Saturday, July 12, 2008

iPhone 2.0 Black Screen of Death

When using iPhone 2.0 applications, I've seen the iPhone Black Screen of Death (not to be confused with the M$ Blue Screen of Death) several times. It occurs when accessing some iPhone Applications. When it occurs, here are the steps I used to reset my iPhone.It would be nice to see a KB article on the Apple or A$ site!

1. Turn iPhone off and on -- Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button for a few seconds until the red slider appears and then slide the slider. Then press and hold the Sleep/Wake button unti the Apple logo appears.

2. Press and hold the [Home] button for at least six seconds, until the application you are using quits. (This worked several times for me.)

3. Reset the Phone - Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button and the Home button until the Apple log appears. (This worked for me serveral times).

4. Reattach the phone to iTunes. (This always worked but my laptop was always with me.)

Friday, July 11, 2008

iPhone 2.0 Upgrade - Restoring iPhone Software - won't restore

When upgrading to my iPhone 1.0 Edge to the new iPhone 2.0 software using my Dell laptop, the restore would would always freeze at the end of the Restoring iPhone Software dialog box below. Apple has a KB article on how to fix this, but none of those options ever worked for me. The last time this occurred, I had to bring my iPhone to Apple and they gave me a new phone.


Here was the only option that worked for me today.

1. I synched my iPhone on my Dell. This is my main PC since I use Microsoft Outlook and all of my iTunes songs etc. on on this computer.
2. I synched my iPhone on a MacBook and downloaded the iPhone 2.0 Software but did not intall it.
3. I installed the iPhone 2.0 Software or firmware update on my Dell Laptop and started the upgrade process. It backed up my iPhone and started the upgrade process. When the screen appeared to lock (it was at the above screen for almost a hour) I disconnected the iPhone from the USB cable.
3. I connected my iPhone which displayed the Connect to iTunes screen to my MacBook and followed the screen prompts to install the iPhone 2.0 software.
4. The Apple Activation servers were down at the time so I had to click [OK] and Music and the iPhone until it finally gave me the activation screen.
5. When the activation and restore was completed, my iPhone was activated but my iPhone contacts, calendar and settings were missing. I connected my iPhone to my Dell laptop and followed the screen prompts to restore the iPhone software.

It worked! I am now running my iPhone Edge on the new iPhone 2.0 software! It's very cool!

iTunes Store Down - An unknown error occurred (-9838)

As of 10:20 a.m. today E.T., The iTunes Store is down for iPhone activations. Here are the error messages you receive using the Mac and Windows. There servers are no doubt over loaded because of all the users trying to upgrade to iPhone 2.0. I'm sure some are having problems installing this upgrade which will make their phone unsable if they can't restore.

Mac iTunes Error Message



Windows Error Message

iPhone 2.0 5A347 218.2 MB Now Available

iPhone 2.0 North America update

At 8:22 a.m. Eastern Time, I just downloaded this file from iTunes on my Mac. It was available from iTunes when I clicked Check Update. The file name is:

iPhone1,1_2.0_5A347_Restore.ipsw

The file size is: 218.2 MB on disk

I have a 4GB iPhone 1.0.

I just noticed as of 9:00 a.m., it is now available on Windows too.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

iTunes 7.7 now available on Mac OS only

iTunes 7.7 is now available for download on Mac OS Software Update. The actual version number is 7.7 (43). It is not available for Windows yet. This update is the first step to installing or upgrading the new Apple iPhone Software from 1.1.4 to the new Apple iPhone Software 2.0 on July 11, 2008.

If you are planning on upgrading to the new iPhone 3G, I would make sure you backup and synchronize your iPhone prior to upgrading. That said, it is possible that your phone can become locked or damaged during the upgrade process and if you are not technical, you might want to wait for several weeks to put on the upgrade since the Apple Stores and AppleCare Telephone Technical Support wil be very busy on and after the July 11, 2008 iPhone 3G launch.

See this link from the Apple website for more info on upgrading to the iPhone 3G.


Tuesday, July 08, 2008

iPhone 3G - July 11, 2008 Info

Here is some info on the iPhone 3G launch on July 11, 2008 that I found on the web.