Hold off updating your iPhone 4S to iOS 6.1, European carriers warn customers

Two mobile operators in Europe have told customers with an iPhone 4S to avoid updating the device to iOS 6.1, because of reports that the upgrade brings connectivity problems with it.

Vodafone UK flagged up the issue in a forum post late on Friday, after 3 Austria made a similar plea, quoted by a customer its Facebook page.

Vodafone’s statement, which was reissued on Monday morning, read:

“We’re aware of an issue caused by Apple iPhone 4S handsets that have been upgraded to iOS 6.1 which impacts performance on 3G. Some customers may occasionally experience difficulty in connecting to the network to make or receive calls or texts or to connect to the internet.

“Apple is working on a solution to their software issue. These connection problems are intermittent. While Apple’s investigations continue, we would recommend that anyone who has not yet installed iOS 6.1 on their iPhone 4Sshould delay doing so until Apple has confirmed that the problem has been fixed.”

The warnings seem to have come a little late, as iOS 6.1 started rolling out at the end of January. I’ve asked Apple to shed a bit more light on the situation, and I’ll update this post as and when more information comes in.

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