Since Update to iOS 7.1, my iPhone Is Absolutely Changed

By MissThea, 26 May, 2014

Forum
iOS and iPadOS

Hi, folks.
Ever since I updated my iPhone to 7.1--, it's like I've fallen through the rabbit hole.
The dock area at the bottom of any phone page, including "favorites, contacts, keypad, recents, voicemail" is no longer there, and it takes so long to find those tabs, my hands hurt (I have other things than just blindness going on).
In addition, the messages area is similarly dislocated. I cannot type because the letters aren't where I expect them to be.
In desperation, I erased all settings, including my many contacts and reminders, to try to get my familiar phone back. No dice.
Worse, I have yet to meet another blind person who's run into this situation. I think the phone is a 4, but don't know how to find out. I do know that the status bar says "3G."
Anyway, my contacts are gone, and the "add new contact" doesn't work like it did before.
In short, my iPhone, since the update, is all but unusable to me, and Apple Support says there have been no such drastic changes.
Any help appreciated.
Thea

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Comments

By MissThea on Monday, May 26, 2014 - 07:41

Oops, I meant 3gs, not 3g.

By Siobhan on Monday, May 26, 2014 - 07:41

Hi. If your phone is rounded corners, almost curved, that was the 3Gs and if that's the case, it isn't supported anymore. I think it was stopped in IOS5 If it's a four It is square, a little bulkier then the curved one before it. If it's a four S, it loks just the same as the four but runs a bit faster. Then the five, and five S are the newer ones, the fiveC is just a plastic iPhone. It sounds like you may have an older phone? I don't know but that's very strange to say the least. You did backup and resotre your phone, right? or how about holding power button and home button for about ten seconds, this should rebot the phone? Just a tip or two. Hope you can get it fixed. I'm sorry I'm not much help.

By Michael Hansen on Monday, May 26, 2014 - 07:41

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team

Hello Thea,

If your phone says "3G" in the status bar, it is likely an iPhone 4.

Do you have an Apple Store nearby and access to transportation to get to said Apple Store? If so, this would probably be your best option to troubleshoot your difficulty.

With that said, are you holding the device in portrait orientation? If you are holding the phone in landscape orientation (basically holding the phone on its side), this would cause the arrangement of the buttons to be different because the phone would automatically rotate to landscape mode.

By Will C. on Monday, May 26, 2014 - 07:41

if they have the iPhone 4, can they lock the orientation the same as we can with the iPhone 4S?
If it is an orientation issue, if they lock the orientation, it will stay in Portrait view other than apps that use landscape.

By KE7ZUM on Monday, May 26, 2014 - 07:41

With all that beeing said I would restore the phone to factory defaults and see if that changes your stuff to what you knew before. also, lock the orientation after that.

I never do OTA updates ad I don't trust them.

Take care to all.

By DPinWI on Monday, May 26, 2014 - 07:41

Just a shot in the dark, but did you accidentally turn Zoom on? It happened to me the other day and it took a bit for me to understand why things were not where they should be.

By Michael Hansen on Monday, May 26, 2014 - 07:41

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team

Hello Marrie,

It sounded as though the OP had already restored the device with no change.

By MissThea on Monday, May 26, 2014 - 07:41

In reply to by Michael Hansen

I restored several times. No dice. Transportation is a problem so I can't get to Apple store right away. Also, no information is spoken about orientation any more. I can turn the phone this way and that, and it won't tell me how the phone is oriented, neither can I find a setting that will tell me.
Zoom is off. And I'm still down the rabbit hole..

By Michael Hansen on Monday, May 26, 2014 - 07:41

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team

Hello Thea,

The easiest way to check your device's orientation is to do so in Control Center:
1. Hold your phone in portrait orientation.
2. Place your finger at the top of the screen, in the Status Bar. (The Status Bar is where signal strength, Bluetooth status, battery power, etc. is displayed.)
3. Now, swipe up on the screen with three fingers. What I usually do is set focus into the status bar, then lift my hand and then place three fingers towards the middle of the screen and swipe up.
4. Once you are in the Control Center, flick to the right until you hear, "Lock Orientation." Make sure this set to "On."

By MissThea on Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - 07:41

Thanks for all your responses. They are much appreciated.
My iPhone 6 was in recovery mode, and I had to head to the Apple store. Thank goodness it was open. I bellied up to the genius bar, and they fixed me up. No drinks, though. LOL