IOS6 Blew everything away!

[JOhnH]

I decided to update my Iphone 4s from 5.? to 6.0.
It was almost done when it gave an unexpected error and said the update failed. There were no options except to exit. The Iphone had
a visual of a USB cord plugging into Itunes and I couldn't make it go away.

So I exited and ran Itunes again and hooked up my iphone. It said it detected an iphone update in progress and I had to complete a RESTORE and UPDATE. I didn't have much choice but to click "restore". It ran for 30 minutes and failed. I ran through all the trouble shooting tips (several times) and tried the 30 minute restore each time. Each time it failed. I tried another computer. Same thing.

I took it to Best Buy where I bought it and they tried to apply the update and it failed for them too. So the sent it to the back and about an hour later they brought it out working. YEA. I thought.

As I walked to my care I realized it didn't have any of my applications or my contact list. I came home and tried to figure out how to import my old stuff, or better yet, get it to synch up as my old phone. I entered the same name in settings as it used to be, but when I click "synch" it takes about 2 seconds and quits without doing anything.

How can I get all my settings and contact list back on this phone? It is the same phone, but apparently, it has been initialized back to square one.

Oh, their maps has my house in a different city now. The directions are ok, but it thinks Ormond Beach is now Holly Hill.

 

[bbchien]

You violated Cardinal rule #1: NEVER, even if an Apple product, update it if it's working.

I never cease to be amazed at how ARROGANT apple is about the map situation. Apology shmapology. Google has been working for ten years on it!

 

[denverpilot]

The normal upgrade process when connected to iTunes to do it, does a full backup just prior.

Was this an Over the Air update? If the device hasn't been backed up lately, that'd explain the data loss.

Otherwise, look at your Settings for iCloud. If you were synching data to it, the Contacts and what not should still be there. You can check by logging into iCloud.com with a regular desktop browser.

If you were synching/backing up to iTunes only, it should have copied them back during the full restore AFTER the first sync following the restore. Not during the restore. Sync and see if it returns.

 

[JOhnH]

This was a normal restore through Itunes using a USB cable and not using ICloud.
It did synch prior to attempting the upgrade, and I have synched it up a few times before. But now that the phone has been initialized, Itunes doesn't recognize it. When I try to synch it, it just flashes a message that it is synching and finishes in about two seconds, without doing anything.

And Dr. Bruce, my cardinal rule is never wait until I have an emergency and something breaks, then upgrade without proper preparation. I always upgrade one of my less critical pieces first and then I do it when I will have time to spend on it. I hate getting several versions behind and then having to upgrade and getting years worth of changes all at once.

The map issue is just funny to me and not critical. My contact list is semi-important though.

 

[X3 Skier]

You violated Cardinal rule #1: NEVER, even if an Apple product, update it if it's working.

I never cease to be amazed at how ARROGANT apple is about the map situation. Apology shmapology. Google has been working for ten years on it!

Not planning to "upgrade" to iOS 6 since it has nothing I need or want and much I do not want.

Cheers

 

[denverpilot]

I'd reboot the PC to release any open files and do another restore. Something's wrong there.

Could also look through the iTunes log file. See what failed.

 

[flygirl34q]

Not planning to "upgrade" to iOS 6 since it has nothing I need or want and much I do not want.

Cheers

Eventually we will have to, I'm thinking... The last ForeFlight update would not load for me unless I had iOS5 installed and I was forced to take the "upgrade". I'm planning on avoiding the next iOS drama for as long as I can though.

 

[JGoodish]

You violated Cardinal rule #1: NEVER, even if an Apple product, update it if it's working.

I never cease to be amazed at how ARROGANT apple is about the map situation. Apology shmapology. Google has been working for ten years on it!

I'm not sure that I see arrogance, but Google has in fact been working for many years on their maps product, and it started no better than Apple's. I'm not sure how Apple is supposed to make up years of market exposure and product maturity in a fraction of that time.

I mostly used Google Maps for the satellite view and as a source for routing. Sometimes it was good, sometimes MapQuest was better. Apple Maps certainly isn't winning any reliability awards at this point, but it is simply another source of information for me. None of them are without error.

I've rarely have an issue with updates of any product, but the cardinal rule of updating is to always backup first. If you don't do that, and something goes wrong that wipes out your data, there is no one to blame but yourself.

When I updated to iOS 6, I performed the update over the air and not through iTunes, and had no issues.


JKG

 

[JGoodish]

This was a normal restore through Itunes using a USB cable and not using ICloud.
It did synch prior to attempting the upgrade, and I have synched it up a few times before. But now that the phone has been initialized, Itunes doesn't recognize it. When I try to synch it, it just flashes a message that it is synching and finishes in about two seconds, without doing anything.

Did you go through the iTunes tabs to ensure that everything is set to sync?

When I had iTunes sync issues with my iPad, I eventually had to do a full system restore in order to fix it. The "Restore" button in iTunes didn't work. From what I recall, here's what I did (this will blow away any data on your device):

1 -- Reset the device by holding the Home and Sleep buttons until the Apple logo appears;
2 -- When the Apple logo appears, hold down the Home button until you are prompted to connect the iPad to iTunes;
3 -- Connect the iPad to iTunes, and iTunes should then download the latest version of iOS and install it on the device;
4 -- Restore data from backup;
5 -- To sync, I recall having to go through the sync settings all over again, to choose what to sync and what not to sync (as if it was a brand new device).

I will say that I have all of my contacts, e-mail, calendar, etc. stored in the cloud, so that resyncing that data is simply a matter of reconfiguring the cloud account on the device.


JKG

 

[X3 Skier]

Eventually we will have to, I'm thinking... The last ForeFlight update would not load for me unless I had iOS5 installed and I was forced to take the "upgrade". I'm planning on avoiding the next iOS drama for as long as I can though.

I sent an email to ForeFlight when iOS 6 was announced asking about support for iOS 5 and they replied it will continue to be supported, especially since the original iPad is not capable of running iOS 6. I am keeping iOS 5 on my iPod and iPhone as well.

I doubt they will abandon the multitude of original iPads users but who knows.

Cheers

 

[Everskyward]

When I updated to iOS 6, I performed the update over the air and not through iTunes, and had no issues.

Same here. I'm usually an early updater and haven't had any problems.

 

[JOhnH]

Well, I have almost everything back. I don't know why synch was being such a pain. Everything synched before the update failed, but when I tried to use synch to restore, it didn't do anything. I had to manually locate various pieces and download them. Things would work ok for a while, then nothing would work. I would reboot and things worked properly for a bit, then quit until I rebooted again. I had to force it to re-download all the apps and all the music. Occasionally mid-download, it would say the I-tunes store was unavailable. Reboot time again and it worked for a little while.

I guess it's true. Some days your are the windshield and some days you are the bug. Today, I was the bug. I guess I will wait before doing the IPAD. That I need. The Iphone is basically a phone and entertainment.

 

[bbchien]

I confess to being a luddite. I keep a copy of my google schedule book on paper. The contacts are just too important to lose....or trust to a cloud.

 

[RJM62]

I confess to being a luddite. I keep a copy of my google schedule book on paper. The contacts are just too important to lose....or trust to a cloud.

You can never have too many backups, and Google has decided to wipe out my contacts for reasons unknown on several occasions. They do have the restore functionality, but I don't like to keep all my eggs in the same basket that lost them to begin with.

Fortunately, Google does allow you to export your contact list in several formats. I suggest you export it periodically as a CSV file and store it in a few places.

-Rich

 

[RJM62]

I'm not sure that I see arrogance, but Google has in fact been working for many years on their maps product, and it started no better than Apple's. I'm not sure how Apple is supposed to make up years of market exposure and product maturity in a fraction of that time.

< snip >

Okay, here's my problem with that.

Let's say there are two pizzerias in town -- Lenny's and Luigi's. Lenny's has been around forever and makes excellent pizza. Luigi's just opened last week and makes horrible pizza.

Should I stop eating Lenny's pizza and start eating Luigi's pizza because Luigi, after all, is still new to the pizza business and (presumably and hopefully) will some day learn to make a pizza that actually tastes good? Or should I just keep eating Lenny's pizza because his already tastes good?

-Rich

 

[JGoodish]

I confess to being a luddite. I keep a copy of my google schedule book on paper. The contacts are just too important to lose....or trust to a cloud.

My Google data is synchronized with my iPad, my PC, and then the PC is automatically backed up several times a day. I keep almost no paper, but again, backups are key to protecting data.


JKG

 

[JGoodish]

Okay, here's my problem with that.

Let's say there are two pizzerias in town -- Lenny's and Luigi's. Lenny's has been around forever and makes excellent pizza. Luigi's just opened last week and makes horrible pizza.

Should I stop eating Lenny's pizza and start eating Luigi's pizza because Luigi, after all, is still new to the pizza business and (presumably and hopefully) will some day learn to make a pizza that actually tastes good? Or should I just keep eating Lenny's pizza because his already tastes good?

-Rich

I suspect that Luigi won't be in business very long unless some folks like his pizza, or he improves the product quickly. So in your example, you'd most likely keep eating Lenny's pizza, but you're ignoring the fact that taste is highly subjective and there is a possibility that many folks like Luigi's pizza.

Such appears to be the case with the new Apple Maps. Some folks seem to have no issue, others have many issues. The reasonable expectation should be that Apple will make the product better quickly. The reality is that it took Google many years to get their product to where it is today; it will likely take Apple less (or they will revert back, or to another solution.)

Now, for my unvarnished personal opinion:

Anyone who thinks that Google always gets it right (with routing or POIs) is really dreaming. I don't have to look far to find incorrect or missing POIs or incorrect street names in Google Maps. However, I would say that Apple Maps is much worse at this point. They need to clean up the routing, the data, and the traffic. I appear to have lost traffic entirely for my area, which is a capability that I used frequently with much success on Google Maps.

With that said, I fear that there is a more fundamental problem with Apple Maps. All of these mapping applications are necessarily cloud-based, and Google also has many years of cloud experience that Apple lacks. Apple's had several high-profile outages with their iCloud products, and I've been stuck waiting for Maps to load street and satellite data since upgrading to iOS 6. Perhaps they need to stop dumping money into this stupid "green" stuff (like solar farms) and hire people who know how to build and run the systems and data centers first. Then, green away. They aren't quite there yet.

Apple still has the highest-quality mobile OS with the best applications, and that's why I continue to buy their products. They also have a history of fixing the anomalies quickly, although that history was established almost entirely under the previous management, who appeared to have no problem rolling high-level heads when things didn't go right. Can the new regime perform as well? The test is here, the clock is ticking, and expectations are high. I will admit that I am somewhat skeptical at this point.


JKG

 

[comanchepilot]

I have a computer, a phone, the cloud, the ipad and another computer . . . if I lose them all we've been hit by EMP and have much bigger problems . . . .

To deal with the OP's problems everyone has said what I would say.

Reboot
Reboot
Clean
Reboot
Sync
Restore

 

[jesse]

You violated Cardinal rule #1: NEVER, even if an Apple product, update it if it's working.

I never cease to be amazed at how ARROGANT apple is about the map situation. Apology shmapology. Google has been working for ten years on it!

It's not like Apple started from the ground up -- they've simply switched to other data providers that have been working on maps for a long time as well.

 

[Jay Honeck]

It's not like Apple started from the ground up -- they've simply switched to other data providers that have been working on maps for a long time as well.

That's what's so odd about the maps debacle. I thought Apple was using data from TomTom? It's not like they're new to the game.

 

[RJM62]

. . . .

Anyone who thinks that Google always gets it right (with routing or POIs) is really dreaming. I don't have to look far to find incorrect or missing POIs or incorrect street names in Google Maps. However, I would say that Apple Maps is much worse at this point. They need to clean up the routing, the data, and the traffic. I appear to have lost traffic entirely for my area, which is a capability that I used frequently with much success on Google Maps.

. . . .

JKG

Oh, believe me, I don't think Google always gets anything right. To say that I'm not one of their bigger fans would be putting it nicely.

However, I think that Maps is probably the last of their products that actually works well, most of the time, probably because they haven't figured out a way to change the earth's geography based on user history.

I do, however, fully expect that at some point, the routing will be "individualized" based on user history, to route the user past restaurants and other POIs that have paid Google for such special routing. Google will call it "enhancing the user's travel experience."

-Rich

 

[RJM62]

That's what's so odd about the maps debacle. I thought Apple was using data from TomTom? It's not like they're new to the game.

Oh, wow. TomTom.
On the plus side, TomTom is very good at finding number-and-street addresses, especially if you keep it updated. I really can't remember the last time it didn't know where a number-and-street address was, at least within a hundred yards or so, which is good enough for my needs.

Tom Tom's default spoken instruction settings also seem a bit more "friendly" to me than Garmin's, for lack of a better way to put it. There seems to be more notice of upcoming turns and slightly better descriptions, for example. They just seem slightly easier to follow.

On the not-so-good side...

As far as the TomTom's routing is concerned, let's just say it can be... interesting, and occasionally harrowing. Especially out here in the boondocks.

I doubt that there's anything that resembles a road that TomTom doesn't know about. TomTom has found and routed me over roads that I didn't even know existed, despite driving past them every day. But driving on some of these roads has been more of a white-knuckle experience than the worst day of flying I've ever had.

We're talking about "roads" that are barely as wide as my Sportage's wheel track, with steep escarpments on one or the other side, crumbling surfaces, occasional boulders scattered along the roadway, suicidal deer leaping out at random intervals, no guardrails, and the occasional sound of banjo music and/or shotgun blasts in the not-so-distance. Roads that people born and raised here have the good sense not to use unless they happen to live along them. Roads that the local deer and bears think twice about walking along. Roads that Dante considered to be candidates for their own circles in hell.

In short, we're talking about really, really bad roads over which TomTom's electronic voice gleefully routes motorists, in her faintly-British accent with her sardonic grin almost audible, perhaps as a form of revenge for making George III look bad in 1776.

But the absolute worst thing about the TomTom is the POI database. I would say that as many as 80 percent of the POIs in the database are wrong. No exaggeration. And I don't mean wrong as in a hundred feet or a hundred yards off, nor even wrong as in just out-of-date (the place used to be there, but moved).

I mean when you navigate to the place where the POI is supposed to be, there is nothing -- NOTHING -- there, and never has been anything there. TomTom has navigated me to Taco Bells that were actually cornfields, gas stations that were actually scenic overlooks, and department stores that were actually graveyards.

TomTom also has an annoying bug in which the home (or office) address of the owner of a business winds up as the address of a POI labeled under that business name. I can't tell you how many times that has happened. I'm looking for a place to eat, a gas station, or whatever, and I get routed to the home of a person who indeed owns such a business -- but the actual business is 20 or 30 miles away.

Truth be told, if I weren't such a tightwad, or if I actually needed accurate POIs to begin with, I probably would have tossed the TomTom years ago. But I'm semi-retired and I rarely need to be anywhere at any particular time, anyway; so I work around TomTom's quirks. I use something like Poynt to find the POI and the street address, and let TomTom take it from there. It's good with street addresses.

As for the TomTom's harrowing routing, I've taken to considering TomTom's fondness for roads over which no sane human would choose to drive to be something like a free horror movie. I get to enjoy being terrified without having to pay admission.

-Rich

 

[JGoodish]

It's not like Apple started from the ground up -- they've simply switched to other data providers that have been working on maps for a long time as well.

Apple is basically starting from the ground up. It's their app, their technology, their hosting, most of which they obtained through various acquisitions of much smaller companies. They are combining their own data with that from TomTom, just as Google did for a while, but TomTom's data isn't all that great, in my opinion.

I don't know that the map data is the big problem, however. I'm not sure where they're getting traffic data, or who developed the routing engine. Google routinely gets addresses and POIs wrong, but the routing is usually decent and will get you into the general proximity of where you want to go. Some of Apple's routing is way off.


JKG

 

[Jay Honeck]

In short, we're talking about really, really bad roads over which TomTom's electronic voice gleefully routes motorists, in her faintly-British accent with her sardonic grin almost audible, perhaps as a form of revenge for making George III look bad in 1776.

I thought TomTom was a Dutch company?

Sent from my Nexus 7

 

[JGoodish]

Oh, believe me, I don't think Google always gets anything right. To say that I'm not one of their bigger fans would be putting it nicely.

However, I think that Maps is probably the last of their products that actually works well, most of the time, probably because they haven't figured out a way to change the earth's geography based on user history.

I do, however, fully expect that at some point, the routing will be "individualized" based on user history, to route the user past restaurants and other POIs that have paid Google for such special routing. Google will call it "enhancing the user's travel experience."

-Rich

I'm not one of Google's biggest fans, either, but they do search really well, maps fairly well, and their apps (e-mail, calendar, etc.) okay. I am nearly almost as paranoid as you are about the data they collect and what they do with it, but the reality is that there are lots of public records available to anyone with a credit card which contain more personal information that what Google collects. However, unlike Apple, Google's main business is knowing your business, which is one of the reasons why I'm really not in a hurry to adopt their operating system.


JKG

 

[denverpilot]

I still remember when James Kim went missing and then was found dead, and the speculation that he was using a GPS for mapping data in 2006. His wife later said they were using a paper map, but the story just proves that the best map in the world, isn't all you need to survive...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Kim

The stories of GPS routing taking people into situations they weren't prepared for, abound. Even in the cities... follow that GPS right into the bad neighborhood, for example.

 

[X3 Skier]

I thought TomTom was a Dutch company?

They are.

Cheers

 

[RJM62]

I thought TomTom was a Dutch company?

Sent from my Nexus 7

They are. But the computer voice on mine has a British accent. I don't know why, and I suppose I could change the voice if it bothered me enough.

Also, in case it wasn't clear, I took a slightly slightly comedic tack with that post...

-Rich

 

[Mafoo]

Not planning to "upgrade" to iOS 6 since it has nothing I need or want and much I do not want.

Cheers

The only reason I chose to upgrade, was Siri opening apps for you. I love that feature.

I have hundreds of apps, and from the lock screen, being able to saying "Open Calculator" is worth the crappy maps (being I use a 3rd party maps tool anyway)

 

[RJM62]

Oh, wow. TomTom.
On the plus side, TomTom is very good at finding number-and-street addresses, especially if you keep it updated. I really can't remember the last time it didn't know where a number-and-street address was, at least within a hundred yards or so, which is good enough for my needs.

Tom Tom's default spoken instruction settings also seem a bit more "friendly" to me than Garmin's, for lack of a better way to put it. There seems to be more notice of upcoming turns and slightly better descriptions, for example. They just seem slightly easier to follow.

On the not-so-good side...

As far as the TomTom's routing is concerned, let's just say it can be... interesting, and occasionally harrowing. Especially out here in the boondocks.

I doubt that there's anything that resembles a road that TomTom doesn't know about. TomTom has found and routed me over roads that I didn't even know existed, despite driving past them every day. But driving on some of these roads has been more of a white-knuckle experience than the worst day of flying I've ever had.

We're talking about "roads" that are barely as wide as my Sportage's wheel track, with steep escarpments on one or the other side, crumbling surfaces, occasional boulders scattered along the roadway, suicidal deer leaping out at random intervals, no guardrails, and the occasional sound of banjo music and/or shotgun blasts in the not-so-distance. Roads that people born and raised here have the good sense not to use unless they happen to live along them. Roads that the local deer and bears think twice about walking along. Roads that Dante considered to be candidates for their own circles in hell.

In short, we're talking about really, really bad roads over which TomTom's electronic voice gleefully routes motorists, in her faintly-British accent with her sardonic grin almost audible, perhaps as a form of revenge for making George III look bad in 1776.

But the absolute worst thing about the TomTom is the POI database. I would say that as many as 80 percent of the POIs in the database are wrong. No exaggeration. And I don't mean wrong as in a hundred feet or a hundred yards off, nor even wrong as in just out-of-date (the place used to be there, but moved).

I mean when you navigate to the place where the POI is supposed to be, there is nothing -- NOTHING -- there, and never has been anything there. TomTom has navigated me to Taco Bells that were actually cornfields, gas stations that were actually scenic overlooks, and department stores that were actually graveyards.

TomTom also has an annoying bug in which the home (or office) address of the owner of a business winds up as the address of a POI labeled under that business name. I can't tell you how many times that has happened. I'm looking for a place to eat, a gas station, or whatever, and I get routed to the home of a person who indeed owns such a business -- but the actual business is 20 or 30 miles away.

Truth be told, if I weren't such a tightwad, or if I actually needed accurate POIs to begin with, I probably would have tossed the TomTom years ago. But I'm semi-retired and I rarely need to be anywhere at any particular time, anyway; so I work around TomTom's quirks. I use something like Poynt to find the POI and the street address, and let TomTom take it from there. It's good with street addresses.

As for the TomTom's harrowing routing, I've taken to considering TomTom's fondness for roads over which no sane human would choose to drive to be something like a free horror movie. I get to enjoy being terrified without having to pay admission.

-Rich

Quoting myself. How gauche!

Anywhere, here's another example of TomTom's creative routing. This lovely road technically isn't even a "road," per se. It's technically a seasonal trail.

Here's the view from the driver's side, looking down. This kind of routing kinda keeps things interesting, for sure:

This just gave me a chuckle today; but it wouldn't have been as amusing at night, if there were ice or snow on the ground, if I didn't live up here and therefore wasn't accustomed to "roads" like this, or if I were a new driver.

-Rich

 

[LDJones]

I concur on much of what you said about Tom Tom. There's an area west of the Twin Cities around the fairly large Lake Minnetonka where the Tom Tom gives some pretty convoluted routings. My Garmin consistently picks very logical routes, but the Tom Tom has be winding hither and yon no on most routes.

I wouldn't spend money on another Tom Tom product EVER!

 

[flyingcheesehead]

I concur on much of what you said about Tom Tom. There's an area west of the Twin Cities around the fairly large Lake Minnetonka where the Tom Tom gives some pretty convoluted routings. My Garmin consistently picks very logical routes, but the Tom Tom has be winding hither and yon no on most routes.

I wouldn't spend money on another Tom Tom product EVER!

I haven't had much of a problem with the routing on iOS 6 Maps. Yesterday, it had me jump off the highway two exits earlier than I thought logical, but then I saw brake lights ahead when I got near the exit it chose so I went ahead and got off... Phew. Bad traffic where I'd have gone.

The big problem for me is simply the lack of waypoints. Google gets theirs from having their web crawlers... Dunno how Apple will ever match that, though they say that the more people use it the better it gets.

Oddly enough, today I looked for an airport on Google Maps and it was in completely the wrong place - Entirely on the wrong side of town (almost opposite the town, in fact). So, Google isn't exactly perfect either.

 

[denverpilot]

Few times I've used it, no problems here either.

Mapquest blows everything I've tried, away. Even Google.

 

[Everskyward]

I've never figured out how to use any of the map programs effectively except as a simple map. But that is good enough for me.

I probably need to upgrade my phone to get them to work better. I have an older iPhone 4 which doesn't talk and I don't think it has real GPS.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

I've never figured out how to use any of the map programs effectively except as a simple map. But that is good enough for me.

I probably need to upgrade my phone to get them to work better. I have an older iPhone 4 which doesn't talk and I don't think it has real GPS.

All iPhones have "real GPS"...

Now that you mention it, I almost always just use Siri. "Get me directions to ...."

 

[Everskyward]

All iPhones have "real GPS"...

I thought you had to have a cell signal for the GPS to derive its location. I know my iPhone gets lost when there is no cell signal or even a bad one.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

I thought you had to have a cell signal for the GPS to derive its location. I know my iPhone gets lost when there is no cell signal or even a bad one.

It should still work, it'll just take a really long time to figure out where it is. In your case especially, since you're likely moving it several hundred miles away from where it thinks it is to start.

That said, I'm sure most mobile location-aware software times out long before the phone could get an unassisted GPS fix... But it's not an issue of new vs. old, they all work the same way.

 

[SCCutler]

Mari, you can use the MapQuest app on your iPhone 4, and it will talk to you. It works just fine.

And I have plain ol' 4, and the GPS works just fine. It has a heckuva time figuring out where it is if you fire it up hundreds of miles from where it was last on, but it does... Eventually.

 

[Everskyward]

Mari, you can use the MapQuest app on your iPhone 4, and it will talk to you. It works just fine.

And I have plain ol' 4, and the GPS works just fine. It has a heckuva time figuring out where it is if you fire it up hundreds of miles from where it was last on, but it does... Eventually.

I'm not sure I want my phone talking to me. I think I just prefer the map, but I'm a map person.

 

[Marty.p]

Never change a running system ;-)
i am a long-term pro Mac User - but the good old trusty times of Apple are over - defenitely & sadly