Error 3200: Massive iOS 5 demand hinders Apple?s servers

Posted:
in Mac Software edited January 2014
Apple's servers were bogged down on Wednesday from an overwhelming number of iOS users trying to update their devices to the newest version of the software, prompting some to receive an “Error 3200” message.



The error code appears during iOS 5 installation when a request for authorization from an updating device fails to be fulfilled by Apple's servers. The company said the issue stemmed from the massive amount of simultaneous attempts from users trying to download the new software.



For some, attempts to update have left them without access to the iPhone. For instance, one AppleInsider reader reported that his iPhone became useless, or bricked, after receiving the error message because the handset couldn't get through to Apple's authentication servers to reactivate the phone. The reader went on to say that Apple's Fifth Ave. store was flooded with customers bringing in bricked devices, asking staff for help.



Apple's servers are said to be only accepting about half the requests, and even if access is granted, users have reported that the download takes about 15 minutes. It has also been noted that, following a successful download, the backup process is taking much longer than usual to complete, with some seeing 3 hour wait times.



Other problems have been reported from users trying to upgrade to iOS 5, including the inability to access iCloud.



Some iPhone updaters have seen a "3004" error message as well, followed by the bricking of their device. The message refers to iTunes not being able to connect with Apple's update server, which is in line with what company representatives believe caused the "3200" error message.



A discussion thread started on Apple’s Support Communities forum details the various issues users are having with the iOS 5 rollout.



Service representatives said that Apple is currently working on the authentication issue, claiming that the problem would be resolved in a few hours, reports website Mashable.



Apple released iOS 5 early Wednesday, which is compatible with the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad, iPad 2, and third- and fourth-generation iPod touches. In order to perform the upgrade, users must have the new iTunes 10.5 installed on their Mac or Windows PC.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 123
    stelligentstelligent Posts: 2,680member
    This is the mother of all upgrades - iOS, MacOS, AppleTV ... Apple could have planned better, particularly given past history.
  • Reply 2 of 123
    I updated all of my iDevices (iPhone, iPad, AppleTV, Mac) without a problem. Did that 2 hours ago. I must be lucky or something.
  • Reply 3 of 123
    zindakozindako Posts: 468member
    It took 5 hours to update my phone, I feel everyone's pain.
  • Reply 4 of 123
    jd_in_sbjd_in_sb Posts: 1,600member
    That explains it!!
  • Reply 5 of 123
    Just want to say thanks to all you beta testers for taking the time to install on day 0 of the release. I really appreciate your ironing out all the bugs for me when I install in a week!
  • Reply 6 of 123
    I thought with iTunes Apple is Used to serving a lot of data! What was that new data center for 1 billion $ for???
  • Reply 7 of 123
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    Apple's servers were bogged down on Wednesday from an overwhelming number of iOS users trying to update their devices to the newest version of the software, prompting some to receive an ?Error 3200? message.[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ][/c]



    My personal pain hasn't been with iOS devices (though I've only updated my AppleTV - took around 20 minutes). I updated my oldest iMac to 10.7.2 in about 20 minutes (download total, including iTunes, was a little over 900MB?), but the biggest problem has been with my new iMac - I started the download (little over 800Mb - again...MEG?) and it's taken over 5 hours so far! I've stopped it, restarted it, reset my router, everything I could think of to kick this thing off again and update like the old iMac did, and it's just CRAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWLLLLLLLLLLLLIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNN NNNNG.



    And I can't update my other iOS devices 'til this one is done! ARGH!!!!!
  • Reply 8 of 123
    djrumpydjrumpy Posts: 1,116member
    If you are getting these errors, just keep trying. It will eventually get through it. There are two places that can hang up due to excessive server load. Prior to starting the update, and after the update is done updating and the phone reboots. If you get to the point where your phone throws an error and the screen is blank, just unplug it and replug it back in and it should report that it's in DFU mode.



    For those on the beta wanting to update to the production release, just download the IPSW, and hold down the option key when hitting the Restore button. It should then allow you to choose the downloaded IPSW file to install. Of course you'll have the same hard time getting into all of the Apple servers like everyone else.



    Keep trying and eventually it will finish.
  • Reply 9 of 123
    oomuoomu Posts: 130member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by oberpongo View Post


    I thought with iTunes Apple is Used to serving a lot of data! What was that new data center for 1 billion $ for???



    For the load during normal days !



    No one on earth today can build a system for that kind of use in extraordinary launch day.



    Neither apple, neither IBM and no telecom can dimension their network for that.



    So, just wait. Technology is wonderful but not magical. Internet and modern computers have some serious limits.
  • Reply 10 of 123
    rot'napplerot'napple Posts: 1,839member
    We're gonna need a bigger server!



    (from movie "Jaws", 'We're gonna need a bigger boat!')



    Just hope this is not like the 'Bambino Curse', and we have the Cloud curse from "the ones who brought us MobileMe"!



    Can we get a little Divine help down here Steve?...

    /

    /

    /
  • Reply 11 of 123
    Although I'm disappointed to hear about apparent widespread problems, it's worth pointing out that the over the air delta update support in iOS 5 lays the groundwork for avoiding this kind of trouble in the future. Not only will subsequent downloads be smaller, but they'll most likely be staged over a period of a day or two. This could very well be the last time every single iOS user is turned loose at the exact same moment to pound the living hell out of Apple's servers.
  • Reply 12 of 123
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Not good Apple. You can't act like a boutique company when you have a 100M devices capable of getting iOS 5.0 potentially trying to update. Nothing wrong with a staggered release.
  • Reply 13 of 123
    Internet servers exist to go down.
  • Reply 14 of 123
    mac voyermac voyer Posts: 1,295member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    Not good Apple. You can't act like a boutique company when you have a 100M devices capable of getting iOS 5.0 potentially trying to update. Nothing wrong with a staggered release.



    Yep! I have no idea why Apple didn't release 7.2 yesterday, and deal with the MobileMe transition at that time.
  • Reply 15 of 123
    People could always wait a day or two for any problems to clear and have a, hopefully, incident free install. But of course everyone wants everything yesterday.
  • Reply 16 of 123
    People having problems with Software Updates should just go download the files on support.apple.com/downloads
  • Reply 17 of 123
    Personally love how this message showed halfway through the install on my iPod causing it to enter recovery mode and require a full reinstall...a few hours later I figured it was safe to try on my iPad...dead wrong.



    Long story short, bad experience but good OS. I was gonna post so much hate about it on my iPod because it was so leggy but a simple restart fixed that. Shame that I lost all my progress (100%) in real racing 2 on my iPad though...
  • Reply 18 of 123
    mac voyermac voyer Posts: 1,295member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by A Grain of Salt View Post


    People could always wait a day or two for any problems to clear and have a, hopefully, incident free install. But of course everyone wants everything yesterday.



    I suspect getting it done before the weekend might be the smarter move. All those new iPhones will be going online all at once. Good luck.
  • Reply 19 of 123
    tylerk36tylerk36 Posts: 1,037member
    I had my iPhone 4 bricked. I unplugged the sync cable and then plugged my iPhone back in and iTunes detected my phone in its state. I then ran the restore process and had to do this 5 times until Apple server was available and my iPhone 4 was successfully updated. I had an error 3200 on my iPad as well and it took about 6 tries to get it updated as well. Wow. What a process.
  • Reply 20 of 123
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DJRumpy View Post




    For those on the beta wanting to update to the production release, just download the IPSW, and hold down the option key when hitting the Restore button. It should then allow you to choose the downloaded IPSW file to install. Of course you'll have the same hard time getting into all of the Apple servers like everyone else.



    Keep trying and eventually it will finish.



    I should point out that the GM that is freely available online appears to be the same as the production version. At least, enough to DL it now if you really want iOS 5 and then get the production version in a few days when things calm down. I'm running the GM seed just fine since last Wednesday
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