Q: Mysterious random total shut downs following 3.1 update

I am having the same problem - phone completely shuts down and needs a hard reset to come back.

I had problems with iTunes 9 as it wouldn't open properly after installation. That took hours to fix, now this; in general terms this is the worst software upgrade I've experienced from Apple in ten years.

Same here. Twice since updated to 3.1.
It occurred when I'm not closing an App, and idling until it sleeps. Then it would stuck "blank". I have to do Sleep+Home button holding until restart.

Not to mention backing up with iTunes 9 takes more than 2hours!

Well so far so good here - 3.1 installed completely about 2 hours ago and no major issues so far sync/back up with iTunes working well (atm anyway)

This has happened twice to me today since updating to 3.1. My iPhone 3G hadn't crashed once in the time I've had it since the 3G launch, and then twice in one day after installing the new update? Hmm...

This is not a case where hard-reset is fixing anything. It's just a way of making iPhone usable until next lock-up.

It will lock again and you'll have to reset again.

Why knock it if it's a work-around that works?

If you're 100% certain that it works and you're 100% certain that the problem is addressed temporarily then why not hold out some hope to those who have the issue?

If you're not 100% certain then what can be done to narrow the gap?

I've had the same problem here. I even uninstalled all of my apps and reinstalled. It still locks up when it is put to sleep manually or times out after an app is run. It does not seem to happen every time, but 5-6 times in less than 24 hours is pretty annoying.

The issue seems to be linked to wifi connectivity. It happened last night while I was at home, then when I went out to the store it worked fine. All day while at work it was fine. I got home tonight and it locked up again. Pain in the butt I'll tell ya. Hope they figure this one out soon.

Which apps are being run that give the problem and are they 3.0 compliant?

If it works fine in other places but not at home, have you checked your router, particularly since you think that it's wifi-related?

Haven't tried wi-fi outside of the house. I've turned off wi-fi right now and it seems to be working fine. I would suspect the router except that it has worked fine until the update.

A workaround temporarily avoids the problem, i.e. "works around it".

Resetting iPhone is not avoiding anything here or working around the shutdown.

A true workaround would be one to avoid the random shut down.

E.g. when a vulnerability is announced for a specific service, workaround is turning off that service until patch arrives so you can keep working.

At the moment there's no viable workaround for these unwanted shutdowns.

Message was edited by: rrahimi

Updated to the new iPhone software and iTunes 9 today.

Immediately, my phone was possessed! I have never experienced ANY problems w/ my 3G, even though others have, until now.

Here's the list:
- Phone randomly locks up and/or shuts down
- Forget Facebook . . . it stays up about 30 seconds and shuts down
- Battery charge icon said full in upper right. Then gives me the red 20% battery emergency.
- Can't stay connected to WiFi . . . any of them.
- Can't remember any passwords . . . for anything. I put it in, go directly back in the app (Facebook, WiFi, other apps), and it asks me for the same password.

I should have checked here first. I never would have thought that Apple would have distributed such a crap update. Ever!!! I have hard-booted. If anyone has other ideas, I'm ears. This stinks. Of course, going out of town and need the darned thing!!!!

Yep - same issue on my iPhone 3G after updating to 3.1.

Phone seems to randomly lock up and requires a hard reset to get working again.

I'm going to try and downgrade to the previous firmware to see if that solves the issue.

prior to upgrading yesterday, my 3g has been reliable for the last year. battery lasts 1 day or 2 days with light use.

today, my phone has crashed about 5 times, including a few times when i wasn't even using it. today, the battery went completely dead, i charged it up about half way and then a couple hours later, it was dead again. so just judging from the battery life, something is definitely wrong.

in addition, the phone sometimes becomes very sluggish and unresponsive - for example, in some cases, it take several seconds to even respond (wake up) from sleep when pushing either the power button or the home button.

google maps normally works great, now it starts up and just shows a blank screen for 10 seconds, then the app quits and goes back to the home screen.

so for me it is black and white. not a subtle question of whether performance or battery life is slightly better or worse after the upgrade. it is black and white. phone was great before the upgrade. essentially unusable after.