The release of one of Apple’s biggest updates to its mobile operating system yesterday was not without issues. As iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch owners flocked to their computers to upgrade their devices to the new OS, Apple’s servers were apparently caught off guard.
The first snag many noticed was the estimated download time for the software. As more people downloaded iOS 5, some began to see prolonged wait times, sometimes up to a few hours. The problems only got worse from there.
During the activation, many reported getting a 3200 error code, which effectively stopped the process to restore and reboot their device. Other errors included notifications that the software update server could not be contacted, or that one’s device simply could not be restored. This was cause for some anxiety for some, since during the installation they had wiped the data from their phone and were for it to be restored.
It’s not clear exactly how widespread the problem was, but the term “3200 error” briefly became a trending topic on Twitter.
Music tech blogger Elliott Van Buskirk published a detailed account of his experience trying to upgrade to iOS 5, screen shots and all. For quite some time, his iPhone was effectively bricked, wiped clean of its data, but unable to connect to Apple’s servers for a proper update.
Our experience wasn’t quite as riddled with error messages, but the initial software download did take an extraordinary amount of time.
This morning, Apple seems to have caught up with the demand and 9to5 Mac reports that the iOS 5 upgrade is running smoothly.
Image via Evolver.fm
