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Warn HN: Apple "bricked" my iPhone - Do your research before you "upgrade"

3 points by frank_boyd ↗ HN
TL;DR - Want to keep your iPhone operating system updated (security patches)? Apple will have you buy a new iPhone sooner than you want.

Yesterday, I thought, battery drainage caused by iPhone OS "upgrades" must be "fixed" by now, so I "upgraded" my iPhone 3GS to OS version 6.1.3.

Boy was I was wrong. That "issue" seems to be strategy: After less than approx. 18 hours in stand-by mode only (absolutely no calls/SMS/MMS/emails/WiFi/bluetooth/screen usage/etc.!), it was dead.

Before the "upgrade", it ran for 3-4 days.

Apple has successfully devalued my iPhone. I will not get a fair price on ebay for it, anymore.

2 things come to mind:

1. Apple has just announced that they now offer you a better price for a new iPhone if you turn your old one in. The catch: You get significantly less than on Ebay (where you also get cash = you're free to leave the platform).

2. A new iPhone is coming out.

Coincidence? Who knows. But it feels like being locked up in an Apple prison:

a) We're neither allowed to replace the battery (which could have helped a tiny bit)

b) nor to downgrade iOS.

So we're just left with trashing our phones and buying new ones.

The parallel to Microsoft's model:

It's an unwritten "contract" between Microsoft (MS) and the hardware and chip vendors (OEMs): MS keeps bloating Windows, so that consumers are forced to buy new hardware on a regular basis. The OEMs return the favor by preserving MS's Windows monopoly by pre-installing it (forcing the consumer to pay for a copy of Windows they don't need).

Result: A hardware-software upgrade cycle that forces us to spend money, when we have no actual need for a new versions of the products. Apple now plays both sides of this game.

But I'm not playing anymore.

14 comments

[ 7.3 ms ] story [ 59.5 ms ] thread
frank_boyd
If you ask what the real solution is:

IMO, it's open-source software:

1. It has no interest in selling you any hardware

2. It is a lot more resource-friendly

3. The hardware is a lot cheaper

mattlutze
Except for Android[1], FirefoxOS[2] and UbuntuOS[3].

1. http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2013/08/inside-story-of-moto-...

2. http://blog.mozilla.org/press/2013/07/mozilla-and-partners-p...

3. http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/ubuntu-edge

frank_boyd
What do you mean? Why except for FirefoxOS or Ubuntu?

FirefoxOS runs on the cheapest phones ever. And even Ubuntu runs on a cheap Galaxy Nexus...

mattlutze
Like Google, both Mozilla and Canonical have shown an interest in selling hardware.

If the Ubuntu Edge campaign had gotten traction Canonical would absolutely have pushed forward and marketed that sucker hard. I would be surprised to not see another phone attempt from them in the next 18-24 months.

FirefoxOS gets market traction if those phones sell, because the conversion rate of Android phone users to picking up FirefoxOS is going to be very small.

fr0stycr4ck
You can downgrade iOS using iTunes with the device in DFU mode.
frank_boyd
I've never heard of that. Do you have link?
speedyapoc
You can't downgrade to any version below 6.1.3 on an iPhone 3GS once you've already upgraded there.
drill_sarge
So what you are trying to say is that Apple has a giant masterplan to cause battery drain on older phones? ok.

I don't own an iphone, but I would suggest to wipe and reflash and replace battery

frank_boyd
> I would suggest to wipe and reflash and replace battery

That's my point.

You can't replace any battery. Apple does not give you access to the battery.

Reflash how? I don't see how you can do that with Apple.

jayrobin
Actually, replacing components in an iPhone is relatively straightforward (if a bit fiddly). The home button on my iPhone 4 went completely (apparently a common issue): I bought a new one including tools for <$5 on Amazon and, following detailed instructions online, had replaced it in about an hour.

Looking on Amazon, you could buy a replacement battery+tools for about the same price.

frank_boyd
Just watched a how-to video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEmlPK9R6Og), you better be the electronics DIY guy for that.
jayrobin
My electronics skills are pretty much limited to upgrading my PC, so I was fully expecting to brick my iPhone in the process. Once you actually open it up though, everything slots in very nicely and obviously. The only tricky bit was keeping track of the different sized mini-screws and making sure I put them back in the right place.

I followed an ifixit.com guide (like this: http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Replacing+iPhone+3GS+Battery/154...) which, combined with the video, was very easy to follow.

Alternatively, you could probably find somewhere to do it for you for maybe $50 or so (still cheaper than Apple), but I doubt they'd use anything more than the cheap stuff you find on Amazon.

Still, it's worth following the other suggestions first and seeing if you can downgrade the iOS version.