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revisionzero | 11 years ago

No idea how this patch passed QA Testing internally.

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mikestew|11 years ago

Though I've pointed out before that I don't think formal testing is a big part of Apple culture, I'm at a loss to come up with how this passed the most basic smoke testing. Or to flip it around, what random variable wasn't accounted for that allowed the devices in the test matrix to pass? Sure, it seems obvious that Apple just didn't test it. But c'mon, we know that can't be true. They must have loaded on some iPhone 6s. So what's the missing piece?

selectodude|11 years ago

The update works fine if updated via iTunes. Only OTA updates are broken. Maybe they didn't test the OTA update process? It sounds absurd but it's the only viable option in my mind.

Someone1234|11 years ago

Pure 100% speculation: Maybe this only impacted some carriers and maybe Apple only tests on a subset (e.g. AT&T was tested, but T-Mobile broke, etc).

Would be interesting to hear what carrier it broke on for people.

geoelectric|11 years ago

I have no insight on internal culture, but Apple does have formal QA teams. I'd be surprised if they weren't testing.

People underestimate how hard it can be to catch problems that only manifest on a particular network setup, etc., even with a formal test team.

hrktb|11 years ago

The obvious one would be carriers, especially since the error affects the phone part. I have a hard time imagining a "basic smoke test" when it comes to a phone that has to actually try to connect to an external network, different depending on locations and contracts.

eridius|11 years ago

AFAIK the issue only affected OTA updates. I suspect that the vast majority of testing occurred without using OTA. I wouldn't be surprised if they are a bit more aggressive about testing OTA updates too after this.

meepmorp|11 years ago

This never would've happened if Steve Jobs were alive.

saryant|11 years ago

Apple pushed several broken updates under Jobs. Remember the iTunes update that wiped hard drives?