iPhone 3G and firmware 2.0: one week later
By Joshua Topolsky 
posted July 18th 2008 12:13AM
posted July 18th 2008 12:13AM
The most prevalent complaint we've been hearing from users concerns ongoing issues with the phone's new firmware, which has delivered on a lot of its promises, yet is also exhibiting frustrating bugs that make us think this one needed a little more time in the oven. In particular, we've experienced -- and have been assailed with reports about -- painful lag times when typing, as well as choppy, clunky behavior while scrolling through or searching contacts, calls which can't be answered, and even outright crashes while receiving a call. Some owners have encountered repeated forced quits while trying to use the App Store, while a group of our editors vented about an SMS issue which not only grinds the phone's performance to a halt, but makes the keyboard inaccessible altogether.
When you toss in problems other users are having with email, MobileMe syncing, and assorted minor kinks (trouble rotating Safari anyone?), it seems obvious that there's cruft beneath this firmware creating hiccups in usability. Coupled with 3G reception concerns, the company's continuing struggle to get MobileMe working as advertised, and rumors that 2.0.1 is already in the works, you get the impression that everyone is looking for a little relief here... Apple and its customers alike.
So, how's your first week been?
I am on my 2nd 3g. First one the glass was not flush with the bezel. and the edges where the plastic meets the metal bezel were sharp from not being centered...hard to explain...but wasnt the quality i expected with an apple product. Purchased the phone through ATT and returned at Apple.....terrific experience did not give me any trouble at all (they had to issue a new Sim card though). Being a Windows Smartphone(Blackjack) convert I am thrilled with with the functionality and speed of the os. I am still getting use to the touchscreen keyboard. Double Thumb typing is going slow but progressing. Not at the speed i was at with a physicla QWERTY keyboard.
The 3rd party apps are very buggy. Actually crashed the phone the other day.
Reception blows away my Blackjack. I live about 1hr north of NYC and train in and out. Reception rarely has dead spots now but was very frustrating with my Blackjack.
I am a PC guy and I can tell you my next laptop will be a Mac. Genius bar experience and hardware quality blow away all else out there.
My 2.0's been really buggy, and i can barely type anything on SMS
I've been having wifi connectivity issues ever since I installed 2.0. Apparently, when I called AppleCare they weren't aware of the issue despite it being all over their discussion forums. I wound up being transferred to a Senior Product Tech and we couldn't get the issue fixed. I've been advised to swap it out at a store but have real concerns.
I have four iphones setup to exchange so far and my users are unable to turn off the damn passcode. The option to turn the passcode off does not exist.
If we run a restore the passcode returns to off. But as soon as someone docks the damn iphone again the passcode turns back on. RRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrr
I just wish they would dump the rest of the treo's we have and jump to the iphone.
Other than this issue all have been running very well.
Quote from macrumors forum:
I found the place where you could disable it.(Provided that you are the exchange admin)
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc161030(TechNet.10).aspx
Look under Device Password Policies header.
"Many administrators want to know how they can enforce a PIN on the device. In the past, there wasn’t a solution built into Exchange (though there are third-party products that provide this capability). But Exchange Server 2003 SP2 now enables you to configure a central policy that requires all mobile device users to protect their device with a password in order to access the Exchange Server.
To specify security settings for mobile devices using Exchange System Manager, right-click Mobile Services and then click Properties. On the Mobile Services Properties dialog box, click the Device Security button. You’ll see the Device Security Settings dialog box shown in Figure 2. To enable password policy for devices, make sure the Enforce password on device option is checked."
Whatever, for a just launched phone it's almost perfect !
http://www.iphone-3g-mobile.com/APPLE-IPHONE/NEW-APPLE-IPHONE-3G-COMPLAINTS-PROBLEMS-AND-MALFUNCTIONS
I've had a trifecta of problems:
Had to order a phone from AT&T -- now a week later and still waiting.
2.0 firmware update on IPT couldn't be completed until early Saturday morning and then it temporarily bricked the iPod, but eventually everything restored OK -- time-consuming but not lethal. Now running OK with 4 or 5 new applications on board.
MobileMe on the other hand was a disaster. Couldn't purchase a family pack until sometime Monday, and then lost calendar data in a synch disaster. (Address book seemed to sync OK.) I turned it off on Tuesday. Am now reading that MM has been "fixed," but I'll wait a little longer before I try again -- causing data loss is the kiss of death for a utility.
I have Contact Lag (i though it was caused by Mobile Me "pushing" updated info), Safari Crashes (I can't view THISIS50.COM LOL) and duplicate SMS when on the phone when u receive a SMS during a phone call. Does that happen to everybody cause it happened on my previous iphone lol? Anyways, the crashes stated on the homepage is what I am experiencing and the noticable ones is what I STATED. Thanks and hope anybody can relate to the SMS problem lol.
Have not experienced some of the ongoing problems talked about here. I use my phone with exchange and it works beautifully - email comes through the phone before my desktop.
My guess is some of the aps from the store are causing the problems - my phone is pretty native. No games or other aps other than mylite and about 150 songs.
The only thing I have noticed is inconsistent battery life. I generally disable 3G unless I know im going to the web - but while the phone sits next to me in the office I have noticed the battery will be nearly fully charged at noon one day and nearly half charged the next day - with similar usage. I wonder if there is an app still running and sucking power on the bad days.
I got my iphone 3G on Monday afternoon, took around 20 minutes in line there were only 10 people.
Took it back and got a replacement on Thursday after discovering the plastic back had warped and come away from the metal bezel in the top right corner (where the sleep button is).
New one is just fine and dandy.
Maps crashed completely, everytime I loaded it, it wouldn't responding to anything except the center button.
I have a 1st gen iPhone.
LOVE the new functionality, especially the multi-language support and Exchange interface.
Not so wild about the interface lags, especially while typing. But I'll actually take it in exchange for the other goodies, anticipating that the problem will eventually be fixed.
App store is a fun diversion, but I'm not hugely impressed with the available apps - *so far*. As some have pointed out, the iPhone-specific Web pages often look and function better than the related app. But the potential is obvious, and that is exciting.
I am having the same reception problems that others are reporting. Erratic signal strengths and poor reception compared to other ATT phones. Has anyone had any success with a phone exchange?
I had an iPod Touch running firmware v2.0 which I sold to get an iPhone 3G. In noticed immediately how much slower the interface is on the iPhone compared to the iPod Touch. It's enough to be seriously annoying, but I'm sure that'll be fixed soon via software update.
Since I figured out how to get custom ringtones onto the thing, there is only one aspect of the iPhone 3G that is a very serious downside for me. The whole idea of the iPhone was to revolutionize the mobile market. To give people more from a mobile device than they ever had before. Why, then, can I not add additional text-tones? This is something every other mobile phone built in the last 10 years can do. What surprises me the most is the poor quality of the text-tones built in. I hate all of them. None of them are clean and minimalist, which is the hallmark of Apple design. So Apple, if you are reading this, I want text tones, and I don't want to illegally hack my iPhone to get them, comprende?
Apart from the slow interface and lack of custom text-tones, I'm very happy with what I got. I've conditioned the battery (full drain and full charge at least four times, and then periodically in future), and it lasts a lot longer than it did out of the box. After my first charge, the battery lasted one day. After I conditioned it, it now lasts two days with about the same use.
Last word: if Apple fixes the two problems above, I will be one happy camper. The other issues people are talking about, I haven't encountered, but I'm not using MobileMe.
Oh right... backgrounds... why can I not change the background on the home screen? Like... why?? I don't understand what possible logic brought Apple to decide not to allow you to skin it... Again, this is something every other phone can do. So yea... text tones and backgrounds, Apple!
well my first week has been alright i guess...when i got it on 7-11 i waited 4 ours in line from 7a-11a and finally got the phone...could not activate it until almost 6pm that night due to itunes crashing....then i downloaded a whole bunch of apps, and the problems ive been having with mine are, lagging with contacts, or SMS, ive also been having alot of problems with GOOGLE MAPS, u know how your suppose to get that little blue dot when it locates you, well ive only see that appear about twice, every other time i just get a small blue ring but no actual sonar type dot, and also one time when i hit the locate button, it put me somewhere in germany, like every road was in german, and no my settings are in english like they are suppose to be so that was a bit odd...ive also had problems with AIM, LOOPT..it doesnt always like to update where im actually at, it usually leaves me at the same spot for a few days then all of a sudden it updates, but the phone has been a bit sluggish but overall nothing effecting the actual use of it, and ive also had problems when i would open up SMS the keyboard just wouldnt appear...people can knock the phone all they want but its the best phone ive ever had, and everything that is wrong with it can be solved with a simple software upgrade which im hoping comes out very soon...as buggy as it may be i wouldnt get rid of it for anything, ive also been surprised at att's service, i was a bit worried about switching from verizon to att, but so far i really cant complain...well hope this upgrade comes out soon!
i have a 16 GB Black iPhone 3G and have had a lot of apps that crash whenever i open them (monkey ball) also 2.0 seems to have lots of little lags and seems to overall be a little slower in normal phone features other then apps. overall love the phone the GPS is really nice i still like the feel of the old 1st gen iPhone better, it felt more solid but the 3G network is great service is a little spotty in some places. i do wish that the iPhone would be CDMA and work for Verizon or Sprint with their EV-DO network.
I am having ALL of the issues reported in the article with my new 3G iPhone.
The main disspointment for me is that synchronization is totally broken.
Synching takes an unbearable amount of time. Backup of the phone takes at least 30 minutes.
Example: Yesterday I downloaded 5 apps, totaling 5MB, through iTunes on my PC. Synching the iPhone (and not backing up) to install the apps to over an hour! Cancelling synch requires killing iTunes because it freezes, and the iPhone must be rebooted as it is frozen, too. This problem is totally repeatable for me.
Also, synchronization with Outlook 2003 is broken, too. I can synch with Outlook 2007 on Vista with no issues (despite taking 20 minutes - 60 minutes+).
But at work we use Outlook 2003 SP3 on XP SP3. Using iTunes 7.7, at each stage of synchronization ("contacts", then "calendar") I get a crash from "OutlookSyncClient" (which is Apple software). After about 30 tries, I was once able to get my contacts to the iPhone, but it hasn't synched since. And I've never been able to get a single calendar appointment to sync due to the crashes. A colleague with a 3G iPhone gets the same crashes and complete inability to sync with outlook when using MobileMe (apparently it uses the same "OutlookSyncClient" as iTunes 7.7). We know it's not an Outlook 2003 issue, as another colleague at work has an original iPhone still running firmware 1.x and iTunes 7.6x, and she continues to synch with no issues.
This inability to synch calendars, and the hugely long synch times, have killed the iPhone experience for me - such an expensive, high tech device and I can't even use it as a rudimentary PIM!
I can't believe they let this product (3G iPhone, firmware 2.0, iTunes 7.7, and MobileMe) out of the gate.
"It just (doesn't) works!"
I'm having most of these same issues as well and was unsure if they weren't per the usual until reading this article... (also, considering this 3G purchase is my first iPhone interaction experience).
I was under the assumption that 1st Gen. users had to deal with this "lag" as well when using the contact list or typing text messages. (I haven't had a crash yet (KNOCK KNOCK!) but I have noticed that if I switch over to text from some other area of operation [instead of just clicking the SMS icon from the dash] it is usually REALLY LAGGY.)
Hope they fix this, as it would make my experience exponentially more enjoyable...
Thanks,
John
Brooklyn
I have the original iPhone, was on 1.1.4 which worked great (well apart from battery life)...
I just purchased a new iMac and .Mac service, so I said that I would update the iPhone software to 2.0 for the apps...
My iPhone has now become a lumbering slow beast...Horrible delays for the Home screen, the Contacts screen is the worst...Still no copy and paste, seriously Apple ?
I'm sure they will release something new soon, but still what the hell Apple ?
And what annoys me the most is the .Mac or now the MobileMe service, I specifically bought it to make use of the sync for Calenders...I moved my whole Outlook calender entries over to iCal on my new iMac which went smoothly...However now when I enter appointments on my iPhone and view them on iCal after sync, frequently entries are deleted from my iPhone even though they were recent entries, in addition I have noticed that some of the entries are being deleted on the iCal also...I have zero confidence in MobileMe right now...
Damn....
WHAT? You mean to tell me that Apple pulled a Microsoft and introduced half-baked products? GASP! Nice to see that even people who can do no wrong in so many blind (fan) boys eyes are still human after all.
I can pick up my old Motorola and tap out an SMS in no time. But with my new iPhone 3G the periodic 'keyboard' lag is driving me nuts! Apple has clearly rushed this baby though.. and as always the cutomer pays!
What a ridiculous world we now live in...
2.0 is highly unreliable and buggy and very frustrating. I would highly suggest waiting to upgrade. It's now crashing on me reliably when trying to send certain emails. Lockups are not uncommon. Super disappointed in apple
I too am having same issues....its not the phone..its 2.0 thats having trouble... Im sure with some firmware updates they can fix it.
david
Not many probs, havn't noticed lags really, actually crashes less now and seems faster... on another note, I should not have had jalepinos on my pizza last night.... really bad move...
Hey folks --
I have the new 3G, and it's definitely buggy. I'm relieved to see that these problems aren't mine alone. They are:
1. Consistent dropped calls using 3G (maybe AT&T's fault, but at this point I don't care; I want my damned phone to WORK.) Running diagnostics indicates weaker 3G signal than Edge, but... this is New York City, for god's sake.
2. Terrible battery life, even using all of the old tricks to conserve power. I now have to switch off 3G while the phone is in my pocket, because it's the only way to get through the day without draining to 0. Which means fiddling with Setup every time I want to download data on 3G. A pain in the butt, without question.
3. Lag all over the place -- home screen, keyboard, setup toggles, etc.
4. System sounds work upon boot-up, but then disappear randomly. Not a big deal, but...
Other than that (!), it's snappy and great. I hope they fix these problems soon, before we loyal early-adopters start to get fidgety and spread the sub-par PR. As we're doing here. Never mind.
So love it, hate it...
No 3g in my home!! ATT map says exellent to good signal. When I called customer service they said " You should encourage your neighbors to complain also, as we can't respond to an individual complaint. I guess I'll be returning the Iphone and going back to verizon.
I have no problem with reception with their network.
No copy or past for email is a major snafu for the Iphone. Not sure what Apple was thinking ???? Otherwise like the interface - should be able to press the button to answer a call and not have to do the slider...
Our Company is Registered and Legitimate With a Work-.ce of Over 40 Staffs and 10 R & D Research Engineers that always make sure that all products are delivered in good condition.
We supply many electronic products, such as portable DVD, car DVD, MP3&MP4 players, TV, plasma TV, CD ROM, DVD writer, windows XP, office 2003 Software, Iphone, USB phone, bluetooth earphone, bluetooth USB dongle, etc. We are using this medium to look . buyers of mobile phones,we are offering Very low discounts with free shipment . mobile phones and laptops, place your order with your full address, zipcode, and phone contact numbers to Enable issue your proforma invoice and process your shipment.
Our phones are imported from Finland,Hungary and Singapore; they are factory sealed with original packets with complete accessory, e.g. charger, extra battery and software c d. The phones are simfree and it’s never lock to any network, specification: (europeans/usa-specifications) general network gsm 900/gsm 1800/gsm 1900 plat.m - tri band (gsm900 + 1800 + 1900 MHz: country of manufactured origin:
Finland,Hungary and Singapore.
WORTHY OF NOTICE: PLEASE SERIOUS BUYERS ARE ONLY WELCOME!
NOTE : 3 units and get 1 free
Shipping fees : we Ship by : FedEx, DHL or UPS
Delivery Time : 2/3 days
contact us at…
bestbuymobilephones@hotmail.co.uk
johnbullock_969@yahoo.com
contact name…..John Bullock
Mobile/cell phones,Games,Apple I-Pods…
IPHONES
Apple iphone (16GB) ……$350 (£175gbp)
Apple iPhone (8GB) iPhone 100% Unlocked $300 (£150gbp)
Apple iphone (4GB) …..$250 (£125gbp)
NOKIA PHONES…
Nokia E90 ………..$300usd (£150gbp)
Nokia N93i ……….$300usd (£150gbp)
Nokia N76 ………..$300usd (£150gbp)
Nokia N95 8GB . …..$300usd (£150gbp)
Nokia N96 . ………$350 usd (£175gbp)
Nokia 8800 sirocco…..$390usd (£195gbp)
Nokia 9300 . ……..$290usd (£145gbp)
Nokia 9500 ……….$280usd (£140gbp)
Nokia n75 ………..$320usd (£160gbp)
nokia N93 ………..$250 usd (£125gbp)
nokia 7373 ……….$180 usd (£90gbp)
nokia 6300 ……….$230 usd (£115gbp)
nokia 5200 ……….$150 usd (£125gbp)
nokia 5300 ……….$180 usd (£140gbp)
nokia E60 ………..$200 usd (£100gbp)
nokia E61 ………..$220 usd (£110gbp)
Nokia n92 . ………$240 usd (£120gbp)
Nokia n91 ………..$290 usd (£145gbp)
Nokia n80 ………..$230usd (£115gbp)
Nokia n83 ………. $235usd (£117.5gbp)
Nokia n73 ………. $220usd (£110gbp)
Nokia n71 ………. $175usd (£87.5gbp)
Nokia n70 ………..$165usd (£82.5gbp)
Nokia 5500 ……….$210usd (£105gbp)
PALM TREO PHONES…
Treo 750v(No athena) . …..$240usd (£120gbp)
Treo 680 . ……………..$250usd (£125gbp)
Treo 700wx . ……………$170usd (£85gbp)
Treo 650 . ……………..$150usd (£75gbp)
Treo 700w . …………….$180usd (£90gbp)
SONY ERICSSON PHONES….
Sony Ericsson xperia x1 ..$550usd(£275gbp)
Sony Ericsson G900 ……$250usd (£125gbp)
Sony ericsson w850i ….$230usd (£115gbp)
Sony ericcson p990i ….$250usd (£125gbp)
sony ericsson p910i ….$270usd (£135gbp)
Sony ericsson K800i ….$240usd (£120gbp)
Sony ericsson V800 …. $250usd (£125gbp)
Sony ericsson W950 …. $300usd (£150gbp)
Sony ericsson Z800 …. $230usd (£115gbp)
Sony ericsson p800 …. $270usd (£135gbp)
Sony ericsson w900i ….$300usd (£115gbp)
…..and many more
SIDE KICKS PHONES….
Sick kick i ….. $250usd (£125gbp)
Side kick 2 ….. $200usd (£100gbp)
Side kick 3 ….. $270usd (£135gbp)
I-MATE JAS JAR PHONES….
I-Mate JAQ ………$240usd (£120gbp)
I-Mate JAQ3 ……..$215usd (£107.5gbp)
I-Mate JASJAM . ….$200usd (£100gbp)
I-Mate JAMin …….$205usd (£102.5gbp)
I-Mate K-JAM …… $220usd (£110gbp)
PDA2K …………..$200usd (£100gbp)
SP3I ………….. $180 (£90gbp)
HTC MOBILE PHONES……
HTC Advantage X7500 …… $420usd
HTC Advantage X7501 …… $380usd
HTC Advantage X7510 …… $550usd
HTC MTeoR ……………. $200usd
HTC Omni …………….. $250usd
HTC P3300 ……………. $290usd
HTC P3300 Premium …….. $340usd
HTC P3350 ……………. $240usd
HTC P3400 ……………. $320usd
HTC P3470 ……………. $230usd
HTC P3600 Black ………. $300usd
HTC P3600 White ………. $300usd
HTC P4350 ……………. $190usd
HTC P4550 ……………. $300usd
HTC P6300 ……………. $310usd
HTC P6500 ……………. $500usd
HTC S310 Black ……….. $220usd
HTC S310 Grey ………… $220usd
HTC S420 …………….. $320usd
HTC S620 …………….. $220usd
HTC S710 …………….. $230usd
HTC S730 …………….. $210usd
HTC Shift ……………. $540usd
HTC Touch ……………. $400usd
HTC Touch Green ………. $300usd
HTC Touch Lilac ………. $250usd
HTC Touch White ………. $270usd
HTC Touch Cruise ……… $220usd
HTC Touch Diamond …….. $320usd
HTC Touch Dual ……….. $290usd
HTC Touch Pro ………… $420usd
HTC TyTN …………….. $390usd
HTC TyTN II ………….. $450usd
SAMSUNG PHONES.
Samsung P520 armani ….$340usd (£170gbp)
Samsung G810 . ……$400usd (£200gbp)
Samsung z710 . ….. $220usd (£110gbp)
samsung serene . ….$200usd (£100gbp)
Samsung x810 . ……$185usd (£92.5gbp)
S amsung z700 …….$230usd (£115gbp)
Samsung p860 . ……$170usd (£135gbp)
BLACK BERRY……
blackberry 7130e…….. $220usd (£110gbp)
blackberry 7100g…….. $210usd (£105gbp)
blackberry 7100i…….. $200usd (£100gbp)
blackberry 8700c…….. $200usd (£100gbp)
blackberry 8700r ……. $200usd (£100gbp)
blackberry 7130g ……. $210usd (£105gbp)
blackberry 7100t ……. $200usd (£100gbp)
blackberry 7230 …….. $210usd (£105gbp)
blackberry 7290……… $210usd (£105gbp)
blackberry 8700f…….. $230usd (£115gbp)
MOTOROLA PHONES….
Motorola rokr e1 ……. $170usd (£85gbp)
Motorola v3x . ……….$170usd (£85gbp)
Motorola slvr l7 ……. $190usd (£95gbp)
Motorola q . …………$150usd (£75gbp)
Motorola v8 . ………..$190usd (£95gbp)
Motorola v600 . ………$100usd (£50gbp)
Motorola v3C . ……….$160usd (£80gbp)