Apple accused of bricking old iPhones to boost sales

Summary: A lawsuit filed at the Superior Court in San Diego claims that Apple used the iOS4 update to effectively brick older handsets in an attempt to sell newer iPhones.

A lawsuit filed at the Superior Court in San Diego claims that Apple used the iOS4 update to effectively brick older handsets in an attempt to sell newer iPhones.

Here's the meat of the complaint:

The true fact of the matter, as verifiable by information technology experts, is that the iOS 4 is a substantial 'downgrade' for earlier iPhone devices and renders many of them virtually useless iBricks.  Nonetheless, in reasonable and detrimental reliance upon Apple's false representations, false statements and false claims of full compatibility, thousands upon thousands of iPhone 3 users were intentionally misled into installing iOS 4 on their devices.

Basically, once users installed iOS4 onto their iPhone 3G handsets there was no way for most customers to effectively downgrade the OS, leaving customers with a handset that was virtually unusable. Apple's support forums are full of discussion relating to this issue.

The plaintiff, Bianca Wofford, is seeking reimbursement for every plaintiff the cost of the iPhone, plus an additional $5,000 in damages.

Topics: Hardware, Apple, iPhone, Mobility, Smartphones

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  • In other news...

    Microsoft has been accused of advertising each version of Windows of being "The most secure yet" and then once it is riddled with various viruses and security holes, coming out with a "new" version of Windows and advertising it as "The most secure yet"
    ShazAmerica
    • RE: Apple accused of bricking old iPhones to boost sales

      @ShazAmerica And what does this have to do with the iPhone or iOS which are both [i]Apple[/i] products? Did you even see the header or read the body of this or is this simply an obviously lame attempt to troll and spread FUD about Windows?
      athynz
    • So when are you filing your lawsuit?

      @ShazAmerica
      No, I'm serious. You obviously feel you have a great case. Please let us know when you file your lawsuit.

      PS: PWN2OWN :) :) :)
      NonZealot
      • RE: Apple accused of bricking old iPhones to boost sales

        Troller alert!!!!
        beau27
    • In other news, ShazAmerica shows his idiocy yet again

      And his lack of understanding of all things technical.

      How do people like him make it through life anyhow? Probally on the goodwill of others, most likely. ;)
      John Zern
      • Luckily, I dumped my MS shares and bought

        @John Zern

        All apple shares when it was at $7, so Ive been living on that. And I tried to spread the wealth when Apple was at $192 on these very boards but MS shills or lovers would rather just keep knocking Apple instead of taking advantage of 100% interest rates but I digress.

        For all of you little kiddies that read thaws boards, the running joke for years was how MS advertised each version as "most secure yet" and if you would take the time to read the transcripts of their antitrust trial, you would see, in their own words, how they lied repeatedly about windows .

        But, since it is a proven fact that people like to only believe things that confirm their own beliefs and not learn anything new, the odds of ms shills reading testimony given by Gates and co. under oath is nil
        ShazAmerica
      • RE: Apple accused of bricking old iPhones to boost sales

        @ShazAmerica

        "But, since it is a proven fact that people like to only believe things that confirm their own beliefs"

        Been looking in the mirror again?
        aureolin
      • Oh, so THAT explains your post.

        @ShazAmerica

        You're looking out for the interests of Apple shareholders rather than the users of Apple products. Thanks for clearing that up.
        Lester Young
      • RE: Apple accused of bricking old iPhones to boost sales

        @ShazAmerica I guess your post that I replied to was indeed nothing more than trolling and FUD just like your reply to John Zern. So you claim to have Apple stock - well good for you. But you still have yet to answer my question of what the new version - or indeed ANY version - of Windows has to do with this article talking about the lawsuit against Apple for allegedly "bricking" the iPhone 3G to increase sales of the iPhone 4.
        athynz
      • RE: Apple accused of bricking old iPhones to boost sales

        @ ShazAmerica

        You sir are a liar! You are lying straight through your teeth! Want to know why? Because Apple has NEVER, and I mean NEVER traded at 7 USD. I am sure you will come back and say, "yes Apple traded at 7 because if you look at Yahoo finance it clearly states 7"

        Well, ain't that special because what Yahoo does is reverse calculate splits and when you thought it was trading at 7 it was actually trading at 14! Don't believe me? Check out the historical data, not the charts and it will show that you sir are a liar!

        Next time if you try and sound like a "market guy" do at least some due diligence and make sound like you actually know what you are doing.
        serpentmage
      • ZDNET

        FIX THE SITE PROBLEMS!
        John Zern
      • Sorry Shaz, I'm not buying it

        Your explanation, that is. We have MS shares that will allways be worth more then their purchase price, and I've pointed out for years, we also hold alot of Apple stock: Imagine that! <br>And I've bought and sold in Red Hat (sold at 29. Could of held out a little longer, made more money, but I wanted the money for something at the time) Never bought Google, too pricey.<br><br>We have stock in other things, both tech and non-tech related, so nice try, but it's no big deal to me what you did with your portfolio.<br><br>Just becuase Apple's products don't suit my needs doesn't mean I don't want them to sell.<br><br>Read below, you'll notice I defended Apple. <br>Yet you come off as some anti-MS shill, which is stupid as what's it to you that you feel the need to belittle the competition, or those that use their products?<br><br>Just be happy with what you got, and let everyone else be.
        John Zern
    • Yet

      @ShazAmerica

      I don't see Vista riddled with malware.... Nor do I see 7 riddled with malware.

      Yep, you have a slam dunk case there buddy.
      The one and only, Cylon Centurion
      • I do believe that was his point

        @Cylon Centurion 0005
        When I read Shaz' comment I mentally inserted "sarcasm" tags. I actually think you and he are saying the exact same thing, just that you are doing it more directly.
        use_what_works_4_U
      • RE: Apple accused of bricking old iPhones to boost sales

        @Cylon Centurion 0005... There have been exploits, they get patched on Patch Tuesday every month, and sometime out of band. Malware is only a symptom of a problem, not the problem. If you have malware on a box, it is because it got in somewhere, due to an exploit, or a break in security.

        Fact of the matter is, Windows 7 is more secure, but it still suffers from exploits. Software is always one of those things that always needs improvement.
        Snooki_smoosh_smoosh
      • RE: Apple accused of bricking old iPhones to boost sales

        @Cylon Centurion 0005 He's a troll - he added nothing to the discussion other than to deflect the issue.
        athynz
    • RE: Apple accused of bricking old iPhones to boost sales

      @ShazAmerica The only time you run across problems with malware or spyware is because of porn sites. Pull your pants up. Quit jerking off and get a life
      Jesserocket01
      • RE: Apple accused of bricking old iPhones to boost sales

        @Jesserocket01 ....he's a macsturbator.
        Feldwebel Wolfenstool
      • RE: Apple accused of bricking old iPhones to boost sales

        @Jesserocket01

        Bull. I got to TONS of porn sites and have never gotten viruses/malware/spyware from them. In fact, the VERY FEW times I have gotten a message saying that I downloaded a virus from NIS, it has been from an AD on a website, porn or not!
        Lerianis10
    • RE: Apple accused of bricking old iPhones to boost sales

      @ShazAmerica You're an idiot. Sorry, someone had to tell you...
      jedikitty@...