Okay so it looks like I need to start my iPhone from new - What about my phonebook?

[james-bailey]

Hey there, my phone keeps on turning itself off (the screen flickers quickly then turns off) and reboots every 5 minutes and it is a real pain.



I have tried a normal restore via iTunes and also a DFU restore, and neither have made a difference.



Each time though, I have restored my latest backup - I have been informed that its likely to be this backup that is causing me the issue and to start fresh would solve it. Is this true?



I have over 400 contacts in my phone at present, what is the best way of getting them onto my newly installed fresh one?



If it helps, I do have a spare 3GS thats functional (except the speaker) so aid me in this process? What would happen if I plugged in the older 3GS, restored that as a carbon copy of my current phone, then restored my current one as a fresh one, then copy them over somehow?



Any help would be greatfully received, thanks



James

 

[RodThePlod]

I have over 400 contacts in my phone at present, what is the best way of getting them onto my newly installed fresh one?

Hi James,

Do you have a Mac or Windows machine? If you have a Mac, look in the Address Book application. Can you see your 400 contacts? Alternatively, if you have a Windows machine have a look in the Windows Contacts appplication. Again, do you see anything in there?

If you do, then you're in luck - all you need to do is sync these back to your phone once you, restored it.

BEFORE you do a sync, tho - just perform a restore and use your phone for a while to see if it still reboots in this 'virgin' state. If it doesn't reboot then selectively restore your contacts, etc.

RTP.

 

[james-bailey]

hey rod, sounds good advice.

I have never been able to get the syncing to adresss book on my mac working unfortunately.

After a bit of investigation work, the contacts on my phone are sync'd with Mobile Me.

If I was to restore to a virgin state, how then do I transfer the contacts from mobile me back to my phone? Im scared that once they are deleted from my phone then mobile me will follow suit and they willl be lost forever?

Also, if I restore my iPhone to a virgin state now, and things dont go to plan, will my backup from last night still be available?

Thanks

James

 

[RodThePlod]

If I was to restore to a virgin state, how then do I transfer the contacts from mobile me back to my phone? Im scared that once they are deleted from my phone then mobile me will follow suit and they willl be lost forever?

First off before you restore anything, it's a good idea to try to get your Mobile Me contacts synced to your Address Book. At least then you'll have your contacts in both places. Try this:

1. Open System Preferences, MobileMe.
2. Click Sync, Advanced, Reset Sync Data.
3. Under Replace, select Replace Contacts on this computer with sync info from MobileMe.
   NOTE: Only select to sync your contacts at this stage.
4. Make sure the arrow is pointing to the left to sync from MobileMe to your Mac.

This will hopefully transfer your MobileMe contacts to the Address Book on the Mac. When you subsequently sync with your iPhone, they should then get transferred there.

Also, if I restore my iPhone to a virgin state now, and things dont go to plan, will my backup from last night still be available?

Yes - your backup on your Mac should always be there and available for a restore, unless you delete it somehow.

Hope this helps!

RTP.

 

[james-bailey]

Good advise rod i will remember that for the future.

I installed the phone as a new iphone and still the problem persists! :-(

So restored again to my original profile (without loosing anything obviously) and now pondering on my next move!?

James

 

[cdustybk]

I was just going to ask if you had tried downloading the iPhone software again. I would do this (if you have a decently fast internet connection).

Sometimes a brief interruption in the download can cause problems (I've done this before), but iTunes usually catches it if there is a problem. I have had one time I ever remember iTunes installing bad software on my phone.

Let us know how it goes...

 

[james-bailey]

by iPhone software do you mean the OS?

Initially when I first had the problem it was 4.3.4 and whilst trying to fix it its changed to 4.3.5, hence maybe the problem isnt specific to the OS download?

Its a good shout though, how do I go about re downloading it?

 

[RodThePlod]

So restored again to my original profile (without loosing anything obviously) and now pondering on my next move!?

I hate to say this, James but if this is still occurring it sounds to me like a hardware issue.

Next move? What model iPhone is it - and how long have you had it? Also, do you have an Apple store nearby?

If it's an iPhone 4, I would be tempted to take it down to the Apple store and speak to a Genius. You never know, depending on how old the phone is, they may swap it out with a replacement.

And you have all your backups waiting to go. Can't hurt to try, right?

Good luck!

RTP.

 

[james-bailey]

Its a 3GS 32gb and received it a month ago via O2 insurance. They issue refurbished phones and only take back if the any fault is mentioned within 14 days - its been over a month now so im stuffed!

 

[RodThePlod]

Its a 3GS 32gb and received it a month ago via O2 insurance. They issue refurbished phones and only take back if the any fault is mentioned within 14 days - its been over a month now so im stuffed!

I'd still ping them. You might get through to someone who's prepared to replace it for you.

Other than that - I'm not sure...

RTP.