Warning, epic post alert. Pull up a comfy chair and grab some popcorn!
So, I have an iPod touch (4th gen) which was running iOS 4.3.5 and I've been putting off updating to iOS 5 for some time. I mean, the iCloud bits don't interest me (as the iPod is the only compatible device I have!) and the various other features don't really excite me either. However, the security updates did interest me, so I knew I'd update at some point. Anyway, It's been out a while now so as I had an afternoon to spare I thought I may as well take the plunge.
Up until now, the various iOS 4 updates have gone pretty smoothly for me so I wasn't really expecting any problems. Regardless, I did one last sync and backup of the iPod to make sure I had something to fall back on should the worse happen. It's a good job I did, as this is how it went...
1. Downloaded the update and installed it - took about 20 minutes.
2. iPod restarted, then iTunes said this iPod had been synced with another computer. Er, no it hasn't! Hmm, bit odd I thought, anyway there were two choices - use the latest backup or set it up as a new iPod. I chose the first option - maybe that was my mistake, but it seems logical to retain the previous settings and apps etc.
3. Then the iPod went through two or three screens - asking to turn location services on, for example. The last one of these asked for my Apple ID, presumably for either iCloud or Messages. It had retained my Apple ID, so I then entered my password. I should point out that this Apple ID has been used to purchase music and apps on the iPod touch already - it's also quite an old one. Anyway, it then said the Apple ID was "incompatible" because it wasn't in the form of an email address. WFT?? Apple have accepted this Apple ID for years - why are they now being picky about their own Apple IDs?
4. Didn't know what to do here, so just cancelled that part of the process. I've heard of people ending up with two or three separate Apple IDs as a result of this, so thought it best to sort this bit out afterwards, once I had a chance to do some research on t'internet.
5. Next, iTunes started to sync everything again - music, apps, photos, the lot! OK, so I'm now guessing the iOS 5 update actually wiped the iPod and started afresh. Why, when earlier updates just updated the iOS files and left everything else intact? Did this happen to anyone else when they updated? So, I prepared myself for a long wait while it uploaded everything again - approx 12Gb of data.
6. Then I got this message, concerning iCal events...
Again, this has never happened before with iOS 4 updates - why now? Despite it supposedly wiping the contents of the iPod, it was now saying there were existing iCal calendars called "Home", "Work" and "Holidays" on the iPod that clashed with the corresponding ones on my iCal. Bizarre! So, I chose the ones on my Mac as the ones to use and replace them on the iPod. Something else that's never happened before.
After a long, long wait, it finally finished syncing all my stuff again. This is where it got even stranger. I had about 13.7Gb on there before - I took a snapshot while it was still on iOS 4.3.5, immediately before the update, as I wanted to compare if I had more or less free space after updating...
BEFORE iOS 5:
... and after iOS 5 installed and all the music, photos, apps etc were synced again, this is what I saw...
AFTER iOS 5:
WFT?!!! The "Other" category has ballooned to 12.8Gb, up from 0.3Gb. Now, I have no idea what "Other" accounts for, but it seems as though all my newly synced music, photos and apps when added up, plus the original 0.4Gb under "Other", would be around 12Gb or thereabouts. Could it be that the original data was in fact still on there and it's synced it all again but this time added it to "Other" category? And I now only have 2.9Gb free!!! Oh, brilliant!
And why has the "Capacity" gone down to 28.51Gb (it was 29.06Gb on iOS 4.3.5)? Now, it's a 32Gb iPod, and I understand about not getting the full capacity, but surely the capacity available once formatted would be the same? I know it's only gone down by about 0.5Gb, but it's the principle. I can understand the available free space fluctuating if iOS 5 takes up more or less space but surely capacity is capacity, yes?
So, any suggestions where to go from here? I have to admit, despite me being fairly competent on Macs, I'm not sure what the correct steps to follow are with this, now it's all gone tits up. As I said, I've never had any major problems with any iOS updates, or any Mac updates for that matter. Seems as though Apple's old adage of "it just works" is not as relevant anymore, judging by this mess of an update. I'm pondering a complete erase and restore, but that'll have to wait until later now. The iPod works, albeit a little sluggishly, but I'm left with only 3Gb and a phantom "Other" library lurking on there. Advice, please?
So, there you have it, my first experience of iOS 5... ever wish you'd just left well alone?!!
