Apple Provides Workaround to Fix a Problem which caused iTunes to Crash after Upgrading to iPhone Firmware 2.2.1

Apple released iPhone Firmware 2.2.1 couple of weeks back which included minor bug fixes and improvements.

However, based on this discussion thread at MacRumors Forums and this one at Apple Discussions; few users were affected by a problem which caused iTunes to crash after updating their iPhone to firmware 2.2.1.

The good news is that Apple has identified the issue and has provided a workaround to fix the problem.

Alex over at Apple Discussion board reported the problem:

"I upgraded my 3G iPhone to v2.2.1 today after taking a backup.

Following an incident free upgrade - sync'ing the iPhone produces a crash in iTunes during the application sync section."

Krsnet over at MacRumors Forums also reported a similar problem after upgrading to firmware 2.2.1:

"Updated iPhone 3G to 2.2.1 and everything appeared to go well. On the next sync, iTunes crashes. On any future sync, the iPhone attempts to sync automatically on connect even though I'm configured to manually sync (probably due to a past failed sync?). On any sync attempt, iTunes crashes (appears to be when something is supposed to be copied to the iPhone - app update, new photo, new podcast, etc... but can't verify)."

It didn't take too much time for Apple Engineers to identify the problem and provide a workaround to fix it. Apple also sent the following email to customers who might be affected:

Dear Customer,

Recently, we uncovered an issue which was causing iTunes to unexpectedly quit when synced with an iPod or an iPhone. This issue impacted a small number of users, and we have identified your account as potentially being affected.

If you have experienced this issue, please follow these steps in order to sync your iPod or iPhone with iTunes:
1. Launch iTunes
2. Select "Deauthorize Computer" from the Store menu
3. Enter your iTunes Store Account ID and Password, then click the Deauthorize button
4. Next, choose "Authorize Computer" from the Store menu
5. Enter your iTunes Store Account ID and Password, then click the Authorize button

Once you have successfully deauthorized and reauthorized your computer, you should be able to sync your iPod or iPhone to iTunes.

I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience that you may have experienced as a result of this issue.

Thank you for being an iTunes Store customer.
iTunes Store Team

MacRumors reports that the steps mentioned in the email have helped users fix the problem.

Did you face this problem after upgrading to firmware 2.2.1? Did you receive this email from Apple? If so, please let us know in the comments if the above solution provided by Apple helped in resolving the problem.

[via MacRumors]