Apple's Epic Fail

As pretty much everyone knows, today, July 11th, 2008, was to be a big day for Apple, AT&T, and iPhone users worldwide. Apple, with AT&T, were to debut the iPhone 3g today at 8am. Apple was also releasing the firmware 2.0 update for original iPhone owners. The 2.0 update would fix some minor problems, edit some features, and add some new ones, most specifically the 'Apps' store. Things have not gone as planned.

Like almost all original iPhone users I tried to upgrade from firmware 1.1.4 to 2.0 this morning. Everything goes peachy until you have to reactivate the phone. Something happened. The iTunes servers failed. Why? Because of the sheer overload of people downloading the 2.0 update and reactivating their phones, not to mention people trying to activate new 3g models. Apple didn't see this coming? They have said that the first iteration of the iPhone sold over 6 million units. Did they not assume most of them would want the latest update almost immediately?


So just reboot/restore the phone, you say? Nu-uh. Ain't gonna happen. See you're phone is technically dead right now because it isn't activated. There is no way to restore it until it is. Good job Apple. What are we left with? Here is what I have right now...


All I can do is keep trying iTunes until I can reactivate. Not a big deal for me except that I don't have a land line so I have no form of telecommunication at the moment. However, there are people traveling and working; you'd be surprised how many people relied on this device to run their everyday lives. They are unable to make or receive calls and cannot access anything on-the-go. Pathetic.

I'm not an Apple fan to begin with, however obviously the iPhone really piqued my interest. I could do without Mac stuff, computer-wise, forever. But the iPhone I liked. However, Apple has completely failed it's loyal supporters and fans plus alienating anyone on the fence.

Am I being too harsh? No. This problem happened last year, too, and Apple did nothing to fix it more than 365 days later. A day that was supposed to be great for iPhone users has turned into a nightmare for them and the big business conglomerates.

Here are some articles that you may find interesting...
iPhone Crushing iTunes Store?
Apple Overwhelmed by iPhone 2.0 Update
iPhone 2.0 Update Wreaks Havoc on 1st-Gen Devices
The iPhone 2.0 Update - Don't Do it Kids
Apple's iPhone 2.0 Update is Failing
Others Get iPhone 3g, I Get iBrick 2
iTunes Store Problem Leaves iPhone Users Hanging


UPDATE: All is well. My phone finally unbricked when I was able to successfully connect through iTunes. My update completed in about 10 minutes and I restored my settings in 5 minutes. I started the update at 8:30am today and was finished at 3:30pm today. After 7 hours of trying many differnt things I have the iPhone 2.0. Bryan can vouch for me; I talked to him for almost 1 hour after my phone worked again. :-)