18.3 on iPhone 11: the final word

[Racineur]

Hello again. Here's my situation: iOS 17.7.2 broke the data connexions on my iPhone 11 which can no more use LTE 4G. I reverted back to 3G but it works from time to time. In my car, phone, messages, Safari and others just don't work anymore. As it is, the iPhone 11 has become unreliable to make phone calls and use it outside home (wifi). Is it the 11 or the OS? From my POV it's iOS 17.7.2. So the 1 billion $ question: go iOS 18 or buy another phone? Bit fed up with searching the Web for info on iOS 18 battery drain. Too much 50-50 opinions. I'd like to keep my 11 cause I'm a very very light user. So for the last time, the final word on iOS 18.3 battery draining on iPhone 11. I have to make a move right away. Unbearable situation. Hope someone can help with some light.
Thanks thanks

 

[Reverend Benny]

Seen a bunch of 11 running different versions of iOS 18 and they seem fine. Many of them are a bit old and battery performance are as expected quite bad after +3 years. My 5 cent is go for it, even if you are a light user you do want the security patches that came with 18.2 and 18.3
And who knows, it might fix your 4g issues.
If it runs well why not consider a battery swap (if it’s around 80% or lower), the 11 will be supported for another 1-2 years.

 

[ManuCH]

Realistically your iPhone 11 won't get any worse with iOS 18.3. It may or may not fix your 4G issue, but I suspect it's a hardware defect. Therefore, I wouldn't replace the battery, unless 4G starts working again with the upgrade.

 

[Racineur]

Allo and thanks for your kind replies. My 11 battery is at 91% as of right now (Monday Feb 10). It was not behaving like that before iOS 17.7.2. Always could have a solid 4G connection. I thought about a hardware defect. What would it be if so? Just curious.

 

[Paddle1]

No way to know without some kind of diagnostic or look inside. You might as well give iOS 18 a try as my guess is you're probably going to need a new phone. The cost of repair is probably not worth it.

 

[Reverend Benny]

A bit of searching on the web reveals a good few people that seem to have issues with LTE and iPhone 11 combined with iOS 17. Not, that might not be related to these issues. But some solutions points towards flipping between 2G and 4G might enable it and that updates has fixed it. But it seem to have happened on a number of releases, not just 17.7.2

Give the phone an update and let us know if it fixed the problem, it might help others in a similar situation

 

[Racineur]

Hi again. Done: my 11 is on 18.3.1 and...nothing new. LTE is definitely broken on this phone. 3G works fine maybe better with iOS 18. I have to make a move in April cause my provider stops 3G that month. Or find a provider that still gives the service. Actually I don't care that much for the extra speed provided with 4G, I do so little with my phone outs home. I'm a senior, so. But I want a dependable and trustful service. Thanks to you all for your great help and hints.

 

[ManuCH]

Hi again. Done: my 11 is on 18.3.1 and...nothing new. LTE is definitely broken on this phone. 3G works fine maybe better with iOS 18. I have to make a move in April cause my provider stops 3G that month. Or find a provider that still gives the service. Actually I don't care that much for the extra speed provided with 4G, I do so little with my phone outs home. I'm a senior, so. But I want a dependable and trustful service. Thanks to you all for your great help and hints.

I definitely suggest you replace the iPhone. Even if you don't do much with it, having failing hardware is never good, as it may stop working or give you more issues down the road.

The iPhone 11 is from 2019 so I'd say it's time, it gave you good service for several years. A new iPhone SE should be released within the next weeks, you could consider that.

 

[FeliApple]

Please tell me iOS 18 doesn’t obliterate the iPhone 11... sadly, I think it will.

Context: we have, in the family, an iPhone 11. True to my now-proven path of not updating iOS, my family agreed. As a result, the iPhone runs iOS 14.6, flawlessly. Sadly, for compatibility reasons, it will have to be updated to iOS 18 soon.

I’m pretty much expecting it to be absolutely destroyed (by my standards), and this post kind of confirms it.

 

[hanser]

Well, my daughter's iPhone 11 does run well on 18.3, no problems. But perhaps our standards are lower than yours.

 

[crookadile]

My 11 runs well. Not had any problems at all.

 

[FeliApple]

Well, my daughter's iPhone 11 does run well on 18.3, no problems. But perhaps our standards are lower than yours.

Yeah, mine is probably higher than 99.99% of users, to be fair.

A lifetime of running original iOS versions will cause that.

Thanks though, I appreciate it.

 

[Racineur]

Hello again. To be fair, iOS 18.3.1 did good things to my 11. Battery life has improved. There are no stutters and glitches of any kind and the phone runs smoth, very smooth. Three weeks later, wifi and data runs OK if I can say so. The number of times data disconects is far better than before and a field test tells me the connexion strong. For the time being, I "will try" to work wih my 11. In 2025 I have the best budget phone there can be. If forced to buy a new phone, I will go again with an Apple refurbished. I understand iOS 18.3.1 does not affect every 11 phone the same way.

 

[Reverend Benny]

Hello again. To be fair, iOS 18.3.1 did good things to my 11. Battery life has improved. There are no stutters and glitches of any kind and the phone runs smoth, very smooth. Three weeks later, wifi and data runs OK if I can say so. The number of times data disconects is far better than before and a field test tells me the connexion strong. For the time being, I "will try" to work wih my 11. In 2025 I have the best budget phone there can be. If forced to buy a new phone, I will go again with an Apple refurbished. I understand iOS 18.3.1 does not affect every 11 phone the same way.

Interesting, so LTE/4G is working again?

 

[FeliApple]

Hello again. To be fair, iOS 18.3.1 did good things to my 11. Battery life has improved. There are no stutters and glitches of any kind and the phone runs smoth, very smooth. Three weeks later, wifi and data runs OK if I can say so. The number of times data disconects is far better than before and a field test tells me the connexion strong. For the time being, I "will try" to work wih my 11. In 2025 I have the best budget phone there can be. If forced to buy a new phone, I will go again with an Apple refurbished. I understand iOS 18.3.1 does not affect every 11 phone the same way.

Battery life?

 

[Racineur]

Interesting, so LTE/4G is working again?

Hi Actually it solves the problem by making it work with less hassle like there is signal loss 10 times less. In a way it has solved the problem enough for me to not buy a phone in a hurry.

 

[Racineur]

Battery life?

Surprisingly good. Due to my very light use of my 11, battery life is in the 20h range. I'm not the best candidate for evaluating battery life cause I don't Facebook, Instagram, Tok Tok, game or Netflix every day on it. I do Mail, Safari, Messages and a little Face Time. That's about it. But I don't refrain from doing all I want the time I want. I was at the hospital last week and I watched Netflix in the evening. The 11 behaved perfectly. Until now, I have nothing bad to report on iOS 18. But hey, my own experience.