RSSiPad 2 Bluetooth problems and Awesome Apple Support
Feb 14
Apple, iPad Apple, Bluetooth, iCade, iPad, support No Comments
My iPad 2 is awesome. I really enjoy using it, for pretty much anything and everything. Recently however, I found a problem with it, specifically with the bluetooth radio. I have used bluetooth with this iPad before, binding it to wireless keyboards and such without any problems. However, now the iPad’s bluetooth is stuck in the “off” position, and can not be turned on. In fact, the UISwitch view doesn’t even render, just an activity view that never stops. See below:
I discovered this when I went to pair the iPad 2 with an iCade system I had recently picked up after being heavily discounted. Everything else on the iPad was fine: wireless, 3G, etc – just freak’n bluetooth. I tried restarting the iPad the “nice way” using the swipe to shut down option. That didn’t work. I then tried a “hard” reset of the device by holding down the top button and power button until the device resets. No dice. I even went as far as doing a full blown restore via iTunes* (after backing everything up of course). Still a no go. Damn, this sucks. I have this nice shiny iCade to play with, not to mention $10 worth of apps I purchased to go along with it, and I can’t get the damn bluetooth to work on my iPad 2. WTF?
Step 2 – console.
I write apps, so I have Xcode etc on my mac(s). So, what I did next was to plug the iPad in, fire up Xcode, open Organizer, select my iPad and view the console. If you didn’t know, this is a super handy way viewing what is going on inside your iDevice. Once hooked up, it didn’t take long to spot the problem:
Feb 14 10:29:24 unknown kernel[0] <Debug>: BTServer[64] Builtin profile: BlueTool (sandbox)
Feb 14 10:29:24 unknown com.apple.BTServer[64] <Notice>: bluetooth reset was pulsed 100 ms
Feb 14 10:29:24 unknown com.apple.BTServer[64] <Notice>: bluetooth wake is now ON
Feb 14 10:29:24 unknown com.apple.BTServer[64] <Notice>: Issued HCI Reset
Feb 14 10:29:24 unknown com.apple.BTServer[64] <Notice>: DeviceTree speed = 3000000
Feb 14 10:29:35 unknown com.apple.BTServer[64] <Notice>: Chipset.cpp:109 runBlueTool Default Error HANG: Waited 10 seconds for BlueTool to run boot
Feb 14 10:29:35 unknown com.apple.BTServer[64] <Notice>: PowerManager.cpp:168 powerInitEvent Core Critical Init failed, still in high power – BM3 STATUS 1
Feb 14 10:29:35 unknown com.apple.BTServer[64] <Notice>: Device not open yet, use ‘device’ to open it.
Feb 14 10:29:35 unknown com.apple.BTServer[64] <Notice>: Opening com.apple.uart.bluetooth @ 115200 baud.
Here is a link to a paste bin of the log if you need it.
So, from this log, you can easily see the device was failing to start the necessary components required to use the bluetooth radio, which sucks. I further verified this by comparing this to a console log of another iPad that had a working bluetooth radio. Given the results of this log, and the methods of repair attempted thus far, this likely indicates a hardware problem. This was pretty much my guess after a full restore failed to fix it, but now it is confirmed.
Step 3 – Apple Support
Well, unfortunately it seemed to me that this was going to beyond my ability to repair since it seems to be a hardware issue. Time to contact Apple Support. If you have never called Apple support before, you should know that they seriously rock. Apple really has the entire process down pat. For this instance, I started on their web site and entered my iPad’s serial number (found on the back of the iPad among other places). After clicking continue, Apple tells you the status of your support. Since I had NOT purchased AppleCare, my iPad had already expired for phone support, but the device itself was still eligible for hardware support. I continue through the process which is just a couple of clicks. At the end, Apple will call you. That is right. You don’t even have to pick up the damn phone, they will call you so you don’t have to wait on hold. Talk about epic. You can pick from having them call immediately (which I did), or at a scheduled time. It was about 20 seconds from the time I hit the button to call me now from the time the phone rang. I was seriously impressed.
It only took a few minutes for the Apple rep to verify that the problem was indeed a hardware issue, and that they would send me a new iPad. This is awesome because the nearest Apple Store is about 3 hours away. The rep informed me I would need to take the iPad to the nearest UPS store, and they would package it and mail it for me, pre-paid. However, the rep went one step further. He looked to find how close the nearest UPS store is. This happens to be about 15 miles away. The rep informed me of this, and said since it was “so far away” that he would just have a UPS box delivered to me along with a pre-paid label and I could just drop it off at any UPS drop off location. That my friends is service. As disappointed as I am that my iPad is having some issues, I was totally blown away at the level of customer service I received.
Most companies have a 90 day warrantee (if that) on consumer electronics. Apple’s standard is one year. Then, if you want to double that, you can purchase Apple Care. With their level of customer service, it is well worth it. I’ve waited on hold with numerous companies over the years, and have never had customer service as good as I have from Apple.
Conclusion
Apple is replacing my iPad for me, for free. Apple support rocks. Hard.
* After doing the restore, I set the iPad up as a “new” device instead of restoring from my backup to ensure it wasn’t something to do with my configuration / profile.
