The iOS 10 Update Is Bricking Some Users' iPhones

Apple released iOS 10 to the public today, and while every iPhone user must be psyched that they can finally delete the “Stocks” app, the download process temporarily turned some people’s phones into shiny, useless bricks.

A quick search on social media, like the one Gizmodo did, reveals that dozens and dozens of iPhone and iPad users were afflicted. When these users attempted to install the over-the-air update of the latest operating system on Tuesday morning, their devices uselessly locked up.

Affected users were instructed to connect their devices to iTunes to restore the software and complete the update.

“Wow. iPad pro update failed,” one person tweeted. “I don’t even know if I have iTunes or a free USB port!”

Apple confirmed that there had been an issue in a statement to Recode:

“We experienced a brief issue with the software update process, affecting a small number of users during the first hour of availability,” the company explained. “The problem was quickly resolved and we apologize to those customers. Anyone who was affected should connect to iTunes to complete the update or contact AppleCare for help.”

Luckily, the problem appears to have been fixed, and folks can now enjoy iOS 10, even though it’s getting mixed reviews. Still, the brief debacle made for a super annoying day for anybody who was out and about, stuck with a useless phone.

Tellingly, in this technology utopia we call the modern age, most people were looking on the bright side: At least the phones didn’t explode.