We clowned on Samsung messing up the Android 15/ One UI 7 update, rightly so. Of course, Apple couldn’t let old Sammy grab all the headlines and decided to botch its own software update.
First we need to acknowledge that it is not yet clear how prevalent this all is.
The recent iOS 18.4.1 update has reportedly bricked some iPhones, making them unusable and unable to find their IMEI numbers.
The phone can’t find its unique ID number (called the IMEI). Because of this, it locks the owner out, likely because it thinks it might have been stolen.
Even experts at Apple stores couldn’t fix it using a Mac. It seems the only way to get it working again is to pay a lot of money to replace a main part inside (motherboard).
Multiple users have shared similar experiences, claiming that even Apple service centers were unable to restore their devices after the update.
Some believe the issue comes from a defect in the modem, but that’s just speculation at this point.
However, do remember that software updates can damage hardware. Apple technicians acknowledge that software updates can indeed cause significant hardware issues.
With all the above in mind, it is wise to disable automatic updates on iPhones until a patch is released. In the past, issues with updates have taken time for Apple to address.
It may be only a tiny fraction of iPhones that have been bricked by the iOS 18.4.1 update but can you really risk yours being added to that list.
I almost installed the update but was saved by my phone running out of storage space. I’m glad it worked out that way.
The update in question doesn’t really add anything exciting and so I can hold off for months. Apple wants us to install the iOS update immediately to secure our phones from a security flaw but that will have to wait.
This whole software-update-breaking-things situation is not new. We saw the One UI 6 update that bricked Galaxy S22 phones, and even the One UI 7 earlier this month made it so some phones could not be unlocked.
I can’t count how many Windows updates have wrecked a perfectly stable computer. This all highlights the potential risks of software updates. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows, although most times it is.
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