Kagan: Upgrade to Apple iOS9 or wait?

Last week when iOS9 came out I upgraded my Apple iPhone 6. It worked. In fact, things went so well that this morning I upgraded an iPhone 5S and an iPad. Big mistake. That’s when I was hit by an Apple tidal wave so big it would make the Titanic feel like it was just caught in a sun shower. So should you update now or wait a while for the bugs to be worked out? That’s the million-dollar question. Let me share with you what I learned after spending hours at the Apple store this morning.

I have lost all my data and apps on my devices. That’s a tragedy, but Apple said it’s not lost. It’s just unreadable. They tell me when a fix is created I will get them back. That’s better than losing all that information. However, the next question is how long will that take?

Don’t update to iOS9 from iOS7 or older

Bottom line, if you are currently using iOS8, then chances are better you will have a successful update to iOS9. However, if you currently use iOS7 or older, don’t even think about updating. Not until Apple creates and releases a fix for the massive problems this creates.

It would be nice if Apple would have warned us about this, don’t you think? I updated an iPhone 6 and an iPhone 5S, which both used iOS8. They both upgraded without problem. The problem came when updating an iPhone 5S and iPad using iOS7. When I did this, suddenly the phone didn’t talk to my cloud any longer.

What that means is the iPhone and iPad became bricks. After taking them to an Apple store they got them working again, but they were blank. I still have to manually install everything. Even then I won’t have any data. Basically all I had was a brand new and blank iPhone.

The rest of the story

The entire story was a lot more aggravating. It took a trip to an Apple store and spending several hours there earlier this morning. We had to forcefully update my iPhone and iPad several different times each. It seemed to work well until I tried to access my iCloud data. That’s when it froze and I had to update all over again.

There were many other people there complaining about the same thing. There was a big problem and there was no solution. I was there long enough that I think I understand what is going on.

Problem with no solution yet

So the new update to iOS9 seemed to work well when updating from iOS8. However, if you are using iOS7 or older, don’t even try. You will freeze your system and have to spend hours just getting the device to work again.

The Apple solution

According to the Apple staff, they now understand the problem and are working on a fix. When that fix comes out, it should solve the problems and you can go back to normal. Until that point, you are stuck. When will the fix come out, tomorrow, next week, next month?

So if you don’t need to update your operating system, play it safe and DON’T!

If you do want to update it, make sure you are currently at least using the most updated iOS8 version. And make sure you update everything before you update. Without that you are walking into a trap.

Either way, there are certain devices, which should not be updated yet like those that use iOS7 or older and are connected to iCloud.

The culprit seems to mainly be around the iCloud. If you don’t use it you may not have this problem.

Never upgrade early

I never upgrade quickly. I always wait months before upgrading. I know there will be problems and don’t want to get caught in the chaos and lose my data. As a wireless analyst I get lots of smartphones and tablets to test and compare from carriers and handset makers. These are the devices I typically update quickly to experience the thrill of the high-speed wipe out. What a rush!

However the wipe out is never that bad since these are only test devices and not my primary phones and tablets and such.

Never update when travelling

Last week I heard the iOS9 was ready to go so, without thinking, I updated my primary smartphone. Unfortunately, I realized too late that I never update one of my primary devices for this very reason.

Fortunately it worked. I say fortunately because I was travelling last week and would have been very angry if all of a sudden I couldn’t make a phone call, send a message or use an app.

I realized this was a mistake and highly risky after pressing the OK button. At that point there was no way to stop the update. Fortunately I dodged a bullet with that one. However, the other devices I updated this morning were a year older.

Apple should release updates on staggered basis

If Apple knew this and failed to warn users, they should be ashamed of themselves. Job No. 1 should be to protect the users. After all, they are the reason for your success. Apple always talks about how many of us update the iOS. That always sounds impressive. What they don’t tell us is whether it works.

So, if you didn’t update yet, stop. If you did and you dodged a bullet, congrats. If you did and you are now suffering, sorry. All you can do is wait for the Apple fix.

While that does not help anyone until the fix comes, at least we didn’t lose everything. At least we hope not. This is a helluva position for any of us to be in however, isn’t it? We have to remember a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

Let’s hope Apple gets the fix out ASAP.