Should I upgrade on an iPhone 3gs to ios 5.1 from 4.3.5?

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Should I upgrade on an iPhone 3gs to ios 5.1 from 4.3.5?

I have a 3GS currently running on iOS 4.3.5. I mainly phone/txt/safari and I stream a lot of radio using TuneIn Pro (important app for me).

I'm pondering an OS upgrade to 5.1....

I've been warned even by Apple employees (off-the-record) to not upgrade the OS to 5.xx due to performance problems. They say the 3GS doesn't have the power to handle iOS 5. Howerver, I've read recently that 5.1 is not as bad as 5.0 and 5.0.1 were on the 3GS.

I don't jailbreak my phone (nor do I ever plan to), so I can't revert back if I try it, so I'm kind of skiddish.

Any advice, pros/cons, would be appreciated. Thanks!

TFK

iPhone 3GS, iOS 5.1, iOS 4.3.5 currently

Posted on May 4, 2012 6:36 PM

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Answer 1

roaminggnome

Level 10

106,365 points

May 4, 2012 6:37 PM in response to the_fat_kid

I just gave my old 3GS to my sister in law. It has 5.1 and has no issues.

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Answer 2

the_fat_kid Author

Level 1

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May 4, 2012 6:50 PM in response to roaminggnome

How much slower is the 3GS with 5.1 vs 4.3? (unnoticable, 10%, 30%, 50%?) Any detail would be helpful. Thanks!

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Answer 3

roaminggnome

Level 10

106,365 points

May 5, 2012 10:35 AM in response to the_fat_kid

Not noticeable at all.

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Answer 4

May 5, 2012 10:40 AM in response to the_fat_kid

there is no problem , better is update to newer vesion ..apple also supporting for that ...i dont know why did he tells like that ?? ...go ahead with update ...make sure your phone is factory unlocked or got from apple store

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Answer 5

Jun 26, 2013 10:17 AM in response to the_fat_kid

How about iOS 6?

I have taken my 3GS* through iOS 5.x and now iOS 6.1.3; it works. As long as I turned off those bandwidth-hogs (no automatic photo stream, or iCloud update), I have found:

1) Latency in starting up App (little slower than OS 5 or 4)

2) YouTube gone (no more default)

3) Battery retention span becames progressively shorter per each upgrade (OS 4, 5 to 6).

#3 may have to do with age, not iOS. Used to charge every other day (OS 4), then every night, now every evening + recharge everyday around 3-4 pm.

*"new" ATT 3GS in 2009; still going strong 2013.

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