I was especially eager to get my hands on this new iPhoneOS 3.0 release to continue my troubleshooting procedures (see this post). In any event, there is a solution for users experiencing the “iPhone Activation Server Temporarily Unavailable” error message:

Connect your iPhone via the USB cable
Make sure you have the latest version of iTunes (8.2)
Click "Check for Update"
Select "Download and Install"


I you receive the error message, simply click OK and then click on the “Update” button. Continue doing this until you get through to the server and your iPhone 3G begins to update (it took me about 12 tries and 15 minutes).

Good luck!

If your phone is affected, the phone will hang for ~2 seconds, display a black screen, then crash to the home screen. I verified that the crash will happen with the following NPA (Numbering Plan Area Code) and NXX (Central Office or Exchange Code) combinations:

424-201
424-202
424-203
424-204
424-205
424-207
424-208
424-209
424-603
424-702
424-704
424-901


Very odd. I contacted Apple technical support who had me run through a phone restoration and carrier update; nada. I went to an Apple retail store (Manhattan Beach) where I was able to reproduce the error on each and every demo phone in the store that I touched (4 in total) to which the Apple employees said “that’s very strange, try calling Apple corporate”.

I did a little research and found the following information for the tests I conducted above, the information doesn’t really mean anything to me but I hope someone out there will see this and be able to tell me what’s going on and, more importantly, how to fix it:

I only tested NXX 200-909 so there’s a possibility that there are others that can be added to this list. If you are experiencing this issue with an NPA NXX combination not listed, please add it in the comments so we can keep this list updated.

*UPDATE 6/16/2009 09:42AM PST*

To try and isolate the problem to either an Apple or AT&T issue, I enabled “Airplane Mode” on my iPhone so that it wouldn’t be connected to any type of network. I found that it doesn’t matter Looks like this one’s on Apple.

*UPDATE 6/16/2009 10:00AM PST*

I contacted Apple Corporate and was transferred to their Corporate Customer Relations department. The representative was very helpful and even asked how I would like the problem resolved (maybe send a couple million dollars my way?). Anyhow, she’s going to do some research and give me a call back later today. To be continued…

*UPDATE 6/16/2009 12:06PM PST*

The Apple rep called me back and said that she spoke to a product specialist whom informed her that the issue didn’t “sound like a hardware nor software problem” and suggested that I go to an AT&T store to get my SIM card replaced. Given the fact that I was able to duplicate the error on other iPhones, I don’t think it’s a SIM card issue. To test my theory, I removed the SIM card from my phone and attempted the steps above to reproduce the crash and got the same results. I say it’s not SIM card related and therefore not AT&T related. However, I will go to the AT&T store and try it with a new SIM card just to follow the direction from the helpful rep.

*UPDATE 6/16/2009 1:23PM PST*

As suspected, getting a new SIM card didn’t fix anything. I’m on hold now for an Apple Senior Product Support Specialist to see where we go from here. More to follow…

*UPDATE 6/16/2009 1:45PM PST*

Another quick updated: while on the phone with the Senior Support Specialist in Dallas, TX, he was able to reproduce the error on an iPhone…. whew… now they know I’m *not* crazy! Sounds like the next step is going to be getting the engineering department involved.

*UPDATE 6/16/2009 2:15PM PST*

The Apple rep called back and said that a technician with iPhone OS 3.0 tried the procedure and did not experience a crash. He suggested I update to 3.0 tomorrow and test it then…

*UPDATE 6/17/2009 2:23PM PST*

After a few tries of attempting to update to iPhoneOS 3.0, I was finally able to get my iPhone 3G updated. Of course, the first thing I tried was to dial one of the number combinations above to see if it would crash… and the verdict is…. it didn’t! Looks like the bug went un-noticed and was fixed in iPhoneOS 3.0. If you’re having this problem, simply update your OS to 3.0 and it should take care of it.