Apple Store Closures Could Leave Some Device Owners In The Lurch: Report

The coronavirus pandemic has sent a large chunk of the economy to the internet. Companies and education systems across the globe have instituted work-from-home policies to stunt the virus’s spread — but unforseen forces may be impeding their efforts.

Two weeks ago, in a good-faith effort to help fight to pandemic, Apple Inc. AAPL indefinitely shuttered all retail stores outside of China. After the announced closures, Apple kept shops open for two days to allow customers to pick up repair orders. It contacted affected customers, but some failed to retrieve their devices.

Until Apple stores reopen, many of these at-home workers are out of luck — forced to complete projects without their MacBooks, iPhones or other essential instruments.

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Apple shared an internal document with its authorized service providers last week acknowledging Personal Hotspot glitches in iOS 13 and iPadOS 13, according to MacRumors. 

Users may not be able to connect or may be frequently booted from their hotspot connections, the report said. They may also experience unrelated data performance issues.

Apple customers had been reporting hotspot problems since the release of iOS 13.1.2. The company has not yet moved to patch the flaw; instead, Apple recommended a temporary fix for service providers encountering the issue and suggested a fix may arrive in a coming software update. It did not confirm whether that update would be this week’s iOS 13.4.

Until the fixes arrive, workers and students without at-home internet plans may have a hard time videoconferencing in from their disconnected Macs.

Apple shares were trading 7.51% higher at $241.22 at the time of publication Tuesday. 

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Photo courtesy of Apple.