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Level 1

57 points

iPhone firmware update 3.1.2 is out! How's it working for you?

Whew relief at last! but 'your mileage may vary'. I am very curious how well it's working. I really hope 'comatose' is a word we can quickly forget.

I was at 3.1 last night and had hopefully my last coma ever. I put on 3.1.2 and it went very smoothly other than for some reason some of my apps lost their data. (i lost hundreds of entries from my 'Lose-it' weight management program (AWESOME by the way; down almost 20# since July).

Since putting on 3.1.2, however, phone not quite as responsive as yesterday on 3.1 (something i can deal with if it never 'goes coma' again), but once in a while it's a pretty long pause, like a 4 sec. pause in the middle of a tapping a word; again if it's a trade-off to have the phone work 100% of the time i can cope with that.

Anybody that does try the upgrade and has a problem, please go through the normal steps of putting on a clean install before 'going ballistic'. Basically, i would recommend doing a backup, putting the phone into DFU BEFORE the first attempt of 3.1.2 (which i didn't do... could be related to the 'stutters' i'm getting right now).

I recommend this method:

1. backup your phone manually (in case it doesn't ask) -> right-click on phone and pick backup
2. Get your phone into DFU mode (search apple help or google; you-tube is has great guides)
3. restore the phone while in DFU. In my experience, the phone is dark while DFU restore
4. activate the phone and 'play around a bit'; i use m.me so i can have my contacts back w/o sync
5. if things are not going well, i would go back to step 2 and re-install
6. test drive for at least a few hours before doing a 1-hr restore from backup (of your data).
7. come back here and give some feedback if it's working (or not).

So.. for me, the summary is: super-smooth 'restore' to 3.1.2 but like a 'moron' (don't take offense, it's a term of endearment for a smart person that doesn't do something the best way by being hasty).. i did just a direct upgrade from iTunes w/o heeding my own advice and DFU the phone first.

So.. i have had a couple instances of 'non response' to things like hitting the home button, the sleep button, but i've had that since 3.0; it was why i upgraded to 3.1 in the first place. I'm very curious about why my 'accidental' install of 3.1 was so darn fast, and i want it back, so over the weekend i'll do a DFU re-install of 3.1.2 if it doesn't clear up with a restart.

No coma yet, but too soon to know if 3.1.2 is the reason. If you have a perfectly working phone at 3.0 or 3.01, i wouldn't bother upgrading, the only 'super cool' thing you'll be missing is the ability to sort your home pages icons in iTunes (super amazing; best part of 3.1 OS for sure). Just wait a week or three to see what others say first!

Oh.. if you really want a clean install.. use a fresh 'user' on your computer to do the update, then just don't bother syncing, and switch back to 'you' before doing 'restore from backup'.

Ok, wish you guys all luck, hope that everybody has a fully operational phone/ipod after this.

-awr

iPhone 3.1.2! woo hoo., Mac OS X (10.5)

Posted on Oct 9, 2009 3:20 PM

193 replies

Oct 9, 2009 8:21 PM in response to andrewwynn

cant sync and phone lock up when i try im about to sell this piece af crap.

Oct 9, 2009 9:12 PM in response to andrewwynn

they probably rushed this update to compete with the windows phone and in the process screwed the people that made their phone a success that is until now. as you can tell im hot i did every thing tech support wanted even wiping my hard drive and i still have a problem. and its not my computer.

andrewwynn Author

Level 1

57 points

Oct 10, 2009 12:12 AM in response to mazdaman_23

mazdaman_23 wrote:
It's awful. I downloaded it and started the install on my phone and the phone died, just erased the memory and died. Took it to the "genious bar" who said "well we can't do anything because it appears to have been water damaged". I have no idea how it tells them that, but refusing to help with a software problem is inexcusable. Likewise, this is my only phone and not having it is an extreme inconvenience. Luckily I have my old phone to use while this tempermental POS gets worked out. This is the LAST apple product i'll ever buy! Those of you who haven't upgraded, DON'T! God help you if you have trouble, this company will not help you!

There is a sensor visible at the bottom of the headphone jack; from what i've read, it is not at the bottom of the hole, it's actually behind a clear plastic cylinder; i.e. a drop of rain going into headphone jack won't touch it.. if the moisture level gets high enough inside the phone (below the headphone jack) it will permanently change the color from white to pink then red depending how much moisture gets to it.

anyhow; if your phone even attempts to boot, there is some hope.. if it did get moisture in it; if it was pure enough water, it can still be evaporated out many times. My son dumped an entire glass of milk onto my wife's 1G and it was completely submerged; it wrecked the sleep/wake switch, the volume buttons and the ear speaker.. replaced from eBay for about $20.. i also had to take apart the display to get the milk out of the diffusion screens, but i did get everything working but the light sensor (so auto-bright doesn't work).

i have resuscitated digital cameras and cell phones from sink or toilet drops (complete submersion) by putting them in an oven; if you are lucky enough to have an oven that will run <200 deg (ideally 185°F max, you can just cook out the water)..

if you can get the thing to be 'seen' by iPhoto, look at the steps i posted earlier to do a clean install.

-awr

andrewwynn Author

Level 1

57 points

Oct 10, 2009 12:17 AM in response to beagleman2009

beagleman2009 wrote:
they probably rushed this update to compete with the windows phone and in the process screwed the people that made their phone a success that is until now. as you can tell im hot i did every thing tech support wanted even wiping my hard drive and i still have a problem. and its not my computer.

I quite doubt it actually.. as many people with the coma bug as there were/are; probably not more than a couple %.. in the 'right circles' a poll will say 70%... but if everybody with ipod/iphone (50M or so) chimed in.. not likely more than 1-2%.

There is some very freaky rare thing to cause the bug. The problem is there are a lot of symptoms other than 'coma' and i do not know how many were fixed or even known about with 3.1.2 release, partly why i started the thread; to find out if some symptoms still are around, like in my case; i'm getting a 'sticky slider' to unlock or answer a phone call; but that hasn't changed since 3.0.

The weird part was ONE of my 3.1 installed produced a 'winner' that had NO delays or stutters of any kind but still had the once in a while coma (2 x in 5 days).

-awr

Oct 10, 2009 2:07 AM in response to dmdoyle

This update is as unforgivably awful as the last. I read with interest that it stops jailbreaking that has occurred since 3.1, only within the past few weeks that the hackers circumnavigated Apple's block, but for customers like me who have no intention of jailbreaking, it is galling to find that 3.1.2 stops the latest hacks but has done nothing (in my experience at least) to stop the appalling battery drain, unresponsiveness, and other craziness INCLUDING coma mode. I'm trying to use DFU mode and while it worked when I managed to get back from 3.1 to 3.0.1, for some reason today my iPhone refuses to enter DFU mode and so I can't rollback.

If Apple can act so quickly to stop the latest hacks, why can't it act at least as fast in stopping all these problems we (as viewed by Apple and the telecoms companies) 'legitimate' users are having?

I expected some improvement with 3.1.2 and I can tell you, it's as bad as 3.1. Certainly if you've an original or 3G model, DON'T UPGRADE. It seems 3GS owners are far less affected.

If Apple is having serious issues finding what's gone wrong, can the company at least provide an update for those of us wanting to rollback easily without jumping through hoops, please?

jamalaya

Level 1

95 points

Oct 10, 2009 2:45 AM in response to andrewwynn

I don't know people, as I read this forum only a couple of people have no problems. Which makes very suspicious. I am one of those people whose phone got even better. I must have one of those super phones from a super secret batch 🙂

So I upgraded to 3.1.2, I had 24 applications installed with data, notes, docs etc. After the update they are still there, data, photos, music,videos, podcasts etc...they are all still there and working. Wifi, works like a chump. Battery wise(never had problems)before the update and after the update.I wouldn't notice anyway. But ... to test it, it took me 6 hours of browsing the net, apps store and installing an additional 10 apps and testing them, Youtube, news videos, games (myself and my son playing 🙂 ), it took me around 6 hours to drain the last 50% of battery.

I recharged at 2 am. wokeup at 8 am (3 alarms on - I need 3 alarms to wake me up 🙂 ) and still 95%.

I also have Bluetooth and Wifi permanently on. 2 email accounts (pop) with fetch every 30 min.

I am a light user of phone and sms but heavy user of internet, news, Youtube, and occasional games.

I only need to recharge the phone once a day with the above usage. I can't say the phone's battery is super, it is just not worse or better than my Windows Mobile phone (Xda orbit 2).

So what gives? Dodgy batteries? or the batteries can only be used so much and then have to be replaced?

Mine is only about 11 days old 3Gs.

just a thought

jamalaya

Level 1

95 points

Oct 10, 2009 2:47 AM in response to jamalaya

Oh,one more thing.The only noticable thing I found is that my phone has a better lock on phone signal(O2, UK). where I used to get 1 bar inside the house,now I get 3-4 bars. that's all.

Oct 10, 2009 3:24 AM in response to andrewwynn

I have been working with tech support for over two weeks now I have sent them sync test system info and have done every thing they suggested to no avail. if I was the CEO of apple no raises no time off they would work 27/7 till this problem was resolved tech support has sent every thing I sent them to the engineers I bet they have a nice coloumbus day while their customers have crappy phone service this will start to hurt their phone sales with the windows phone out and the google phone. they should have already fixed this problem in my case the phone driver won't stay on my computer and after every thing they had me do I had geek squad tech check my system it is working fine I just think apple is starting to act like Microsoft they got our money and we are at their mercy can't roll back the driver so we have to suffer till they get their head on straight hopefully it will be soon or I'm done with apple and I'll never buy another apple product again.

Oct 10, 2009 5:25 AM in response to andrewwynn

I did this update at around 4pm on Thursday. So far in about 39 hours, I have not had a single network freeze. Before the update with 3.1, I was experiencing 2-3 per day. The only fix would be to restart the phone even though it would show a full 3g signal. I never had the coma issues and still don't. The update went very smoothly for me. I did it the basic way using iTunes. If I start having problem, I'll do a full restore from DFU.

Battery life has been pretty good as well.

Sijmons

Level 4

2,094 points

Oct 10, 2009 7:21 AM in response to andrewwynn

did a standard install via iTunes (after backup), and so far 3.1.2 gives a much better response when woken up then the previous version.

Oct 10, 2009 7:58 AM in response to andrewwynn

This is my experience after a full day running 3.1.2:

Bad: still getting disconnected from network frequently, completely unreliable if 3G enabled. I've seen a situation where 3G data would come through with all bars turned off. Switching to airplane mode doesn't work, only a full restart.

Good: no shutdowns so far.

Please note this was a never jail-broken, zero issues phone before 3.1.

Stafainn

Level 1

0 points

Oct 10, 2009 8:11 AM in response to jamalaya

There speaks words of wisdom from someone that had a iPhone 3Gs for 10 minutes and posts on the 3G Forum obviously suggesting that we're all making up the tales of woe.

I'm now on my 3rd restore since 3.1.2 came out. Earlier this morning I did a DFU and restored as a new phone. After a couple of hours syncing all of my stuff back on to the phone it's just crashed and told me that "I NEED TO DO A RESTORE". In my case I don't think the whole problem is Apple, I think that O2 ***** and the quicker Orange start to sell iPhones in the UK the happier I'll be.

In the meantime I'm the owner of an expensive piece of junk.

axemandu

Level 1

0 points

Oct 10, 2009 8:12 AM in response to Adrian M.

System seems more stable, but less responsive - in some cases downright choppy. 3G is cutting in and out when standing in a spot with 5-bars and battery life has not improved. I'd like to start a Phuniest iPhone renaming contest - my submissions:

iBrick
iPaperweight
iDontCareIfYouNeedThisForWork
iMProbablyGoingToTakeMyCarrierUpOnTheir30DayBuyerRemorseProgram.

Oct 10, 2009 8:22 AM in response to andrewwynn

You wonder if taking the carrier update requires a reboot. We had to reboot last time when MMS turned on. After taking the carrier update it didn't reboot the phone like of course the 3.1.2 update did. I was having carrier drop outs because I was going offline in Find My iPhone and push mail from mobile me wasn't getting pushed.

I called Apple about the push mail and offline issues and they said, along with mobile me support, that it was a carrier issue. Since the 3.1.2 and carrier update, push mail has been working great and I have never gone offline line. This was since Thursday afternoon.

axemandu

Level 1

0 points

Oct 10, 2009 8:22 AM in response to beagleman2009

beagleman2009 wrote:
...can't roll back the driver so we have to suffer...

That is my biggest problem. We use these for work - if you can't provide a working solution, at least let us roll back to a version that does work.

iPhone firmware update 3.1.2 is out! How's it working for you?