real life

"An iPhone update ruined my week. Please learn from my mistake."

 

Fine, blame me if you have to. I confess: I don’t have an iCloud account. I rarely charge my phone on my computer, meaning my iPhone updates are old.

That’s the reason I was ignoring the update notifications for so long. Sometimes the update works and my phone is fine, but other times it’s a total disaster.

Even the updates that don’t radically change my iPhone’s functionality delete at least three contacts of beloved friends/family. I then find myself answering the phone uncertainly instead of warmly next time they call, owing to the fact their caller ID isn’t working.

 

"Hello...?!" Image: Universal Pictures
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It's also a bit hard having updates I don't want or need forced onto my phone (don't we live in a democracy?). Did Apple learn nothing from the outrage over the automatic inclusion of that U2 album on our devices a few short years ago?

The latest update is iOS 10.2, which was released to fix bugs on iPhones, iPads and iPods.

However, like most iPhone updates as they fix some problems, the leave others — like issues with battery life, lost contacts, sound glitches, apps you don't want or need, connectivity issues, as well as lost purchased songs and ring tones.

The constant changes are annoying, particularly for those of us who had only just gotten used to the latest series of forced changes courtesy of iOS 10.1.1.

Why don't I have to slide to unlock any more? (iStock).

What do you mean my phone no longer vibrates?

Why don't I have to slide to unlock any more?

Why isn't my fingerprint ID needed any more? It took me so long to figure out how to do it!

Sure, the new emojis are delightful — although my children aren't fans of the clown emoji, being terrified of clowns like most children.

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Yes, it's handy to be able to save camera settings, once you figure out how to change them in the first place.

Listen: Put down your phone and go and meet someone. Post continues after this podcast clip.

It also seems 10.2 is meant to benefit (and ruin) the iPhone 7 more than any other version of the iPhone which, as far as I am concerned, is discriminatory.

And you can't downgrade. There's no going back.

After frantically Googling solutions to my now-ruined phone, I discovered my exact phone model - the iPhone 6S - was the model most likely to be affected by this update.

While constant iPhone updates with patchy results are frequent and constantly annoying, Apple does have excellent customer service which can be accessed when needed — mid-meltdown if required. You can go to your local Apple store, phone them or Google lots of helpful advice.

But the bottom line is BACK YOUR PHONE UP on iTunes or via an iCloud account BEFORE agreeing to an update. And if you're too tech-phobic to figure out how to, find someone who can.

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