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ContactFriday, July 30th, 2010 at 11:10 AM PST
We all know that upgrading your Apple iPhone 3G to iOS 4 can be kind of a pain but the French mobile operator SFR is giving the strongest warning we’ve seen yet about the process.
According to a translated version of the page: “Updating of the iPhone 3G to iOS 4 software significantly slows navigation menus. Any update is irreversible (bold is ours, not SFR). This information concerns only iPhone 3G and not the iPhone 3GS.”
The move comes as Apple is facing some flack for its iOS 4 software. The firmware adds cool new features like multitasking, the iAd mobile advertising platform, a social gaming network and more to Apple smartphone hardware that can run the new mobile operating system – namely the iPhone 3G, 3GS and iPhone 4. Unfortunately, the iPhone 3G just doesn’t quite have the hardware specs to fully take advantage of this new platform and many users have reported issues.
This isn’t just a case of a few isolated Apple iPhone 3G users complaining about iOS 4, as a report suggests Apple is currently investigating the issue. If you’ve already upgraded your Apple iPhone 3G to iOS 4 and are regretting it, you can still downgrade to previous versions after jumping through a few hoops. Check out Lifehacker’s guide here for detailed instructions.
If Apple had its druthers, I’m sure it wouldn’t even offer iOS 4 to Apple iPhone 3G users because it knew the experience wouldn’t be as good as on the new iPhone 4 or the iPhone 3GS. It did warn that things like multitasking wouldn’t be available on earlier versions of its hardware but I doubt it pictured the kind of mess that would ensue.
We’re hearing reports that the new software makes the 3G super laggy and downright unusable in some cases. I’ve thrown iOS 4 on my iPod Touch and have experienced some problems syncing and launching apps, so it may not be exclusive to the phones.
Are you on an Apple iPhone 3G with iOS 4? What’s your experience been like? Let us know in the comments below!
I have a 3G running iOS 4 and it's true: it makes things laggy and difficult. Angry Birds is almost unplayable (haha). However, I honestly think people should have expected this. When you upgrade an older PC to a new OS, you expect that the machine won't be able to handle the new OS as well as a newer machine with better hardware would. Why would people expect to get the same experience out of a 3G iPhone running iOS 4 as users who have the iPhone 4? And I'm not a fanboy either…I was one of the loudest voices complaining about the antenna issue on the iPhone 4 (which I bought for my wife). I just think in this case common sense should have prepared people…I was prepared for lag when I upgraded.
I’ve definitely noticed a slowdown versus when I had 3.x . I saw somewhere that turning off spotlight search helps things, so I tried that. I think I’ve noticed a little bit of an improvement. Luckily the phone’s not my primary phone anymore so it’s not that big of a deal for me.
it works brilliant and it works much better and snapier than iOS 3
I'm a 3G user who upgraded to iOS4 and — I concur with the French – DON'T DO IT. Super, super laggy to the point of being unusable. Lifehacker downgrade to the 3G here I come. iPhone 4 on order
.
iOS4 should not have been offered to 3G users.
I upgraded about 2 months ago from iOS 3 to iOS 4 on a 3G iphone I bought maybe 3 months ago. Runs fine, it is a bit laggy but definitely better than the iOS 3. Definitely worth the upgrade.
I upgraded the phone and then it is soooooooooo slow and laggy. it is difficult to do anything on the phone. I called the customer care and they said that we know there is a problem but still we do not support downgrade :X !!!!!! And the customer care person asked me to get a new phone
…………..My photos appear as black bricks and twice my Ipod did not pause when i got a call and i could hear voice and music at the same time…..I am planning on doing the lifehacker downgrade this weekend so that i can use my phone again. I am a UNHAPPY apple customer right now
Lasted about 1 month after updating to 4.0 on my 3G until it’s lagging and overall crappy performance drove me to the iPhone 4…which is by the way a fantastic product!
IOS 4 works greats!!!! Upgrade you iPhone
My 3G was working pretty good with 4.0 up until about two weeks ago and then it started to run really slooooww. I do like the folders option though. Might Jailbreak it now that it's legal! Getting something new in April when my AT&T contract is up, maybe an iPhone 4 but kind of looking at the Evo 4G for now…
Not only did it become unresponsive, very slow and a joke of a phone, it also made the external GPS antenna for my TomTom a unrecognized device.
The 3G was an OK phone, but not even being able to make any call because the phone application decided to stay stuck at the history screen. A hard reset was the only solution and this has become an almost daily requirement. It made a joke of my TomTom application indicating a turn after you passed it and don;t make the mistake to decide to take an alternative road as it keeps trying to reroute you through streets you alread passed time and time again.
Great! At least French has quality networks warning you OFFICIALLY not to upgrade
I was super excited for the update and was happy with the folders and being able to make more than one playlist at a time. However, the apps are so slow that its not worth it to update you're iPhone.
My upgrade to 4.0 caused a big slowdown. BUT, when I upgraded to 4.0.1, everything became much, much faster – faster than 3.1.3. A few days ago, I jailbroke it, and installed System Preferences. Among other things, this app allows you to clear the RAM by closing down apps you aren't currently using – like Safari, Mail, or Phone (Mail and Phone restart as soon as you have something incoming). This really speeds things up.
I am french and my operator is SFR. I had an iPhone 3G but didn't upgrade to iOS4. My old phone is jailbroken and works fine. I received the SMS.
Now I have an iPhone 4 and I really think that iOS4 was made to work with this phone.
iOS 4 seemed to kill my iPod Touch. Should I get a Zune HD now?
offcourse they make ios 4 available for 3g phones, people thing they have a slow phone and want a new iphone 4, its all about marketing
iOS4 has rendered my iPhone 3G virtually unusable. Am going to see if a "Genius" can help…
We don't control the hardware (Apple decides what goes into an iPhone)
We don't control the software (Apple lures users to upgrade to get "new" features and to stay protect from malware)
The iPhone 3G slows down to a crawl and Apple suggests to "Get a new iPhone"
I'd like to use my iPhone until it dies of a hardware failure or until I i decide to get a new one, NOT until Apple decides that I need a new iPhone. WTF?
In that case, I'll get a new phone, but it's not going to be an "iPhone"
I still control my wallet.
I uploaded the new 4.0.2 software to my 3G phone which is not even 1 year old. TERRIBLE. It is incredibly slow, the visual voicemail feature is gone so when I receive a call, there is no indicator that I have voicemail. This has cost me thousands of dollars of missed revenue. I have spent countless hours trying to resolve this problem with ATT and Apple support. I have gotten nowhere. They are barely admitting that this is a major screw up on Apple’s part. They have no fix. This has been such a frustrating experience and is not acceptable. I have told many friends NOT to get an iphone. If Apple and ATT want to charge a premium for their product, then they need to give the consumer a premium product. Not even close to being there.