When iOS4 was announced everyone was really excited about the new features, including myself. When we learned that many of those features would not work on slightly older model of iPhone 3G the excitement was quickly gone, nevertheless Apple gave all its customer go ahead to upgrade their phones anyway.

Not thinking much about it, I have downloaded and installed the brand new iOS4 on my two years old iPhone 3G and quickly learned that it a huge mistake. My iPhone 3G has gotten slow, so slow for that matter that I was getting frustrated with it, but it was still fairly usable. In no time, Apple released another update called iOS 4.0.1 to address some of the issues which were present in the iOS4.0. Over the weekend I have downloaded it and installed on my iPhone 3G, thinking and hoping at the same time that the latest update will solve some of performance problems almost all iPhone 3G users started to report on Apple’s support forums.

What a mistake it was… I was pretty much without a working phone for two days. iOS4.0.1 not only made things worst, it basically bricked my iPhone 3G. I was unable to use it, because the phone would reboot itself every several minutes! While I was on a call, the phone would shut itself down, dropping the call! On the second day, my iPhone 3G  started cycle itself every 20-30 minutes quickly draining the battery within three hours from being full charged. Since there was no official way of going back to the previous OS 3.1.3, I have finally used Skype to call Apple Care to let them know what has happened (I no longer have a landline and did not have one for years).

Of course, initially I was told that there was nothing they could do for me, because the phone is no longer under the warranty (it is almost 2 years old and I did not get Apple Care for it when I bought back in August of 2008) so my only option was to either pay a fee to have them look at it or buy brand new iPhone 4 or iPhone 3Gs. Needless to say, it was totally unacceptable response for me and I had the call escalated quickly to more senior support level. From my point of view, it was Apple’s fault, because the my phone itself worked just fine until I downloaded and installed the new iOS4.0.1 operating system. My hardware itself was out-of-warranty, but the problem was not the hardware, it was the latest software (iOS4.0.1) my phone was running.

After explaining the issue again, running a “Restore” option in iTunes and even setting it up and restoring as a new phone (not from the back-up) the problem was still persistent. Finally we agree that there is nothing Apple Care could do at this point, but to replace my iPhone 3G entirely and free of charge. Luckily, I live just a few blocks from an Apple store, so they set-up appointment for me on Monday with the Genius Bar, so I could walk-in and have them replace my unit with a new unit running OS 3.1.3 When I was the Apple store they were very apologetic, replaced my iPhone 3G with exactly same unit but running the older version of the operating software.

I spent a good deal on Monday restoring all my applications on the phone, however some my data within applications were totally lost because of it. I could not restore it from the back-up as it would be mean that my phone would be back where it was over the weekend. I was told at the Apple store by the guy who was helping me, not to install iOS4 for the time being because I may be faced once again with the same issues. I was told that the hardware was not designed to run iOS4 and I should stick to the OS3.1.3 or upgrade to the new iPhone 4 when it comes out on Friday if I want to take advantage of the new features. Hopefully Apple is already working on the iOS 4.1 which will resolve these problems for everyone, but I do not think I will upgrade the OS again anytime soon – if at all…

I am happy that Apple pull through and replaced my iPhone 3G at no-charge, but I really wish they would have done some more homework on it to start with. Lesson from the whole experience: wait for a few weeks before you do any upgrades in the future, check Apple support forums first to see if anyone has any issues with it before you jump on it. If you have an older model of the iPhone I would recommend not bother upgrading it. It is not worth the aggravation. However I gained a brand new (or at least a fully refurbished, which in case of Apple is like getting a new unit) iPhone 3G with fresh battery etc., which hopefully will be good enough for another year. Next summer when my 3 year contract is up I will re-consider if I want to replace it with the newest model at the time or see if there are any other more advanced options on the market.  Thank you Apple for resolving my problem with the iPhone 3G, Apple Care specialists are truly outstanding.