New iPhone Firmware 2.1 Update Hangs iPhone – Solution
With the important new bug fixes in the iPhone firmware 2.1 update, everyone needs to get the firmware installed.
But, we ran into an iPhone problem when downloading and then updating our firmware. Fortunately, the fix was easy.
The Issue
With iTunes 8.0 already installed, we plugged in our Apple iPhone through the USB cable to our iMac G4. Itunes recognized we did not have the new firmware when we clicked “Check for Updates,” so it offered to download and install it which we immediately accepted.
After the installation, we tried to use the new iPhone while it was still hooked up to the computer. We noticed, for example, we couldn’t get simple weather updates using the weather app that has been in our iPhone since day 1. Also, email didn’t seem to download anything and we couldn’t call anyone.
The Solution
Having sensed that we’d run into this sort of problem before, we tried the first thing that popped into our mind – a reset. In the past, when we’ve mysteriously had no reception from AT&T, for example, we’ve done a reset and the phone’s connectivity had come back to life.
How to re-set: Depress the home button on the face of the iPhone and the Power button at the top of the iPhone and hold. After a few seconds it will ask you if you want to power down, but don’t power down – just keep holding the buttons and you will suddenly see the apple icon appear meaning that the reset is in process.
Keep in mind that in a reset, you don’t lose any data like certain types of iPhone restores.
Once we reset the iPhone with the new 2.1 Firmware, our iPhone worked perfectly and we could start up our newest app, Koi Pond, and stare at digital carp. 
