Apple Toolbox

General Guidance: The 4 Rs Determining Upgrade Eligibility Problems and Fixes: Signal Drops or Degrades When Held a Certain Way (“Death Grip”) Accidentally Hangs Up or Mutes During Calls When Held to Ear (Proximity Sensor Issue) Slow Downloads Over 3G Connection “No SIM Card Installed” Error FaceTime Doesn’t Work; No Option in Settings: Fix

Way back in 2006, Apple posted a troubleshooting assistant for iPods dubbed “the 5 Rs”: Reset, Retry, Restart, Reinstall, Restore. The procedure used an escalating series of steps that solved a majority of issues that afflict the device. Based on reader reports of iPhone 4 troubleshooting issues, we’ve compiled a shorter “4 Rs” list of escalating fixes that can solve a [...]

Although most users have reported faster 3G data throughput from the iPhone 4 relative to the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS, some users report dramatically slower speeds in locations where their previous iPhones delivered normal speed. In some cases, the phone displays the message “Could not activate cellular data network” despite full signal (all bars). Apple [...]

On June 21, we noted that a number of iPhone users have reported loss of cellular data access (3G or EDGE) and MMS capabilities after the update to iOS 4.0. We offered a number of fixes, including reapplication of carrier APN settings, which was successful for most readers. Apple has now published two knowledge base [...]

A number of iPhone users have reported loss of cellular data access (3G or EDGE) after the update to iOS 4.0. Fixes Reset all settings. Try this first. On your iPhone, select Settings, then Reset, then Reset All Settings. This will result in the loss of data created since your last backup, but may solve [...]

As noted by a number of users on AT&T’s discussion form, AT&T’s iPad 3G plan will not accept a PO Box address for activation. As described by one poster: “When I enter all the information on my iPad for the AT&T wireless plan such as my PO Box number it tells me to enter my [...]

Some recipients of the iPad 3G (which arrived to early orderers today) report an issue in which newly established AT&T data plans display the message “There is no data remaining on your current plan. Would you like to add more data now? If you don’t add now, you can do it later in Settings” despite [...]

[UPDATE: Apple has now posted a press release stating that the iPad will be delivered to early buyers on April 30. Still, some readers report a quoted ship date of April 23. ] —– We’ve received notes from a few readers indicating receipt of iPad 3G shipment notices from Apple. The same readers report that [...]