iPhone 2.1 update: the aftermath
By Chris Ziegler 
posted Sep 14th 2008 5:20AM
posted Sep 14th 2008 5:20AM
- Excluding those of you who don't know where you are, our poll on claimed reception improvements in 2.1 suggests that the majority of iPhone 3G owners (by a slim margin) are seeing no improvement or -- gasp! -- a degradation in signal strength since 2.0.2.
- Given that 2.1 patches up some bugs with third-party apps, it comes as no surprise that a few of 'em are apparently breaking with the new firmware (a disappointment, yes, but not a surprise). It sucks that Apple whacked the ball into developers' courts on this one, and we're hoping for the sake of users and devs alike that it's not going to take many sleepless nights of re-coding and debugging to get the affected apps back on the straight and narrow.
- We're now hearing some reports of email buffoonery ranging from an inability to add new accounts to 2.1-equipped phones, to failures of existing accounts that had previously worked, to total Exchange breakage. Are you folks seeing anything there? Any corporate types freaking out that they've lost access to their beloved ActiveSync setups?
[Thanks to everyone who sent these in]
slow news day, eh?
No, this is actual news. They are explaining how the new update actually broke as many things as it fixed.
I'm just curiuos as to where the universal notificaiton systems is? Wasn't that supposed to be part of 2.1?
BTW, 2.1 is a big improvement in the battery department.
I hope they can keep us just as posted on every single Windows Vista update, not that they will.
Agreed, Craig... I used my iPhone unplugged enough yesterday to drain the battery to 70% or so with 2.0.2, and it didn't go down a bit in the upper corner display. It showed only about 10-15% drop when I put it on the charger.
Ok, so this update might not have been flawless, but it did for the most part what it was supposed to do: improve current functionality. And as far as 3G goes, I thought that was an issue of people not updating their iPhones and causing the entire network to be slow, even for people with the new firmware.
Now, here's to firmware 2.2: copy-and-paste, decent Bluetooth stack, MMS, push notifications...
It has to be. Lots of assumptions in that post.
- Better signal quality is not something most people can measure. For lots of people, going from 5 to 3 bars is worse signal. In fact, that person might never have really had 5 bars - they could be in a 3 bar location, but a bug showed them as having 5. When out of range, it thinks you should still have a signal, and you get dropped calls and the like. People complain that the signal quality is bad, then when the measurement tools agree with them, they argue to try cling on to their bad signal. This is because poor 3G coverage in the US makes people treat it like a hotly precious resource.
- Yes, there are still some bugs. However, lots of things have been fixed. Apps don't crash at startup, there's no keyboard lag, and backing up to iTunes is no longer measured in decades.
Look, I know you guys get a lot of stick for too much iPhone coverage. Acting like obnoxious anti-iPhone fanboys and ignoring all the good bits isn't a better alternative. Some journalistic neutrality would be great for everyone - Apple-boys and Micro-fans alike.
I have an iPod touch and have been overjoyed to find that i still have battery life after not using it for a day - something that sounds ridiculous but is all to often a huge problem. Lag has decreased by a ton and everything works just a bit smoother... All in all i think this was an excellent patch.
Now time to go buy myself a touch diamond :)
I've found that my iPhone does work better with the 2.1 update. I'm getting more accurate signal readings and a lot less dropped calls. Also, my keyboard is finally not freezing! Apps and such seem to not be crashing like the 2.0.2 firmware. So all I can say is that 2.1 is a lot better for me.
KarlW
i myself am an Apple fanboy but i think this is just too much
this like like what, the 5th post on the 2.1 update?
i would wanna see that kinda coverage when Sony releases updates for the PS3 or PSP
My iphone has gone from crap to a really stable phone in the last 2 days, i use to get drop calls and no 3G at all, all the time while at home, and in the last 2 days all of that has banish. Honestly if 2.1 hasn't fix your issues you should have your phone check out cause it did fix my unit along with my wife phone
Apple is simply showing their youth in the phone market.
I have the 1st gen iPhone, and while it was never feature rich it did work well. These constant updates are taking a good, albeit simple, product and destroying it.
For me adding the app store is kind of stupid. Most of the apps are useless and have no appeal other than a quick little game here and there. Outlook support is something that only has one purpose: try to break into the corporate world and increase sales. I understand that Apple wants to sell more of these things, but I believe for most people it's something that will be unused if not completely forgotten. I don't know anyone that uses it yet (either 1st gen or iPhone 3G).
With the 2.1 update I have seen my phone destroy the wifi connection. It is constantly switching around and puts an unnecessary load on whatever router it's thinking about joining. Streaming music on my desktop will stop when I pull out the iPhone, when I put it away the music goes back to normal.
I decided not to upgrade the the iPhone 3G because I didn't see much benefit from 3G and GPS, and I wanted to see what Android could come up with. I'm glad I decided against it, and now find myself wishing Google would hurry up. Apple is in a downward spiral with the debacle that is iPhone.
How many times does it have to be said? If you don't like the article, don't click the article. Stupid F-ing turd of a troll.
Exactly... Every smartphone has issues... for god sakes, look at Windows Mobile. All that matters is how fast they fix the bugs and the overall experience, and on both counts, the iPhone READILY takes the prize. I would NEVER go back to my Treo 700W or a Blackberry.
Exactly... Every smartphone has issues... for god sakes, look at Windows Mobile. All that matters is how fast they fix the bugs and the overall experience, and on both counts, the iPhone READILY takes the prize. I would NEVER go back to my Treo 700W or a Blackberry.
u get what you paid for, the 1st gen iphone was a better built quality device
Okay, I must be the only one on the planet happy with iPhone 3G. I've had no problems with any of the iPhone versions. I'm located in Kansas City, MO and I don't drop calls, I have no problems with exchange, I use applications from iStore and I have been playing with the video and photo options and have been very happy. I am a CIO and I am not polyanic so I'm confused as to why my 3G is working well for me and most others are posting all the negative findings and opinions.
I like that last line of the article!!
Yeah, it was absolute comedy genius!!!!! ....
Anyway, since upgrading, I have noticed a significant improvement in both 3G reception and battery life.
You have a REALLY low threshold for comedy genius.
To be honest the copy/paste 'jokes' are wearing quite thin... i don't need it on my iphone but i just want them to implement it so i can stop reading comments about it
Comedic, the word is Comedic
'[Thanks to everyone who sent these in]' What's so likeable about that?
So true Rich UK, I'm sick of how some bloggers keep commenting of their shock that there is *gasp* no cut and paste in every damn firmware release. People, if Apple was going to implement cut and paste we'd all know about it - its like the Holy Grail of iPhone improvements. Besides, it stopped being funny after the first firmware update!
I just have one question for you, Andyman:
Where the shit is my copy/paste? Hmmm!? This weak mess isn't funny anymore! WHERE IS IT?!
No they didnt forget to fix that 'bug,' they are going to wait until the next Apple event concerning the iphone and launch it as a huge feature (Large white text on projected screen behind Jobs,) a major thing that must be celebrated.
Reality is their OS is designed for each application to run in a sandbox, close completely before another application can open, thus sharing data between them can be quite tricky. If the copy and paste is too large, it can consume too many system resources running in the background and cause interface lag, slowdowns, crashes, memory leaks. Its a bit more complicated than you are all making it out to be.
might take them years like the 2 button mouse... some wizard at apple prob convinced the iPhone dev team not to include this feature because it encourages plagiarism or laziness... honestly, sometimes it doesn't work to think differently...
first.. =D 2.1 update is awesome... bugs fixed...im lovin my iphone again... but i would like cut and paste..maybe in the next update??
Am i the only one that thinks copy and paste is not the number 1 thing needed for the iPhone? GPS navigation and push notification comes first in my list, apple could of atleast put push notification in 2.1 like they first promised, pitty they didnt.
Apple really needs to get the basics down before trying the fancy stuff. And considering how important copy and paste is and how often it's used even in a phone environment, the continued exclusion of such a feature is a huge detractor from the iPhone. What I don't understand is why not include it? Apple is in 1 of 2 scenarios, either number 1: Apple actually just can't implement the feature because it doesn't know how or number 2: they don't want it on there. And if so why?
I've never ever used copy and paste on a phone (I had an XDA Mini S) and I don't understand why people are so gaga over it? What do people want to copy and paste!?
I agree. The copy/paste demand is overblown, and at this point is simply a meme used as shorthand meaning "lol iPhone sux."
I'm really hoping for turn-by-turn navigation (either through Google Maps or a third-party app) and push notifications. Those are the two big updates the iPhone needs right now.
Promised? Since when did apple promise to deliver push apps with 2.1? From what i remember they said around September?
Secondly, why do people insist on buying products knowing it doesn't do anything and then complain that it doesn't? Why buy an iPhone knowing it doesn't do GPS nav and it wasn't even mentioned that it would in the future then complain when its not there?
Surely thats just plain stupid?
@Rich UK: I understand what you're saying and agree to a certain extent. There's no point complaining about the lack of proper GPS navigation for the reasons you stated although you could question why Apple decided to stick a GPS chip in the iPhone (and charge people for it) if they're not going to use it properly. Was it just to tick a box and say that the iPhone has GPS like any other smartphone on the market?
Copy and paste, however, is essential if the iPhone is what Apple claim it's supposed to be. This is a fundamental on a smartphone or any device where you have to work with text (URLs, notes, etc.) on a regular basis. There's no point arguing about it or making excuses - there's no good reason for this to be missing.
At the end of the day though, you're right. Everyone knows that the iPhone can't do the basics so why buy it and then complain.
Absolutely. I use cut and paste constantly on a desktop, but I can count the number of times I've wished I had it on my iPhone with the fingers of one hand... and that's in a year of use. Most of the scenarios where I'd need it are covered in some other way by the iPhone.
As a corporate blackberry user cut and paste is very important. when you have to remove text from emails when you need to forward to other people. people that don't need to know certain thing. you cant be just forwarding whole emails...
Now then can the Iphone do cut and paste??? maybe you need one touch to select all the text but then when you touch again to select copy it probably unselected the text you just highlighted..
maybe someone can correct me but they call it muliti-touch but I think it can only do 2 touches. I have used the Microsoft surface table and 3 people touch the table at the same time and that was really multi-touch. I have an Itouch and i cant remember an app i have that can use 3 touches?
Editing content out of a message before you forward it doesn't require cut & paste. It just requires a working delete or backspace key and the ability to move the cursor around, and the iPhone can do both.
I do wish the phone had cut/copy & paste though, as it has come up a few times. Rare, but enough to notice it is missing.
Man I've never commented on these blogs before really but I had to say something. I installed the 2.1 update and was excited to see that there was no lag while texting and trying to scroll through my contacts... except now my 3G is BROKEN. When I switch to 3G it goes to no service. I tried turning it off and on, cycling airplane mode... nothing. I get "No service" only. It never goes back to Edge. I'm so pissed. In places I used to get full 3G reception I get ZERO. The only reason I got this phone and upgraded was so when I was trying to find places for work I could get info faster out on the road. Now I have no 3G reception and a slow ass GPS. Thanks Apple.
(I live in Los angeles btw)
Same here, I used to get 2 bars at my home now I get none. when I switch off 3G I still have no bars and get no reception period. It works great all around me, like at store etc. but where it used to work (in my apt.) not is actually worse or not at all, WTF?
Faslane
Yeh totally, I never (rarely) comment either, but this warrants a contribution. This is exactly my experience too. I live in the middle of Las Vegas, just off the strip and dead center of the blue 3G area on AT&T's coverage map (http://www.wireless.att.com/coverageviewer/).
Prior to 2.1 I left my phone on 3G all the time, signal strength varied from 1-3 bars, but calls were reliable and internet was reasonably fast. After 2.1, I have "No Service" 100% of the time, it doesn't even revert to Edge. I've also cycled 3G on/off, Airplane mode on/off, and restarted the phone numerous times, in an attempt to "kick-start" it. I've also reset the network settings (Settings>General>Reset>Reset Network Settings) as has been suggested elsewhere, all to no avail.
My only option to get any service at all now is to leave 3G turned off. Additionally, this issue is 100% replicable on the 2nd iPhone 3G in our house. Neither phone can call, or receive at all, with 3G turned on. Incidentally, I get full bars on Edge.
I had the same problem when I updated. I noticed I had to turn the 3G on after the update so what I did was making a backup in iTunes with the 3G turned on and then restored it with that backup so it would use the 3G when activated and it actually worked. You might want to try that, it worked for me and haven't had a problem since then other than the last.fm app dying.
My biggest annoyance is that upgraded Apps via iTunes still cause 'UNKNOWN ERROR'
Its an absolute bastard having to delete the apps from the iPhone before iTunes can upgrade, losing all settings.. I thought this would be fixed for sure..
Apple have disappointed me with this release, I just hope the SMS texting bug doesnt show its face too
How about a fix for left over text messages. at least in my experience not cleaning out your text messages creates an unstable unusable or just out rite so slow nothing works. 2.0.2 made my iphone nothing more than a phone (pressing the home button just took me to favorites in the phone portion of the phone i was unable to do any thing until i restored it) It worked much better before 2.0 and i am getting ready to just be rid of it.
Ever since I upgraded to 2.1 on my iphone, safari is crashing a lot. I've never had it crash before with any of the 2.x releases. However browsing slashdot, Engadget and even Newpaper websites causes the screen to go black, than back to the home screen. Sometimes it occurs while going from portrait to landscape mode.
Except for safari, all the other apps are working great.
Safari is crashing consistently on me as well.
I was having that problem too until i cleared out all the Safari cache data. I haven't had any crashes since. Give it a try.
Eh, someone doesn't no how to use the vanishing point tool in Photoshop!
What's with the faded comments? It hurts my eyes
Seriously WTF change it back...who the hell makes this stupid decisions?
If you don't like them, don't read them. It's the rest of Engadget's way of telling people not to read a shitty comment. But I often read them too; I don't think it's that bad on the eyes...
Agreed...
At least change the comment background to white, so we can see the text without our eyes bleeding... I get the part of graying out the low ranked ones, but make the others readable...
Just thinking the same thing about the Low Rank faded text. What's all that about it looks nasty.
Great post!! I've looking forward to the coming ones:
iPhone 2.2 update: First impressions
iPhone 2.2 update: Hands-on Gallery
iPhone 2.2 update: Full review
iPhone 2.2 update: The Aftermath
Please, keep this sort of news on engadgetmobile.
Nah, post them on the Apple Forums, or TUAW, or start a new eniPhone :P
I was promised that "It just works"!
I'm so glad my iPhone is sitting in my draw. It has brought me nothing but frustration. Time to sell it. I hope Google does justice to touchscreen phones.
We'll know on the 23rd. I'm starting to think these Dream spy images are from a Prototype. Check out this link describing how incredible the first Android phone will be:
http://www.reuters.com/article/reutersEdge/idUSN1230844220080912?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=10003
Safari keeps crashing for me. Especially on Facebook.
Is it working any better for anyone else?
just try using a windows mobile device for a day and you'll soon be longing for your iphone.....Apple will get there in the end.....have faith.....I do :o)
Safari's working fine here. If you have multiple windows open, close them and try again. (Or use the Facebook app. Personally, I prefer it to the optimized site.)
Yes, I've had many issues with Safari too. I have had several sites that use lots of JavaScript crash Safari.
I can forgive some of that for the greatly improved battery life though.
i dont know why people calling this as smartphone,
this thing misses even the basics such as copy/paste and sending files via bluetooth
and still they havent introduce profiles
The list of what "some" phones do that the iPhone doesn't is a lot shorter than the list of what the iPhone does that all phones don't do.
battery life and reception have gone to shit!
I have seen improvements in updates not crashing after installation and the keyboard responds better. How ever the I have not seen changes in reception as others have but when I updated to 2.1 some of my contacts phone numbers were removed.
Amazing.
It would be nice if Apple could get SOMETHING right.
It may come as a shock, Apple, but some companies out there are actually capable of releasing updates that FIX things and DON'T break features.
Yes, that's right, an update that does what an update is actually SUPPOSED to do.
Put that in your pipes and smoke it, fanbois.
Oh, and the iPhone sucks.
kthx
Technically, an update is just supposed to change the time-stamp on your software (by definition, increase it chronologically). A lot of updates create new bugs, regardless of the company that releases them. This update may have caused greater problems for what it was supposed to fix (ie: lower reception) and cause new problems; that's a big problem. But breaking features isn't exclusive to Apple. You gave reasons for why Apple sucks, which may include the iPhone, but you did not give any reasons for why the iPhone alone sucks... oh well.
Do you work for palm? You should have learned that shipping beats perfection
my phone is working way better. Have excellent 3G reception all the time now. Great work!
I agree.
Note to Apple: If your adverts are going to criticise others you had better make damn sure your own house is in order.
Well my first gen. Isuck continues to be borked, whicih is ok, gives me a reason to get rid of it!
2.1 breaks Exchange AutoDiscovery for account settings for me, but thats not really a major issue. The rest of exchange stuff still works fine :)
My copy and paste is working just fine.
OK. I lied I don't have an iPhone. :(
reception is great. Never had 3G reception in my house, neither did my 2 other Sony Ericsson phones. Now I do get it (to be honest: most of the times, it goes back to GSM in some places of the house). 3G call quality is excellent inside the house, no dropped calls. (this is for T-Mobile Netherlands).
Battery life has improved as well. Can now get more than 24 hours of active use out of it.
i think the wireless business is a little bit too big/complicated for apple. so many patches and problems lately - sounds like microsoft!
I have had zero issues wth the update out here in Hong Kong, seriously, everything seems to be working as before, so it really suprises me to see all these bad update comments.....
I don't about you guys but I am seeing a huge improvement over 2.0.2. No crashes, faster and better battery life.
Sorry to disappoint you, but for me it's just fantastic.
3G it was great in Italy even before, now it's perfect.
No one single crash in two days, even with the most crappy apps.
Backup and app sync now it's just SO FAST, before it was a pain.
And I don't need copy-and-paste, I don't need GPS turn-by-turn, I need great software and app push notification.
Low rank me for this, but the poll might not necessarily be reliable. There are a lot of flamers on this site who hate everything that's not their chosen hardware and will answer the poll in the negative without actually owning an iPhone.
Go on, low rank me flamers. I DARE you
Oooooooooh, he DARES us guys! He dares us!
That was my first thought too. I know several people who have iPhones, they are very happy with 2.1. On dedicated iPhone boards, the reception is quite warm as well, with the occasional mention of minor annoyances like Safari crashing (I haven't had that so far). I knew that the haters would take down that poll, and all it has done is create posts like this which spew false information and provide more flame-bait for Apple Haters.
And if I see one more comment from somebody denouncing the amount of Apple posts, I am going to flip. You can ignore them, you know. There is a very high percentage of people who use and run this site that use iPhones and/or other Apple products, and we like to stay current. Some of them may not be totally necessary, but those posts show up for every topic. Get over yourselves guys. For cereal.
The real test is an actual bandwidth speed test. Using testmyiphone.com, testing in the same location both right before and right after the upgrade, and with many tests averaged in each case, my phone has gone from 360 kbps to 890 kbps. I'm seeing the difference in web access, and pandora radio is showing great improvement, its been flawless without pause every where I go.
Most reports of actual bandwidth tests I've seen (there are many such reports on macrumors) show similar results. Of course it's hard to find those numbers with so many people reporting only numbers of bars and fields test signal strength. Neither of those are as meaningful as bandwidth testing.
I don't know what everyone talking about I've got better battery life signal and much less lag
Because of the wide range of problems I'm starting to think all iphone's aren't made alike
2.1 did everything it was supposed to for me, and now Aurora Feint doesn't crash once per day, then again, I never had any problems in the first place. The only thing I wished it would have addressed was automatically turning Location Services off when an app had to turn them one, the new "solution" sucks.
Oh man, Aurora Feint used to be a bit of a pain. I got so into it, and then after a while, it would either crash, or absolutely murder my battery life. Not the case anymore, it has dramatically improved on both fronts :-)
Podcasts now play continuously between files, but backwards!
Well, having taking the plunge around 12 hours ago, I can report:-
- Noticeable improvement in contacts loading
- No more lag when texting
- Loving the genius playlist creation
- MUCH better battery life
- 3G icon has changed... ?
- No improvement when installing apps
- Almost thrice as quick when backing up to iTunes
- Seems to be more reliable but slower 'locate me'
Now I just want GPS Navigation software and Calender notifications on the home screen (much like some old Installer app)
What the iPhone still does not navigation? But we saw TomTom screens months and months ago!
Well, I hate to buck the trend, but 2.1 is pretty impressive here.
Battery life has probably tripled, and I haven't had a dropped call since updating.
There's not much by way of new functionality, and I'm desperate to see turn-by-turn navigation, but 2.1 seems to have delivered otherwise. To that end, noting that the SDK Ts&Cs retain the exclusion of real time navigation is a disappointment - I was hoping this would be revised when 2.1 was released.
The only thing I have noted is that a number of 3rd party apps wouldn't run after installing 2.1. Deleting them and then syncing the apps from my laptop got them all back up and functional.
Hope everyone sees the benefits soon.
I also like the backup taking only about 10 seconds rather than 5+ minutes. :D
Quite surprised nobody's mentioned that yet. I thought there was something wrong when the sync lasted for less than a minute!
I nearly through mine out the window, but then I didn't as it's sooo pretty
Something else I forgot to mention, although this is probably related to iTunes 8, I didn't notice it until the update but you can actually see how much space apps take up in the lovely, colourful chart on the summary screen.
I own a Nokia E71, and while it may lack the fantastic high res multitouch interface of the iPhone, the E71 actually works, and is phenomenly useful. So much so, it has replaced my laptop for all but power hungry tasks like graphic design. a) The E71 has true multitasking, including the ability to make and take calls while doing other things, run Fring (instant messaging + VOIP - emulates Skype, MSN etc), editable spreadsheets, FM Radio, auto focus camera, auto configuring email clients (many to choose from), games with tactile controls etc. b) It has a cross app cut and paste. c) The mechanical keyboard is small but as other online reviews/blogs vindicate, it works surprisingly reliably from the get go with no learning curve required. Even the symbols do not require a shift or function key press. d) The E71 syncs with my Mac perfectly, including contacts, iCal, iTunes (you can specity which tracks sync to the phone), E71 sends its camera pics to iPhoto automatically. e) It has never crashed yet (yet) f) E71 is very thin (10mm) and built like a tank and most importantly, g) The 1500mh battery lasts for several days.
The iPhone does a lot of things well, but it is not going to be anything other than a fun plaything/web browser until revision 3.0 where Apple will hopefully make it as thin as the new lovely iPod Touch, add a slide out mechanical keyboard, a decent auto focus camera (with video recording) else what's the point of the nice photo playback and pinching features?, stereo Bluetooth (great when cycling), proper cut and paste - and of course, fix all these bugs and issues. So, for now, choose what provides function over sugar, and you will get more done with less hassle. Again, the iPhone and multitouch is the future, but not just yet.
So you want them to make it as thin as the Touch and add a slide out mechanical keyboard? A bit of reality please.
I'm still against the physical keyboard. I've never typed faster than on the iPhone. The keyboard is very intelligent, and my fingers just fly, without worrying about mistakes. I give it the once over once I've finished typing, but very rarely need to correct anything.
"We actually found another bug in 2.1 ourselves: we can't find copy / paste anywhere."
It does worry me when you don't even understand the basics, like what the term "bug" actually means.
Oh, wait, maybe you were trying to be witty?
No, I think I'll go with the first option.
way there's a bunch of iPhone haters on here making false claims about the update
How low could u get huh
Its like living in a parallel universe. The iPhone has so many problems but reviewers still give it a 5 gold star rating and the circus goes on now that Apple have introduced more problems with email. If more high profile online and magazine reviewers had been honest perhaps Apple would have spent more effort in getting their software right. Why should they care - they are selling millions of iPhones.
Shut up Bryan, you spanner.
for some reason i get an update error when i try to update my phone. i dont remember the exact message but it includes ^0. anyone able to help? thanks.
Yes Doctor, I have this terrible pain that occurs somewhere in my body. I'm not sure what type of pain or where, but can you diagnose me please?
Close iTunes, and shut your iPhone off completely. (Hold Home and Sleep/Wake until you're prompted to slide to turn off.) With the iPhone still off, hook up the USB cable and allow iTunes to start up and detect your iPhone. The update should run normally then.
Daniel, you -must- be mistaken. Apple products do not give out "cryptic" errors, they tell me that all the time in their commercials.