Apple iPhone School » firmware

Firmware Update 5.0.1

Douglas — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 12:37:43 +0000

Apple recently released an update to the 5.0 software. The first issue they tried to address is battery life. I was defiantly having this issue on my iPhone 4S (AT&T) as my battery would be drained by about noon every day. I am a heavy user but my iPhone 4 always made it all day on one charge. This recent update did help and now I’m up to about 5:00pm each day. Apple has stated they are still working on more battery issues.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

The next issue Apple addressed was adding multitasking gestures to the iPad 1. There is a hack in Cydia for this but now it’s not needed. You can just turn in on in your Settings app. Here’s a quick video of how these work:

Next is documents in iCloud were not syncing back to devices correctly and were even getting completely wiped out. Not kewl! I lost a lot of mine but between email and my iTunes backup, I restored them. Here’s an article explaining how I restored them. I don’t have a way to test this now so let us know if this helped you out.

Last, voice recognition has been improved for Australian users. Again, I don’t have a way to test this but if you feel this has or has not been improved, please share in the comments.

iOS 5.0.1 Software Update

This update contains improvements and other bug fixes including:

• Fixes bugs affecting battery life
• Adds Multitasking Gestures for original iPad
• Resolves bugs with Documents in the Cloud
• Improves voice recognition for Australian users using dictation

Products compatible with this software update:

• iPhone 4S
• iPhone 4
• iPhone 3GS
• iPad 2
• iPad
• iPod touch (4th generation)
• iPod touch (3rd generation)

For information on the security content of this update, please visit this website:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222

Apple Invites Press to October 4th iPhone Event

Douglas — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 01:12:31 +0000

Most likely, Apple will be announcing both the iPhone 5 and the new iOS firmware at their October 4th event. The invitation to the press is titled, “Let’s talk iPhone.” This leads me to believe there will be voice to text built into iOS 5. I’ve tested it out a little using the updated Target app. It seems to recognize what I say really well. It would be great to have it integrated into the software as an option when typing in all apps.

iOS 4.3 Now Available

Brooke — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 19:32:14 +0000

As suspected, the iOS 4.3 update was released today. If you are looking to upgrade to 4.3… you can plug your device into your computer, head over to iTunes and select the “Check for Update” option. This will allow you to update your device to iOS 4.3. Below is Apple’s official changelog for 4.3.

Remember: If you are jailbroke and want to keep your jailbreak… hold off on updating to iOS 4.3. We will let you know when there is a new jailbreak out. The Dev-Team says that the wait shouldn’t be too long because @i0n1c has a 4.3 untether ready. We’ll keep our eye out.

iOS 4.3 Software Update:

This update contains new features and improvements, including the following:

• Personal Hotspot*
– Share iPhone 4 cellular data connection with up to 5
devices (combination of up to 3 Wi-Fi, 3 Bluetooth,
and 1 USB)

• iTunes Home Sharing
– Play music, movies and TV shows from a shared iTunes
library on a Mac or PC (requires iTunes 10.2)

    • New AirPlay features**
        - Play videos from the Photos app including the Camera
Roll album, iTunes previews, enabled third-party apps
and websites on Apple TV
         – Play slideshows from Photos on Apple TV using
transitions available on Apple TV

• Faster Safari performance with Apple Nitro JavaScript
engine

• HD video out using the Apple Digital AV Adapter***
– View 720p HD videos from Videos app, iPod app,
Photos, YouTube, Safari, Keynote, and enabled
third-party apps on an HDMI display

    • Ping features
         – Push notifications for comments and follow requests
         – Post and Like songs directly from the Now Playing

Upgrade to 4.2 on Any Device Early & Jailbreak

Douglas — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 02:46:56 +0000

Apple has released the new version of firmware for all devices (besides first generations of course), version 4.2, to developers. The final, gold master file is ready. This means it will install even if you’re not a developer. This is the firmware that brings folders and backgrounding to the iPad and printing to all devices! The firmware will probably be out officially from Apple via iTunes within a week or so but if you want it early, follow the directions below. If you want to jailbreak, see the instructions following the update instructions.

As of the writing of this article, Cydia isn’t ready for 4.2 and I’m also not sure that this will work on the iPad for sure. Please correct me on this. The dev team blog says to point redsn0w at firmware 4.1. The iPhone runs 4.1 but not the iPad. You may be able to point it a previous iPad firmware but I haven’t tested this yet. I’m honestly waiting to jailbreak myself once Cydia is ready. We will update this article once we can confirm. I recommend syncing your device before starting this.

Instructions on updating to 4.2

1. Download the newest version of iTunes, 10.1 (links here)

2. Install the new iTunes.

3. Download the correct firmware for your device. (http://gumballtech.com/2010/11/01/ios-4-2-gm-released-for-all-devices-download-here/)

4. In iTunes, select your device and hold the Shift(windows) or Option(Mac) key while clicking the update button. This will open a window to choose your own firmware. Select the one you Just downloaded.

5. Now just wait until the update is complete. You will then have firmware 4.2!

Instructions on Jailbreaking 4.2

1. Download redsn0w from here: http://blog.iphone-dev.org/post/1452044444/redsn0w-limera1n-fun

2. Your device will be on 4.2 but when you run redsn0w you will select firmware 4.1 on your computer. You can download firmware 4.1 for your iPhone here. Just follow the instuctions with redsn0w and you’ll be jailbroken. Remember, Cydia is not yet working on 4.2.

iOS 4.1 Now Available

Brooke — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 19:03:18 +0000

It seems that iOS 4.1 has indeed been released today as speculated. Below is the change log for the new iOS. Some of the major features of the firmware include; Game Center, HDR Photography, iTunes TV show rentals and a bug fix for the iPhone 4 proximity sensor (which we know many will appreciate… including Doug’s grandpa!).

iOS 4.1 Change Log:
• Game Center
     – Send and receive friend requests
     – Invite friends to multi-player games over the Internet
     – Play multi-player games by auto-matching with other players
     – View LEaderboards and Achievements
     – Discover new games from friends
• High dynamic range (HDR) photos on iPhone 4
• Support for TV show rentals on iTunes
• Ability to upload HD videos to YouTube and MobileMe over Wi-Fi on iPhone 4
• Additional support for AVRCP-supported accessories, including next & previous track control
• FaceTime calling directly from Favorites
• Bug fixes, including:
     – iPhone 4 proximity sensor performance
     – iPhone 3G performance
     – Nike+ iPod fixes
     – Bluetooth improvements

Products compatible with this software update:
• iPhone 4
• iPhone 3GS
• iPhone 3G
• iPod touch 2G

Notes:
- Game Center requires iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPod touch 2G or later
- You will need to have iTunes 10 in-order to upgrade to iOS 4.1

Jailbreak/Unlock Info:
This upgrade will break your jailbreak/unlock. If you need to keep your jailbreak/unlock… do not upgrade to iOS 4.1! We will keep you up-to-date on the jailbreak info.

iPhone 4 Firmware Updated to 4.0.1, Doesn’t Fix Antenna Issue [video]

Douglas — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 01:41:54 +0000

Apple has released the firmware promised to fix the signal bar issues with the new iPhone 4. To make this clear, the problem, for me, seems to be a hardware issue. When I hold the iPhone in any way that covers the gap between the two antennas, I lose signal strength. I’ve demoed this in the video below. Now, does the firmware fix the problem? Let’s find out! I’ve also recorded what happens when holding the iPhone in the same way on the new firmware, 4.0.1.

As you can see in the video, the problem has not been solved by a software update. Also, the new antenna bars are ugly…

Apple claims the update “Improves the formula to determine how many bars of signal strength to display” and is compatible with iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4.

The download is 579.3 MB for iOS 4.0.1 for iPhone 4.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

iOS 4 is Available, List of Features

Douglas — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 19:49:26 +0000

iOS 4 is now available in iTunes. You must upgrade iTunes to 9.2 to sync with iOS 4.

This update is for the iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS & newer iPod touches (not 1st Gen). Some older devices will not get all updates such as backgrounding. See details below.

Here’s a list of apps that support running in the background.

This update contains over 100 new features, including the following:

• Multitasking support for third-party apps*
– Multitasking user interface to quickly move between
apps
– Support for audio apps to play in the background
– VoIP apps can receive and maintain calls in the
background or when device is asleep
– Apps can monitor location and take action while
running in the background
– Alerts and messages can be pushed to apps using
push and local notifications
– Apps can complete tasks in the background
• Folders to better organize and access apps
• Home screen Wallpaper*
• Mail improvements
– Unified inbox to view emails from all accounts in one
place
– Fast inbox switching to quickly switch between
different email accounts
– Threaded messages to view multiple emails from the
same conversation
– Attachments can be opened with compatible third-
party apps
– Search results can now be filed or deleted
– Option to select size of photo attachments
– Messages in the Outbox can be edited or deleted
• Support for iBooks and iBookstore (available from the
App Store)
• Photo and Camera improvements
– 5x digital zoom when taking a photo**
– Tap to focus during video recording**
– Ability to sync Faces from iPhoto
– Geo-tagged photos appear on a map in Photos
• Ability to create and edit playlists on device
• Calendar invitations can be sent and accepted wirelessly
with supported CalDAV servers
• Support for MobileMe calendar sharing
• Suggestions and recent searches appear during a web
search
• Searchable SMS/MMS messages**
• Spotlight search can be continued on web and Wikipedia
• Enhanced location privacy
– New Location Services icon in the status bar
– Indication of which apps have requested your location
in the last 24 hours
– Location Services can be toggled on or off for
individual apps
• Automatic spellcheck
• Support for Bluetooth keyboards*
• iPod out to navigate music, podcasts and audiobooks
through an iPod interface with compatible cars
• Support for iTunes gifting of apps
• Wireless notes syncing with IMAP-based mail accounts
• Persistent WiFi connection to receive push notifications*
• New setting for turning on/off cellular data only**
• Option to display the character count while composing
new SMS/MMS**
• Visual Voicemail messages can be kept locally even if
they have been deleted from the server**
• Control to lock portrait orientation*
• Audio playback controls for iPod and third-party audio
apps*
• New languages, dictionaries and keyboards
• Accessibility enhancements*
• Bluetooth improvements
• Better data protection using the device passcode as an
encryption key* (Requires full restore.)
• Support for third-party Mobile Device Management
solutions
• Enables wireless distribution of enterprise applications
• Exchange Server 2010 compatibility
• Support for multiple Exchange ActiveSync accounts
• Support for Juniper Junos Pulse and Cisco AnyConnect
SSL VPN apps (available from the App Store)
• More than 1,500 new developer APIs
• Bug fixes

Products compatible with this software update:
• iPhone 3G
• iPhone 3GS
• iPhone 4
• iPod touch 2nd generation
• iPod touch 3rd generation (late 2009 models with 32GB
or 64GB)

* Requires iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and iPod touch 3rd generation.
** Requires iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, and iPhone 4. SMS/MMS messaging and Visual Voicemail require support from your wireless carrier.

For feature descriptions and complete instructions, see the user guides for iPhone and iPod touch at:
http://support.apple.com/manuals/iphone
http://support.apple.com/manuals/ipodtouch

For more information about iPhone and iPod touch, go to:
http://www.apple.com/iphone
http://www.apple.com/ipodtouch

To troubleshoot your iPhone or iPod touch, or to view additional support information go to:
http://www.apple.com/support/iphone
http://www.apple.com/support/ipodtouch

For information on the security content of this update, please visit this website:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222

iPhone Firmware 4.0 Beta 3 Has Rotation Lock, iPod Controls & iPod Icon

Douglas — Wed, 05 May 2010 03:44:03 +0000

Apple released iPhone firmware 4.0 beta 3 today and then quickly pulled it back down. We haven’t heard if it’s back up yet but we have heard of some of the new features. First, when double clicking the homebutton and seeing the icons of the apps running in the background you can now swipe to the left and see new buttons. The first is a orientation lock. When it’s selected the iPhone locks it orientation to portrait and shows an indicator in the status bar. From what I can see in video demonstrations, it does not lock in the current position but always forces back to portrait. Hopefully this is changed in a later update and will lock in which ever way you had it when pressing that icon.

Another feature is the iPod controls in the same area mentioned above. You can go back, play, pause or go forward a song. I’m really glad they brought this back. This is one reason I went back to 3.1.3 from 4.0 Beta 1. When running in the morning I can’t switch from RunKeeper to iPod to skip to the next song. I used to just double tap and get iPod controls to skip ahead. Really glad this is back. You can also get right to the iPod app form this same swipe to the left location.

ScreenShot

Another feature I’ve heard about is that when removing apps from the backgrounding dock, you can now do more than one at a time. Before the icons would stop wiggling after removing one and then you would have to hold down the icons again to get them wiggling again. You would have to do this for each app. Now they all stay wiggling and the minus sign stays available for app removal.

Finally, this feature is pretty awesome and I need some confirmation on if this is a new feature or a previous beta feature. I know there is spell check in the new firmware but someone in a video below shows that when the autocorrection isn’t what you were looking for, if you hit the backspace button, you get some more options. I never noticed this before but it might have been there.

Here are a few videos that show some of the features.

Videos

iPhone Firmware 4.0 Already Jailbroken

Douglas — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 14:29:21 +0000

MuscleNerd has posted a video on YouTube of veency running on iPhone firmware 4.0. veency is an VNC app which lets you see and control you’re iPhone from a computer. The video also shows the cydia icon, new dock, new calculator button and the new folders feature.

Something you won’t find in stock 4.0…a VNC server Questions: http://twitter.com/musclenerd & http://blog.iphone-dev.org. PS: 4.0 BETAS are BUGGY! Don’t bother trying them if you’re not developing apps for them!

Firmware 4.0 – The Basics

Brooke — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 19:02:15 +0000

Today, Apple announced firmware 4.0. The new firmware contains 100 new user features. Some of these new features include; the ability to create playlists, 5x digital zoom, tap to focus on video, gift apps, geotagging, places in the photo app, change the homescreen wallpaper, bluetooth keyboards, spell checker… etc. If those were not cool enough, the seven major new features include; multitasking, folders, enhanced mail, iBooks, enterprise, Game Center, and iAd (read more about those HERE).

For those of you who are developers, 4.0 also includes “over 1500 new APIs in OS 4. Devs can access the calendar, photo library, quicklook…” as well as a new framework called Accelerate which is said to be “hardware accelerated math functions.”

The firmware is scheduled to be released for the iPhone and iPod touch this summer. It will be released for the iPad this fall. A dev preview is being released today.

The Catch:
iPhone 3GS and 2nd gen iPod touch owners will be able to utilize every aspect of the new 4.0 firmware however, iPhone 3G and 2nd gen iPod touch owners will be restricted. They will not be able run things like multitasking… etc.