It’s hardly been four days since Apple released four major software updates, and they’re already taking heavy fire for being super-buggy!
We’ve got two reports of malfunctioning OSes for you. One from iOS and one from the Mac OS X. Here’s the full report
The iOS Problem
A bug in iOS 9.3 is causing older devices to brick.
A whole bunch of people from across the globe started encountering activation and installation errors when they tried upgrading to iOS 9.3. In extreme cases the issue caused bricking of iPhones and iPads, rendering them useless.
The problem seems to be prevalent majorly among the older models, most notably those manufactured before late 2012.
Although the exact nature of the problem is not clear, it has been associated to issues arising out of “password authorization during the update process”, according to iMore.
Apple has recognized the issue and has temporarily paused downloads for affected models even as it’s working on a fix. “For these older devices, we have temporarily pulled back the update and will release an updated version of iOS 9.3 in the next few days that does not require this step,” the company said in a statement.
NOTE: In case you have already encountered the problem, we suggest you refer to this Support Document issued to the public by Apple. You can, of course, write to us if the issue still persists, and we’ll do what we can to help you.
The Mac OS Problem
A number of users are having trouble signing into iMessages and FaceTime after updating to the latest version of Mac OS X, El Capitan 10.11.4
Software pundits are saying that this bug could be similar to, or a variation of, the bug that is causing the authentication problems in the iOS devices.
They are quick to clarify that “it is not a virus or an external bug”. It just means that Apple got a few (dozen) lines of coding wrong in the new software patches.
Predictably, users have taken to crowding Apple Support Communities in search of fellow users who might have faced a similar problem or to look for a solution.
One user, going by the screen-name of “traffsh0w” — whatever that means — posted this screenshot on one of the threads just two days back:
There is chatter of this being an iCloud server-side issue since one user has reported that the problem persisted even after he’d switched back to 10.10 Yosemite.
We’re yet to hear from Apple in any official capacity on the issue, and consequently, there hasn’t been any publicly available solution to it either.
Some people have tried regenerating their passwords or turning on/off two-step authentication methods for the services. The results haven’t been conclusive as there was no fixed outcome.
Software issues are always tricky as you cannot do anything about them. They leave the user completely at the mercy of company and a solution can usually takes weeks to come. Let’s just hope that it doesn’t have to come to that!
