Apple has released iPhone firmware 2.2 through iTunes just like we had speculated though the midnight release is a little strange.
iPhone firmware 2.2 release notes indicates that it includes most of the features we had heard about in the last few months.
You can get all the details of iPhone firmware 2.2 after the break.
The release notes lists many bug fixes and improvements in iPhone firmware 2.2, they are mentioned below:
- Enhancements to Maps (reported here)
- Google Street View
- public transit and walking directions
- display address of dropped pins
- share location via email
- Enhancements to Mail
- resolved isolated issues with scheduled fetching of email
- improved formatting of wide HTML email
- improved stability and performance of Safari
- Podcasts are now available for download in iTunes application (over Wi-Fi and cellular network) (reported here)
- Decrease in call set-up failures and call drops
- Improved sound quality of visual voicemail messages
- Pressing the Home button from any Home screen takes you to the first Home screen
- Preference to turn on/off auto-correction in Keyboard Settings (reported here)
So iPhone firmware 2.2 includes most of the features we had heard about in the last few months except for the home button trick which appears to be quite useful.
We need to see if the firmware update includes the fix for the iPhone Safari exploit that was reported yesterday.
Its good to see that it includes improved stability and performance of Safari, so hopefully it should reduce the iPhone Safari crashes. It also includes the fix for isolated issues with scheduled fetching of email.
If you have jailbroken and/or unlocked your iPhone then updating your iPhone with the latest firmware is not recommended at least until the iPhone Dev Team have not released the latest version of their Pwnage Tool which can hack iPhone firmware 2.2.
The dev team has also warned iPhone 3G users who are looking forward to unlock
their iPhone 3Gs to avoid upgrading to upcoming iPhone firmware 2.2 until they don’t give an all clear.
You can download the latest firmware (246 mb) directly through iTunes.
Thanks Jim, HyperGo and Xattica for the heads up!
Update 1:
The security fixes list here confirms that the exploit reported yesterday has been fixed, it mentions a fix for the Safari exploit "Visiting a maliciously crafted website may initiate a phone call without user interaction".
Users are reporting a number of problems after installing the latest firmware, some of these include:
One user was unable to delete emails.
Another users reported that his update failed, iTunes gave him an error but he ignored it and went on with the download, now his iPhone is stuck on the connect to iTunes screen.
Some users are reporting that the auto-brightness stops working properly.
Update 2:
Apple has also released iTunes 8.0.2. It is available through Apple’s iTunes site or via software update.
One of our readers, Scott, is reporting problems with Turbo SIM, the hardware unlocking method after updating to iPhone firmware 2.2.
"Well I updated to the new 2.2 and now my Turbo Sim is not working.
My iphone just says no service. I cant even sync to itunes. When I
connect my iphone 3g to comp itunes comes up and then gives this error"itunes could not connect to the iphone because an invalid response was received from the device""
His advice:
"To all do not update if you are using your iphone with tmobile or any other carrier than at&t"
Sorry to hear about the issue Scott but thanks for the feedback.
App Store links in iPhone Safari link directly to the App Store.
Emoji icons are included for Japanese users as reported earlier.
Netshare still works.
Apple has also released a new iPhone User Guide which includes the features introduced in iPhone firmware 2.2. You can check it by following this link.
Update 3:
Update 4:
Readers, John and Matteo (thanks guys) had reported problems with the App Store update page. However, Jeff clarifies (thanks Jeff):
Update 5:
Update 6:
Apple Breaks Hardware Method to Unlock iPhone 3G with Firmware 2.2
Folks,
if are planning to update to the latest firmware, please do let us know
how it goes. I will keep you posted as soon as I have any more details
to share, so stay tuned here at iPhone Hacks.
Top iPhone Hacks Categories:
Hacks
iPhone Applications
Unlock iPhone
JailBreak iPhone
iPhone Tips & Tricks
iPhone Games
iPhone News
He thinks, it could be because: