The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has issued a warning advising all members not to upgrade to the latest version of Apple’s iOS, regardless of the device they own. A problem with Microsoft Exchange Calendar synchronization apparently deleted some users’ calendars, leaving slow email synchronization as the least of their problems.

“Since the release of the iPhone iOS 4 software this week, there have been numerous reports of problematic behaviors. One of the major issues, experienced by some users on campus, is that the Exchange Calendar is not appearing in the calendar on the iPhone”, the MIT warns in a report entitled “Problems with iPhone iOS 4 Upgrade”. The institute adds that, “This behavior does not seem to be related to settings. There have been no confirmed updates or notifications from Apple regarding this issue, but there is a lengthy thread brewing on the Apple Discussions board”, the Massachusetts-based private research university claims. A link to that very thread is provided.

Those who rely on Microsoft's communications server have been left with completely blank calendars and bad email synchronization, according to the advisory. While some would rush to blame Microsoft for this awful glitch, Apple Discussions users reportedly indicate that synchronization issues began after installing iOS 4. As Softpedia reported last week, there are various other issues surrounding the new software. According to one customer’s forum post, Apple was aware users of iPhone 3G handsets would run into upgrade issues.

“MIT has created a bug report with Apple”, the advisory continues. “At this time, IS&T recommends that anyone who has not already updated their iPhone or iPod software to iOS 4 refrain from doing so – at least until Apple rolls out some type of solution.” According to the university’s heads, “If you have upgraded to iOS 4 and are experiencing this issue, please send email to IS&T's Mobile Devices Team. Users who have updated to iOS 4 but are not experiencing these issues can continue with business as usual”, the advisory ends.