Turn off Airplane Mode before updating your iPhone firmware
I finally updated my iPhone to 2.2.1 today, and after a reboot I got the screen that says it needs to verify or authenticate the SIM card. Unfortunately, that failed because, while I do have a SIM card in there, I do not have AT&T service -- and I had the cell radio turned off. My iPhone is never used as a phone (I don't have T-Mobile in my area, so even unlocking it would be useless). I wound up restoring the iPhone, which took a couple of hours, but apparently there's a better way.Danny Goodman on the Apple Discussion boards posts this "2.2.1 Upgrade and SIM Error (and Solution)" tip. My advice? Always turn off Airplane Mode before applying a firmware update. The phone wants to access the radio hardware during the upgrade, it seems, and disabling the cell radio makes this impossible. Thus, I was locked out of my phone for several hours today. As luck would have it, I stumbled upon this tip about 5 minutes after I started the restore process.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
elitemrp said 12:45PM on 1-31-2009
I used to turn it on so I wouldn't get any calls during updates, and it worked fine until the last firmware upgrade. Luckily the emergency call feature said it needed to turn airplane mode off to continue and that allowed it to be activated after getting that error. Scared me for a bit though!
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duh said 12:47PM on 1-31-2009
What a dummy, you restored it???? Why didn't you just quickpwn it... Would have been accessible in 5 mins...
And how does restoring take a couple of hours?!??!
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Victor Agreda Jr said 4:37PM on 1-31-2009
It took a couple of hours because... well, you'll have to ask Apple. All I know is that between the time I clicked the button to restore and the time it was done, several hours had passed. Normally I would chalk it up to glitches in the space-time continuum, but all my TV shows appeared at the right time, so I guess I'm right.
Bob said 12:53PM on 1-31-2009
Try calling a 1-800 number as an emergency call. You will be prompted to disable Airplane mode, which you can. Re-connect to iTunes, and your golden!
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AG said 1:19PM on 1-31-2009
Why not just get an iPod Touch. Isn't that the point of the iPod Touch? To have an iPod similar to the iPhone without actually needing an iPhone? Unless it was given to you or you had one before you moved or something. In which case, I'm sorry to have asked such a stupid question.
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buck said 1:36PM on 1-31-2009
I have an iPhone being used as an iTouch because I wanted the extra hardware (external speakers for sharing videos, camera for easy snapshots) and the ability to expand into using the cellular radio when cost, need, and/or available funds allow. I can buy a SIM card when travelling and add local service to the device, which I can't do with my Sprint phone (which I only keep because I'm locked into a great monthly price from a few years back).
Howie Isaacks said 1:00PM on 1-31-2009
This is stupid. Why in the hell would you want to have an iPhone if you're not going to use it as a phone? Just buy a damn iPod Touch! When people bitch and whine about their problems with their hacked, unlocked, jail broken iPhones, I couldn't care less. When you make a choice to use a device or software in an unsupported manner you should accept responsibility for your choice and, not complain. I prefer that my iPhone work properly above my desire for it to have features that it doesn't have right now. I hate the restrictions that come along with it but, I can deal with the restrictions as long as Apple makes a great product.
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Ryan M said 1:07PM on 1-31-2009
I don't think Victor was blaming Apple for his problem or suggest that they support or fix it for him. I do believe he was (Understandably) frustrated when his hackie didn't work, and so he was telling us how to prevent that.
How could he have shared this information without it coming across as whining?
Phelim said 1:29PM on 1-31-2009
Read before you post. Victor's iPhone is not hacked, unlocked or jailbroken. Just not being used with AT&T.
mark said 1:48PM on 1-31-2009
Why don't you stay out of threads like this if your sensibilities are so OFFENDED by anything you don't like or can't understand?
Stick to posting on topics where you can help develop the discussion.
starkruzr said 2:30PM on 1-31-2009
This problem had nothing to do with jailbreak, which, by the way, does not break and has never broken phones or iPods. It had to do with having Airplane Mode on (an Apple-supported feature) while upgrading the firmware (an Apple-supported feature).
Your comment is remarkably ignorant.
"When you make a choice to use a device or software in an unsupported manner you should accept responsibility for your choice and, not complain."
First, there are no complaints to make about jailbreak itself, and second, there are a number of highly valid complaints to make about Apple's iron-fist approach to controlling all the devices they sell. Apple has a bad habit of forgetting that once the device passes into the customer's hands, it NO LONGER BELONGS TO THEM.
Bill Jobs said 9:48AM on 2-01-2009
I don't use my iPhone as a phone.
I got it as a gift, and I'm a loyal customer of Verizon, so I just jailbroke it and I use it as a glorified iPod touch with a camera, speakers, and mic. I'm rarely in an area without WiFi - so that's not a problem. Then I know in the future if I ever want to leave Verizon I don't have to go out and buy another phone. It works for me...obviously its not the right solution for everyone.
Ryan M said 1:08PM on 1-31-2009
and by "suggest" I meant "suggesting" of course, tragedy of proof-reading /as/ you hit submit.
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Nic Wise said 1:10PM on 1-31-2009
I had this problem last year - I was overseas and upgraded to 2.1 (I think). Had to re-activate when I got back to the UK, as it wouldn't go back on the O2 network....
Just did a restore and back to normal.
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thekevinmonster said 1:25PM on 1-31-2009
I've never had this happen, even though I leave airplane mode on when I update at work.
Also, does the author have a 1st gen or a 3G? The 3G has GPS, which neither iPod Touch generation has. Both iPhone models also have a camera, which neither iPod Touch model has, as well as an included microphone and a speaker that does not exit through the back panel of the device (like the iPod 2nd gen.)
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Kai Cherry said 1:37PM on 1-31-2009
No, no, no...you are all getting it wrong.
Why does a .1 update need to mess with the *radios* to make safari "more stable"?
:)
-K
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Laurie said 2:27PM on 1-31-2009
I keep Airplane Mode enabled on my 3G most of the day (I don't use the iPhone as my primary phone) and did the firmware update the other day, with Airplane Mode still engaged. I encountered no errors or problems during - or since.
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jason said 2:44PM on 1-31-2009
For an earlier upgrade on my Gen 1 phone, when I did an update in Airport mode, the phone got totally confused since it couldn't connect to AT&T in Airport mode, and I had to restore to factory settings to get it working again...
It sounds like they've fixed that "bug" (feature), but now I always make sure that Airport mode is OFF before I do updates to play it safe, since it's certainly a fringe case...
http://www.gravityswitch.com
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411macjunkie said 3:14PM on 1-31-2009
Strange. I updated the firmware and didn't encounter any problems with airplane mode enable.
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Gazoobee said 3:20PM on 1-31-2009
This has to be the dumbest "article" (and the dumbest comments on said article) I have seen on this site yet.
First, .... Duuuhhhhh!
( to those trying to update the phone while in airplane mode)
Why the f*ck would anyone want to put a phone into airplane mode when updating? This makes no sense whatsoever unless you are hacking the phone in some way and want to "avoid detection" or some such bull. I can't believe how many people responded with the fact that they too update their phone in airplane mode. You are all just total dumb-asses for doing this.
Secondly, "Howie Issacks" above is perfectly accurate, this is a hacked phone (which is why he was updating in airplane mode prolly), and whatever happens to an hacked phone when updating it with Apple's stuff is no ones fault but the user. Period.
Third, it's been known since about five minutes after it came out that the latest update updates the radio firmware in order to stop the recent success in unlocking. Of course it's going to need to access the radio.
Again .... DDDUUUUUHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
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