(Update: Many — but not all — of the users in the Apple Support Communities are now reporting that the activation servers are back online, and their devices working again.)
Looks like the Lion Beta 3 Preview might not be the only problem Apple’s dealing with this morning.
As of last night, an ongoing problem with Apple’s activation servers seems to be leaving many iDevices recently updated or restored to iOS 4.3.3 bricked around the world.
In an fifteen page thread on Apple’s Support Communities, dozens of users are reporting (temporarily?) bricked iPads, iPad 2, iPod Touches, iPhones and more.
The bricking occurs after upgrading the device’s firmware to the latest version through iTunes or restoring, which goes okay, but iTunes then can’t seem to be able to contact Apple’s activation servers, resulting in the following message:
There is a problem with your device.
We’re sorry, the device you connected may be damaged and cannot be activated for service. We recommend you visit your nearest Apple Store for more information. To find your nearest Apple Store, click here.
The problem appears to be international in scope and is being reported on all devices. It happens on both Windows and OS X. A downed activation server seems to be the culprit.
I’ve tried to duplicate this issue myself, but with no success. First, I updated iPod Touch third-generation from iOS 4.2 to iOS 4.3.3 on iTunes 10.2.1 and then wiped and restored using 10.2.2. Although other users still report problems, my update went just fine, on both occasions. I then did the same thing with my iPad 2.
Even so, the Apple Support Communities are filled with users reporting problems. This issue does not seem to have been fixed yet, my own attempts to duplicated it aside.
Anyone else having the issue? Anyone else not having the issue? Please let us know in the comments.
[Thanks to Rob Vazquez for the tip!]
John Brownlee is a writer for Fast Company, and a contributing writer here at CoM. He has also written for Wired, Playboy, Boing Boing, Popular Mechanics, VentureBeat, and Gizmodo. He lives in Boston with his wife and two parakeets. You can follow him here on Twitter.
47 responses to “Thousands Of iOS Devices Bricked Around The World As iTunes Activation Servers Topple? [Update: Fixed?]”
I have an 3 month old Iphone 5C from sasktel in canada. On saturday may 17th 2014 my phone randomly in the middle of the day stopped recieving a mobile network connection. I could still connect to wifi though. I was unable to make calls at all, it wouldnt even let me dial out. No texting either. I was out with some friends I stopped at the sasktel jump.ca outlet in the mall and they changed the sim card for me to see if it would fix the issue and it didnt work. They told me to go to the wireless age where i bought the phone. It was late in the day at this point and I knew I would be unable to go to the wireless age until after may long weekend. I tried resetting my phone (not a factory reset) no luck. i still could not get a mobile connection. Today is Monday and i did a factory reset on my phone and now I cannot reactivate my phone. Its stuck in the activation stage and I am getting the error message ”
”
There is a problem with your iPhone.
We’re sorry, the iPhone you connected is not recognized and cannot be activated for service. We recommend you visit your nearest Apple Store for more information.”
My 3 month old Iphone is now useless. Where is the update? I switched from Android to Apple hoping for a better service. And then this? Not impressed at all.