Readers report that update 5A240d is now available on the Dev Portal
Reports are streaming into TUAW that official iPhone developers have been hit this morning by the Pink Screen of Expired Release. Their beta licenses for the current 1.2/2.0 firmware distribution have expired as of 12:01am April 8th. Both iPhones and iPod touches now display the pink-backgrounded "This device is expired. Please install a newer version of the OS" activation screen and will do so until Apple issues a firmware refresh.
You can easily downgrade your iPhone or iPod touch from the PSOD. Just restore your iPhone or touch to an earlier firmware release. You will not be able to use your unit for development until Apple updates the developer release but you should be able to make phone calls.
iPhone hacker Nicholas "Drudge" Penree reports that you can bypass 1.2/2.0 activation using the dev team's pwnage tool. He writes that he is aware of 1.2/2.0 iPhones that are still working today.
[Via iPhoneDevHelp]
Thanks everyone who sent this in.
Update: Straight from our blue & green super-sekrit source: "I got bricked as well. Called ADC and they told me there was a new SDK. They said it was still labeled as the old SDK but that if I hovered over the link would show the new one. Not sure how the SDK would fix it vs. a new firmware but I'm downloading it now." I personally can't see any updated SDK material. Perhaps its only available to those accepted into the dev program. Other readers report that they do not see any updates--in the dev program pages or the general iPhone dev center ones.
Update 2: Another blue and green birdie sent us this, which has apparently been posted since the developer program opened: "Important note: Once you install the pre-release iPhone OS on your device, such device may only be used for development and testing purposes until the final (GM) version of the iPhone OS is released. In addition, you will need to install new versions of the software from time to time throughout the beta period. Failure to install the most current version will, after a period of time, put your device in a de-activated state. Updating to the most current version will re-activate your device so that you may continue testing."
Update 3: Apparently the new (possibly 5A240d) firmware seed has only been released to Enterprise developers so far according to yet another blue & green birdie. This birdie tweets that the seed note is quite extensive and includes "unsettling" details. It looks like a lot of device hangs and system restores are in developer futures.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
4-08-2008 @ 10:34AM
Timothy said...
Did you mean April, 8th?
Reply
4-08-2008 @ 10:51AM
stoneymonster said...
This seems like really poor planning on somebody's part....
not that I've been invited into the program yet anyway ;)
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4-08-2008 @ 11:23AM
Patrick said...
I woke up to this disaster too...
Following the downgrade instructions worked, but I was not able to connect to the network to make phone calls.
Apple must have seen this coming...and now I'm stuck without a phone. The installation warning they gave us to designate a phone for development only makes sense, but no way can I afford two iPhones.
Reply
4-08-2008 @ 11:37AM
Digitalleon said...
I purchased a refurbished Ipod touch for this reason. I'm not doing any development on my phone until this firmware issue is settled.
4-08-2008 @ 11:30AM
stainboy said...
poor planning on Apple's part. they should have had an update prepared for this. bad form.
Reply
4-08-2008 @ 11:36AM
Pete said...
Mine was working a half hour ago but now has gone pink.
Luckly, instead of using my iPhone for development I bought an iPod Touch.
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4-08-2008 @ 11:43AM
super-sekrit said...
Well the SDK didn't fix anything. ADC pretty much said I had a brick until a new firmware was released.
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4-08-2008 @ 11:57AM
Anson said...
The Dev Center shows the iPhone OS and SDK versions as currently 5A225c, but the SDK link still points to the 9a2151 version. It seems like the 5A225c version is newer than the 9a2151 version, so maybe it's a recent refresh?
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4-08-2008 @ 2:02PM
Alex said...
The 9a2151 build of the SDK contains the frameworks for the 5A225c build of the iPhone/iPod Touch firmwares. These were last updated on around 3/27/08. As far as I can tell, no new firmware of SDK has been released yet
4-08-2008 @ 12:04PM
Eric said...
hmmm ... now it looks like the apple support discussions site is down after removing the threads regarding the pink screen issue.
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4-08-2008 @ 12:19PM
Robert Brown said...
Where on earth would the firmware be within the current SDK. I know it is now out of date but where would I get a hold of the 2.0 firmware?
Is the firmware supplied as part of the SDK or do you have to be accepted on the iPhone developer program?
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4-08-2008 @ 12:54PM
Dan said...
To get the firmware legally you must be a member of the iPhone developer program. The firmware is not provided with the SDK.
4-08-2008 @ 12:42PM
pjcabrera said...
Wow, great way to build developer relations there, Apple! ROFLWTF
Reply
4-08-2008 @ 12:46PM
super-sekrit said...
Re: Update #2
The issue is that there is NOT a newer version to update to!
Reply
4-08-2008 @ 12:51PM
Justin said...
5A225c is the latest available as far as I can tell. It is the version 2.0 firmware.
I had a brick until I rolled back to 1.1.4, but now I don't have any of my data. I knew it was going to happen at some point.
Reply
4-08-2008 @ 1:00PM
super-sekrit said...
How did you roll back to 1.1.4?
4-08-2008 @ 1:22PM
Justin said...
To revert to 1.1.4, I followed the instructions in PSOD link in this post:
http://www.tuaw.com/2008/04/02/downgrading-your-2-0-iphone-from-the-pink-screen-of-death/
Which they originally pulled from:
http://command-interactive.com/
The tricky part was after the restore, I kept getting the 1015 Error, and I couldn't figure out how to get around it. I think I just unplugged the iPhone and quit iTunes, then plugged it back in and it worked again.
4-08-2008 @ 1:03PM
Sojourner said...
Re: Update #2
A lot of hangs and restores were already in my present for the past firmware release. You mean to tell me it gets WORSE?!?
Reply
4-08-2008 @ 1:04PM
Tired_ said...
This is Apple scrambling. Pay attention...you don't see this every day. When Steve announced the iPhone, he made a big deal about how users didn't really need or want native apps...so much so that Apple was completely blindsided by the jailbreak community and the obviously expressed desire of the users for more native functionality. So, they are bringing out the SDK now with a shotgun to their head, something they weren't expecting or planning to bring about at all. Apple always seems to prefer perfect launches with massive amounts of preparation (doesn't everyone?), but they're not getting it this time, and to top it all off they are under a huge spotlight because of their initial oversight. I can't remember the last time I've seen Apple misstep like this...it's reassuring to see the feet of clay every once in a while.
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4-08-2008 @ 1:29PM
Dan said...
Who knows whether or not Apple was planning the SDK from the beginning. Remember that they had to redirect developers from the Leopard project to work on the iPhone to make the set release date. It's possible the SDK was already planned, but they just now are getting on track for its release. Public APIs need to be done right.