Apple Sorry For iOS 8 Woes

Back In My Day, Phones Made Calls

Just over two weeks ago, Apple CEO Tim Cook stood upon a California stage to announce a shiny plastic rectangle. Minutes later, human beings around the world took to the streets in celebration; they took out payday loans in anticipation; they sold their kidneys in desperation. The iPhone 6 had been revealed (in sizes XL and XXL), and its price was high enough to bankrupt a small continent.

The new iPhone, we were told, was the phone of our collective dreams. Its incredible camera would revolutionise Instagram with its ability to take high definition snaps in low light. Its gratuitously large screen meant we’d never make a typo again when racing to frape our Facebook friends. Its shinybrandnewness meant it was shiny and brand new. This was the phone that, if your great Granddad didn’t buy it, would make your whole family become instantly uncool. It really did do everything. Except, for some, make phone calls.

This morning, Apple have officially apologised for a bug in the briefly released iOS 8.0.1 update that left some iPhone 6 users unable to make and receive phone calls. The firmware, designed to fix the phone's teething problems, also interfered with its fingerprint touch ID feature. A list of networks confirmed to be affected included Vodafone in Germany, Rogers in Canada, EE in the UK and AT&T and Verizon in the US - some of the largest carriers in their respective countries.

iPhone users took to social networks and official Apple forums to complain about their problems. In turn, Apple apologised for what they admitted was a "great inconvenience".

Dear Apple, defending the size of my #iPhone6Plus has become impossible now you've turned it into an oversized ironing board #iOS801
— Tariq El-Hoss (@tjhossy) September 25, 2014

Apple have confirmed that another update will be released “in the next few days”. In the meantime, they have provided disgruntled users with instructions on how to revert the phone’s software to a previous, unbroken version.

For users who don’t have the time or patience to downgrade their phone with a tricky workaround, the good news is that other features should still work fine. While losing phone calls is a huge issue, there are plenty of apps that can replace them. You could even stick to trusty Twitter and Facebook until the next update. If, however, you do need the immediacy of a phone call, we advise following the guide and downgrading.

Despite Apple riding a wave of good press since the release of the much-lauded iPhone 6, negativity is coming back. Starting with their insane decision to force-feed users an entire U2 album (which they've since helped us remove) and continuing with rumours that the new iPhone is beginning to bend in people’s pockets, Apple needs to ensure the next update is a good one. 

Public opinion can turn very sour, very quickly.

Emile Cole

Emile is a postgrad from the University of Saint Mark and Saint John. He’s hoping to break into journalism or publishing, and won’t stop blogging until he’s managed it! Follow him @EmileAtSMF.

Contact us on Twitter, on Facebook, or leave your comments below. To find out about social media training or management why not take a look at our website for more info http://socialmediacambridge.co.uk/.