Apple iPhone update rant.

[DWSmith]

[rant]
I just told Apple technical support that they are dumber than a sack of rocks so you may want to stop reading now before I explain.

Apple requires one to seek out a WiFi connection to update their iPhone software so I drove a 1.5 hour round trip to go into town and have a co-worker let me attach to his BlackBerry's WiFi hotspot so I could update my iPhone 7. ???

After I got home I called Apple's technical support number to ask why I couldn't update my iPhone while it was connected to the cellular provider and had to use WiFi to connect to another mobile phone that was connected to the same cellular provider.

Apple's technical support pegged the needle on my BS detection meter and I called him out on it. He backed off when I asked him why BlackBerry was so much more reliable than iPhone when talking directly to the cellular provider's data network.

He told me I'd need to talk to the cellular provider about the reliability and I again told him he was pegging the needle on my BS detection meter. I told him it was Apple's requirement that the iPhone use WiFi so he needed to explain why. He couldn't.

He agreed to run my questions past his technical higher-ups.

Maybe it's just because I'm just getting old but I'm really losing my patience with some of these companies and their cock-and-bull stories.
[/rant]

I apologize for the rant but I just had to say something. Have a good evening!

[cariann88]

The main reason they say download updates using wifi is because if you downloaded using your data then it could cost you loads if you don't have a data plan or if you do have a data plan then it will drain your data so your left without any internet till you top up or pay monthly for the phone.

[vixylix]

^^^ I agree - but then it doesnt make sense that there is no alternative if you are willing to use your data!

[DWSmith]

The main reason they say download updates using wifi is because if you downloaded using your data then it could cost you loads if you don't have a data plan or if you do have a data plan then it will drain your data so your left without any internet till you top up or pay monthly for the phone.

Sorry but not the case. They said they want people to use WiFi because it's more reliable and will have much less chance of corrupting the download than if you use the cellular data network. That's when I said that they were indicating that the BlackBerry connected to the cellular data network was more reliable than the iPhone connected to the cellular data network. He then backed off.

Cost of downloading data was never mentioned. Reliability was given as the only reason.

[DWSmith]

iPhone 7 <= WiFi => BlackBerry <->cellular data network

is allowed but is not more reliable than this:

iPhone 7 <-> cellular data network

but he initially said it is.

iPhone 7 <-> cellular data network

is not allowed for updating the iPhone.

[DannyK]

How is Apple stopping you from updating by using your cellular data network?

Surely it's just a recommendation to use landline/cable internet, which makes sense.

[DWSmith]

The update refuses to process until it sees a WiFi connection and it tells me so.