iPhone 3G stuck at the Apple logo screen; will not boot!, continued

I have 2 iPhone 3Gs, one sports a nice white, the other a horrid yellow screen - the yellow one has a tendency to brick and requires a full restore to get it going again. Both phones hold the same applications (same iTunes account) yet only one gets its knickers in a twist. Very annoying.

Excellent! This worked and I didn't have to suffer through another two hour restore process. Thanks to Eye Doc for posting this.

If the frozen Apple logo on startup is due to an endless loop.. well, Apple better release 2.1 quick because this is frustrating as heck. I can't have my phone not work because of stupid things like this.

Add me to the list. I've restored 4 times in the last 16 hours, using increasingly aggressive restores (backup, no backup, re-installed iTunes, uninstalled and re-installed iTunes) and the problem won't go away. I'm at the apple store now hoping someone can get me a new phone.

Could be a while - apparently you need to make an appointment to spend time with a Genius if your phone is broken. Minimum 3 hour wait for me today; making allowances for my actual availability it's really a 5 1/2 hour wait. On top of the previous 16 hours with no phone because of the crashing, that's almost an entire day without a phone. Counting the 8 hours I spent with a brick on the 11th because of Apple's incompetence, that's more than 24 hours of phone outage in the last six weeks. Before I got this this piece of junk I hadn't had 24 hours of phone outage in 6 years.

I found this on another message board.....

I wanted to email this to someone from the iphone dev team for some feedback and discussion before posting but as I don't know how to contact them I'll post my findings to date here, and hopefully anyone else working on this problem can share their findings too.

Until Apple fixes it properly, I think I have a workaround for the infamous "Hangs on Apple Logo after installing/updating apps and needs restore" and an explanation of the root cause.

This is the problem where after a crash or restart during app install/update/uninstall the device will get stuck on the Apple (or pineapple ) boot screen and either spontaneously reboot after a while, or "freeze" requiring a two fingered reboot. On my ipod touch when this freeze occurs the display dims to half brightness and the unit is no longer pingable over wifi.

Usually you get stuck in a loop where no amount of forcibly rebooting will recover the device and you have to restore.

Here's the explanation: When the 3rd party application state changes, Springboard "regenerates the application map" which you can see clearly if you watch the system log with the iPhone Configuration Utility.

(Available here: http://www.apple.com/downloads/macos...formacosx.html )

This can take some time. The more and/or bigger applications you have installed, the longer this takes. This regeneration process happens ANY time a change to installed applications occurs.

Here's the problem - Springboard is watched by a watchdog process which is handled by configd. The location of the watchdog and it's configuration files is /System/Library/SystemConfiguration/mobilewatchdog.bundle

The watchdog constantly monitors Springboard, and if it doesn't respond at least once every 2 minutes, it is killed and forcibly restarted. If this happens approximately 4 times, the watchdog will attempt to reboot the device, but it usually just freezes the system with the half brightness apple logo.

The problem occurs when the number and/or size of applications installed causes a regeneration of the application map to take longer than 2 minutes - it becomes impossible for Sprinboard to complete the task before it is forcibly killed by the watchdog. It will try again the next time and run out of time and be killed again. Hence stuck at the boot screen until doing a restore.

It is unbelievable that Apple allowed this design flaw, yes design flaw, not bug go out into the wild and it still hasn't fixed it in 2.0.1. Clearly the watchdog arrangement was put in place before 3rd party application support, and none of the programmers considered the possibility of Springboard taking more than 2 minutes to regenerate the application map.

So, how to recover from being stuck at the apple logo without doing a full restore wiping everything ? If you have openssh installed so you can log in remotely you can fix it quite easily, as you get nearly 2 minutes of ssh access during the apple logo before the system freezes where you can log in for "emergency surgery".

If you don't have OpenSSH already installed then sorry, it's restore time...

As the device is trying to boot up but still at the apple logo, try to log in as root using ssh. You should find you are able to log in soon after the device is pingable on your wifi network, and you have a few minutes to complete the following steps in time.

For example from a mac, log in with:

ssh -l root 192.168.1.103

Where your iphone/ipods own ip address is substituted.

First we will disable the watchdog timer (by temporarily moving its files elsewhere) and then reboot:

mv /System/Library/SystemConfiguration/mobilewatchdog.bundle/ /
reboot

After a few seconds the device will start to reboot, and after approximately 3-6 minutes (depending on how many apps you have installed) you will reach the lock screen as normal, when that happens we now have to re-enable the watchdog timer, and reboot again, so again log in with ssh, and type:

mv /mobilewatchdog.bundle /System/Library/SystemConfiguration/
reboot

You should find your iphone / ipod touch will reboot normally a second time.

The reason this is a workaround is because you CAN'T leave the watchdog disabled, because as well as monitoring Springboard and killing/restarting it, the watchdog also has to periodically reset the HARDWARE watchdog, if this doesn't happen the device will spontaneously reboot. The hardware watchdog is 10 and a bit minutes, so without the watchdog installed and working your device will reboot itself every 10 minutes.

If anyone knows how to contact or draw this message to the attention of the dev team I have an idea for a simple patch that they could apply to the watchdog as part of the Pwning process (or as a Cydia package) that would for all intents and purposes solve this problem until Apple gets around to fixing it properly. Please send me a PM.

I see Firmware 2.0.2 has just come out so it is possible it has fixed this problem, but my gut feeling is that they probably haven't and I won't be trying 2.0.2 to find out until it is Pwnable

Note: This same issue is the reason why after installing apps with Cydia the system will sometimes freeze. As far as I can tell Cydia is NOT to blame - what Cydia does is tells Springboard to regenerate the application map, and it is that application map regeneration that triggers the problem - Springboard becomes unresponsive for extended periods of time, the watchdog process starts trying to kill Springboard, and all **** breaks loose...this procedure will also recover from that situation.

The reason Installer.app doesn't trigger this problem is it doesn't tell Springboard to regenerate the application map - it just kills Springboard and allows it to launch again.

I've just run into this problem as well on a fresh 2.0 iPhone 3G. I held off on upgrading to 2.0.1 suspecting that something would be screwed up in it, so I figured waiting for 2.0.2 was a safe bet. Nope. I upgraded, followed Apple's steps exactly, and all I got was a phone that hung at the logo and I couldn't boot up.

Well, I'm sitting here restoring the phone for the first time ever, and it indeed looks like this is going to take 2 hours to complete. Seriously? Two hours? For what? It's a 16GB phone and there's only 4GB of data on it. Last time I checked, USB2 was 400MB/sec or better data transfer rate. What's Apple doing, verifying every bit 20 times or something? Sheez.

Seriously, it's a phone. Updates must go out 100% flawless every single time, or Apple's going to find itself back in the niche computer market. I'm assuming that the backup will go flawlessly, but if I lose a single bit of information, Apple's toast, and I will never recommend anyone I know buy an iPhone until Apple gets its (ahem) together.

Moral of the story: don't bother with 2.0.2. If AT&T hosed their network, that's their problem. Apple hosed 2.0.2. I'm so thrilled to pay for two companies that can't do something right. What a thrill. Yeeha. :/

My iphone has just died with the Apple Screen of death I was running 2.0.2 now doing a restore and have had error msgs...come on Stev' sort Apple out i'm getting really hacked off with bugs, bugs which you rip MSFT for.

Maybe Apple have expanded to rapidly? As an investor i'm beginning to get worried!

Fascinating post! Thanks very much for the detailed explanations. What I found particularly interesting is your reference to the ten-minute timeout of the hardware watchdog. You see, like I explained above, with my phone, if it gets stuck at the Apple logo, what so far has always helped is to simply turn the phone off, wait +a little bit more than ten minutes+, and then turn it back on. It has always booted fine after the ten-minute wait, but not if I wait just nine minutes. Is it possible that the hardware watchdog is not reset after a reboot?

Message was edited by: Pirx07

Hit me too. And I have the 2.0.2 update already... was browsing cnet using safari tonight, and BAM, endless apple logo. Now, it's my fault for not backing up for a week, but I've bought apps just on my phone that now aren't in iTunes... cripes. Gotta go identify them and re-download. Thanks to all to get the restore to start.. we'll see if it actually improves my situation.

I'm bummed. As a former treo user, I expected/got used to this type of crap. I had higher hopes for the iPhone 3G. 😟

Well I use to have the same issue, but now I dont. What I did is listed below:

Before you follow the instruction below please make sure your contact is backup with whichever software you use as for me i use outlook.

1. Go to PREFERNCE and on the Syncing TAB remove all the backup that way your iphone 3g will do a fresh restore and if it prompt you to backup to restore dont backup and thats it just wait for your iphone 3g to finish and your done.

*This is the only thing that worked for me.*

I have had this problem and took it to the Apple store where the firmware was reset. When I synced at home it locked up back at the Apple Logo death screen. I held down the home button when I plugged it in so I could reset it. I did this probably 6 times and finally got it going again. I had to set it up as a new phone and then sync. Yes, once again it locked up at the Apple Logo. So I did something I say suggested on one of these discussions. See numbered list.

+1. Made backup of my Mobile Application folder found in your iTunes Music folder. Just in case there is an app that has been pulled that I won’t be able to re-download. You can drop this app from the folder onto iTunes to add it back in this case.+
+2. In iTunes I deleted all apps that I had downloaded.+
+3. In the Mobile Applications folder I then deleted all those apps since they still show up in the folder.+
+4. I wanted to start clean so I did a restore of my iPhone at this point to the latest firmware but I didn’t restore from backup and did a sync after the firmware was restored.+

I then downloaded my purchased apps and a few free ones I really wanted. This put a fresh version on iTunes and in my iTunes folder. I have since synced about 5 times with no problem. I have about 10 apps on there and all appears to be fine.

Give it a try and you might be pleasantly surprised.

hold the power and home key for 10 seconds until the ipod is powered off.
plug in the usb cord into the computer WITHOUT the iphone
then while connecting the ipod, hold down the home button until the itunes connect logo appears on the iphones screen
then in itunes it will telll u to restore
restore and set up as a NEW iphone and it should be fixed DONT RESTORE FROM A BACKUP.

A fresh restore does not fix this issue.

Exactly, it just delays the issue, giving you temporary access to the phone.

There's a reason for that. JayBerk has already explained, in depth, why some people keep getting ALoDs and how this is a problem that affects EVERYONE with too many apps. Why not try reading his post instead of continuing to beat this dead horse? It amazes me how many times people keep posting these ridiculous multi-step placebo "solutions" when the real causes and workarounds for this problem have been posted numerous times. For example, how about this simple preventive measure: *reboot before installing/upgrading anything*.

I had to do forty+ restores between July 11th and mid-August, but haven't had to do a single ONE in a couple weeks now. That's with 68 apps installed, with daily upgrades and additions. My "secret?" Reboot before installing or upgrading. If you want to know WHY we have to do this, just go back to JayBerk's post in this thread and read all about it.

Or if you prefer, continue beating this dead horse and keep posting "solutions" that don't work. Your call. 😉

OK, since mavisXP didn't actually specify which method he/she used, and exactly what JayBerk said in his/her post, I'll put forward my credo:

My main function for my iPhone is to be used as a phone; anything else is an extra. In my opinion, a phone that does not work as a phone is useless...

After suffering my umpteenth endless Apple logo reboot, I decided to use my iPhone just as a phone, with all 'Official Apps' (Mail, Maps, Stocks, Weather etc.) installed - with Bookmarks in the Maps App, my own clients in the Stocks App, my local weather reports in the Weather App etc. etc.

I installed no other '3rd Party Apps' and all my backups have taken mere seconds, my iPhone is definitely more stable and things work as they are designed to. The problems we are all suffering have to be because of the way Apple handle 3rd Party Apps.

My advice is this; DO NOT install 3rd party Apps until 2.1 is released next month. If things are still as bad as they are now, I'd be REALLY ANNOYED and Apple had better explain their problem in public. The problem is with 3rd Party Apps - try it - install a fresh Restore from iTunes (definitely not a Restore) - BUT MAKE SURE YOU HAVE NO 3RD PARTY APPS IN YOUR LIBRARY!) - by Default iTunes automatically installs ANY 3rd party Apps in your library. If there are none to install, nothing bad will happen. It's only when you start installing 3rd Party Apps that the problems begin - Backups that take hours and hours, install problems, restore problems, endless Apple logo reboots... use the iPhone as if it was Version 1.1.4 (as in you cannot install Apps) and things are great.

Any feedback/comments welcome. I will attempt to collate them all and send a detailed response to Apple for debugging purposes. I want my iPhone with 3rd Party Apps, I just don't like what's happening right now. Cheers.