What to do if you get an error 1013 or 1611 when updating your iPhone to OS 4.3

I decided to update my iPhone 4 to iOS 4.3 this morning (mainly because I would like to use the personal hotspot feature).

So, last night I left my Macbook downloading the update and after I got back from the Junior Argus with my kids at lunch time I hooked up my iPhone to my Macbook and let it update. When the update finished I was greeted with a message on my Macbook to say that an unknown error hard occured and my iPhone could not be updated and needed to be restored. However, no matter what I did, each time I restored it with the 4.3 iOS update it would give the same error.

So, this problem is described here. It seems to be related to an Apple update verification server that is problematic (gs.apple.com that is in the 'hosts file located at /private/etc/).

The bad news is that no matter what you do you'll loose your photos, music etc., that has been changed since your last backup or sync with your Mac! My suggestion is that you ALWAYS backup your iOS device before performing a firmware upgrade.

Now, if you have the correct permissions set on your mac there is an easy solution to the 1013 or 1611 error. Just follow these instructions: Method 1 (the easy way)

On a Mac:

* Open Finder

* Hold down COMMAND + SHIFT keys and press 'G'

* Enter "/private/etc/" in the field and press "Go"

* Find "hosts" file in the directory

* Drag the file to your desktop

* Open it in text editor

* Remove the line that has gs.apple.com entirely or put a # at the beginning of it to comment it out

* Save the file

* Drag it back to the /private/etc/ folder.

* You'd need to enter your username and password to authenticate the move

On Windows:

Locate the hosts file in one of the following directories:

Windows 95/98/Me c:\windows\hosts

Windows NT/2000/XP Pro c:\winnt\system32\drivers\etc\hosts

Windows XP, Vista, 7 c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts

Right click and click on "Open With..." and then click on

"Notepad" on the list.

* Remove the line that has gs.apple.com completely and save the file.

This should work fine but you will lose all music, photos, videos and books

If your permissions are not set correctly on your Mac you will soon discover that you can't save the edit 'hosts' file and copy it back to its original location. It will keep telling you that you do not have the necessary permissions to save the file and move it.

So, if that is the case, here is an alternative solution (it requires a little 'terminal alchemy', but just follow these instructions and it will work like a charm. This was how I managed to do it - which reminds me I must do a disc repair to find out why my permissions are mucked up!). Method 2 (get your Unix geek on!)

Step 1 – Open the Terminal.app

Either by start typing Terminal on the Spotlight, or by going into Applications -> Utilities -> Terminal.

Step 2 – Open the hosts file

Open the hosts by typing on the Terminal that you have just opened:

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$ sudo nano /private/etc/hosts

Type your user password when prompted. Step 3 – Edit the hosts file

The hosts file contains some comments (lines starting with the # symbol), as well as some default hostname mappings (e.g. 127.0.0.1 – localhost).

Simply append your new mappings underneath the default ones. Or edit one of the default values if you know what you are doing!

You can navigate the file using the arrow keys. Step 4 – Save the hosts file

When done editing the hosts file, press control-o to save the file.

Press enter on the filename prompt, and control-x to exit the editor.

Step 5 – Flush the DNS cache

On Leopard you can issue a simple Terminal command to flush the DNS cache, and have your host file changes to take immediate effect:

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$ dscacheutil -flushcache

You can now perform your update using the downloaded iOS 4.3 and it will work like a charm!

you google, you SMS, you chat... do you poken!?

Earlier this week a new friend @metaMeerkat dropped by the Cape Town international convention to give me a really cool gift!  She gave me poken!

Poken Cape

This super little social networking device makes connecting with people at social gatherings and conferences so cool and easy!

All that you need to do when you meet another poken user is give them a 'high five' and your details are automatically swopped.  When you next plug your poken into the USB port of your computer it will exchange your data with theirs (giving them access to as much, or as little, data as you want).  In my case I share my web page, phone number, twitter account, facebook details and linkedin profile.

It is super easy to use, much easier than having to swop business cards, as I've been doing here at the Congress all week.

So, if you've got a poken please give me a shout - I'd love to connect!

If not, then why not fire up your blackberry, iPhone, or Nokia phone and scan this QR code?

iPad in South Africa - Vodacom and MTN 3G sim card conversion to microsim

UPDATE 4 January 2013 - If you are looking for the instructions for converting your regular sim, or micro sim, to a nano sim you can see my new post (with a very handy PDF for measuring and cutting) here.

Original Post

I am the very fortunate owner of an Apple iPad - unfortunately mine is not a 3G version.  You can read about my iPad here, and watch a video of how I use it here.

However, I do have a few friends who have bought 3G iPad's in America and Hong Kong.

The amazing thing is that the iPad is not carrier locked (unlike the early iPhones that were locked to AT&T - my iPhone 3GS is a US version that has been unlocked for use on MTN in South Africa).  But, back to the iPad 3G.  With the three iPad's that I have got working on 3G in South Africa it was a simple as putting in a 3G sim card.

But... There is one problem!  Micro-sim cards are quite rare in South Africa.  I have heard that Vodacom has some in stock (that one can purchase), and I'm sure that MTN must also have some now (since they have been advertising that they'll also be selling the iPhone 4 which uses this smaller sim card).

So, what to do if you want your 3G iPad to run on a South African Network?  Well, it's quite simple actually:

DISCLAIMER:  Do this at your own risk!  This is merely an outline of how I did it on a few iPads, your results may vary. 

1. Get a regular sim card (you can either purchase a prepaid sim card - which costs just R1 from Vodacom, and I would suggest Vodacom for pre-paid data since it is so easy to load data at a cheaper cost).

2. Resize the sim card to fit the iPad's microsim slot. I'll have a few photos to show you how to do this below.

3. Pop in your sim card and you're up and running!

Resizing your regular Vodacom (or MTN) sim card to fit your 3G iPad:

1.  Find the sim card slot in your iPad (it is on the bottom left of the iPad).  Open it with a paperclip.

2. Use a piece of paper to 'trace' the internal ridge of the micro-sim holder (I used a post-it note). Simply place the paper over the sim card holder and run your fingernail or some other hard surface over the internal ridge of the holder.  It will leave an imprint on the paper.

3. Next, cut your paper stencil to size.

4. Next, you'll need some 'Prestik' (not sure what it is called elsewhere in the world), the sticky stuff on the left of this picture.  Simply stick your stencil onto your sim card and get ready to cut!

5. Next, line up the contacts from your regular sized sim card underneath the microsim holder. NB, please note in my picture below the sim card should be moved about 2mm to the LEFT (to ling up the contacts). See the image below this one with more description.

 

5.a. Please see the image (from my friend Paul) of a microsim.  You'll notice on the microsim that the 'golden contacts' are more or less centrally located to fit into the sim card holder.  As long as you get the central 3 contacts lined into the centre of the holder you're fine.  When you put the card in, if it says 'No Sim' you know that the contacts have not lined up...

6.  Next, paste your stencil onto your sim card using the prestik, and cut carefully!  Don't worry about cutting through the outer gold contacts... As long as the three central contacts are in tact you're perfect!

7. Once you've done your first cut you may need to do some slight tweaking in order to fit the sim into the holder.

Here's a photo of the sim in the microsim holder.

8. Finally, slip your sim, in the microsim holder, into the iPad - within a few seconds you should see the 'signal indicator' on the top left hand corner of the iPad indicating either Vodacom 3G or the E (for Edge if your outside of a 3G area).

So, I hope this helps!  Feel free to drop me a comment or a mail if I you get stuck.  I'm not always able to respond right away (my day job does keep me rather busy!), but I'll respond as soon as I'm able.

Further to my instructions you can also watch this video http://allabouttheipad.tumblr.com/post/729237325/converting-a-sim-to-a-micro-sim-for-the-ipad

Update on Friday, January 4, 2013 at 6:03PM by Dr Dion Forster

If you are looking for the instructions for converting your regular sim, or micro sim, to a nano sim you can see my new post (with a very handy PDF for measuring and cutting) here.

Geekier than thou!

Today I realised just what a Geek I am. I overheard my daughter trying to explain to her friends that her Daddy is a Doctor, but not a Doctor who operates on people, no, her daddy reads books, looks at people's brains, teaches people, and loves computers....

Yup, even my daughter thinks I am Doctor Geek. Well, in 2007 there is nothing cooler than being a Geek! The world is changing! Girls used to love football players, now they love the guy who can operate their Personal Video Recorder, hack the local municipality computer to squash their traffic fines, and who is geeky enough to work for Apple, Google or Microsoft (in that order) and get the BIG MONEY!

You may remember this wonderful cartoon that I blogged about a year and half ago (June 2005)? It illustrates that Geeks rule in the new world!

So, to remind you of that, I thought I would use this fallow time between Christmas and New year to share a few Geek quotes... Learn these and you'll be off to a good Geek start for 2007. They come from here.

Top 10 Geek Quotes:
1. There are 10 types of people in the world: those who understand binary, and those who don't. - Unknown

2. If at first you don't succeed; call it version 1.0 - T-Shirt

3. Microsoft: "You've got questions. We've got dancing paperclips." - Unknown

4. My pokemon bring all the nerds to the yard, and they're like you wanna trade cards? Darn right, I wanna trade cards, I'll trade this but not my charizard. - Unknown

5. 1f u c4n r34d th1s u r34lly n33d t0 g37 a l1f3 - tee shirt

6. I'm not anti-social; I'm just not user friendly - T-Shirt

7. Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the Universe is winning. - Unknown

8. A computer lets you make more mistakes faster than any invention in human history - with the possible exceptions of handguns and tequila. - Unknown

9. This one's my favourite! I would love to change the world, but they won't give me the source code
- Unknown

10. My software never has bugs. It just develops random features. - Unknown

There you have it... If you understand more than 5 of these you're a Geek. If you understand number 1, you're rated an UBER Geek (with ubermicro.... See www.purpwnage.com for more on ubermicro). However, based on my daughter, I am Geekier than thou!

Any other UberGeeks out there!? Any better quotes? I'd love to hear from you! The comments button is just a mouse click away.

PS. The title for this post, and the cartoon, come from a great website called geek culture... I bought a few pins and T-Shirts from them. They also have a fantastic daily cartoon!