Level 1

1 points

Iphone 3G slow after update to IOS4

The upgrade to IOS4 took forever but eventualy was completed succesfully.
But the iphone is very slow with IOS4. It doesn't work as smooth as it used to be. Also new applications such as the iBook application are very slow, doesn't respond smooth on screentaps etc. Who has the same experience?
I'm thinking about going back to version 3.1.3 because IOS4 doesn't add anything to improve the user experience on the iPhone 3G.

I hope Apple will listen to their iphone users and will release an update soon for iOS4 which improves the performance on older iPhones.

Iphone 3G, iOS 4

Posted on Jun 24, 2010 1:14 AM

Top-ranking reply

ContingencyPlan

Level 1

15 points

Posted on Jun 25, 2010 1:12 PM

Irons you can try this "magical" process to get to 3.1.3 again, just takes a few steps to follow closely but yes you can.

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

I just downgraded my 3G from 4.0 to 3.1.3 and it works just as before. Familiar icons, speed is back. Just pay attention to all the steps as there are unique files for 3G versus the 3GS model, each of which are listed there.

View in context

1,824 replies

Aug 30, 2010 3:06 PM in response to rstoppiello

I complained on here a long while ago, when my 3G iPhone first ground to a half with 4.0.1. After a brief burst of (relative) speed when updated to 4.0.2, it slowed right down again, to an excruciating crawl.

After putting up with it for some weeks, in the hope that Apple would release an update that addressed this, I have given up all hope and have finally downgraded back to 3.1.3. It is fantastic! My phone now runs like a dream again.

I am so happy to have my phone back to how it was, and I am perfectly happy with the Apps I have. I was worried that any Apps I updated since upgrading to 4.x would no longer be backwards compatible with 3.x, but they all are so far.

Given that I'm happy with the restored functioning of my phone, and with the Apps that I have currently, I will not be accepting any more updates to my phone from Apple in future. I see no need to improve it, and from experience, I can only expect it to get worse.

Given that the same is more or less true for my MacBook (that it runs perfectly well and it satisfies all my needs) I don't see myself upgrading my computer either if Apple releases any future updates - my faith in them has been lost.

So, sorry Apple, but that's the last penny out of my that you'll see.

Thanks everyone for all the tips and advice - once again, the best advice I've had so far is to give up and downgrade back to 3.1.3. The extra features of iOS4 on the 3G simply aren't worth it - combined inbox, folders, and stupidly slow Spotlight - why so much pain for so little?

Cheers.

Sep 3, 2010 7:48 AM in response to Xplorer77

I had the same issue and suffered with a brutally slow iphone 3G for a couple months now. I just downgraded my phone back to IOS 3 and it works great like it used to. Here is instructions on how to do it:

http://www.maclife.com/article/howtos/howdowngrade_your_iphone_3g_ios313

I can live without the new features (folders were kind of a pain anyway).

My phone was so painful I was going to upgrade to the Iphone 4 right away (if there were any available), but there weren't. Now that my Iphone is back to IOS3 and working well, I think I'll just wait it out for the next Iphone hardware as they should have the issue with it worked out.

Not impressed with Apple on this as I loved my Iphone and they made it almost unbearable to use.

Hopefully this downgrade option will help some others to get their usable Iphone back!!

Sep 6, 2010 10:04 AM in response to Xplorer77

Lifehacker.com has posted a video comparing iOS4.0 and 4.1 running on a 3G: http://lifehacker.com/5628991/iphone-3g-speed-test-ios-40-versus-ios-41

+The video demonstrates the results, but here they are in all their glory:+

+Messages: iOS 4.1 Wins (By a Little)+
+Maps: iOS 4.1 Wins (By a Lot)+
+Photos: iOS 4.1 Wins (Just Barely)+
+Safari: iOS 4.1 Wins (Just Barely)+

+While the speed advantages ranged from marginal to significant, iOS 4.1 clearly outperformed iOS 4.0. It's still significantly slower performance than you'll get from a 3GS or iPhone 4, and we're still not sure it's a big enough improvement that 3G owners will want to ditch iOS 3. The most obvious difference was UI responsiveness. The UI didn't get stuck nearly as much on an interface element or when trying to enter text. If you are set on using iOS 4, the upgrade is worthwhile for that alone.+

I'm still torn over whether to upgrade to the iPhone 4 or not. I tried restoring my 3G with a fresh copy of iOS 4.0.2, and the phone was slightly snappier, but I still had to do a couple of hard resets before everything worked properly again (iPod function would crash, Mail would crash etc). I wish Apple would have just excluded the 3G from the 4 update, performance on 3.1.3 was fine.

I don't expect my phone to be a replacement for my computer, but having to reset the phone because the mail app keeps crashing makes it kind of frustrating to use.

TomNYC

Level 3

592 points

Sep 9, 2010 5:16 PM in response to Xplorer77

The iOS 4.1 update has finally fixed the instability problem with both of my 3G iPhones. I upgraded both phones immediately when it was released and have been using them ever since with none of the same sluggishness and unresponsiveness.

I would have been a lot happier about this update had Apple not left 3G iPhone owners in the dark and with barely functioning phones for the past 3+ months.

Sep 10, 2010 10:47 AM in response to Xplorer77

I ran the update on a 3g to 4.1 and still had performance/lag issues. This morning, I did a restore and things are much improved. (I've also kept spotlight disabled on everything). Camera still lags (but now only about 5 secs), but texting no longer takes 10 seconds to load. One odd thing is that while some custom ringtones still appear through the itunes interface and show as synced, I'm unable to assign them to my contacts. Overall though, the 3g is probably 90% of what it was originally. Way better than before.

stockli

Level 1

10 points

Oct 8, 2010 3:26 PM in response to Xplorer77

4.1 is still sluggish on the 3G.

Theres still a very noticeable difference between 3.1.3 and 4.1. The speed boost from 4.0 to 4.1 was minimal at best.

Still present in 4.1:
- icons still "stuttering" into place when unlocking the phone from standby
- long delays when opening apps
- less free memory when idling compared to 3.1.3

I think this is as good as it gets for the 3G hardware. Considering everything, I'd recommend sticking with 3.1.3.

Message was edited by: stockli

vgking96

Level 1

85 points

Nov 7, 2010 1:43 PM in response to Xplorer77

you can't expect much

ios4 and beyond are meant for iphone 3GS and iphone 4

iphone 2G and 3G both have 128MB of RAM and 400mhz cpus but the 3GS has double the RAM at 256MB and has a faster cpu at 600mhz and the iphone 4 is even higher at 512MB of RAM and a 1Ghz cpu

its all those differences that cause ios4 to run slowly on iphone 2G/3GS

so theres no firmware update that can make it run better, your only choice is to deal with the slowness or update to a 3GS/4

DCIFRTHS

Level 1

34 points

Nov 7, 2010 3:49 PM in response to vgking96

vgking96 wrote:
you can't expect much

ios4 and beyond are meant for iphone 3GS and iphone 4

Then why did Apple deploy it on the 3G?

iphone 2G and 3G both have 128MB of RAM and 400mhz cpus but the 3GS has double the RAM at 256MB and has a faster cpu at 600mhz and the iphone 4 is even higher at 512MB of RAM and a 1Ghz cpu

its all those differences that cause ios4 to run slowly on iphone 2G/3GS

so theres no firmware update that can make it run better, your only choice is to deal with the slowness or update to a 3GS/4

The one choice you left out, and a very significant one, is for Apple to give us the option of going back to 3.1x

Nov 17, 2010 4:40 AM in response to Xplorer77

A previous poster pointed out that iOS4 is optimised for the memory capacity of iPhone 4 (there's much less of it on iPhone 3G).

The same poster recommended closing all open pages in Safari and I've found that this has speeded up the performance and responsiveness of my 3G.

Does anyone have any other suggestions for freeing up memory on the 3G as there is no doubt that every little helps?

I don't think it hurts to clear Safari's cache, and a hardboot now and again probably isn't a bad idea either.

Please add any suggestions you might have for freeing up memory on the 3G.

Here's the list so far:

1. Safari - close all pages. To do this first launch Safari then tap icon bottom right of screen and delete pages; the final page will try to open and won't delete so tap New Page at bottom left of screen and you'll be left with only a blank page.

2. Clear Safari cache in Settings

3. Hard boot once in a while. To do this first press and hold the Home button and Sleep/Wake button simultaneously until the Apple icon appears - ignore the Power Off slider, just keep holding until the Apple icon).

4. ?

Message was edited by: Audiodrome

Message was edited by: Audiodrome

Message was edited by: Audiodrome

Jan 10, 2011 10:17 AM in response to Xplorer77

_+*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.

Jun 2, 2011 3:09 AM in response to bcnu

Hi,

Hopefully I can help a little.

I too have (had) a problem with iPhone 3g being extremley sluggish.

I found the answer (or an answer) on YouTube this morning.

Try this;

Go to settings, then general, then home button, and finally spotlight search. (SpotLight search is basically the function that lets you search your iPhone for any document, contact, etc...... I never use it myself!)

Untick all ticked items.

Turn your phone off and on again.

This speeded up my iPhone considerably.

I hope this helps!!

Leann O.

Level 3

662 points

Jul 16, 2011 7:27 PM in response to HooplaDude

It is highly unlikely that Apple is going to issue a fix. They have pretty much made it clear that the 3G is no longer supported, since they stopped pushing the updates out to it after 4.2.1. I feel your pain. I had a 3G until yesterday. I can't afford to buy an iPhone 4 or the new iPhone when it is released, so I bought a refurbished 3GS (my contract was up for renewal). It is SO much better than the 3G. When I tried iOS 4 on my 3G, I downgraded to 3.1.3 and it helped tremendously. I know that solution won't work for everyone, however.

Jan 1, 2012 11:57 PM in response to Xplorer77

great way to add speed to your iPhone 3G!

Disable Spotlight on iPhone 3G

If iOS 4 has your iPhone 3G crawling, disable Spotlight search:

Tap on “Settings”
Tap on “General”
Navigate to and select “Home Button”
Scroll down to “Spotlight Search”
Disable everything by tapping the check box next to each item
Exit settings

You can leave some of the Spotlight search items enabled but I find that the best speed improvement comes from disabling everything.

I don’t even use Spotlight on my iPhone so I’m not missing this feature at all, but it does seem to improve the speed of the iPhone 3G in common tasks like flipping between screens, scrolling through text messages and emails, and even launching some apps.

Bottom line: if you don’t use Spotlight in iOS, disable it!

Sep 6, 2010 8:07 PM in response to D.R.C.

I did this last night with my iphone 3G, iOS 4.0 and restored it to iOS 3.1.3. Worked perfectly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6DEuTHrmI4

exq0867

Level 1

0 points

Jun 24, 2010 1:54 AM in response to Xplorer77

I was having similar issues after upgrade. I had similar problems before after one of the previous updates and the solution there worked here as well:

1) perform backup using iTunes
2) perform restore using iTunes
3) reload/resync music, videos, playlists

After this, the response of my 3G became quite snappy and animations smoothed out.

Kinda a pain to go through the process, but it works.

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Iphone 3G slow after update to IOS4