14 DAY TRIAL // After posting and retracting a flawed software update that reportedly crippled some 40,000 iPhone 6 handsets, Apple yesterday pushed out a new firmware designed to fix the cellular reception problems, alongside other reported issues.
iOS 8.0.1 was rolled out to address some bugs in the HealthKit app, as well as to improve keyboard functionality and other stuff. As it turned out, it brought some new bugs with it, some actually more serious than the ones before them.
The cellular fiasco
An hour after releasing iOS 8.0.1, Apple received word that people’s iPhone 6s were no longer working properly. Of those that managed to trap themselves in the new firmware, around 40,000 discovered that their phones didn’t have a signal anymore.
The company then pulled the firmware from its servers and published an acknowledgement, adding that it had a workaround:
“You can reinstall iOS 8 through iTunes by following the instructions below. We are also preparing iOS 8.0.2 with a fix for the issue, and will release it as soon as it's ready in the next few days,” the company said.
iOS 8.0.2 appears to do the trick
In all fairness, both the iOS 8.0 downgrade and today’s iOS 8.0.2 appear to have worked for most people.
Visit that same support document again and Apple itself states confidently that “iOS 8.0.2 is available now. It fixes the loss of cellular service and use of Touch ID that may have affected you if you have an iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus and you downloaded iOS 8.0.1. It includes improvements and bug fixes originally in iOS 8.0.1.”
However, not everyone would agree.
Some users are still having problems
As we relayed earlier today, some customers down under are reporting ongoing troubles under the new firmware. It seems iOS 8.0.2 is not able to fix cellular reception in all areas of the globe, and there’s at least one account of iOS 8.0 failing to establish a connection to the cell towers.
It’s possible that these people either live in areas with poor reception or that their operator needs to send them some carrier updates. The phones themselves could be flawed. It wouldn’t be unheard of.
Of course, these are just a few isolated cases. But it’s still worth investigating. Anyone here still having problems with their iPhone 6 under iOS 8.0 / 8.0.2? How about those still running iOS 8.0.1? What’s your experience been?