Some reports of iTunes issues while upgrading to 3.0
A bit late to the party, I started the process of updating my iPhone at 3:00 PM Eastern. iTunes downloaded the update without a problem, but the install process was halted with the error message:
"The iPhone [your iPhone] cannot be updated at this time because the iPhone activation server is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later."
From there I've got two options: OK, which simply closes the dialog box, and More Information, which points a browser to a Knowledge Base article on iPhone activation issues. Mike also noted the appearance of an error -4 dialog earlier.
It looks to us like Apple's servers are getting slammed hard. A bit of patience ought to do the trick; you might also benefit from restarting both iTunes and your iPhone. Still, the whole thing makes me feel like Veruca Salt: "But I want an Oompa Loompa NOW!"
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
jcknotts said 4:06PM on 6-17-2009
I got that too. After I got really frustrated, I rebooted my Mac and all worked fine... Weird...
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climberbuff said 3:54PM on 6-17-2009
i've been there for the last hour. I knew I should have just updated to the GM and dealt with all these people. At least I have 10a38 sl :)
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Bryan said 3:55PM on 6-17-2009
I've been seeing this for about a half hour now too. Thanks for the update! Hopefully I can join the cool 3.0 kids soon!
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richard.singleton said 3:56PM on 6-17-2009
and they didn't see it coming that everyone wanted to install the software....?
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SamBarry said 3:56PM on 6-17-2009
Just turn your internet off while its extracting so it misses the activation process, no harm, mines installed completely fine.
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jrbtempe said 4:01PM on 6-17-2009
Sorry Sam, no dice. Won't even let me attempt the update without Internet...!
teehod1982 said 4:17PM on 6-17-2009
Hey that worked perfectly for me! Thanks for the tip!
Technowiz said 6:12PM on 6-17-2009
Worked for me too.
pank said 5:58PM on 6-17-2009
Worked like a charm :) Thanks for the tip...
waiownsyou said 3:55PM on 6-17-2009
I got that. I kept clicking update after each error and after the 4th attempt, it worked.
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Jeff said 6:40PM on 6-17-2009
Basically the same deal here... but i think it was like the 8th try for me. :(
everything works great though. :)
georgethemac said 3:56PM on 6-17-2009
I'm getting the error 1604 when I try to update to 3.0. If you have any suggestions on how to fix it, please let me know!
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wonder said 3:57PM on 6-17-2009
I did a full download. It started the install and I walked away. I come back to see the USB cable to iTunes logo come up and my phone is now not registered. I can not get into the menu at all. iTunes is not able to reach the store, network timeout. So it appears mine is offline until iTunes servers can be reached
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Drakhul said 4:00PM on 6-17-2009
Just keep trying, it will go through. The activation servers are just getting slammed.
Gate said 4:09PM on 6-17-2009
I was "on hold" with it for two hours. Got the error 4 and couldn't do anything. Just had that usb plug icon on there. Thought I had bricked it.
Unknown said 3:58PM on 6-17-2009
i was stuck in emergency mode, but then did a hard reboot and was met with a notification on the iphone screen saying "iphone waiting to activate." 45 seconds another notification popped on the iphone screen saying "iphone activated." Everything has gone swimmingly since though. (US w/ AT&T.)
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Desterado said 3:58PM on 6-17-2009
I've never had a software update issue or an iPhone update issue ever, but somehow without fail there are always tons of people who do. Am I smarter than everyone else or something? I don't get it...
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1249 said 4:01PM on 6-17-2009
Nope. Just a big prick
Desterado said 4:03PM on 6-17-2009
Well, if being a prick means I never have these silly issues, then so be it.
1249 said 4:06PM on 6-17-2009
I don't think anybody's intelligence (or how big of a prick they are) can control whether or not the iPhone activation server gets overloaded.