On some iPhone 3G units, the most recent update 3.0 causes Wi-Fi and Bluetooth settings to be grayed out and the functions are completely disable.
The problem has happened before, with other updates.
There is a long Web forum thread about the current problem here.
In addition to on-topic useful discussion, that thread includes the usual misunderstandings. Some users think they find a solution, and then the problem reappears. Other users talk about poor connectivity, which is not the original issue.
I think it might be a heat related hardware issue.
One software theory is "corruption in the baseband NVRAM due to a partially failed update". Does that sound plausible?
Can such an update corrupt information in hardware so that completely reformatting the device does not correct the situation? The tiny sliver of understanding I have about that issue would be something to do with EEPROMs/whatever. Like maybe a driver update does low level writing (somehow corrupted by the installation procedure/process) that cannot be recovered with the same update or some other software?
Thanks.