First Gen iPad Owners Complain About Bricked Devices After iOS 5 Updates [Updated]

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ipad-3g1.jpg

 

Cult of Mac reader, William Joye, brought an interesting problem  to our attention. According to William there is “an issue concerning upgrading first generation iPad 3G to iOS 5. A number of owners, including myself, now have disabled iPads after attempting to upgrade to iOS 5.”

This is the first we’ve heard about this problem and by far the worst after iOS 5 was released last week. Sadly, it seems that Apple isn’t showing a lot of concern about the problem and may not be helping users resolve the problem.

He goes on to prove that point  by saying that, “Apple’s response seems to be that it is a ‘hardware failure’ and therefore, the owner must purchase a new iPad. ” The problem is discussed in not one, but three separate discussion threads on Apple’s website. They are:

ipad won’t restore, unknown error (1)

iPad cannot be restored unknown error 1; I tried to update my iPad 1 to new os5 by syncing to new version of iTunes and found a message that my iPad needs to be restored.  I tried several times and continue to get same error code unknown 1; how to fix?

After updating to os5, my iPad will not restore. What do I do?

It appears from the discussions that the catchall fix – placing your iPad into DFU restore mode isn’t working in these circumstances. Whenever this is the case the user really has no other way to recover their device. Therefore users that encounter this problem should contact AppleCare or visit a local Genius Bar and document any case number they are given.

If the problem isn’t handled to your satisfaction speak to the store manager or do what I did recently write a letter or email to Tim Cook. He actually listens and responds just like Steve Jobs did before.

Apple is generally good about handling customer service issues like these, but as I’ve found out recently it is getting harder and harder to make them listen to reason when you make even the smallest request. The key is to not give up until you are satisfied with the answer you are given. If you don’t get what you want you can always handle the issue outside of the support or retail sphere of influence by using all the tools available to consumers to resolve issues like these.

Updated 10/21/2011 at 12:24 PM PDT: According to MuscleNerd, an experienced iOS hacker, “The “Recovery Fix’ button in redsn0w (in the “Extras” menu) will fix this.  See the @redsn0w_testers twitter feed for the download links. ”

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