How to troubleshoot update issues on my phone?

1. How to troubleshoot update issues on my phone?

Introduction

Modern phones have various ways to troubleshoot update issues. A phone will have updating an application or the phone software. Most of the time when an application update is interrupted, it could cause unexplained issues in the phone. To rectify this, the easiest way is to remove the application and restart the phone. The application can always be reinstalled, but most of the time this will fix the issue. When there is an error in the phone software update, this can be slightly more complicated to troubleshoot. The best thing to do is attempt the update process again. If the same error occurs, get any important information such as error messages, symptoms, and the update was stopping and consult the phone manufacturer. A software update may get interrupted because of causes unrelated to the update itself. For example, the phone could lose power or service while the update is being performed. Knowing the symptoms and relaying the information the manufacturer about what exactly happened will help determine the exact cause of the update failure. The information can be used to help solve the issue and also to prevent the same issue from occurring in the future.

2. Common Causes of Update Issues

5. Specific firmware bugs - sometimes the code in the existing firmware has a bug that doing very specific thing where the update fails at a particular point. This can even occur on official firmware and is just something to add to the frustration.

4. Failed download of update data to the PC - yeah this sounds not very likely, but the connection to the update server isn't that amazing at times. If you get a part download, the update program probably will not mention this and just try and flash the partial data to the phone which is obviously not good.

3. Network (NCK) or SIM-lock implemented by the network provider - in the pursuit of preventing people from migrating to other networks, network providers sometimes deliberately impose firmware locks on phones using network control keys. When a phone receives an update, the existing lock no longer may be valid for the new firmware. This can sometimes lead to code calculation being the only way to unlock the phone again as long as the unlockable counter hasn't reached zero.

2. Running unofficial OS or firmware - often people upgrade the phone to unofficial firmware thinking that this is a good way to avoid the network provider imposed limitations of their phone. Often it may well be. But unofficial firmware is less likely to be properly tested and you are taking a risk. If a firmware update "fails" on an unofficial OS, it may render your phone completely unusable!

1. Insufficient storage space - updates are often several megabytes. Sometimes the maximum file size supported by the file system is a bottleneck. If the update is very large, it may well push the disk to over the limit. Low memory on the phone can also be a source of problems. If you are unable to store picture data from an MMS, there is a good chance that the firmware updates may fail too. Solution: Make some space! Sometimes the best way is to completely format the memory card and free up storage that way. Uninstalling applications is another way to free up space.

A good starting point in trying to solve a problem is to determine the cause of that problem. Common causes of update problems in general are:

3. Troubleshooting Steps

In some instances, a soft reset and time & date adjustment does not resolve the issue. If this is the case, backup the device to iCloud or iTunes as explained in the previous post. A restore will always fix the issue, however, if the device is not under warranty, updating or restoring tends to have the device end up in a boot loop and not turn on. Boot loops generally occur because there is a battery or charging issue, and the user is unaware that the device was not turning on and off because it was not receiving enough power. The update process takes a large amount of battery and power, so having a functioning device that has a charging issue will often times get stuck mid-update. If the device is no longer stuck at a certain percentage after a few hours with a functional battery, it probably needs a restore.

If the servers are not the issue and the phone is still not reading an available update, the time and date settings on the phone may be incorrect. If the time and date are not set to automatically update, the phone will not be able to determine if there is a suitable update available for the device. Often times, allowing the device to automatically set the time and date will resolve the problem.

If after the soft reset, the device still does not update, be sure to double check Apple's server status. There is a possibility that the servers are under maintenance which disables all devices from updating. On Apple's website, a status update is provided for all of their services.

First off, a soft reset should be performed. The fastest way to do this is to hold power and volume down for around 5 seconds, which should force the phone to restart. In other cases, the power button needs to be held until the "slide to power off" slider appears. At this time, the home button needs to be held until the slider disappears. This will make the phone force restart. On older devices, the power and home buttons need to be held until the Apple logo appears.

Simply put, as the phone does not update, a few major troubleshooting steps should take priority.

4. Advanced Solutions

The importance of System Restore can't be stressed enough. Many problems with update installation can be stopped short by employing the System Restore utility with the Windows Server. Set the restore point to a time right before recent update installation, a bad update/patch should rear its head within a few days and if anything, it will give a clear indication of what was causing the phone home issue.

A less costly solution would be uninstalling any recent updates that may have possibly caused the phone home problem. This has its ups and downs as removing updates that have fixed separate issues will potentially make background troubleshooting more complex. This is where having an update log would be beneficial. An update log can be a verifiable source of information for an administrator to detail the result of the update, by having a timestamp and documented test results. An update log will become invaluable for looking at how system changes have adversely/remedially affected system behavior.

Advanced solutions to this issue begin with a wider search of knowledge base resources via the web. If the issue cannot be solved after that, the expensive step of filing a ticket to Microsoft can resolve if a fix will simply require time and careful waiting. File an incident report and grab a cup of coffee on patch Tuesday. The phone home issue is unfortunately a vague and persistent error.

5. Conclusion

In conclusion, there are numerous possible reasons that can cause issues such as the ones described in this guide. Sometimes trying to fix one issue can cause another, but with methodical research and persistence, you can usually find a solution. Always keep in mind that major changes to the device should be saved to external memory as they will be wiped during a factory reset. And of course the best troubleshooting method is to avoid the issue all together. If it isn't broken- I think you know the rest. Good luck.

If all else fails, you can contact customer support, but I can tell you from experience, tier 1 tech support for the service providers and sometimes even the device manufacturer are usually following a troubleshooting flow chart and are no more knowledgeable about the devices than you are. If you are a more advanced user of your device, you are far better off going to the device's support forums where people who have likely encountered the same issues can help you. A lot of times these forums contain a wealth of information beyond what you would expect. I hope this guide will help you with your phone update issues, thanks for reading.

It is important to follow instructions, but it is also important to read and understand what is written. Just because the device is new, doesn't mean the information on it is accurate. It may have been sitting on the shelf for a few months and in that time new updates have come out. It would be a good idea to manually check for updates, and I'm not talking about pressing a button in the settings. Go to the manufacturer's website and look for your particular device. Sometimes updates are leaked and/or they are still in the testing stage and are not released to the general public for automatic updating.