Apple iPhone Update 1.0.2 released: What's new; will erase hacks; troubleshooting the update

Apple has released iPhone Update 1.0.2, which can be installed connecting your iPhone to your Mac or Windows system, then selecting the iPhone in iTunes and clicking the "Update" button.

Apple's cryptic release notes state "this version of the software includes bug fixes and supersedes all previous versions."

The download is 3.7 MB, and will be automatically applied by iTunes.

Will erase hacks

Note that on one of our in-house iPhones that had been hacked to allow third-party application installation via the Installer.app single-command method failed to properly receive the update. The phone was forced into recovery mode, after which it had to be restored. This eliminated all non-Apple-sanctioned modification on the device, including the presence of Installer.app and other third-party applications

This is because the iPhone software update performs a validation process on the device, which will fail if it has been jailbroken (a required step in the hacking process). When validation fails, the phone is put into recovery mode, and a restore must be performed. This will also force iTunes to download the "restore" version of the 1.0.2 software update, which is just under 92MB.

Fixes for problems during the update process or afterward

Attempting to apply software update 1.0.2 may cause various issues on phones that have been hacked or even normally operating phones. These include:

• the message "iPhone cannot be restored (Error -50)
• an iPhone that suddenly shuts off and cannot be turned on
• and more

If these problems occur, the first thing you should try is putting your iPhone into recovery mode and re-attempt a restore, via these steps:

1. Disconnect your iPhone from your Mac or Windows computer.
2. Press and hold the sleep/wake and home buttons simultaneously for about 20-30 seconds, until you see a yellow triangle with an exclamation point in the middle accompanied by the text â??Please Connect to iTunes.â??
3. Connect your iPhone to your computer and launch iTunes if it does not automatically launch.
4. You should see the below image
5. Now proceed to restore your iPhone. Click the Restore button under the Summary tab. Restoring the phone will erase contacts, calendars, photos and other data on the phone, but will restore automatically backed-up information including text messages, notes, call history, contact favorites, sound settings, widget settings, etc.

Louder volume

Some users have reported that the earpiece has a significantly louder maximum volume after the 1.0.2 update. An iPhone Atlas reader writes:

"Hey iPhone Atlas, one thing I noticed after the update the earpiece and speakerphone sounds much louder when listening to voicemail. I have not talked to anybody on the iPhone yet so I can not say anything about that."

For previous coverage of low volume complaints, see these articles:

• The quiet riot: iPhone volume complaints continue to pour in
• iPhone, earpiece, speakerphone too quiet for some users
• iPhone too quiet? Software fix likely coming, restore may help

Smoother scrolling while pages are loading in Safari

MobileSafari can now smoothly scroll pages while they are loading. Before the scrolling while loading pages was jerky or non-existent.

Problems or noted improvements after the update? Please let us know.