When Apples bit back.

"This problem is not an OS 3.1 or 3.1.2 problem, that's just a cooincidence. The problem is the lack of ability to do a CLEAN install. "

Could not agree more. I know my iphone worked fine before OS 3.1, but ever since it has not.

The problem is I am 2 months out of warranty and still have 4 months left on my contract. My phone quite probabbly would work fine on 3.0 but does not like the 3.1 versions for some reason. Apple will be trying to fix it and it's easy to miss the odd bug that only affects a small percentage of users.

Even after waiting weeks for a fix the new fix did not work for me, it solved it for some but I must be in the unfortunate even smaller sub group where the problem was not solved, dispte removing all my free apps, hours of reinstallng iTunes, iPhone OS and playing with settings... The coma problem is creeping back in and slowlly getting worse again.

It has given me plenty of time to think about why the problem is there, what could be the cause and why Apple does not want us to use an old version of the OS.

Understanding a bit about software I can see how hard this bug is going to be to track down. From reading all the posts in the 3.1 threads, there seems very little in common between the people having the problem.

But equally I understand how easy it would be to add the function to itunes to allow you to download and install OS 3.0 clean install on the phone, it would barely take a good software engineer half a day to patch itunes with an option to load the latest OS or previous version.

This would be enough for most users, you could upgrade without fear knowing you could always roll back. So this leads us onto why we can't go back...

One obvious reason would be it's easier for developed only having to support one OS at a time. That's not a strong enough reason though, like the it's easier to support argument, you could offer the option with a warning you may have problems or lose support. So why the barrier? The most logical reason I can see is its part of the cat and mouse jailbreak game. If you can roll back its easier to hack your phone. This means that the reason we can't fix our phones is because Apple is in an anti-piracy race it feels it can only win by forcing everyone using their device to only run the latest version of their OS. Now I understand Apple's want to protect their revenue stream from the app store, but I for one will not be spending any more money at the app store while my phone is playing up, in fact I'm regretting the money I have invested so far.

Now if I have to hack my phone to go back to a version of the OS that works I might as well go the whole hog and get some of those grey apps. I'm not bothered about pirated apps, if it's priced right I'm happy to pay for stuff, but some of the non Apple approved free apps seem worth a look.

If Apple gave me an easy option I would not be bothered, but if I have to go through the bother of hacking my phone to get it
useable then it's worthy the little extra effort.

Not decided yet on whether its worth waiting this one out, with Apple you just don't know how long it will take.

What really bugs me is the fact that I did not know this was going to be the case when I bought the phone. Almost every updateable product I have bought so far has had the option to restore it to the same software that was on it when I bought it. Now I have a product I happy with, but the software has gone bad, I can't restore it to the same as when it was working, its out of warranty and I still have 4 months left to pay four it on my contract. Enough to make you frustrated, Any other device and I would not care but this is my only phone and I'm missing calls and unable to make some calls when I want to. I've even resorted to carrying my old iPod around with me so I can listen to music if I can't wake my phone!

So a more open option is looking like a good choice for my next phone. Although with every other phone OS now having a crack at an app store of their own you have to wonder if this could be the beginning of a dangerous trend. If all phones follow Apples lead, if you ever have to restore your phone you may only get the option to use the most recent OS. This in it's self is not bad but it seems unfair to have a shorter warranty than the contract and no way to roll back to the software you had while it was working within warranty.

The one thing I will be doing this weekend will be writing to all the UK and European regulators I can think of. I'm going to ask them to consider bringing in regulation where software updateable devices must give you the option to fully roll back the software to the same state as when you took it out of the box. I think the European Union could well pass something like this.

If you are having problems, would like the option to roll back or are scared of the possibility of an update killing your phone one day then do the same in your local area.