

  7. lynn says:

    Update after waiting for 20 minutes got tech support. She had me clear my sync history. Same problem. As soon as I told her the problem was still there I got a busy tone and was disconnected. When I called back, I was told that there were no technicians available and to call back during business hours. . .

  8. lynn says:

    Update after waiting for 20 minutes got tech support. She had me clear my sync history. Same problem. As soon as I told her the problem was still there I got a busy tone and was disconnected. When I called back, I was told that there were no technicians available and to call back during business hours. . .

  9. Brad says:

    Gotta chime in like some other posters – My Q and my Vista are working beautifully…

  10. Brad says:

    Gotta chime in like some other posters – My Q and my Vista are working beautifully…

  11. [...] a Patrick se le borraron todos los datos. Patrick Scoble es justamente el hijo de Robert Scoble que lo cuenta también detalladamente en su blog y busca más gente a la que le haya sucedido lo [...]

  12. John Kong says:

    Just updated my iPhone and it all looks to have gone well, no issues with data loss and I see the new iTunes app icon. Hope everyone who is having an issue get it all sorted.

  13. John Kong says:

    Just updated my iPhone and it all looks to have gone well, no issues with data loss and I see the new iTunes app icon. Hope everyone who is having an issue get it all sorted.

  14. [...] whose own son’s (unmodified) iPhone has been damaged, posted that Apple has a PR nightmare brewing. While I like Scoble, and think he’s always worth listening to, in this case I’m afraid [...]

  15. [...] parlance. Worse yet, the new software has bricked some unmodified iPhones as well. And people are outraged. These are, of course, by and large the same saps who overpaid by $200 to buy their iPhones in [...]

  16. Terence D says:

    Lost one ( .AIFF homemade ) ringtone made with “makeiPhoneringtone” otherwise it went fine, no problems.

  17. Terence D says:

    Lost one ( .AIFF homemade ) ringtone made with “makeiPhoneringtone” otherwise it went fine, no problems.

  18. Some people are having trouble understanding that iPhone is not a phone. It is a computer that happens to make calls and fit in your pocket. Once you understand that, it become very clear why Apple’s no-hack policy is deeply disturbing.

  19. Some people are having trouble understanding that iPhone is not a phone. It is a computer that happens to make calls and fit in your pocket. Once you understand that, it become very clear why Apple’s no-hack policy is deeply disturbing.

  20. John says:

    From my point of view Jobs planned, announced in public, and executed computer sabotage – on a massive scale.

  21. John says:

    From my point of view Jobs planned, announced in public, and executed computer sabotage – on a massive scale.

  22. [...] rapporterar också om icke-hackade iPhones som raderats totalt vid uppdateringen till [...]

  23. Damo says:

    Something makes me wonder. If you falk out that much money on a phone, surely its yours and you are entitled to use it as you see fit. I bet you any money that Apple won’t get done for marketting breaches and competition breaches just like microsoft did. I know theyre slightly different scenarios here but the principle is the same. My point is, if you pay for it – its yours – apple have no right whatsoever to turn round and dictate who you use it with. If it was in the UK, competition laws etc would be all over it.

  24. Damo says:

    Something makes me wonder. If you falk out that much money on a phone, surely its yours and you are entitled to use it as you see fit. I bet you any money that Apple won’t get done for marketting breaches and competition breaches just like microsoft did. I know theyre slightly different scenarios here but the principle is the same. My point is, if you pay for it – its yours – apple have no right whatsoever to turn round and dictate who you use it with. If it was in the UK, competition laws etc would be all over it.

  25. David Porch says:

    “Has anyone done research on something called Occam’s Razor before?”

    Occam’s Razor? ROFL Occam and anyone that intones his syllogism suffer from the same failed certitude that the Architect of the Matrix suffered from.

  26. David Porch says:

    “Has anyone done research on something called Occam’s Razor before?”

    Occam’s Razor? ROFL Occam and anyone that intones his syllogism suffer from the same failed certitude that the Architect of the Matrix suffered from.

  27. Peter Thompson says:

    What is snide and vindictive about Apple’s behaviour is not that it is seeking to restrict the iPhone to AT&T’s service, rather it does not seem to have provided a means of reverting hacked iPhones. Surely the logical and humane method is to disable hacked iPhones until the AT&T sim is reinserted at which point the phone can be re-initialised/restored.

    The fact that unhacked iPhones are falling over shows Apple to be incompetent as well as spiteful. Do you really want to do business with these people?

  28. Peter Thompson says:

    What is snide and vindictive about Apple’s behaviour is not that it is seeking to restrict the iPhone to AT&T’s service, rather it does not seem to have provided a means of reverting hacked iPhones. Surely the logical and humane method is to disable hacked iPhones until the AT&T sim is reinserted at which point the phone can be re-initialised/restored.

    The fact that unhacked iPhones are falling over shows Apple to be incompetent as well as spiteful. Do you really want to do business with these people?

  29. slavior says:

    “My point is, if you pay for it – its yours – apple have no right whatsoever to turn round and dictate who you use it with.”

    It is yours, you can do some amazing thing with it, especially if you jailbreak it. But if you decide to install Apple’s firmware update THAT SPELLS OUT what will happen if you do (i.e. disable jailbreak functionality), isn’t that your conscious choice as well?

  30. slavior says:

    “My point is, if you pay for it – its yours – apple have no right whatsoever to turn round and dictate who you use it with.”

    It is yours, you can do some amazing thing with it, especially if you jailbreak it. But if you decide to install Apple’s firmware update THAT SPELLS OUT what will happen if you do (i.e. disable jailbreak functionality), isn’t that your conscious choice as well?

  31. Jenn says:

    “Wreck: you do realize I’ve debated Andrew Keen on stage at two conferences. His book is a polemic. Not worth reading by smart people in my view. There are so many better ways to spend your time.”

    Yes, of course. Everyone knows “smart” people got to be the way they are by accepting, rather than challenging, the viewpoints of others. Just look at Galileo. Completely by-the-book, that guy.

    Between your utter dickishness in this particular comment and seeing how you permit your son’s ill manners, I have to say you’ve dropped a couple notches on the respect-o-meter, whether or not I agree with a lot of your points.

  32. Jenn says:

    “Wreck: you do realize I’ve debated Andrew Keen on stage at two conferences. His book is a polemic. Not worth reading by smart people in my view. There are so many better ways to spend your time.”

    Yes, of course. Everyone knows “smart” people got to be the way they are by accepting, rather than challenging, the viewpoints of others. Just look at Galileo. Completely by-the-book, that guy.

    Between your utter dickishness in this particular comment and seeing how you permit your son’s ill manners, I have to say you’ve dropped a couple notches on the respect-o-meter, whether or not I agree with a lot of your points.

  33. Vlad the Impaler says:

    I, too, see a quandry in that when the user purchases the iPhone they are forced into a provider. If the user isn’t willing to sign the contract, they may choose, then, not to purchase an iPhone. On the other side, I do not condone Apple’s forcing the use of one service on the user. I’m not ready to firmly come down on one side, although in both cases, Apple is at fault for facilitating monopolitic business activity by AT&T.

    Was it necessary (or prudent) for Apple to take that activity? Probably not. Owning a minority share in the computing arena, it was not wise, although they have the lion’s share of the MP3 player environment above competitors with lower prices and more features (SanDisk, for example)

    I do not own an iPhone, so I can, perhaps, comment with some extra objectivity… and I can say with extreme confidence that… I really don’t know.

  34. Vlad the Impaler says:

    I, too, see a quandry in that when the user purchases the iPhone they are forced into a provider. If the user isn’t willing to sign the contract, they may choose, then, not to purchase an iPhone. On the other side, I do not condone Apple’s forcing the use of one service on the user. I’m not ready to firmly come down on one side, although in both cases, Apple is at fault for facilitating monopolitic business activity by AT&T.

    Was it necessary (or prudent) for Apple to take that activity? Probably not. Owning a minority share in the computing arena, it was not wise, although they have the lion’s share of the MP3 player environment above competitors with lower prices and more features (SanDisk, for example)

    I do not own an iPhone, so I can, perhaps, comment with some extra objectivity… and I can say with extreme confidence that… I really don’t know.

  35. Dave says:

    The whole lock-in thing is simply about maximizing income from people who “want shiny new thing (that I probably don’t need) now!” – AT&T have to give Apple part of your contract payment.

    You’d have a phone contract with AT&T and pay them every month until the end of the contract. OK, so if you go to another mobile provider, you’d be paying them for a contract every month too.

    AT&T won’t lose out…. unless, they’re only going to make money from the data services, the very thing Apple is preventing you from using with other providers.

    It seems a bit of a shame that Apple have gone out of their way to physically disable devices, but probably they needed to be aggressive to ensure the cash flow from AT&T.

    Like with every corporation, it’s all about money. Once you look at this from a purely financial point of view, it all makes perfect sense.

  36. Dave says:

    The whole lock-in thing is simply about maximizing income from people who “want shiny new thing (that I probably don’t need) now!” – AT&T have to give Apple part of your contract payment.

    You’d have a phone contract with AT&T and pay them every month until the end of the contract. OK, so if you go to another mobile provider, you’d be paying them for a contract every month too.

    AT&T won’t lose out…. unless, they’re only going to make money from the data services, the very thing Apple is preventing you from using with other providers.

    It seems a bit of a shame that Apple have gone out of their way to physically disable devices, but probably they needed to be aggressive to ensure the cash flow from AT&T.

    Like with every corporation, it’s all about money. Once you look at this from a purely financial point of view, it all makes perfect sense.

  37. [...] もっとも、アップルが認めていないソフトをなんら使っていない iPhone でも使用不能になったという複数の報告もある。 There have even been reports that some phones have been disabled that had no unauthorized software on them. [...]

  38. George says:

    Lets hope when they launch in Europe the EU do what they did to Microsoft and slam them for anti competitive behaviour. The fines are mounting fast.

    This should be a consumer led world.

    The mobile market in the UK is competitive because as users we haven’t fallen for the hype (remember how much money the providers lost getting the first 3G licences?).

    Slam them for a shed load of money…hit them in the pocket and perhaps we’ll see Apple change behaviour.

    There is no difference between their attitude and that of Microsoft.

  39. George says:

    Lets hope when they launch in Europe the EU do what they did to Microsoft and slam them for anti competitive behaviour. The fines are mounting fast.

    This should be a consumer led world.

    The mobile market in the UK is competitive because as users we haven’t fallen for the hype (remember how much money the providers lost getting the first 3G licences?).

    Slam them for a shed load of money…hit them in the pocket and perhaps we’ll see Apple change behaviour.

    There is no difference between their attitude and that of Microsoft.

  40. [...] ist der vorläufige Höhepunkt im Katz-und-Maus-Spiel zwischen SIM-Lock-Hackern und Apple. Doch die Stimmung dreht sich gegen den iPhone-Hersteller – die Nutzer sind sauer. Wer zusätzliche, aber legale Software [...]

  41. Chris says:

    Survey: Will you be upgrading your iPhone to 1.1.1?

    http://www.appsafari.com/news/1155/iphone-update-111/

  42. Chris says:

    Survey: Will you be upgrading your iPhone to 1.1.1?

    http://www.appsafari.com/news/1155/iphone-update-111/

  43. David says:

    whole thing went smoothly. MacBook and iPhone fwiw.

  44. David says:

    whole thing went smoothly. MacBook and iPhone fwiw.

  45. fred says:

    If Apple purposely engineered their software upgrade to break the hacked phones wouldnt that be malicious damage? I’m sure a laywer would delight in asking what changes were made in the upgrade and why/how it stopped the phones from working.

  46. fred says:

    If Apple purposely engineered their software upgrade to break the hacked phones wouldnt that be malicious damage? I’m sure a laywer would delight in asking what changes were made in the upgrade and why/how it stopped the phones from working.

  47. [...] to the BBC, the Scobleizer, and a host of others, Apple’s “cure” for altered iPhones may be causing a lot of [...]

  48. [...] have some sympathy for those folks who have "bricked" their iPhone. Back when I worked in the mobile group I received one of the early Windows [...]

  49. [...] have some sympathy for those folks who have "bricked" their iPhone. Back when I worked in the mobile group I received one of the early Windows [...]

  50. Adina says:

    And now that I can unlock it, Ill buy one