Apple iPhone Support Blows It – Big Time
I was researching a problem I ‘ve had with WiFi on my iPhone ever since I inflicted upon myself installed the 3.1.1 update. Essentially, after a minute or three, I am unable to do anything on the Internet, even though my WiFi connection is still there, full, and strong.
As I mentioned in a previous post, there is a workaround “ to set a static IP address. However, this is obviously less than optimal in an environment with several hundred access points across a wide area like mine.
So, this evening, I was looking on Apple ‘s support site to see if there were any updated nuggets of wisdom. What I found was one of the most completely and utterly ludicrous suggestions from a highly respected company that I have ever seen. Ever.
At the end of a list of basic suggestions is the following:
If you are still unable to join a Wi-Fi network, or are unable to access the Internet while connected, try the following
- Restart the device
- Hold the power button until "slide to power off" appears. Slide to power off your device. When it is off, press the power button to turn it back on.
- Reset network settings by selecting Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings. Note: This will reset all network settings, including passwords, VPN, and APN settings.
- iPhone only: If you continue to experience issues, consider turning off Wi-Fi and using the cellular data connection instead of Wi-Fi.
(from http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1398; emphasis mine)
This is a sorry example of ‘support ‘. Telling a customer to simply discontinue use of a product feature and pretend that everything is fine is shockingly embarrassing.
So I had to wonder if Apple would make similar ‘support ‘ suggestions:
- If the phone portion were to fail, should we just use Skype on WiFi and call it good?
- If the GPS fails, should we figure out our location and drop pins?
- If the camera fails, do we carry a digital camera around?
And pray tell, what are iPod users supposed to do? Oh, nothing. Right.
Sorry Apple, as an IT professional who has offered support on numerous products, I call FAIL on this one. You ‘re (supposed to be) better than this.
Oh, and by the way “ fix my WiFi, please. You see, I don ‘t have access to cellular data here in Iraq, so I really kinda need it. OK? Thanks.
Ironically I remember reading that you were nervous about jailbreaking, turns out, Apple's software has caused you more headaches than jailbreaking (or so it would appear). I don't mean to pour salt in an open would man, just noting an ironic happenstance.
I would be intensely frustrated if I were you, but just to play devil's advocate— their support document could reference a situational issue, rather than a 'chronic' condition. What I mean is this: my iphone is fine, but there have been many times I've tried to connect to a local Wifi (in my school's hospital, etc.), but for a variety of authentication or signal power issues, I would have troubles. In these situations, keeping Wifi on actually led to infinite wait-times and time-outs as it tried to authenticate with bad credentials or simply didn't get strong enough signal. Therefore, the ideal solution in these cases was to turn off the Wifi and use 3G. Again, clearly this is not a long term solution, but it is possible the document was written, in part, to address all cases, including the one I just described in which turning off Wifi is really the only on-the-spot solution.
sorry for the headache– i can't imagine going through what you are going through!
I don't think it's addressing a situational issue since the other solutions involve resetting the network settings and restoring your iPhone — which seems a tad extreme. Similarly, I have doubts that Apple would combine a situational response like "turn off WiFi" with a chronic response like "restore your iPhone" in the same KB article, given their penchant for catering to the non-tech savvy consumer.
Thats a good laugh. I have the same issue. My iphone connects to my wifi but after a few minutes I cant do anything on the internet even thought my connection is there and strong. It used to be a daily thing, get home from work, bam wifi goes on. I just realized the other night that I no longer do this because it seems like every time I do I just get ticked off and switch back to 3g. Now that you mention it, I think this started happening when I upgraded from 3.0.1 to 3.1.2. ATT complains about our data usage being so high, but maybe if my wifi actually worked, 3g data usage would go down.
What else are they supposed to tell you that is going to make you feel better? You’re an idiot.
I'll go with: "Apple is aware of the issue and a fix is planned for the next firmware release".
My WIFI was better on 3.0, but I needed to upgrade for several apps. Overall, I am quite happy with the latest firmware, but I waited like 2 months until I was willing to test it. What is more amazing to me, that your post doesn't mention, and is not unique to Apple (cough: Parallels), is that a large number of users… say 100 will post about an issue then months later another user will build or discover a workaround. Meanwhile the company doesn't even acknowledge it. I can appreciate not wanting to resource experts for every random post, but when you get over 100 users saying they have an issue at the least say we have become aware of this and are fixing it (and then actually fix it).
I have stayed a Netflix customer because they heard about a streaming outage that could have affected me over one weekend (it didn't), but they discounted that entire month for 1/2 off.
What if Apple not only acknowledged problems, and fixed them timely, but compensated individuals with say something like 1 iTunes download valued < $5.00. Last night I took my MacBook in due to a physical failure (the palm rest cracked, a well documented defect). They fixed my in-warranty machine, but the hour + wait and 1hr in 20 minutes in the car wasn't how I wanted to spend the night. Had they just said "Hey, while you wait, we will give you 5 % of anything in the store tonight, or a free download" I would have felt a lot better about the experience.
Many WiFi connectivity issues have been fixed in the past by the jailbroken firware created by Pwnage. Consider doing a jb and then wipe to a standard restore if you like stock firmware.
Got any links discussing it? I'd be interested to read the experiences.
I'm not any kind of computer expert but I'd want to know why a problem would affect a handful of phones but not the majority. Surely it must be one of the following three reasons: 1 Dodgy hardware. 2 dodgy operating system software, firmware, base band or things I don't really understand but non hardware stuff that comes with the phone. 3 Conflict with installed software. These are the three ways in which a phone can vary from the millions of others stamped out in the same factory. So if its 1, hardware then apple have to admit it (unlikely). For 2 Is there a way to completely flatten an i phone and re install everything ie not just the firmware but everything to do with the operating system?. Surely apple must be able to do this even if a user can't? And if it's 3 will a reinstall of the firmware but not the apps from back up maybe tethering to a different computer help? I'm sure you have tried option 3. What am I missing in my logic?
P.s love the broken mirror apple logo..