A week in the life of a crashed 3G iPhone

[Dallas Phil]

It all started one day when I was flying from Dallas to Denver. The day before I had rented three movies and an audiobook for the trip. The day of the trip, I noticed that a couple of my apps had updates so I downloaded the updates and was syncing. During the sync someone called my phone and that is when my hell started. My phone crashed and all I had was the white Apple logo that I could not get rid of. I called Apple support and the first thing he said was YOU SHOULD ALWATS PUT YOUR PHONE IN AIRPLANE MODE BEFORE YOU SYNC. Well, I have never heard that or seen that anywhere. It makes sense when I think about it. I told the guy that iTunes should tell you that or, even better, iTunes should place your phone in airplane mode when you sync. Apple support got iTunes to recognize my phone in restore mode, but I did not have time to do a complete restore because it would take too damn long and I had to catch a flight. I restored it as a new phone and just synced some songs for the trip. My three rental movies were lost. That night in Denver I restored my phone from backup. The restore was successful but my phone was very unstable. It would crash from time to time for no reason. Apple support made an appointment at an Apple store and they replaced my phone. That night I again restored the new phone with a backup. Again I let it run all night. The next morning the phone was restored but iTunes had crashed. Everytime I would hook up my phone iTunes would lock up. I called Apple support again and was elevated twice to level three support. We uninstalled iTinues, Apple mobile device support, Apple software update, QuickTime, and Bonjour numerous times with the same result. As soon as I plugged in the phone iTunes would lock up. We deleted all my backups, still same issue. Finally Apple suport had me create a new user account. (I am running Vista Ultimate service Pack 1) To my surprise iTunes recognized my phone and did not lock up with this new user account. Of course I had no music library, apps, or anything to sync but iTune did work and my phone was recognized. Apple support made me another appointment at the Apple store and here I truck in there with my Dell laptop. I was expecting a basket of Apples to be dumped on my head. Instead I was told that there was nothing they could do because they were not certified Microsoft techs. Duh. I then called and paid for Microsoft support. The tech copied my iTunes library from my master user account to the new user account. Yeah, I had all my music and apps and was syncing myself crazy. After I synced I realized that my contacts and calender were not back on my phone. I realized that the new user account did not recognize Outlook in my master account. I called Microsoft back and the support guy was able to place my Outlook .pst file in a public folder and then used this .pst file for both user accounts. I am now back in business but this as been a major pain in the butt. Apple support theorizes that my backup file must had been corrupted and thus caused a hangup in my master user account. Now, anytime I want to sync i have to switch to the other user account. All I know is that this week from hell all started when I received that phone call while syncing. So, my advice to all: PLACE YOUR PHONE IN AIRPLANE MODE BEFORE YOU SYNC!

[iMeth]

I blamed the idiot that called you... LMAO haha naw but I never heard of that one either "airplane mode before sync" that is dumb... I feel bad.

[FlwrPwer]

This idea (putting the phone in airplane mode) is in one of the "tips to the iphone" threads. I don't know if it's the 8 tips and tricks or the 12 tips and tricks, but it is there.

[dturner]

I never heard of that one either "airplane mode before sync" that is dumb... I feel bad.
Now that a backup includes everything on the phone it takes a little longer and the chances of getting a call during that time are greater. An interrupted backup can lead to a corrupt one and this is one of the things causing extremely long backup times. If you are having extra long backup times, you should delete your backup and start over. Should improve normal backup times.

[MileHighRob]

I think the problem with the second phone was that it tried to restore to your old backup file which obviously became corrupt when the phone call came in.

In addition to putting the phone in Airplane mode before installing apps or doing backups, I would also recommend that you only update apps and install through iTunes. The phone handles the transfers much better that route.

[lady_bugz22]

I'm sorry you had to go through all that trouble and thanx for that tip. I did not know this. I will definately put in airplane mode when syncing.

[harleygold]

If you don't mind, may I ask what the purpose of "Airplane mode" is for? I don't fly much and this topic as caught my attention. :)

[FlwrPwer]

If you don't mind, may I ask what the purpose of "Airplane mode" is for? I don't fly much and this topic as caught my attention. :)

Airplane mode turns off the phone feature and the internet connect. It basically makes the phone an ipod touch. So you can still listen to your music and play games.

[bmargolis]

Or...don't use Vista!

[harleygold]

Or...don't use Vista!


There's nothing wrong with Vista. Most the time its operator error. :smile:

[Not Asleep]

so is the iPhone 3g a good thing to get? I have a 8g ipod touch right now but im thinking about getting a 3g because you dont have to have wi-fi to get on. There are a few other reasons but also because i want a nice phone. Does it have alot of problems or is this one the only problem you've had

[harleygold]

I've got a 3g and I've not had one problem since I bought it. I even jailbroke it. I noticed on jailbreak it runs a little slower. I restored it and it runs just like I bought it. Good phone. Actually best out there right now. :)

[barbie]

not exactly the same but I just flew from Dallas to Denver then onto Aspen and my phone crashed to a plain white screen. My mom's laptop didn't have itunes and we didn't have a good wi fi signal. It took like 5 hours to dl itunes, backup my phone, and restore it. It sucked. I only lost my wedding pictures, music, and ringtones for the remainder of the trip.

[kevlar08]

thanks for the tip

[Not Asleep]

I've got a 3g and I've not had one problem since I bought it. I even jailbroke it. I noticed on jailbreak it runs a little slower. I restored it and it runs just like I bought it. Good phone. Actually best out there right now. :)
thanks man

[iMeth]

thanks man

looking at that picture i think it's a female