Apple Pushes iOS Fix for Battery Drain, Exchange Bug

By Kevin Parrish
published

Apple is nearly done cleaning up the mess caused by iOS 6.0.

On Tuesday, Apple released another incremental update for iOS, bringing the platform up to v6.1.2. According to the update note, this patch fixes an Exchange calendar bug that could result in increased network activity and reduced battery life. Previously the company released v6.1.1 which addressed a 3G connectivity issue specifically affecting iPhone 4S owners.

So far it's unknown if this latest patch officially fixes a security bug brought on by v6.1 that allows anyone to bypass the lockscreen. A hacker supposedly can't reach the Home screen, but does have access to contacts and photos stored on the device. Steps to achieve access include accessing the emergency call section, putting the device on stand-by mode and more.

Despite the cool new features it brought to iPhone users, the iOS v6.0 update seemingly brought on a handful of unwelcome problems like the previously mentioned security flaw, excessive battery drain and overheating, 3G connectivity and Microsoft Exchange issues. Two European networks warned customers not to upgrade while Microsoft said to ban updated phones from accessing Exchange servers until Apple resolves the issues.

The update launched last week, v6.1.1, was only released for iPhone 4S models to address the 3G connectivity issue. Annoyed customers thus flocked to the forums nevertheless and complained about persistent battery and Exchange problems despite the patch. Apple even stated that it was only meant to clear up the 3G problems on iPhone 4S.

While this latest patch reportedly fixes problems with Exchange and excessive battery drain, there's a question as to whether Apple addressed the security lock screen problem. ZDNet reports that it attempted to follow the bypass process and was unsuccessful, but Ars Technica reports that it was able to successfully bypass the lock screen after the update.

According to a report on iPhoneHacks, the evad3rs dev team has confirmed that the new iOS update has been jailbroken using the evasi0n tool. A new version of the tool, v1.4, for iOS 6.1.2 will be released sometime on Tuesday here. The team also confirmed that v6.1.2 does not fix the passcode security flaw.

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Kevin Parrish
17 Comments Comment from the forums
  • TunaSoda
    Sitting here with my android phone that has a 3100mAh battery in it laughing...
    Reply
  • TheBigTroll
    lets hope that this doesnt cause more bugs.
    Reply
  • supaxui
    lost my iphone 4s, now its someone elses problem
    Reply
  • house70
    Just goes to show that Apple is just another tech company and iOS is another OS, bugs and everything. Their farts stink, too, like everybody's.
    Oh, they forgot to mention the WiFi bug introduced by iOS 6 that is still out there, but that's just adding insult to injury.
    Somewhat unrelated, my Avast pop-up showed the new free version for Macs; just in time after the recent breach in Apple's computers (that did not even get mentioned here).
    Reply
  • f-14
    Exclusive: Apple, Macs hit by hackers who targeted Facebook
    By Jim Finkle and Joseph Menn | Reuters – 4 hrs ago
    http://news.yahoo.com/exclusive-apple-hit-hackers-targeted-facebook-last-week-182005220.html

    "This is the first really big attack on Macs," said the source, who declined to be identified because the person was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. "Apple has more on its hands than the attack on itself."
    Charlie Miller, a prominent expert on Apple security who is co-author of the Mac Hacker's Handbook, said the attacks show that criminal hackers are investing more time studying the Mac OS X operating system so they can attack Apple computers.
    For example, he noted, hackers recently figured out a fairly sophisticated way to attack Macs by exploiting a flaw in Adobe Systems Inc's Flash software.
    "The only thing that was making it safe before is that nobody bothered to attack it. That goes away if somebody bothers to attack it," Miller said.
    Reply
  • f-14
    An Apple spokesman declined to specify how many companies had been breached in the campaign targeting Macs, saying he could not elaborate further on the statement it provided.
    "Apple has identified malware which infected a limited number of Mac systems through a vulnerability in the Java plug-in for browsers. The malware was employed in an attack against Apple and other companies, and was spread through a website for software developers," the statement said.
    "We identified a small number of systems within Apple that were infected and isolated them from our network. There is no evidence that any data left Apple," it continued.
    Reply
  • tobalaz
    Want to know how to fix the Apple problems?
    1. Knock off the retarded lawsuits and patents
    2. Hire programmers instead of lawyers
    3. Problems solve themselves!
    Reply
  • lockhrt999
    23 mb patch to fix a bug? I've gotta say it was a fat bug then.
    Reply
  • technicalbass
    TunaSodaSitting here with my android phone that has a 3100mAh battery in it laughing...
    And yet somehow I imagine iPhone users still get better battery life than you. I'm no Apple fanboi by any means but I can't argue with what I see and what I see is every frickin person I know with a android device looking for a charger halfway throughout the day.
    Reply
  • tobalaz
    technicalbassAnd yet somehow I imagine iPhone users still get better battery life than you. I'm no Apple fanboi by any means but I can't argue with what I see and what I see is every frickin person I know with a android device looking for a charger halfway throughout the day.
    I've got an Evo 4g (Supersonic outside the US) and I started out with horrid battery life.
    I flashed a clean, minimalistic non-sense rom, no carrier BS apps, and ditched the live wallpaper.
    I get more than a full day out of my phone now, unless I play games on it non-stop then I'm lucky to get half a day.
    Apple doesn't allow for a mess of BS apps pre-installed on their phones (or any carrier specific apps for that matter) because if an iPhone came pre-loaded with the 30 odd Sprint default apps and allowed live wallpapers instead of the dull standard ones every Android phone on that network gets bogged down with it wouldn't make it to that halfway point either.
    Yes, we Android users get the shorter end of the stick because our phones come bogged down out of the gate, but we don't generally pay $600 once a year out of blind loyalty either.
    Reply