3G iPhone 2.1 Firmware Upgrade
Posted on September 16, 2008
Filed Under Apple iPhone | Leave a Comment
So far I’m pretty happy with the iPhone 2.1 firmware update. Battery life has been better (mostly) and it did fix the problem with 3rd party apps crashing. The keyboard seems much snappier than the lag that existed before the update.
In general, things seem more stable. I have seen many of the sites that go into detail about many of the other fixes that 2.1 brings but I didn’t see any mention of the frustrating Bluetooth echo fix that occurs with most cars that have the hands free feature.
I decided to give Bluetooth a try today in my car and woo hoo — it worked! Almost no echo. I mean it is about 90-95% fixed. What I did notice was that when I got out of the car and was not using the phone it seemed like it was chewing up some battery too fast.
I know that Bluetooth can consume battery so I went to my settings and I’m not encouraged by what I found. Bluetooth is “ON”, and it shows that it is Paired with my car (although I am not near my car).
The thing that has me most concerned is that there is that spinning gear next to the word “Devices” that never quits until I turn Bluetooth off. I am sure that this is chewing away at the battery’s charge — not good.
Okay, so I went to the paired device (My-Car) and chose to unpair that device and now there is no spinning gear next to devices — it now has a box where “My-Car” used to be which now stated “Searching…” with the spinning gears next to it. Spinning, spinning, spinning away — battery life plumeting.
The only way I have found to stop this is to turn off Bluetooth. That’s not very practicle when you are in and out of your car. Not to mention the fact that while you are connected the phone is constantly looking for other devices.
I haven’t had a chance to see how many other people are experiencing the same thing.