Apple Yanks iOS 8 Update

alphadogg writes Within hours of releasing an iOS 8 update to address assorted bugs in the new iPhone and iPad operating system Apple has been forced to pull the patch, which itself was causing iPhone 6 and 6 Plus users grief. Reports filled Apple support forums that the iOS 8 update was cutting off users' cell service and making Touch ID inoperable. The Wall Street Journal received this statement from Apple: "We have received reports of an issue with the iOS 8.0.1 update. We are actively investigating these reports and will provide information as quickly as we can. In the meantime we have pulled back the iOS 8.0.1 update."

Comments

Just don't update it that way.

[Anonymous Coward]

Sent from my iPhone 6, now with FlexScreen Technology

Re: Just don't update it that way.

[Anonymous Coward]

You're sitting on it wrong...

Re:Just don't update it that way.

[ledow]

Then don't make your phone from that metal.

People put phones in pockets. People sit on phones. People drop phones.

I know, because I've done all the above. My phone basically lives in my pocket, sitting or standing, or running around. And I've never bent one yet.

Maybe it's just fashion-over-functionality, like most Apple products, but I'd prefer a very expensive phone not to bend because it's in your pocket.

P.S. My keys are metal. They don't bend. Car keyfobs don't bend, even the larger ones. You can make excuses all you like - other models and manufacturers DO NOT have this problem, to anywhere near the same extent. Seriously, one week after release - it's not a "repeated and prolonged" stress - it's you forgetting it's in your pocket ONCE and then bending a very expensive device.

Re:Just don't update it that way.

[BasilBrush]

P.S. My keys are metal. They don't bend.

Some people have bent their iPhones, some people have bent their keys. Looking at the video of someone bending an iPhone 6 Plus deliberately in their hands, the pressure needed is about the same as it would take to bend a key.

I'd actually say there are very few people who've never bent a key. It doesn't happen often but it does happen. And it's a precursor to the key snapping in the lock, which plenty of people have also experienced.

You can make excuses all you like - other models and manufacturers DO NOT have this problem, to anywhere near the same extent.

You don't know what the extent is. You just have a small number of examples, and this being Apple anything that happens is news. Other phones do bend, and if they don't bend, they break.

http://www.cultofmac.com/29740...

Re:Just don't update it that way.

[kannibal_klown]

I'm not standing up for Apple... this was a stupid mistake. Didn't any of their beta-testers wear skinny jeans and keep it in the pocket? They should have realized the potential issue.

However... your comparisons are silly. Keys are solid bricks of metal, and usually hard metal so they don't deform and become useless. They must be very strong and very rigid; it's their entire purpose.

Phones are hollow metal shells with mostly air inside, with some silicone wafers and bits of copper wires.

If you make a hollow shell out of metal and thin enough... OR COURSE it's going to bend. Even if it's flippin steel. In this case they chose aluminum, presumably because it was easier to shape into that wedge design.

Now... MOST companies when making thin metal shells purposely don't make them too thin just for reasons like this. And this is where Apple's form-over-function failed.

Re:Just don't update it that way.

[ganjadude]

Id like to believe if this issue was widespread, we would have heard about it when the note 3 launched.. or the GS5... or the (insert other flagship phone here) was released. I mean the iphone 6 hasnt been out a week, This will end up becoming a much bigger issue than antennagate

Re:Just don't update it that way.

[Aaden42]

Can you even FIT the 6+ in the pocket of a pair of skinny jeans???

Re:Just don't update it that way.

[_xeno_]

I'm not standing up for Apple... this was a stupid mistake. Didn't any of their beta-testers wear skinny jeans and keep it in the pocket? They should have realized the potential issue.

You know what, based on previous Apple stories, probably not.

Apparently Apple is so stupidly secretive about their new phones that when they beta test the new hardware, they require them to be in special "camouflage cases" to prevent outsiders from getting a sneak peak at the new phone.

So it's entirely possible that they literally never tested having the phone in a pants pocket the entire day without it also being in a rigid case that prevented the problem from happening.

Re:Just don't update it that way.

[BasilBrush]

Samsung phones don't get the same news coverage that Apple phones do. A new iPhone and any surrounding issues make it onto mainstream news sites and chat shows.

All large, thin phones bend. A plastic one is more likely to bend back than an aluminium one. But it depends also on the internals and how flexible or brittle they are.

Re:Just don't update it that way.

[Grizzley9]

You can make excuses all you like - other models and manufacturers DO NOT have this problem,

Mod +1 Funny.

Re:Just don't update it that way.

[andydread]

well if it bends it'll just conform to your face better.. What's the problem?

Re:Just don't update it that way.

[Wonko the Sane]

Both aluminium and plastic have both elastic deformation and plastic deformation modes. Depending on the exact material involved, plastic might have a larger or a smaller elastic deformation range than aluminium.

Re:Just don't update it that way.

[Anonymous Coward]

YOU DON'T KNOW! YOU'RE WRONG! ALL PHONES DO IT! MY PHONE IS STILL SPECIAL!

Really? You sound like a petty child defending his toys. I see that the only website that you linked is called the Cult of Mac, which pretty much says it's about the Apple Religion (fanboi!) and not about true functionality.

How many years did you have a key before you bent your first one? When apple comes out with a new design that takes into account that people do put phones in their pocket, will you admit that you're full of shit? Or will you ignore it and/or call them revolutionary for fixing a problem they created? You can't save Steve Jobs' life by sticking your head up his ass now. He's gone. I'm sorry bro. If you need to cry it out then let me know. I'll be your shoulder to cry on. I'll be your strength when you can no longer stand. I love you, bro.

Re:Just don't update it that way.

[Barsteward]

it saves putting a sock down there

Re:Just don't update it that way.

[Dutch Gun]

I've noticed my HTC One - which has an aluminum frame - has a distinctly curved back to it. From the photo's I've seen, the iPhone looks like it has a fairly flat back, correct? I just tried flexing my phone a bit, and it didn't seem to give much at all. I wouldn't be too surprised if that shape was deliberately chosen to give the HTC phone extra structural rigidity?

I guess I'm not too surprised to see some issues like that with the race to make these devices lighter, thinner, AND bigger.

Re: Just don't update it that way.

[jackspenn]

You don't know what the extent is. You just have a small number of examples

Which, is why we're opening up the latest /. challenge.

We've slashdotted web sites before, but not retail stores. So what if in the name of science we go to Apple stores and test for ourselves? (We can publish experiments and their results on YouTube ... Oh the iRony)

Think of how helpful this will be; not only Apple designers, but for consumers as well.

Let's test the iPhone 6+ in tight pants, really tight pants, European tight pants, blue jeans, front pockets, back pockets, shirt pockets, skirt pockets and dare I suggest some of the boys over at the Scottish Apple store (or administrators of System V based Unix) try testing kilt pockets.

iLearn by example, so remember we need a control. Somebody is going to have to go to the NYC glass cube, buck naked. We need to know if your iPhone 6+ gets bent or not when the police choke hold you from behind.

Re: Just don't update it that way.

[jackspenn]

This is not rocket science

Nope, this is pocketscience.

it's a new feature

[alen]

to make sure you don't use up your mobile data quota

From bent to broken?

[blueshift_1]

Apple sure is mucking up this one... from bendable phones to buggy software. You know it's rough when you're creating issues with both hardware and software (but who is ultimately to blame?!? - the usual chicken and the egg argument).

Re:From bent to broken?

[geekoid]

I don't think software has much to be blamed for when the case is bending, and I don't think the case is to be blamed for buggy software.

And no, it's almost never a chicken and egg problem. It is often a blame game hidden behind people saying its a chicken and egg problem.

ha ha

[enjar]

I wonder what Tim Cook's chosen "it's a crappy day in the neighborhood" anger outlet is?
Ballmer threw chairs.

Re:ha ha

[enjar]

Denial is a river in Egypt, but good luck finding it with Apple Maps.

Re:ha ha

[Ash-Fox]

I really wish Apple would be successful in locking people out from jail breaking their devices. Then we could focus more on open platforms instead instead of wasting effort on a platform never intended to be open.

Re:ha ha

[enjar]

Siri? Is that you?

Re:ha ha

[Ash-Fox]

Don't try to wish away the rights of others to do what the fuck they want.

Too bad, I am. I think it's self destructive to continue down the path of making these locked down platforms popular if your intent is to open it. The open alternatives will die out and at that point, they merely need to succeed in locking out and nobody will have open systems any more. I want locked down platforms to succeed in locking down now, rather than later.

Ease of Use

[WarJolt]

I am an Android user, but I've always said that iOS wasn't designed for me. I've said it is great a great product if you want a simple to use smartphone that just works. I think this type of failure really makes me think twice about repeating that advice. Apple success has depended on creating clean products with extreme attention to detail. I'm really disappointed.

So iOS 8.0.1 blocks histers from their phones?

[_xeno_]

Wait, so iOS 8.0.1 prevents hipsters from unlocking their phones and from making calls?

And Apple is calling that a bug and pulling the update over that?

This sounds like the best version of iOS Apple has ever created! Why would they want to stop people from upgrading? Get iOS 8.0.1 out to everyone as fast as possible!

Re:No big deal

[plover]

"Cortana, can you fix my buggy iPhone update?"

"You bought an iPhone. Oh, dear. There is a Microsoft store ten miles south of you. Would you like directions?"

Not a bug but a feature!

[dysmal]

Apple got sick of people complaining about data and battery usage so they released this update.

Re:Higher standard anyone?

[Moheeheeko]

Even funnier is that sometimes it takes 6 months for 3rd party products to pass their QA, meanwhile their own software that bricks phones gets shat out in less than a week.

Shocking.

[technomom]

"Apple never releases anything until it actually works." -- Quote from an Apple fanboy Fanboys.....just a tip, never use the term "Never" or "Always" regarding your favorite toy. That goes for Android, Apple, Windows, Blackberry, whatever. These companies have people working for them. Some good, some great, some really suck at their jobs. They're all just people, not superheroes. Sometimes Apple fucks up. Sometimes Google does. Sometimes Microsoft does. It happens. Get over it. Your phone is just another finicky appliance no matter how shiny the bendable aluminum is.

Re:Shocking.

[ArcadeMan]

To summarize the summary of the summary: people are a problem. Douglas Adams

Re:Shocking.

[Anubis IV]

So, not only have you assembled a straw man to tear apart, you also fabricated a straw person to attack in the first place.

Companies are fallible. We get it. We agree. There's no need to create a fictional quote from a fictional person to make your point.

Oops

[jovius]

Pulled back after the release? Time to head for the pharmacy.

itunes fix

[SternisheFan]

How to Downgrade From Apple's Fatally Flawed iOS 8.0.1 Back to iOS

://mashable.com/2014/09/24/how-to-downgrade-ios-8-0-1/

Direct link if you want to try to fix an iPhone 6 through iTunes. http://appldnld.apple.com/iOS8...

Here is for the 6+ http://appldnld.apple.com/iOS8...

Re:These jokes are old, get new material please.

[enjar]

I want to see fresh, new material, not the same recycled garbage.

I think you will need to look to the Android jokes for that. Apple is a couple of years behind and is playing catch-up. Maybe when the Apple Watch ships, we'll get concurrent updates to the bad humor.

Re:Higher standard anyone?

[_xeno_]

Apparently this only affects iPhone 6/6 Plus phones.

I wonder what the chances are that they just accidentally forgot to include the drivers for the new TouchID sensor and the new cellular radios in those phones? Because that would be a truly hilarious QA mistake.

"What, we were supposed to try this on our flagship phone? Oops."

Re:No big deal

[ArcadeMan]

"You bought an iPhone. Oh, dear. There is a Microsoft store ten thousand miles south of you. Would you like directions?"

FTFY.

Re:Higher standard anyone?

[ArcadeMan]

Nobody in QA was able to afford the new models yet.

Re:These jokes are old, get new material please.

[SternisheFan]

No reason to get 'bent' out of shape.

(ducks!)

Re:Laugh

[Virtucon]

Walled garden has weeds!

Apple's QA vs. Android's QA

[funkymonkjay]

I am wondering how a company that has all the money and talent can't catch a bug like this. Their test surface is laughably small compared to what Android or Windows has to support. What is going on there? What process are they using?

John Gruber's take

[Trashcan Romeo]

"Embarrassing." Meaning this was too egregious a fuck-up for even him to rationalize.

Re:These jokes are old, get new material please.

[sjames]

At Apple we bend over backwards to bring you the thinnest phones?

Re:Steve Jobs

[bobbied]

As sad as it sounds, I think you are right. Steve was apparently an SOB to work for, making demands and taking no excuses for failure, but that's what it takes to stay on top with technology. I'm thinking that they are falling into the corporate "manage to quarter" mindset. They are just running in the same well worn rut now and will follow Steve into the grave...

Question is who will replace them.

Re:No big deal

[LynnwoodRooster]

Or he used Apple Maps to find the nearest Microsoft store?

Re:No big deal

[Anguirel]

"You will arrive in 5 minutes... 8 hours... 20 seconds... 92 years... 23 minutes... 18 days..."

just wait a year

[issicus]

i'm sure iOS 9 and iphone 7 will be better.

Re:Higher standard anyone?

[acoustix]

For all of the marketing, cutting edge...

I stopped reading there. Apple is many things, but cutting edge is not one of them. There is nothing revolutionary about the iPhone 6. Android phones already had the majority of Apple's new features 2 years ago....and so did poor BlackBerry.