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 […]
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Apple iPhone Support Blows It – Big Time

Dec 16th 2009 by

 Broken-Apple 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.

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