Q: Mysterious random total shut downs following 3.1 update

I've noticed this problem since upgrading to 3.1 on my 3G. I don't think the iphone shuts down, it just locks upand is unable to be woken up. If I wait or try some combination of buttons, silencer switch, plugging in, etc. I can sometimes get it back, but this is pretty bad.

I am having the same issue. There's also another thread covering this same issue.
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2151766&tstart=0

Total that makes it 15 pages (as of the writing of this post). Apple better recognize that this is an issue. I don't know how you release an update that affects so many phones, it's just careless.

Same problems here ... what a mess. (For the record, I don't have MobileMe or Google Calendar and it makes no difference if I'm on wi-fi or 3G phone network.)

My iPhone freezes constantly; and then it won't respond to the Home button. I have to do a hard reset every time. The problems started as soon as the 3.1 update was loaded.

And here's a novel twist: if I push the Sleep/Wake button, my iPhone doesn't shut off -- but it DOES take a photograph of my screen, even though I'm not using the camera. It just snaps a picture by itself. I have a whole page of them now in Photos -- some show the home screen, some show the apps I was using when it froze. There's even one of the screen showing all the photos it's taken of the screen -- like one of those Russian nested dolls.

If this was April 1, or even Oct. 31, I'd think this was a joke. Unfortunately, it's not that funny.

Are people waiting for a fix from Apple? Or is it best to just do a Restore to pre-3.1?

Bleh. I am having the same issue as everyone else here. Phone just blacks out, still powered on, but no response. I haven't let it sit longer than 3 minutes before hard resetting, so I am not sure if mine will wake back up. No such issues on my 3G prior to the 3.1 update. This issue has occurred 3 times since I upgraded the night 3.1 came out.

I understand what I am about to say may not be seen as "constructive" and despite a few quirks here and there, I openly admit that I've largely had an excellent user experience with the iPhone and look forward to upgrading when I am next eligible for a new equipment discount, provided Apple continues to address issues with their product in a timely and responsible fashion. However this needs to be said so as to not convey the illusion that my general satisfaction makes this issue anything other than seriously unacceptable: It goes without saying (but I'll say it anyway) the iPhone is not just an expensive toy, but, among many other mission critical things for some users, it is first and foremost (as evidenced by the name) a cellphone (sometimes a person's only phone) that may need to be utilized and relied upon in an emergency situation. Apple, you enjoy way too much consumer confidence and benefit of the doubt to release an upgrade (not even a brand new major release, which I can better understand) your own hardware (you lock down and control every aspect of it, including the apps that are released, and one of your primary reasons for all the control is to provide a good user experience) that is causing this noticeable of an issue so quickly for this many people. It's not that I don't realize mistakes happen, I write software for a living, but it's very easy to be wowed by the beauty and functionality of the iPhone and make excuses in Apple's defense for a problem that needs to be answered for. When restores and so forth do not fix the problem, it's not anything we're doing wrong, so when we call support, please actually offer some support instead of giving us the "restore my iPhone" (or other applicable delete/reinstall, rinse, wash, repeat) run around when there's a number of people who have indicated it hasn't helped them whatsoever. Please do the right thing Apple, acknowledge this issue by close of business Monday, and make this problem water under the bridge by Friday evening.

That said, also, quite potentially unrelated to this issue, and perhaps somewhat isolated - after these blackouts, I often find myself stuck at the boot screen, and needing to hard reset a few times to get the phone actually booted. I then get the "iPhone is activated" message when it finally starts, and have trouble with my apps and certain songs. I've discussed this in a bit more detail here including a workaround for the app issues: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2155949&tstart=0 (4th post)

I am also having the same problems, and nothing to add. I assume that Apple will have a fix out soon, at least I hope so, because with the 10.6 bugs and this it really does make you think twice buying Apple in the future.

Apple, more time testing, less time fixing.

Adding my voice to the growing mega-list of angry 3.1 updaters. Am now trying, after trying everything else possible outlined in the forums, to force a rollback to 3.0.1. Apple, you need to fix this not next week or next month - we need a fix released fast, like early next week. I am fearful that won't happen, remembering how much trouble I had with the Apple TV 2.3 update and how long it took for 2.4 to be released and fix the problems 2.3 caused. But I could do without my ATV a long while, not that I should have had to. I canNOT do without my iPhone!

Kalir wrote:
Bleh. I am having the same issue as everyone else here. Phone just blacks out, still powered on, but no response. I haven't let it sit longer than 3 minutes before hard resetting, so I am not sure if mine will wake back up. No such issues on my 3G prior to the 3.1 update. This issue has occurred 3 times since I upgraded the night 3.1 came out.

I understand what I am about to say may not be seen as "constructive" and despite a few quirks here and there, I openly admit that I've largely had an excellent user experience with the iPhone and look forward to upgrading when I am next eligible for a new equipment discount, provided Apple continues to address issues with their product in a timely and responsible fashion. However this needs to be said so as to not convey the illusion that my general satisfaction makes this issue anything other than seriously unacceptable: It goes without saying (but I'll say it anyway) the iPhone is not just an expensive toy, but, among many other mission critical things for some users, it is first and foremost (as evidenced by the name) a cellphone (sometimes a person's only phone) that may need to be utilized and relied upon in an emergency situation. Apple, you enjoy way too much consumer confidence and benefit of the doubt to release an upgrade (not even a brand new major release, which I can better understand) your own hardware (you lock down and control every aspect of it, including the apps that are released, and one of your primary reasons for all the control is to provide a good user experience) that is causing this noticeable of an issue so quickly for this many people. It's not that I don't realize mistakes happen, I write software for a living, but it's very easy to be wowed by the beauty and functionality of the iPhone and make excuses in Apple's defense for a problem that needs to be answered for. When restores and so forth do not fix the problem, it's not anything we're doing wrong, so when we call support, please actually offer some support instead of giving us the "restore my iPhone" (or other applicable delete/reinstall, rinse, wash, repeat) run around when there's a number of people who have indicated it hasn't helped them whatsoever. Please do the right thing Apple, acknowledge this issue by close of business Monday, and make this problem water under the bridge by Friday evening.

(3th post)



After owning a very expensive brick for the last couple of days I can totally concur with you on that point. Under no circumstance should the basic functionality of the phone be compromised! There should be a separate proprietary software running the phone essentials while all other crap should be partitioned! You dig?

The update to 3.1 went smooth in iTunes 9 - Mac OS X 10.5.8 on a MacBook.

However, now at least once a day my iPhone locks up. The only remedy at that point is to keep the home + power buttons pressed until the iPhone restarts.

Also, WiFi isn't working when the iPhone is 'off', meaning the power is still on but the screen is turned off. It's only when I unlock the phone that after about 30 seconds it would connect to a WiFi network.

Very frustrating.

David

Same with the Spanish version of the iPhone OS: random blockings (I wouldn't call them shutdowns, as the phone doesn't ask for the PIN when comes to life) that need a hard reset to wake up the device.

A real shame.

****, it's happening to me too. Both the iPhone coma mode and the poor battery life. Haven't tried wiping the phone yet, but I may hold off on that for now since it hasn't seemed to help anyone.

Same problem here...even after DFU and restore the problem persists!!!

Can anyone tell if during the 5minutes lockdown the phone is able to receive calls??

Regards from Portugal

Please see also this thread:
iPhone 3G *will not boot at all* after iTunes 9 and 3.1 update (http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2155949&tstart=0 )

this is available for iPhone 3GS under 3.1 and iTunes 9 (the case of my iPhone)

So where are apple guys?! where is apple?!
I recall am still covered by the guarantee and am seriousely thinking about send it back to the provider... I was really tranquil with my old stuff!

Same problem here - it seems to happen nearly always when I am connected bluetooth in the car and I receive an email.

Same problem. Any solution ?

Same Problem. I won´t update the second iPhone 3G because this was already in serious touble due to the 3.0 Update. Now even the "good" one is shutting down frequently...