Iphone 3G slow after update to IOS4

I check back every few weeks to see how things are going... I tried the initial release of 4.0 and it was a disaster. Took several hours to figure out how to downgrade, which I did last summer, and I have been happy every since with my 3G running 3.1.3. After reviewing everyone's persistent troubles, I am staying away from the upgrade permanently. It must be a processor/memory limitation issue, like trying to drop a V8 into a volkswagen bug. Sounds like a great idea, until you realize you can't keep the front wheels on the ground.

I still enjoy my 3G as much as when I bought it nearly 2 years ago. Will likely get a new one in a year or so, but will not bother to check back on using 4.X on a 3G. I don't read any real success stories, and even those who seem happy with it still mention a slow down to some degree, even if it's not crashing, disconnecting, etc.

Good luck, all!

Dear Liberty - I am with you!! I was just on the phone with Brett from Apple who said they could not downgrade me. Apple has RUINED this beautiful phone! What can we do?

PLEASE SOMEONE send the instructions or the link to downgrade to 3.1.1

I am losing business as well as my mind.

I would be HUGELY grateful if you stored my details and let me know how you get on. I'm trying SO hard here in the UK to get them to resolve this. It is nigh on criminal. I've written a formal complaint and the end resolution is that there's nothing they can do.

I know, that is not true.

I'll similarly keep you posted......

Many thanks

Adam
Oxford, UK

I tried to post a link out of ignorance that describes what I did to downgrade, but it was immediately removed. So, all I can say is that one can Google for the solutions, which are easily found and the one I followed worked fine, with my 3G function and speed restored - it's been stable since I did it last July and works as well as it did before trying the OS 4 upgrade.

I understand Apple's legal issues and obligations, and of course, I suppose somehow something might go wrong, so Apple can't sanction the posting of unofficial advice. But, if you are out of warranty, with no solution from Apple (as I was) my single experience with the downgrade was easy, quick and successful and I got my phone back. I've been using Macs for 26 years, so I have nothing to gain by steering anyone in the wrong direction. I also understand Apple's position, but FWIW, it worked for me. If the alternative to this "risky" procedure is a phone you can't live with, and no support forthcoming from Apple, you may make the choice I made. Good luck. I'm not even sure if this post will survive, but I've seen others alluding to a googled solution, so hopefully the moderators will allow people the freedom to seek other solutions, even if unsanctioned. Just my personal experience and opinion. There, I've fulfilled my moral obligation 🙂

just to note, after another month with 4.2.1, it's still OK - if the update had been to this when iOS4 first came-out, we'd not have had a problem with it - perfectly liveable-with, some nice improvements, and it being a little bit slower than under 3.1.3 on some things would have led us to conclude it was showing its age & maybe it was time to update to the latest 'phone ! Batteries still fine, BTW, on both our 'phones (the other still on 3.1.3) ...

let's hope Apple have seriously revised their software processes - they must have, mustn't they ? Then comes January the first, and another seemingly v.elementary problem, that also occurs despite having just fixed an earlier Aussie one ... very odd !

..

For one thing I am ropeable that my iPhone 3G has been experiencing multiple issues since updating to the latest iOS4, which blatantly coincided with the release of the new iPhone 4 model.

As overtly obvious in these and many other forums and online articles there are THOUSANDS of users experiencing the same issues as I am currently with my iPhone 3G, and of this I am astounded. However more compelling is the USUAL amount of DECISIVE INNACTION Apple Computer Inc has again displayed in 1. providing an official response to acknowledge the obvious issues with this faulty software release, 2. informing it's thousands of customers of a pending fix to the issues caused by their faulty software release, and 3. providing appropriate support to resolve the noted faults experienced by its customers - being these thousands of customers whom have invested both money for the product, and time to troubleshooting and researching fixes relating the the faulty iOS update provided and "pushed" by Apple Computer Inc to its customers.

It is ABSOLUTELY NEGLIGENT that Apple Computer Inc has at the simplest of levels failed to ensure that such issues would not be so prevalent with this widely distributed and paid for product. An action that would be considered easier than most to achieve taking into account that Apple Computer Inc produces both the core hardware and software for this now consistently faulty product.

In 15 years of participation in these forums [as other usernames of course] and almost 20 years as a Mac User I am both astounded and disgusted at the increasingly off-putting and negligent behaviours I am noticing with this organisation, in a large part with regard to their long term Pro community and ever increasingly in recent times, toward even the General Consumer.

UPDATE 1. and to read many other forums whereby other users are stating that Apple Employees had tried to upsell them to iPhone 4's when they were accessing support at Apple Stores for their rendered faulty iPhone 3Gs is....well...words can not say how disgraceful this is!!!!

UPDATE 2. and then to click through the links provided by the moderator Jason L, in the iPhone 3G forum - they point to more information about the iPhone 4 used with the iOS 4 - this is the 3G forum!!! And a few other "funnies" [if I can seriously say that] are that the first link tells us what an iPhone 3G is, as if we didn't know - and the Troublshooting iPhone Hardware link article's first suggested action is to "Install the latest version of iOS so it may resolve the issue" lol dude that's why we have this problem just in case you didn't notice.

_+*Possible solution for 3G*+_

I experienced many of the issues listed in this thread on my 3G after updating to 4.2.1 (reduced battery life, sluggish GPS, 10-20sec delay for camera shutter, crashing SMS, sluggish keyboard, poor app performance, inability to answer phone calls, etc, etc). Turning off Spotlight didn't work, nor did reducing mail polling. However, last week I did a full backup followed by a DFU Reset and restore from backup (took about 3 hours), and so far my 3G is performing MUCH faster (although not quite as fast as iOS 3.x was, oh well). Anyhow, here's the steps I took.

_+*Here's the basic steps:*+_
*1) BACKUP your phone.*
Don't interrupt or skip this step. Basically, just plug your phone in, start iTunes, and click 'Sync'. After the sync is complete, verify that a backup has been made by going to the 'iTunes Preferences > Devices' and verifying that a backup instance exists.

*2) Do a DFU Reset.*
+Warning, this will wipe your iPhone, so be sure to do Step 1 so you can restore your data.+ Detailed instructions are available at http://www.ismashphone.com/2008/08/recovery-dfu.html . The trickiest part here is the releasing of the +Power Button+ while holding the Home button. Be sure to follow the directions exactly. If anything feels like its stalling, just wait it out. It may take several hours to complete the process. Make sure your laptop is plugged in and iTunes stays open.

*3) Restore settings, data, and apps from Backup.*
When the DFU reset is complete, select the backup instance you created from Step 1 and the backup will begin restoring. Again, for 16GB this took several hours.

*4) Re-apply app updates.*
On your iPhone, go to App Store and click 'Update All' to update all your applications (since restore may not restore all the up-to-date app patches).

_+*Good luck.*+_
If my phone slows down in another week or so, I'll post back. But so far, so good.

http://lifehacker.com/5572003/how-to-downgrade-your-iphone-3g%5Bs%5D-from-ios-4- to-ios-313

Have at it, roll that ***** back.

After enduring iOS4 on my iPhone 3G for over 6 months, I finally bit the bullet and downgraded to 3.1.3. I always had faith that apple would deliver a solution and whilst there were some marginal improvements in the subsequent updates to iOS4, my phone still wasn't as fun to use as it used to be. I had tried all the various solutions on this forum, such as reset and restore etc etc. This would lead to a marginal improvement in performance for a week or so before slowing down again. Sometimes I would not even be able to answer a call as the slider would not respond to my touch as the phone was ringing.

Anyway, in light of the fact that it was very doubtful Apple would be releasing any further updates to iOS4 targeted for iPhone 3g, I downgraded to 3.1.3 a couple of days ago following the lifehacker article. It was immediately obvious to me how much faster 3.1.3 is compared to iOS4. It felt like I had an old friend back and left me wondering why I had put up with iOS4 for the last 6 months just so I could have folders and a slightly improved iPod application. Everything, Everything runs much much faster now.

I was lucky that I found an old 3.1.3 backup in my time machine and restored that to my phone. Most of my info on the phone is stored in the cloud so that wasn't a problem. The only thing I was concerned about was my SMS messages and Photos. I backed these up to my Mac before doing anything but eventually I was able to restore my SMS messages and Camera Roll photos after jailbreaking and manually copying a few files from my iOS4 Backup.

All round, I couldn't be happier with how it has turned out, now I don't have to upgrade the hardware anytime soon.

I was wondering about that. After yet another episode of IOS 4 sending my phone into recovery mode and having to wait until I got home to the computer to restore it and have a phone again, I noticed a message popup I had not seen before. When I hooked up my phone to the laptop it said it could not restore without being hooked up to the internet. I was wondering if this was just for Apple to authorize that this is my phone, or, worst case scenario, my personal data from my phone was actually NOT being stored where it should be....on MY computer, but was actually stored online....maybe even in an overseas data facility not subject to US privacy laws. A little paranoid maybe, but i really am one of those people that would prefer to keep as much of my personal information OFFLINE as possible. My phone should not be a device storing online.
Are there any people who know which is the case? Online authorization before restore only, or full cloud backup?
If it's full cloud backup my next phone will NOT be an iPhone, or any other phone engaging in such nonsense. 🙂

You personal data is on your computer but it is also on the cloud. That is how it gets from your computer to your phone and visa versa.

If you have a Mobile Me account the information is stored online - in the cloud - and goes back and forth from your phone to your computer. The cloud is the conduit.

If not I believe the only way to sync is manually. So you would not have up to date changes for contacts or calendar items until you synced. I would guess that the internet connection would be to check the software.

This is almost my same experience....just not as many visits to the apple store.
****** is an understatement.....

...guess I should have typed pi$$ed....

I think I pretty much did the same thing as you. I knew about that LH article a while back but I didn't downgrade, instead I restored a couple of times, got it replaced for free under AppleCare, turned of MMS and Spotlight but those solutions were only temporary and never restored it to a pre 4.0 performance.

My tunes would skip, apps would crash, lock screen would lock-up; all these indicating the obvious fact that iOS4 was never meant for 3G.

I decided to finally downgrade after my AppleCare ceased and now I am a happy camper. I just wished I had retained copies of apps which had lost compatibility with 3.1.3 eg DailyBurn and Keynote Remote.

I won't be upgrading anytime soon either and I am skeptical bout choosing another iPhone in the future.

Only certain information is stored on Mobile Me and most of them are the usual items like Calendar, Contacts, Email Messages and even so you would have explicitly opted and activated these services, they would not happen without your approval.

What is more interesting though is the way you use your phone and not just the data stored in them. I am sure Apple collects some info on this and as you know when you are online, Google does the same too. Data collection is slowly becoming inevitable when you start to use services connected to the internet; the sole purpose is for advertising and product/service improvement.