Apple’s Trojan Horse

[wpn]

Is Tim Cook boosting Apple device sales with Trojan Horse software?

My iPhone 7 just went off my 2-year AT&T plan, off Apple’s warranty, and of course I allowed my AppleCare service plan to lapse. It had been working perfectly. I was happy I could reasonably expect two years of phone usage without monthly installments.

This past week I downloaded the latest software upgrade 12.1.4 on my device.

The first sign something was amiss was a pop-up window telling me it could not connect to my email account and required a new sign-in and password. I did that. Several hours later my phone calls went silent. Of four calls, one could hear me, but I could not hear them. I couldn’t hear a ring. One other caller told me they could hear me. Two other attempted calls had no sound on either end. Texting ceased functioning for several hours and then returned.

Several hours more went the speaker button went gray. Now the phone was randomly malfunctioning.

Two chats, two conferences, and two hours later the issue was still unresolved. The last advisor scheduled a Genius Bar appointment for me to have the device replaced. She had all my information available, including its warranty status.

The genius at the Genius Bar told me that I needed to pay $314 + to replace the device. I asked, “How coincidental is it that these problems only appeared when the software download was made?” Her response was, yes, sometimes an existing hardware problem will be exposed by a software upgrade. I thought how convenient this is for Apple.

I had this unexplained reason repeated to me by yet another Senior Advisor who added anew they may opt to repair, instead of replacing the device. Presumably for the same fee of $314 + or perhaps any other price they might choose.

How convenient is it for Apple to claim this sorcery without proof? Is Apple delivering bugs with software updates now to stimulate slow sales growth?

 

[Sebct]

Is Tim Cook boosting Apple device sales with Trojan Horse software?

No.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Is Tim Cook boosting Apple device sales with Trojan Horse software?

My iPhone 7 just went off my 2-year AT&T plan, off Apple’s warranty, and of course I allowed my AppleCare service plan to lapse. It had been working perfectly. I was happy I could reasonably expect two years of phone usage without monthly installments.

This past week I downloaded the latest software upgrade 12.1.4 on my device.

The first sign something was amiss was a pop-up window telling me it could not connect to my email account and required a new sign-in and password. I did that. Several hours later my phone calls went silent. Of four calls, one could hear me, but I could not hear them. I couldn’t hear a ring. One other caller told me they could hear me. Two other attempted calls had no sound on either end. Texting ceased functioning for several hours and then returned.

Several hours more went the speaker button went gray. Now the phone was randomly malfunctioning.

Two chats, two conferences, and two hours later the issue was still unresolved. The last advisor scheduled a Genius Bar appointment for me to have the device replaced. She had all my information available, including its warranty status.

The genius at the Genius Bar told me that I needed to pay $314 + to replace the device. I asked, “How coincidental is it that these problems only appeared when the software download was made?” Her response was, yes, sometimes an existing hardware problem will be exposed by a software upgrade. I thought how convenient this is for Apple.

I had this unexplained reason repeated to me by yet another Senior Advisor who added anew they may opt to repair, instead of replacing the device. Presumably for the same fee of $314 + or perhaps any other price they might choose.

How convenient is it for Apple to claim this sorcery without proof? Is Apple delivering bugs with software updates now to stimulate slow sales growth?

You are attempting to use logical fallacy as proof of alleged sorcery.

There is no Trojan Horse.

 

[wpn]

I am here as a frustrated user using logic as a question. Please explain what Apple cannot.

 

[keysofanxiety]

I am here as a frustrated user using logic as a question. Please explain what Apple cannot.

There’s an old saying that an issue will be one of three things: software, hardware, or liveware.

a) Software. Issue occurred on latest OS, try a clean install.
b) Hardware issue if clean install doesn’t work.
c) Device deliberately infected with a virus following OS update so you’re forced to pay for a repair or upgrade.

One of the three options doesn’t use “logic”.

 

[wpn]

So far no one has been able to answer my question. Only challenge it.

How does a software upgrade reveal a pre-existing hardware issue? I am unlikely to be the only non-technical consumer/user who would like a an acceptable answer that doesn't align with blind faith.

Thank you.

 

[jtara]

The genius at the Genius Bar told me that I needed to pay $314 + to replace the device. I asked, “How coincidental is it that these problems only appeared when the software download was made?”

But did you ask "what is wrong with it?" Did they indicate that they felt "x" was failed/failing? If so, what did they say was "x"?

You've given only very vague information. As such, nobody can give anything more than a very vague response.

Coincidences happen.

Your argument is what as known as a "post hoc, ergo propter hoc" argument. It means "this, and therefore that". i.e. a false cause-and-effect argument, without supporting evidence. "I saw this, and then I saw that, and therefore..."

(Edit: actually - more properly - it doesn't even require the "and then I saw..." Means "this, and therefore that").

The fallacy with this is the "therefore".

And, yes, as a software developer (40+ years) changes in software can reveal hardware bug or failures. It's really a pretty simple concept. If the previous software did not make use of a flawed or failed (either) hardware feature, or did not induce a flaw which only occurs when a specific sequence of events happen - then, yes.

Most obvious case are e.g. bad memory/bad hard drive/flash sectors, thermal issues. New software works the memory harder, so it happens upon a failed/failing cell at just the right time. Hard drive/flash runs out of spare sectors. Software that does more work than previously pushes the CPU harder than before, revealing thermal issues. Etc. etc. etc.

 

[CTHarrryH]

Have you tried things like re-installing the IOS software? Something could have happened during the download and/or install

 

[chrfr]

So far no one has been able to answer my question. Only challenge it.

How does a software upgrade reveal a pre-existing hardware issue? I am unlikely to be the only non-technical consumer/user who would like a an acceptable answer that doesn't align with blind faith.

Thank you.

There's no evidence your hardware problem was pre-existing. Coincidence is a real thing.

 

[EEzycade]

There are many possible reasons that could explain your problem. However, there is one that is blatantly not true. Coincidentally it is your proposed reason. Apple did not hide a virus or any type of harmful software in the update. There are rules revolving these issues and if Apple did not follow them, they would not exist. One of the above responses had it right, it is conceivable that a software update could reveal previously unknown hardware issues. Technology, no matter how exhaustively researched, does fail and frequently too. If you are looking for attention or someone to validate your opinion, you won't find it on this forum. However, if you are seeking more understanding on your issue I believe the previous responses are adequate.

 

[BugeyeSTI]

No chance of your theory being correct. Do a clean install without using a backup and see what happens..

 

[Knowlege Bomb]

I had my iPhone XS fail spectacularly when I updated to 12.1.3. I could have jumped to conclusions and blamed Apple but instead I wiped my phone and installed the 12.2 beta (12.1.4 wasn't out yet) and everything was great.

 

[scjr]

It’s incredibly irresponsible to suggest Apple is inserting a trojan horse in their software, without proof. You have issues, but coming at it from this angle isn’t helping your cause and it’s probably turning off folks who would normally help.

 

[that be me]

Probably not the reason, but I recall there was a big stink on the forums a while back where an iOS update caused phones to brick. It only affected iPhones that had their home button replaced. Apple would perform a diagnostic on the device and basically told people they were out of luck and to pay them for a new phone.

Have you done any third party repairs/alterations? I doubt this is the case, since it would likely have been reported on by multiple users on these forums. Not sure where I was going with this.

 

[steve62388]

No.

Reminds me of an old saying. If you ever see a newspaper headline asking a question, the answer is ‘no’.

 

[Nikiforidis]

This past week I downloaded the latest software upgrade 12.1.4 on my device.

Several hours later my phone calls went silent. Of four calls, one could hear me, but I could not hear them. I couldn’t hear a ring. One other caller told me they could hear me. Two other attempted calls had no sound on either end. Texting ceased functioning for several hours and then returned.

Several hours more went the speaker button went gray. Now the phone was randomly malfunctioning.

I noticed exactly the same issues with my device shortly after updating. Here is the workaround that worked for me:

Settings->Mobile Data->Mobile Data Options->Voice-> Switch from 2G to 3G or 4G.

I used to set my phone on 2G to avoid battery drains because of low signal of the 3G and 4G networks. Seems like there are some issues with 2G on iOS 12.1.3 and later.

 

[Painter2002]

So far no one has been able to answer my question. Only challenge it.

How does a software upgrade reveal a pre-existing hardware issue? I am unlikely to be the only non-technical consumer/user who would like a an acceptable answer that doesn't align with blind faith.

Thank you.

From a factual standpoint, software has bugs and issues, every version of it. There is always a chance that a new version of software might damage your device depending on how it impacts you device.

You will not find any evidence that there is a conspiracy to create a Trojan horse to make people upgrade devices. Sorry to disappoint but you’re looking for something that simply doesn’t exist.

 

[s15119]

Nope, your conspiracy theory is void.

 

[FyerFyer]

So many people replying have their heads so far up Apple’s backside they can’t even consider that Apple engages in corrupt and illegal practices even though its written all over the place.

Tim meets Trump, three days later Huawei are a security risk. Same week they bought a data collection startup. Not to mention that bizarre talk Tim made about censorship a few days ago. Oh and the FaceTime bug two weeks ago (which still isn’t fully fixed!). But no, you can trust them.
It’s not like they are losing money and their sales are down with more complaints than ever or anything.

Samsung announce a foldable phone (which tbh looks terrible) Apple still haven’t released their wireless charging station.

This company is now a money maker with little care as to advancing technology positively for the world or its users; ironically the last clause being its bloody ethos.

 

[C DM]

So many people replying have their heads so far up Apple’s backside they can’t even consider that Apple engages in corrupt and illegal practices even though its written all over the place.

Tim meets Trump, three days later Huawei are a security risk. Same week they bought a data collection startup. Not to mention that bizarre talk Tim made about censorship a few days ago. Oh and the FaceTime bug two weeks ago (which still isn’t fully fixed!). But no, you can trust them.
It’s not like they are losing money and their sales are down with more complaints than ever or anything.

Samsung announce a foldable phone (which tbh looks terrible) Apple still haven’t released their wireless charging station.

This company is now a money maker with little care as to advancing technology positively for the world or its users; ironically the last clause being its bloody ethos.

So therefore any of those things (as rhetorical and essentially unrelated as they mostly are) are somehow proof of something else?

 

[MEJHarrison]

Tim meets Trump, three days later Huawei are a security risk.

Are you suggesting that the meeting with the President lead to the Justice Department throwing a case together basically overnight? I'm no lawyer, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't work that way. Also, the dates on the documents on the Department of Justice's website don't match that timeline either.

That's just simple common sense there. Or, as some like to call it, having your head up Apple's ass. I've heard it both ways.

 

[s15119]

place.

Tim meets Trump, three days later Huawei are a security risk.

Please seek help. Seriously. There is help. Reach out to someone.