Q: IOS 7.1.2 is buggy, don't update

Still seems strange that only a handful of users are experiencing these problems.

Pete

Then you will have to ask the previous owner again

Activation lock is an anti theft device that is INTENDED to require the registered Apple id on changing the iOS as that is exactly what a thief would do before unloading the iPhone on some poor soul

read this

iCloud: Find My iPhone Activation Lock in iOS 7

JoseBeltran8 wrote:

 

I updated my iPhone 5s to 7.1.2 and iCloud activation lock came when the phone rebooted. Its asking me for the old owners Apple ID. Ive been countless hours on the phone with ATT and Apple and no one has helped me yet. They want the original receipt, but i dont have it. So thanks to this update. I have a fancy paperweight on my desk. The original ower game me his info but its inside the phone.. So no access to it.

This means the phone was not properly erased and set up as new before you started using it the first time.  That is a responsibility shared between you and the seller.  Get the previous owner to remove the device from his iCloud account at iCloud.com.

The iOS is designed to be a stable and secure system.  But when you start making changes that are not tested or supported by Apple, then you're going into the wilderness, and if you get bear-bit, that's all on you.

All of the possible issues I mentioned are just that; possible issues.  I never said all or any of them would happen.  But Apple isn't going to support a procedure that has such risk involved.  If they did, then they'd be liable.  Since they clearly state that such procedures are not supported, they're protecting themselves when people use the procedures anyways, and screw something up.  It's called CYA.

At no point has Apple ever supported downgrading.  The terms and conditions of any iOS update (have you ever actually read them) make that fact, and many others, quite clear.  Those terms are available to ANYONE, even prior to purchase.  If you didn't read/understand those terms, then, again, that's on you.

Instead of complaining about what you should be allowed to do, actually address your problem, as I described.

Make a backup.

Restore the device as new and update/reinstall the iOS.

Test the issue.

Do that, and post your results, and you'll have some insight on how to fix the problem, or what the actual root cause is/was.  Until you do some actual, real troubleshooting, you're making wild assumptions about the root cause.

The thing is that i went to ATT store to get the phone activated, the prev owner removed iCloud and reset the phone in front of us.. But now when i did the updates this happened. Apple has been working with me to get this resolved, just that ATT wont release the info of the person who sold me the phone and his info i have it in the iphone.

I don't want to make changes that are not tested or supported by Apple. I want them to test and support the changes I want to make!

I hear you can install any version of Android you want on any Android phone -- well, if the phone supports that version, I think. Doesn't seem to be a problem for Google.

I understand that you can't downgrade. I'm not saying Apple doesn't tell you that. I'm just saying I wish you could.

I already tried to reinstall. I connected the iPad to my Mac, and in iTunes clicked "Restore iPad". Somewhere along the way I got "Unknown error 3004." Nice.

Read your post.

Tried it again. This time the $#1t worked! Strangely, I had TV shows unchecked. So it seems to be at least partly my fault. Still, for a company that's sitting on billions of dollars it doesn't even know what to do with (except to pay lawyers and accountants to find ways to reduce their tax liability so as to make even more billions they don't know what to do with), the products really ought to be better than this. (I'll have to see if Safari still keeps crashing periodically, which it didn't do in 7.1.1, and check if I don't have to tap "Recommend" n times just to recommend a comment in a NY Times article. The screen or link even "blinks" and still it doesn't take most of the time.)

BTW, there was a feature of iOS 7 that no reset would fix. When you adjust the volume while watching a video, the stupid speaker-volume icon comes up and blocks your view -- right smack dab in the middle of the picture! I'm watching a show and it blocks a good chunk of the picture! In iOS 6 you also had that, but at least it was a little bit translucent -- but in iOS 7 it is totally opaque, and in both cases it stays up way too long. Now the scroll bar in the dictionary in iBooks has to be hidden. It's not really ugly or distracting, but it's somehow considered too big and ugly to leave unhidden. It was weeks before I discovered I was missing parts of definitions! But the way-bigger-than-needed speaker-volume icon -- _that_ has to block your vision, making you miss part of the video, and somehow it's perfectly fine. Only a downgrade would have fixed that. Astonishingly, after complaining about it in the feedback section, they actually fixed it in 7.1 I couldn't frickin' believe it! Instead of the stupid speaker-volume graphic, you now get the top and bottom control "bars." Still not what it should be, but much, much better. With a downgrade I could have fixed it in an hour. (OK, the 7.1 fix was far, far better, to say the least. But I had to wait for it.)

(I don't see why so much has to be hidden. It seems you're expected to waste time (while increasing your chances of developing RSI) looking for things with your fingers or mouse pointer rather than with your eyes. Your eyes are FAR more efficient at scanning. It's still "Let your fingers do the walking." C'mon! We're past that now.)

Oh, when playing music you still get the stupid speaker-volume graphic, but that's not nearly as bad as blocking a video.

Thanks for your help! (^_^)

@TJBUSMC1973,

You said: "Regardless of how the iOS update was installed, if it was installed correctly, then it will work the same on all identical devices."

And you are assuming that there is only one way to correctly install the iOS updates which - as I've pointed out to you - isn't correct, as updates can be installed in various manners, with different forms of hardware and software. Even if you install the updates and restore your iPhone as a New Device, you're still potentially using different methods of the installation. Ergo, it's NOT the same!

But, more to the point and irrespective of that, why should Apple users have to install any update and set-up their iPhone as a "New Device" in the first place, just to limit the potential for any problems?! Hardly seems right that the user has to take all the risks, simply because - and we're back to this old chestnut again - Apple hasn't tested the update enough, to make sure it is as ironclad as is humanly possible!

You also say: "Make a backup of the device."

I did. I had four backup's. All of them appeared to be successful. When it come to restoring my iPhone, though, the backup's were being labelled as "corrupt" by iTunes! So once more, the user is being blamed for all the problems, and the company providing the software to do it (iTunes, from Apple) and the update itself (iOS 7.1.2 from - you guessed it - Apple), are washing their hands and saying to users "Sorry, mate, ain't our problem!"

However, in your mind, it seems that we users should be the ones to take all the responsibility for the updates potentially going belly-up, rather than that responsibility being on Apple! (Do you work for Apple, per chance?) That sounds very much like a corporate excuse, to justify poor software testing. Blame the users for everything, and wash your hands of all responsibility! Wow, great!

You just don't seem to get it! Or rather, you just don't want to get it! You'd much rather see Apple as some kind of perfectionist company who can do no wrong, whilst the end-users constantly fumble about trying to fix problems that the user didn't create in the first place!

I, am NOT willing to accept that any more! So, until Apple starts taking some responsibility for things, then I and many other Apple users are going to be posting complaints in the Forums, saying that the latest iOS update is faulty / flawed / buggy / problematic / iffy / suspect, or whatever other similarly-named derivative you wish to use. Either way, constantly claiming that the update is perfect and flawless, and that the problem is always the end-user, or the end-user's device is very, very poor customer service!

Steve Jobs must be turning in his grave!

Your remarks about SJ are very tired and rather offensive.

@Csound1 - Tired and Offensive?! Are you freaking kidding me?!

I'm saying that a man who is sadly no longer with us, would never have let his company release updates that cause this many problems, and then let the users - the people who made him and his company one of the biggest and most profitable in the entire world - suffer in the way that Apple does now!  How is that offensive?!

I'm actually saying that if Steve Jobs were still with us, he would NOT have let Apple treat its customers in the way it has done, since his sad passing. THAT is what I am saying, and I fail to understand how that is considered offensive. Or are you saying that now that Mr Jobs is no longer with us, we must never mention his name on the Forums?! If anything, I'm actually saying that Mr Jobs was a great man, which he was, with great respect for his customers. Something that Apple has seemed to forgotten, since the tragic death of Mr Jobs!

Seriously, Csound1, I think you need to reconsider what the words "tired and offensive" actually mean, before posting comments like you have, because you clearly don't understand what you are writing!

Don't imagine you may tell me what I mean.

I found your words tired and offensive, and your lame defence of them even more so.

Clear.?

JoseBeltran8 wrote:

 

The thing is that i went to ATT store to get the phone activated, the prev owner removed iCloud and reset the phone in front of us.. But now when i did the updates this happened. Apple has been working with me to get this resolved, just that ATT wont release the info of the person who sold me the phone and his info i have it in the iphone.

Resetting the phone isn't enough.  You have to erase all content & settings.

PoochJD wrote:

 

@Csound1 - Tired and Offensive?! Are you freaking kidding me?!

 

I'm saying that a man who is sadly no longer with us, would never have let his company release updates that cause this many problems, and then let the users - the people who made him and his company one of the biggest and most profitable in the entire world - suffer in the way that Apple does now!  How is that offensive?!

 

I'm actually saying that if Steve Jobs were still with us, he would NOT have let Apple treat its customers in the way it has done, since his sad passing. THAT is what I am saying, and I fail to understand how that is considered offensive. Or are you saying that now that Mr Jobs is no longer with us, we must never mention his name on the Forums?! If anything, I'm actually saying that Mr Jobs was a great man, which he was, with great respect for his customers. Something that Apple has seemed to forgotten, since the tragic death of Mr Jobs!

 

Seriously, Csound1, I think you need to reconsider what the words "tired and offensive" actually mean, before posting comments like you have, because you clearly don't understand what you are writing!

You are a very rude and uninformed person. Either state facts or be silent. The latter is preferred.

Pete

betaneptune wrote:

 

I don't want to make changes that are not tested or supported by Apple. I want them to test and support the changes I want to make!

 

I hear you can install any version of Android you want on any Android phone -- well, if the phone supports that version, I think. Doesn't seem to be a problem for Google.

 

I understand that you can't downgrade. I'm not saying Apple doesn't tell you that. I'm just saying I wish you could.

 

I already tried to reinstall. I connected the iPad to my Mac, and in iTunes clicked "Restore iPad". Somewhere along the way I got "Unknown error 3004." Nice.

 

Read your post.

 

Tried it again. This time the $#1t worked! Strangely, I had TV shows unchecked. So it seems to be at least partly my fault. Still, for a company that's sitting on billions of dollars it doesn't even know what to do with (except to pay lawyers and accountants to find ways to reduce their tax liability so as to make even more billions they don't know what to do with), the products really ought to be better than this. (I'll have to see if Safari still keeps crashing periodically, which it didn't do in 7.1.1, and check if I don't have to tap "Recommend" n times just to recommend a comment in a NY Times article. The screen or link even "blinks" and still it doesn't take most of the time.)

 

BTW, there was a feature of iOS 7 that no reset would fix. When you adjust the volume while watching a video, the stupid speaker-volume icon comes up and blocks your view -- right smack dab in the middle of the picture! I'm watching a show and it blocks a good chunk of the picture! In iOS 6 you also had that, but at least it was a little bit translucent -- but in iOS 7 it is totally opaque, and in both cases it stays up way too long. Now the scroll bar in the dictionary in iBooks has to be hidden. It's not really ugly or distracting, but it's somehow considered too big and ugly to leave unhidden. It was weeks before I discovered I was missing parts of definitions! But the way-bigger-than-needed speaker-volume icon -- _that_ has to block your vision, making you miss part of the video, and somehow it's perfectly fine. Only a downgrade would have fixed that. Astonishingly, after complaining about it in the feedback section, they actually fixed it in 7.1 I couldn't frickin' believe it! Instead of the stupid speaker-volume graphic, you now get the top and bottom control "bars." Still not what it should be, but much, much better. With a downgrade I could have fixed it in an hour. (OK, the 7.1 fix was far, far better, to say the least. But I had to wait for it.)

 

(I don't see why so much has to be hidden. It seems you're expected to waste time (while increasing your chances of developing RSI) looking for things with your fingers or mouse pointer rather than with your eyes. Your eyes are FAR more efficient at scanning. It's still "Let your fingers do the walking." C'mon! We're past that now.)

 

Oh, when playing music you still get the stupid speaker-volume graphic, but that's not nearly as bad as blocking a video.

 

Thanks for your help! (^_^)

Apple's not going to test procedures that they already know are invalid procedures.  Downgrading the iOS causes problems.  Ask anyone that's used an unauthorized method to do so, and odds are they experienced one or more of the problems I described.  It would be a waste of time, money and effort for Apple, so don't expect them to do so.

As far as your iTunes error 3004?  What research did you do about that?  Here, let me:  [Resolve iOS update and restore errors - Apple Support]

Resolve network errors

Related errors: 17, 1004, 1013, 1638, 3014, 3194, 3000, 3002, 3004, 3013, 3014, 3015, 3194, 3200, or "There was a problem downloading the software," or say the "device isn't eligible for the requested build.". These alerts mean that your computer is either having difficulty contacting the Apple update server or communicating with your device.

Check your computer for software or settings that might cause communication issues between your computer and Apple or between your computer and your device.

Also: [Error 3194, Error 17, or "This device isn't eligible for the requested build"]

Symptoms

If iTunes can’t communicate with the update server, you may see one of these messages:

• Error 17
• Error 1639
• Errors 3000-3020
• Error 3194
• Errors 3100-3999
• This device isn't eligible for the requested build

Safari, like any other web browser, can crash because of the communication with the website.  Doesn't mean the web browser is at fault.  There are two websites that I visit periodically that often cause a glitch with my browsers.  But my browsers work just fine on other websites.  Basic logic dictates that if the issue only occurs under a specific condition (i.e., when I play one particular video on YouTube, my browser crashes, but every other video on YouTube I try works fine), then the root cause is related to that specific condition.  My car shimmies left & right when I drive over one patch of road.  My TV has static when I'm tuned to one particular station.  It's not the car, it's the section of road.  It's not the TV, it's that one channel.

Step away from emotionalism for a moment, look at things in a logical manner, and then address the issues.  That's how you troubleshoot technical issues.

Use tools, not tears.

PoochJD wrote:

 

@TJBUSMC1973,

You said: "Regardless of how the iOS update was installed, if it was installed correctly, then it will work the same on all identical devices."

 

And you are assuming that there is only one way to correctly install the iOS updates which - as I've pointed out to you - isn't correct, as updates can be installed in various manners, with different forms of hardware and software. Even if you install the updates and restore your iPhone as a New Device, you're still potentially using different methods of the installation. Ergo, it's NOT the same!

 

But, more to the point and irrespective of that, why should Apple users have to install any update and set-up their iPhone as a "New Device" in the first place, just to limit the potential for any problems?! Hardly seems right that the user has to take all the risks, simply because - and we're back to this old chestnut again - Apple hasn't tested the update enough, to make sure it is as ironclad as is humanly possible!

 

You also say: "Make a backup of the device."

 

I did. I had four backup's. All of them appeared to be successful. When it come to restoring my iPhone, though, the backup's were being labelled as "corrupt" by iTunes! So once more, the user is being blamed for all the problems, and the company providing the software to do it (iTunes, from Apple) and the update itself (iOS 7.1.2 from - you guessed it - Apple), are washing their hands and saying to users "Sorry, mate, ain't our problem!"

 

However, in your mind, it seems that we users should be the ones to take all the responsibility for the updates potentially going belly-up, rather than that responsibility being on Apple! (Do you work for Apple, per chance?) That sounds very much like a corporate excuse, to justify poor software testing. Blame the users for everything, and wash your hands of all responsibility! Wow, great!

 

You just don't seem to get it! Or rather, you just don't want to get it! You'd much rather see Apple as some kind of perfectionist company who can do no wrong, whilst the end-users constantly fumble about trying to fix problems that the user didn't create in the first place!

 

I, am NOT willing to accept that any more! So, until Apple starts taking some responsibility for things, then I and many other Apple users are going to be posting complaints in the Forums, saying that the latest iOS update is faulty / flawed / buggy / problematic / iffy / suspect, or whatever other similarly-named derivative you wish to use. Either way, constantly claiming that the update is perfect and flawless, and that the problem is always the end-user, or the end-user's device is very, very poor customer service!

 

Steve Jobs must be turning in his grave!

Yes, there is only one way to properly install an iOS update.  There are multiple methods, but an install is either 'right' or 'wrong'.  Either iTunes or OTA can sometimes have a glitch in the installation.  And that's because you're relying on a go-between.  Either your wi-fi/internet connection, or your computer/iTunes/internet connection.  If you have an intermittent issue with the connection, you can get a bad install.  So, you simply reinstall the iOS.  Doesn't mean the iOS is 'buggy'.  It means something interfered with the installation process.

And why should you 'set up as new'?  To TEST the issue.  You have to isolate whether it is hardware, software, or user data causing your problem.  That's the reality of how computers work.  All three components must work properly for the system to perform as designed.  And any of the three components can cause symptoms that appear to be derived from another component.

For example, I knew someone who's iPhone was constantly restarting on its own.  Must be a hardware problem, right?  Nope.  Turns out that when restored as new, it didn't do that anymore.  But as soon as he restored his user data, problem resurfaces.  Eventually, it was determined that a Facebook contact with special characters was the culprit.  After restoring from the backup, and then turning off Facebook contacts, the problem stopped.  Turn Facebook contacts back on, problem reappears.  Further isolation found the single contact that was the issue.  Deleting that contact, (and that was the only difference from a full restore) made the problem go away.

In another example, a user had an issue where calls dropped randomly.  Must be either the device or the carrier, right?  Nope again!  Turns out that there was a third-party app on the device that was glitchy.  Restoring as new made the problem go away, restoring data without third-party apps kept the problem away, but lo and freaking behold, as soon as that particular third-party app was reinstalled... problem comes back.

This is called logical troubleshooting.  Isolating major components to determine which of the three are at fault, then in the case of user data, selectively reintroducing parts of the user data, and testing after each step.

This is why the basic steps of iOS device troubleshooting are, and have always been the Six R's:

1. Close & relaunch the app you're having issue with (if any).
2. Restart the device.
3. Reset the device.
4. Restore from a backup.
5. Restore as a new device.
6. Reinstall the iOS (if you restore as new via iTunes, then this step is part of #5.  If you restore as new on the device itself, the iOS doesn't update or reinstall.  But even so, it doesn't hurt to use iTunes to restore the device's iOS a second or even third time, or preferably, do so on another computer to eliminate that particular computer as part of the problem.)

Test the issue after each step.

If issue remains after all steps are taken, then it's almost definitely a hardware issue, unless an external component such as a wi-fi router or carrier connection is involved.

As far as your corrupt iTunes backups, iTunes doesn't create corrupt backups.  Something else on your computer corrupted the backup.  Did you have a backup of your computer and everything on it, including your iTunes data?  If you did, did you try one of those other backups?  And don't tell me you shouldn't have to backup your computer.  That's basic, common sense in the modern day.

There's also iCloud as well for your backups.  No reason to not use both.  I have automatic backups for iCloud,and I manually backup to iTunes about once every other week or so.

Finally, I've never said Apple was faultless or flawless.  I've expressed concerns about certain things with Apple in the past, on this very forum.  But, as far as the iOS being 'buggy'?  That's simply false.  And until you do actually restore your device as new and reinstall a fresh copy of the iOS, you can't say that either.  If the iOS were buggy, then every single identical device running the current iOS would have the exact same issues.  And that's not the case, clearly.

Make a backup to iTunes & iCloud.

Restore your device as a new device properly.

Test the issue.

Post your results.

PoochJD wrote:

 

Seriously, Csound1, I think you need to reconsider what the words "tired and offensive" actually mean, before posting comments like you have, because you clearly don't understand what you are writing!

You didn't know Mr. Jobs. You can't possibly know what he would have done or thought had he been alive. So, yes, the fact that you and so many other people who gripes with Apple invoke his shade is tiresome and offensive. I think you clearly don't understand what you're writing or you wouldn't have done something so cliched and insulting.

Read TJBUSMC1973's excellent post just above mine. Then read it again.