Apple pulls iOS 8.0.1 update after crippling phone, Touch ID

Within 24 hours of pushing out iOS 8.0.1, Apple has pulled its first iOS 8 update from distribution after user reports that it broke calling and other features in the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

The standard advice that you should wait a few weeks before installing a new OS seems to be holding true for iOS 8, with Apple's first update introducing more severe bugs than it was meant to fix.

iOS 8.0.1 was tipped to correct everything from the bugs affecting calling and messaging to Safari, but user reports spread on Wednesday after its release that the update was probably best avoided, having essentially killed phone functionality in the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus as well as Apple’s fingerprint reader, TouchID.

It appears the update broke key pieces of the newer iPhones’ functionality while attempting to fix features that Apple introduced with iOS 8, including new health related apps and third-party keyboards.

As 9to5 Mac reported, the update was meant to make HealthKit apps available on the App Store, as well as fix a bug in the way iOS handled third-party keyboards when the user entered their passcode.

It was also meant to fix “unexpected cellular data usage” issue when receiving SMS/MMS messages, and a new Reachability feature on the larger display iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. 

Apple had released iOS 8.0.1 as an over the air update to all iOS 8 capable devices prior to user reports of problems. 

Most reports of problems experienced by iPhone 6 users were of US networks after installing the update, the iOS 8.01 bugs appeared to be in all markets the new iPhones have been released in, including the UK, Canada and Germany, according to Mac Rumors.

Australian iPhone 6 owners have also reported issues with one member of Australia’s Whirlpool forum reporting overnight that they were not able to receive a signal on Telstra following installation of the update. Others claimed to also be experiencing network issues.

The good news for Australians that bought the iPhone 6 or 6 Plus is that many of them would have been asleep when the update rolled out and when Apple pulled it.

Apple issued a statement to US media acknowledging reports of bugs in the update, telling Recode’s John Paczkowski that it was “actively investigating these reports” and had “pulled back the iOS 8.0.1 update”.