iPhone Problems - Should I be worried?

This morning I am having problems with my iPhone 3G, it has burned through 3/4 of the battery in 3 hours and is hot to touch down the right side when looking at it from the back, I also notice WiFi is not working and is showing as "No WiFi" under settings.

I'm a bit worried, should I be ???

Cheers

Cris.

Sounds a bit worrying, I assume you have tried a reboot ?

The broken WiFi is a little strange but the other parts I assume are just some runaway app/process. Hopefully a restart will fix it...

Reboot hasn't helped.

The heat seems to have gone away now although it didn't after the first reboot, and it has lasted the rest of the day on the remaining battery.

Looks like data is broken, I can check emails over WiFi but not over O2's network. Bluetooth is also working ok, as are calls.

I'm at home now with good 3G signal, and have been on the other side of town all afternoon with 3G signal and neither is working, so I don't think it's a network problem. Some thing must have gone bang?

Cheers

Cris

Turning 3G off and reverting back to a non-3G connection also throws up the same "Could not activate data network" error message.

Bugger!

Cheers

Cris

Hmmm this is getting strange, I've got WiFi off 3G back on, everything seems to be working for now.

I wonder what that was all about then ???

Cheers

Cris.

It's because the new iPhone is out at the end of the month. It's telling you that you need to upgrade.

Are you saying they sent out a "hot" fix?

I'm not sure for the iPhone 3G but on the original iPhone, the celluar radio part was also responsible for WiFi operation. I assume they're similarly linked in the 3G which is why you had issues with both.

Yes, I think you're right

Although it would be good if I could sell this one!

Cheers

Cris

Actually it wasn't - however, the power controls for wifi and bluetooth were attached to the baseband (so the effect was the same).

Ahh. There we go

"No wifi" under settings means the baseband isn't talking to the rest of the system; the MAC addresses for wifi on the 3G are stored in the baseband's flash.

The heat could be the AP side trying to reboot the baseband constantly.... but usually, that type of fail is permanent and doesn't recover.

Thanks. It seems to be ok for now, all back to normal after that day of strangeness. Lucky I guess ???

I'm going to get my hands on an iPhone 4 at some point, but I'm confused by all the networks tariffs at the moment so wait for the dust to settle come to some sort of decision. I have a mind just to buy one direct from Apple this time and keep my unlimited data tariff.

Cheers

Cris.

Or move to Orange who still have unlimited data. How can paying £600 for a handset be the best option?

Because I only pay £20 a month on o2 for the same minutes as their £40 tariff, plus unlimited data etc.... Which ever way you look at it the iPhone 4 will cost £750-850 so I may as well try and keep the best tariff I can.

Like I said I'm going to wait for the dust to settle. I see no point in swapping to Orange there is little/no cost advantage for me personally. Added to the fact I am totally happy with O2, their customer service is pretty amazing for a mobile operator.

Cheers

Cris.

"Unlimited" with a fair usage of 750MB a month. I have the same for my Android phone on one of their Panther plans. Seems to be enough for what I need it to do anyway.

I would say wait what? O2? amazing customer service? but I'm with Orange and they've apparently got awful customer service yet I've had no problems with them at all. Vodafone is also fine for me as I've got an account with them for mobile data.

I guess every mobile operator in the UK has its share of bad customer service stories.

I don't think I've ever had a massive problem with O2, most of the times I have rung its a person in the UK too. Email support has always been pretty good, even though that is off shore.

Their broadband support I'd say was almost 2nd to none I have tried. And I know a fair bit about broadband support

Cheers

Cris.

When it turns out that it is cheaper over 18 months than buying it on a contract

For the sake of argument we use Cris as an example, he says his £20 a month contract is actually worth £40 compared to the new tariff. So that's £360 difference over next 18 months.

So the cost of the line rental for another 18 months @ £20 a month plus £600 for a new iPhone is £960. Take out a new contract at £40 a month and get a 32GB iPhone for £209 which works out at £929.

How is that cheaper?

No, lets take me as an example and I'm the one making the claim for the tariffs I've looked at

I'm on O2 at the moment and have no urge to change network. I am on the £35pm tariff at the moment.

If I buy a new 32GB contract phone on the £35pm tariff it will cost me £279. Over the 18 month contract it will cost me £909

If I switch to their £15pm "Simplicity" tariff (which has the same benefits as the £35pm contract one) I then have to buy a contract free phone at £599. Over 18 months it will cost me £869 (and I only actually have to commit to the Simplicity tariff for 12 months).

I didn't claim that the iPhone was cheaper on non-contract for all tariffs and all networks. I said it was cheaper for some.

Throwing some number into Excel shows that for O2 it is only the £35pm->£15pm swap that makes the non-contract phone cheaper, for all the more expensive tariffs it is cheaper to go with the contract phone:

35->15 4% cheaper on non-contract
40->20 3% more expensive on non-contract
45->25 6% more expensive on non-contract
50->30 11% more expensive on non-contract
65->45 18% more expensive on non-contract

Add the £120 that O2 will charge me to upgrade early next year and it's £51 cheaper.

I'm only upgrading as I want to ponce around with a shiny new iPhone, not much wrong with the one I have at the moment (well maybe there is nothing wrong with it!). I suspect I'll want to ponce around with next new one next June/July too.

I would also be free to swap to their £15 a month tariff if my usage changes, or use a foreign SIM in it if I wanted. I have my first wedding abroad booked so that is now a real possibility of saving me money.

There us only £30 difference in your example, for that I think at this point I'd rather the extra flexibility it gives me. Not sure yet. Not made my mind up.

Cheers

Cris.

Throwing some more numbers in Excel shows that Orange and Vodafone don't have this oddity. So it lookes like the only tariff with the odd case of the non-contract option being cheaper is the one I happen to want

The crux of my argument was why spend so much in the beginning when the amount of money you save over such a long period is tiny? I just don't get it.

I also factor in that my laziness means that if I still with the contract I'll likely end up paying over the odds. Had I been pro-active enough to be paying attention I could have dropped down from my £35pm contract to the £15pm one in January (at the end of my initial 18 month contract) and saved myself another £100.

That won't happen next time, as I won't be on the contract.

That argument works the other way around.

Why tie yourself into a really long contract, when you could get the same thing with more flexibility built in for almost the same cost ???

It's all down to if you have the cash up front I suppose.

Andy has a good point, not many people realise they can shift down on the iPhone and save a packet. I did this myself in January (I think ???) and have saved a good deal. Say Tesco start a really nice Pay & Go tariff, I could just take that without any worries.

There will also be the added bonus of staying with the terms of my existing agreement, ie real unlimited data. Although looking at it I almost never get near the 500Mb a month allowed on the new basic tariff.

Either way all the networks (and Apple) know we really want these things and are well prepared to take our money. There are no cheap iPhone deals out there!

Cheers

Cris

Because I offset it against having to pay an unnecessarily large (IMO) amount of money upfront for the privilege of being more flexible when it's highly unlikely I'd ever need it to be any more than the contract I currently have is. Other than a couple of mid-contract tariff changes, I've never felt the need to change wholesale to another provider, nor get rid of my phone completely.

EDIT: For the record, I'm not saying people shouldn't buy unsubsidised handsets or that they're idiots for doing so. I'm just saying I don't understand why they would want to.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/18/how-to-figure-out-the-best-value-iphone-4-contracts-in-the-uk/

Much simpler here in the US, where the carriers bend us over for the same monthly amount with postpaid accounts, subsidized phone or not.

Hmmmm Tesco Mobile have just released a much more affordable option. I may go for that, although I suspect getting hold of one from Tesco will be a fecking nightmare!!!

Cheers

Cris.

I've put a 'deposit' down for one at Phones4U, but given the lack of knowledge demonstrated by the salesperson I think I'll be getting my tenner back tomorrow morning.

Hmm, yes. The Tesco prices are cheaper at the tariff level I use as well.

Over 18 months that would be £80 cheaper than the option I went for, minus probably £20 to unlock it in the future ?

Just collected and swapped to a microSIM, all ready for tomorrow

Hmmm, after updating to iOS 4 today it looks like my problems with my 3G are back.

No heat this time, but I can only get a data connection over WiFi. Connections over mobile end up failing.

Bugger!

Any suggestions or is thing a write off now ???

Cheers

Cris

God Damm this is annoying me!

All of a sudden it's working again. iPhone 4 looks highly likely!

Cheers

Cris.

Mmmmm…. Planned obsolescence….

</homer>

So other than myself and Andy, is anyone else seriously looking at getting a new iPhone tomorrow?

I walked past Phones4U this afternoon who had a poster advertising that they were taking iPhone 4 pre-orders. I'm not holding out a huge amount of hope that my 'reservation' is actually worth the paper it's written on, although I do have it in writing that I get my money back if they don't have one waiting for me at 10AM. While I'd like one before my upcoming weekend away in London, it's no big deal if I don't get one right away, hopefully the N95 will last another month.

It was quite funny reading the posts on Macrumors debating which street entrance at the Arndale Centre in Manchester will allow you to get to the Apple shop the quickest, the common consensus from the nerds is the one near The Birdcage despite the escalator in the way. My money is on Next though.

I dunno. I want one, but I just tried upgrading my 3G to iOS4, and the phone is bricked now. So until I'm sure my current phone is working again, I dunno about getting a new one. It's in an infinite reboot loop... I'm not the only one who's had this problem, either. Trying a full restore and crossing my fingers.

Hm, I'm not the only one getting this error. Restoring a backup bricks the phone. It seems there is something in my backup from the iPhone using OS 3 that is crashing OS 4. I wonder if I can downgrade it to OS 3 again.

It was definitely possible to downgrade to 3.1.3 a few days ago, did it myself when my first attempt at 4.0GM didn't work out.

These were the steps I followed to do it:

http://www.blogsdna.com/9175/how-to-downgrade-iphone-3g-4-0-os-to-3-1-3-firmware-on-windows-mac.htm

Was 3.1.3 the latest firmware before the 4.0 release?

I called apple and they said you can't downgrade. Hmph.

Yes 3.1.3 was the last one before 4.0

It is possible that the steps I posted won't work anymore, once Apple's servers stop signing installs if a given version you can't install that version anymore. I don't think they stop signing the previous version for a while though.

The link you provided looks great. However, it sub-links to a location to download the 3.1.3 firmware file which fails when I try it. Understandable, those sorts of sites get foxed a lot.

Googling for the filename produces a result, which I'm downloading, but I don't know if I trust it. :-)

My other option is to stick with 4.0, and install my apps individually and setup and sync all my email/calendar/contacts/etc as if it were a new phone. Not sure which is more painful.

Arg.

Wait, hang on. If I'm getting the file from "appldnld.apple.com.edgesuite.net", is that coming from an apple content-delivery server, i.e., it's official, or is that coming from someone else's site?

I'm 99.9% sure iTunes checks it is a valid image, otherwise you could just jailbreak a phone by monkeying around with the firmware image...

...in fact, I expect that is part of the "signing" process I was going on about.

Excellent point. Okay, great, I've got both options open to me: Go back to 3.1.3 with this file, or go boldly forward with 4.0 and take the hit on losing all my data and having to start over.

Argh, this hurts.

Going back to 3.1.3 and restoring was quick and fairly painless when I did it. At least that way Apple might fix something in the future that lets you upgrade.

You can always choose to take the painful route later if you need to.

Oh and I fully take back all I have ever said about the backup/restore/upgrade bit of iTunes being rock solid. It very much appears to be far from rock solid at the moment, lots of people appear to be having similar problems with the 3.1.3-4.0 upgrade.

Interestingly, holding down "ALT" while clicking "Restore" does not prompt me for a different piece of firmware. I have to figure out how to do that here on my PC with iTunes 9.2.

Aha, the guide was wrong. It's hold down SHIFT, not Alt.

It is SHIFT on Windows iTunes I believe.

Okay, that site, when following its instructions, really messed me up bad. I'm in a real bad state.

It said I'd get a "1015" error or some such, and to recover from that, I'd need to run something called IRESTORE to ubrick the phone.

Well, I got an "irestore" package, linked from that very web site. And when I installed it (edit: Specifically when I installed the LIBUSB package it came with), it made all my USB ports stop working and made the computer BSOD at boot time, so now my computer is in an infinite reboot loop.

Doing a system restore now. Arg.

The system restore worked and got my system into a bootable state.

After the system restore, I had to reinstall iTunes because itunes no longer worked. (Since the prior system save point had happened mid-install of iTunes 9.2)

After the iTunes install, ALL MY APPS IN THE APP STORE ARE GONE. So now I have a bricked phone where I can't restore the phone's backup, and my only choice is to go forward with iOS4. But now all my apps are gone, including a couple of expensive ones.

Arg.

Ah, no, that was just because I got confused by the thing where it asked me to open a previous itunes library. If I open the right library (hold SHIFT while starting itunes) then the apps are there. Phew.

Your apps would never be gone anyway, you can always download them again.

Sorry you had pc problems, I followed that guide on a Mac and didn't have the problems you had on the Windows.

Find a friend with a Mac, use the guide to restore 3.1.3 and then restore the backup from your PC.

Naw, with no options left, I bit the bullet and just went forward with 4.0 and said goodbye to the backups.

Interestingly, I'm missing at least one app, which was working on the phone hours before this crash. The app was called "HeyWhat'sThat" and it would take your location, then plot a panoramic graphic of all the nearby mountain peaks on the horizon and name each mountain. It's gone from the app store and now gone from the phone. I *think* all my other apps are still there though. Maybe I'll find more missing ones later.

All my contacts, mail, and calendar stuff is externally synched, so once I set that all up again, it Just Worked and everything was OK in that department.

Aside from that, the only stuff I lost in the crash was part of my photo library, which I can restore if I feel like it. And a lot of settings and configurations, especially those within the apps themselves, such as my "favorites" in the TomTom navigation app, my game progress in a few of the games, and downloadable content for some of the games. All of that stuff is completely gone. I'm not sure what else I'm missing, I guess I'll discover it as time goes on.

So, with that all said, I'm extremely happy with the 4.0 iPhone software now. The new features made all this hassle worth it:
- Folders for your apps, instead of seven screens of apps.
- Threaded mail.
- Easier setup for Google Calendar synch, and more reliable calendar synch.
- An icon showing when the GPS chip is active.

So, in the end, it's all good.