If you’re trying to upgrade your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch to iOS 5 this afternoon, there’s a pretty good chance that it isn’t going to go smoothly: Twitter is currently teeming with complaints that users are suffering from an “internal error” as iTunes attempts to activate each device. The issues are so prevalent, in fact, that ‘Error 3200’ is now a worldwide trending topic on Twitter. Ouch.
The issue is reportedly related to Apple’s servers, which are unable to keep up with the massive influx of traffic. The fix? A lot of people suggest to just keep trying, though some of them are saying it took dozens of attempts before their request went through. It’s probably a better idea to go read for a while and try later — but I’d probably be clicking madly alongside the rest of you if I had the same issue.
Let’s hope that this isn’t foreshadowing things to come: Apple is officially launching its server-based iCloud alongside iOS5, which is obviously reliant on Apple’s servers being able to handle a lot of traffic (I imagine there’s going to be a major spike as people update their photo streams for the first time). Apple’s last major venture into the cloud, Mobile Me, was a rare stumble for the company, and I’d expect they’ve put a lot of preparation into ensuring that fiasco doesn’t repeat itself. But this isn’t a great start.
