iOS4 update - now iPhone now reboots during phone call

OK, I called the apple support line (which you can call if you've had the phone longer than 3 months.. bit misleading that!).

First he got me to restore the phone as a 'new phone'
It still rebooted
Called them back, and they asked me to delete the IOS 4 file from windows in case it was corrupt. I then had to restore my phone again so it downloaded the software new.
It still rebooted
Called them back, they took my details and they will be replacing the phone.

So, if you are a Vodafone customer, they will replace your handset (as long as it's covered by the warranty).

It's also worth mentioning that the non-UK call centres are supporting the UK at the moment due to the high volume of calls. I was speaking to a bloke in France. He was fantastic though.

Update: Just got back from the local Apple store with a new handset with v3.1.3 on. Works fine. Calls are working fine too.

Applecare did what is was supposed to, with minimal effort and it got me a working phone!

As much as the iOS4 upgrade did the damage, the problem was at least fixed, in a round about way. It's just a shame there is no downgrade path available.

Hope you all get a resolution that fixes your iPhones.

Hold on ... did you ask for a 'phone with the old operating system on it or was it provided with the old system by Apple?

If the latter, then Applecare has NOT done what it should - it has left you with a 'phone that you can't now upgrade. An important point here - I'll ask formally, with my technical journalist hat on: did Apple offer you a device that was current - i.e. with iOS 4 per-installed, or was the only solution offered a device with the old OS on it, suggesting that Apple has no confidence in its own operating system?

Oh, and also - were you forced to downgrade to an 8GB device - some of the other threads report people having 32 or 16GB devices replaced with 8GB devices? I just want to make sure I have an accurate picture from other Apple consumers.

I upgraded to 4.0 and have the exact same problem! The phone reboots for no apparent reason numerous times a day. My upgrade went uneventfully when I did it! This is totally unacceptable! I am a doctor, and use the phone for my emergency paging etc., and can't even keep it working now! apple needs to come up with a fix ASAP!!!!!!!

As matter of interest is this apparent bug that causes the phone to reboot also being experienced by users of the new iPhone 4 where the OS is naturally alreay installed?

In my own case after a factory reset and it still re-bootiong a few minutes into a call Apple have asked me to visit my nearest Apple store and have the phone replaced so I will make sure that the 16g 3gs I have is not replaced with an 8g version.

The replacement unit was supplied with v3.1.3 and I specifically asked for it not to be upgraded to iOS4 due to travelling next week - I need it to work as a phone!

I was informed that as long as there are 32Gb and 16Gb units coming through the refurb/replacement channels to the Genius Bars then they would be replaced like for like. When that supply runs short - 8Gbs are going to be the only replacements available.

Hope this helps.

I'm not sure how this will help those of you put of warranty. After talking with support, and realizing I was under warranty I drove the 100 miles to the nearest apple store. After they spent some time with my iPhone and some way cool software, they could produce all the information I had described to them. After trouble shooting through a flow chart on an iPod touch they decided to replace my phone. So, like I said; I don't know how much help this is to someone who no longer covered under warranty, but here it is.

Figured I would add my experience to this thread also.

I had trouble upgrading my 3Gs iPhone (32 gig). I had not jailbroken my phone, so it was standard and featured up-to-date software.

In the upgrade process, I got an "unknown error" and the phone entered recovery mode. I was able to restore to factory default settings, and as part of this process, iTunes installed iOS4 on the device.
Had a very lengthy restore from backup to bring all my files, contacts, etc over to the phone and everything seemed to be ok.

However, apps (in particular messaging) is now flaky... slow to respond, or crashes. Additionally my phone regularly cuts out during phone calls and reboots with the black screen & apple logo.

It blows my mind that a company as big and as established as apple could release a product that has so many issues in it. How call-cutouts and phone reboots etc could get through the testing phase un-noticed is beyond me.

I don't think it is possible to roll back to the previous version of software, so for me I'm just sitting tight and hoping that Apple release a patch ASAP.
(And in the "sitting tight" phase, trying to direct all business calls etc to landlines so that I don't have to continue to face the repetitive embarrassment of continually hanging up on clients in conference calls and on the road).

I am also having the same problem. After a two minutes incoming call the phone is restarting. I tried to update from 3.1.3 to 4.0. Did you solve your problem or still have? If yes please advice me. Thanks in advance.

All,

I'm getting ready to go on a 3-week trip with my newly upgraded 3GS and was trolling for problems I might find with the new OS. Needless to say, this topic is very scary to me, although I have not experienced this issue (I have had about 5 apps crash so far since upgrading, but nothing like this).

As a lurker, I find it very interesting that 90% of the issues seem to be happening in Europe, with only a few in the US (where I am).

Also interesting is the logs that seem to indicate that the phone is rebooting due to thermal issues. So, could people post some information regarding their usage before and during the crash?

1) Is your phone in a case? What type?
2) Was the phone in your shirt pocket before you made/got the call?
3) Were you using the phone for apps before you made/got the call?
4) Was the phone sitting in a hot car before using?

Obviously, all of these can contribute to pre-heating the phone before the call, which would partially explain why some people reboot after a few minutes and others after 15.

Also, someone needs to experiment by making long calls in cold conditions, like holding it near an air conditioning vent during the call. If you work in the food business, make a long call from inside the fridge.
Likewise, make a call in a hot car and see if it consistently drops quickly.

My guess is that Apple changed the watchdog and temp monitoring routines and broke something. Perhaps the hardware is running hotter with iOS4; many people report shorter battery life.

I'm sure an update will happen in the next couple of months that will address this. How could they have missed this one? Honestly, this one is forgivable compared to the iPhone 4 antenna-shorting fiasco.

Message was edited by: brianixia

Message was edited by: brianixia

i described the issue days before:

- no cradle, no apps before and in multitasking, no Wifi (tested), nothing special, no Hacks

The problem only occur by incoming calls when the phone is in vertical position, in horizontal position i had no issues. For bypassing the issue you can use for example a handsfree headset and let the phone during the call in horizontal position.

My Solution is the best for the moment be back on 3.1.3 (thanks to apple support) and waiting for 4.1 🙂

Problem still exists. Just had a call where my iPhone 3GS with iOS 4 rebooted 3 times. It happened while used with loudspeaker as well as with headphones or while holding it on my ear. I even killed all apps with the task switcher. I guess Apple will tell us that there is no problem and we're all holding and using our phone in a wrong way.

I have the same problem: iPhone reboots after a few minutes of call since upgrade to iOS4
Location: Austria
Provider: T-Mobile
Model: 3GS 32GB
iPhone was never jailbroken or in any other form hacked.
Tried "wiederherstellen" twice with no success.
No problems with firmware 3.1.3
No tactile temperature

I'm fortunate (ahem) to have 2 of these pieces of complication. One is absolutely fine the other has the error 29 message and crashes on calls, on charges, and even whilst syncing. Apple must have to sort this mess out