Q: Mysterious random total shut downs following 3.1 update

I updated to OS 3.1 last night and have had to reboot over 5 time today alone. I thought my phone was just messed up so i guess in a way its good its just an OS problem...hopefully Apple fixes this IMMEDIATELY! Until then i'm gonna try turning off auto-lock, not lockng the phone, and keep the brightness down in order to preserve battery...and hopefully it doesnt coninue to do this.

Lets hope this preblem is fixed very soon

Don't get random shutdowns, but now both my wife and I experience the phone being unable to make a call but never throwing an error--just sits there as if it's dialing but it never does. Only solution is a reboot. This happened occasionally prior to update, but since update has happened more than once a day, and in various places all over town so it's likely not related to "the tower we connect to." And more importantly, even if it is the network, the device is independent of that and well-designed software will handle that situation more appropriately.

For the record my iPhone has shut down abruptly every few days since installing the 3.1 update.

Argh! 2 iPhone 3G phones here both doing random shutdowns multiple times per day. Sure hoping our friends at Apple can get this issue isolated and resolved ASAP. Thanks!

Did you or other testers submit bug reports? It would be really sad if Apple knew about this and still rushed 3.1 to get it out in time for Rock and Roll event.

I have an iPhone 3G with 16G memory, and never had a spot of trouble with the phone. I updated to 3.1, and had the shutdown issue the others are posting about here. I dealt with this for a few days, then re-flashed back to 3.0.1 using the iRecovery tool (Google Search). My phone has the 3.1 baseband but the 3.0.1 OS load, and everything is stable again.

Definitely a software problem with 3.1.

My 3G has also completely shut down twice since the 3.1 upgrade.... ***...

I finally gave up on Apple fixing this issue in a timely manner and just downgraded to 3.0.1

For those having trouble downgrading w/ iTunes alone, you need to use a seperate tool such as iRecovery or QuickPwn.

Just do a google search for "downgrade iphone 3.1" there are several tutorials on how to do this.

My respect for Apple has definitely gone down a notch after this whole thing. As if their exploits with the App Store weren't bad enough, their failure to even acknowledge this issue, as well as others with the update, shows their ignorance or lack of caring. I understand that they can't catch everything right away, but this error is indeed a significant and seemingly non-isolated one.

OK, so maybe in my case, I have a clue as to what's happening in 3.1 that's draining the battery. If I look in the Settings, General, Usage on the device, I note that it shows over 14 Standby hours since the last full charge (not accurate), but the usage is showing as over 11 hours. After resetting these stats and watching them climb up again, it becomes obvious why the device is running hot - its radio or other network component is working overtime, draining the battery.

I've also noticed that it's continually popping up the iTunes login, almost as if it's looking for something. This 'searching' behavior could explain a lot. The device is continually running its network/radio components at top notch.

I may work in mobile app development, but I'm no hardware expert. But this type of behavior has been seen in other devices in the past. Does anyone else see this in their Usage?

Update - I tried doing a full Restore from iTunes - didn't help. Had two more freezes today.

same problem here with the iphone.. so disappointing Apple that you don't even admit this problem, totally unacceptable since i paid 1100 USD for an unlocked phone.

I updated my iPhone a few days after it was released,
a few weird things started to happen.
- firstly the unexpected shutdowns that can only be fixed with a hard reset
- my volume is playing up. The other day I was listening to music and turned the volume up using the side controls but the volume kept increasing. Even when I tried to turn it down it kept increasing again!
- really slow speed. Even flicking through albums on coverflow was a mission. It took at least 30 seconds to start a song and was fixed by restarting the phone again. But it is sill really really slow.
What do you suggest I do. I have already tried restoring my phone with no improvements. I have only used under half of the memory on my 16 g iPhone 3g.

I have also updated my software (iPhone 3G) and have been experiencing random "dead screens", service drop outs, heated up handset and more. Only fix is a hard rest and that is temporary. Come on Apple. Release a fix!

3G 8GB, having same problems with OS3.1 as everyone else. Random and FREQUENT lock ups, extremely hot handset, battery drains to dead within 10-15 minutes after a full charge when in this 'frozen' state. Unable to isolate any one or multiple conditions to prevent this from happening.

I used to be extremely happy with the iPhone, now, I'm having regrets. I can imagine that a LOT of people will be changing to another handset, if not a different provider the longer Apple waits to release a fix.

I hope Apple puts out a fix soon or I will switch to a new handset.

So here I am . . . another user with this problem. This is the first time for my phone to 'freeze/shutdown'. It's been about 4 days though since the latest update. Hope they resolve this issue very soon!!