iPhone 17 Does Apple install malware to slow your old phone down?

[Ethosik]

Has anyone actually reset their phone and started from scratch? My M1 iPad Pro was VERY SLOW, I reset it like I was selling it, treated it like a new device (not restore from backup). It’s been running so much better.

This is also something I do regularly on my Mac and windows computers. I need to do it more frequently on Windows.

 

[Happy_John]

Has anyone actually reset their phone and started from scratch? My M1 iPad Pro was VERY SLOW, I reset it like I was selling it, treated it like a new device (not restore from backup). It’s been running so much better.

This is also something I do regularly on my Mac and windows computers. I need to do it more frequently on Windows.

Well, yes.

Wiping a device to factory settings then reinstalling the apps you use (and not reinstalling the apps you don’t) every 12-24 months will make a noticeable difference.

If you have fan-cooled machine, opening it out and cleaning out the dust from its innards will make a noticeable difference.

But don’t expect this attitude to be popular on this forum. This is vey much a place fur 1) obsessing about the next shiny new thing, 2) treating tech as disposable and 3) complaining g (usually without any di criminal knowledge about the workings of what they are complaining about).

FFS, there are people on here who believe that Apple deliberately releases firmware updates to AirPods that lower their sound quality, when the reality us that the grills of their AirPods are filled with dirt and earwax, but they don’t understand that anything you stick into a part if your body should be cleaned regularly.

In short, there are a lot of idiots on this forum, and they want to remain idiots and would prefer to spend more money on shiny things than save money and maintain the equipment they have already bought.

It’s the equivalent of buying a new far every year, rather than just washing you car and changing the oil and filters regularly.

Honestly, some people clearly have more money than they know what to do with. It’s laziness and wilful stupidity combined.

 

[Harddrive]

Its not just phones Apple has never let a device that I am aware of load an OS older than what it came with at least since OSX.

 

[Harddrive]

Not entirely correct here although most iPhone users are not “trading up” through Apple as Apple rips you off on resale value. What people are doing instead is either trading their iPhones on Amazon to upgrade there or selling off their devices on Amazon, Swappa, Facebook Marketplace, Black Market and websites like this to recoup costs Apple refuses to credit.

Then I ask where are the refurbs I watch for these as you can get reasonable deals.

 

[Macdctr]

Then I ask where are the refurbs I watch for these as you can get reasonable deals.

Go to Amazon and put the iPhone you’re looking for, in this example the iPhone Air, and you will see several Airs being sold in renewed premium condition.

Amazon.com: IPhone Air Renewed Premium Unlocked

Amazon.com: iPhone Air renewed premium unlocked

www.amazon.com

Buying a pre-owned renewed premium iPhone guarantees greater than 90% battery health, near perfect cosmetics, and 1 year window if you decide to get a full refund. In my experience getting iPhones this way, the devices I have gotten through Amazon renewed premium, were in pristine cosmetic condition and in some cases had the battery replaced giving me 100% battery health.

As for purchasing a refurbished device from Apple through their certified refurbished store, it is a hit or miss what device is available at the time from Apple. As of right now the only devices available through Apple Certified Refurbished are the iPhone 15, 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max.

Refurbished iPhone Deals - Apple

Save up to 15% on a refurbished iPhone from Apple. Full 1-year warranty with a brand new battery and outer shell. Free delivery and returns.

www.apple.com

It depends on how you want to proceed however there are different series iPhones that can be perched outside Apple. You can get better deals going through Amazon than you do going through Apple with a wider choice of devices you are able to purchase, it’s your choice where you want to get your device from.

 

[Harddrive]

Go to Amazon and put the iPhone you’re looking for, in this example the iPhone Air, and you will see several Airs being sold in renewed premium condition.

Amazon.com: IPhone Air Renewed Premium Unlocked

Amazon.com: iPhone Air renewed premium unlocked

www.amazon.com

Buying a pre-owned renewed premium iPhone guarantees greater than 90% battery health, near perfect cosmetics, and 1 year window if you decide to get a full refund. In my experience getting iPhones this way, the devices I have gotten through Amazon renewed premium, were in pristine cosmetic condition and in some cases had the battery replaced giving me 100% battery health.

As for purchasing a refurbished device from Apple through their certified refurbished store, it is a hit or miss what device is available at the time from Apple. As of right now the only devices available through Apple Certified Refurbished are the iPhone 15, 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max.

Refurbished iPhone Deals - Apple

Save up to 15% on a refurbished iPhone from Apple. Full 1-year warranty with a brand new battery and outer shell. Free delivery and returns.

www.apple.com

It depends on how you want to proceed however there are different series iPhones that can be perched outside Apple. You can get better deals going through Amazon than you do going through Apple with a wider choice of devices you are able to purchase, it’s your choice where you want to get your device from.

I was impressed they had 2 17 pro's but they were both 256gb have that want 512 none to be found except new.

 

[Macdctr]

I was impressed they had 2 17 pro's but they were both 256gb have that want 512 none to be found except new.

Patience . . . just check Amazon periodically and the device in renewed premium will show up. One thing to add, if you don’t care about the Apple packaging (Amazon uses their own packaging), then this is the way to go getting an older iPhone that looks and operates just as good as a brand new iPhone from Apple at a great savings to your wallet. 👍🏽

 

[robfoll]

What utter paranoid garbage. I can't believe anybody takes this sort of crap seriously.

 

[robfoll]

I am largely of the belief that Apple locks out downgrading not because they are maliciously preventing people from rolling back and trying to get them to upgrade. But, because they wish to have as many customers as possible on the same version of iOS.

If it was a malicious thing in the past, I think it was largely to prevent jailbreaking - which Apple hates, but has now largely come to terms with.

The reason for having most customers on a current version of iOS would be so that if you bring your phone to Apple, the geniuses can realistically expect to be dealing with a current version of iOS. Solutions come based on that. Apple doesn't want to waste time and resources having to deal with multiple versions of iOS for troubleshooting.

It's a primary reason why they almost always tell you to update your phone before they will offer assistance.

As a former app developer, one of the main reasons coding apps for Apple is relatively simple compared to Android is that you only work on a few OS versions. Everyone moves forward, and there are only 3–4 different phones. Locking out downgrades is just sensible practice. Android is a total nightmare because you have to code for about 10 different operating systems. A large number of people never upgrade, and there are about 1 million different phones, often with extra software skins on them.

 

[FeliApple]

As a former app developer, one of the main reasons coding apps for Apple is relatively simple compared to Android is that you only work on a few OS versions. Everyone moves forward, and there are only 3–4 different phones. Locking out downgrades is just sensible practice. Android is a total nightmare because you have to code for about 10 different operating systems. A large number of people never upgrade, and there are about 1 million different phones, often with extra software skins on them.

“Don’t criticise developers” they said. “Developers cutting support isn’t deliberate”, they said.

Absolute garbage, pathetic developers. This is why we can’t have nice things. This is why millions of excellent hardware pieces are rendered unusable.

Apple itself gives unlimited compatibility: Pages, Numbers, Keynote, iMovie, etc, all work on ANY iOS version.

Garbage, abhorrent third-party developers drop support and sadly it’s impossible today to use an iPhone on an older iOS version if practically no third-party developers support it, which forces you to either update (which infects the device with Apple malware and provides a horrible experience), or like I do, you just have to upgrade the device and use the older one for music.

 

[Artemiz]

“Don’t criticise developers” they said. “Developers cutting support isn’t deliberate”, they said.

Absolute garbage, pathetic developers. This is why we can’t have nice things. This is why millions of excellent hardware pieces are rendered unusable.

Apple itself gives unlimited compatibility: Pages, Numbers, Keynote, iMovie, etc, all work on ANY iOS version.

Garbage, abhorrent third-party developers drop support and sadly it’s impossible today to use an iPhone on an older iOS version if practically no third-party developers support it, which forces you to either update (which infects the device with Apple malware and provides a horrible experience), or like I do, you just have to upgrade the device and use the older one for music.

Buddy, the world doesn’t revolve around you. Devs don’t have to do anything for you. It’s a job for them and they can do what works for them to sustain and grow. You’re getting apps for free and yet complain constantly.

You don’t have the faintest software dev experience but criticize them like you’re the expert in all things software. Do you hear yourself saying all this stuff?
People shouldn’t complain about stuff they’re getting for free. That’s entitlement at its peak.

 

[FeliApple]

Buddy, the world doesn’t revolve around you. Devs don’t have to do anything for you. It’s a job for them and they can do what works for them to sustain and grow. You’re getting apps for free and yet complain constantly.

You don’t have the faintest software dev experience but criticize them like you’re the expert in all things software. Do you hear yourself saying all this stuff?
People shouldn’t complain about stuff they’re getting for free. That’s entitlement at its peak.

WhatsApp will start requiring Marshmallow in Sep 2026, released in 2015 just like iOS 9.

WhatsApp on iOS requires iOS 15.1, released 6-7 years later. WhatsApp’s iOS developers are garbage. Why do they support so much on Android and not on iOS?

It’s indefensible.

 

[Artemiz]

WhatsApp will start requiring Marshmallow in Sep 2026, released in 2015 just like iOS 9.

WhatsApp on iOS requires iOS 15.1, released 6-7 years later. WhatsApp’s iOS developers are garbage. Why do they support so much on Android and not on iOS?

It’s indefensible.

Either use it or not use it. The only thing they care about is feedback. Not criticism for not meeting your special requirements.

 

[FeliApple]

Either use it or not use it. The only thing they care about is feedback. Not criticism for not meeting your special requirements.

If most people around you use it it’s not like you have a choice. All the more reason not to be a pathetic developer.

 

[user1234@]

Batteries on different individual phones age at different rates so you would only be able to measure a degradation rate if you sampled a large number of phones.

Yeah you’re right

 

[Macdctr]

What utter paranoid garbage. I can't believe anybody takes this sort of crap seriously.

Where is this comment originating from?

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

WhatsApp will start requiring Marshmallow in Sep 2026, released in 2015 just like iOS 9.

WhatsApp on iOS requires iOS 15.1, released 6-7 years later. WhatsApp’s iOS developers are garbage. Why do they support so much on Android and not on iOS?

I know this one, this one’s very easy.
It’s because most android phones that shipped with marshmallow in 2015… Are stuck with marshmallow in 2026.
Meanwhile the equivalent iPhones released in 2015 received seven years of software updates, and literally just received a security update this past Monday.
Also there is the fact that if app devs still had to develop for iOS 9, that would mean that their current versions of their applications would still have to support 32 bit processors, would still have to be built with the earliest versions of Swift, would still have to run on devices with only 512 MB of RAM. In 2026.

 

[FeliApple]

I know this one, this one’s very easy.
It’s because most android phones that shipped with marshmallow in 2015… Are stuck with marshmallow in 2026.
Meanwhile the equivalent iPhones released in 2015 received seven years of software updates, and literally just received a security update this past Monday.
Also there is the fact that if app devs still had to develop for iOS 9, that would mean that their current versions of their applications would still have to support 32 bit processors, would still have to be built with the earliest versions of Swift, would still have to run on devices with only 512 MB of RAM. In 2026.

I would love it if iOS devices that shipped with iOS 9 were stuck on iOS 9.

Do you know how much longevity that would give my devices? We had to update a couple because of this garbage, but we had 2 iPhones that were on WhatsApp-compatible iOS versions… and 9 that weren’t.

If developers weren’t such garbage, we could give a lot more use to many more iPhones.

Build it so it runs with iOS 9. Build it so it runs with iOS 11 onwards if you want 64-bit only, I’m fine with that. But give me longevity.

What devices get is irrelevant, because those updates are malware that obliterate devices.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

I would love it if iOS devices that shipped with iOS 9 were stuck on iOS 9.

Do you know how much longevity that would give my devices?

Probably about the same two years, the majority of those marshmallow android devices got.
There is a reason that 10 years ago the upgrade cycle was every 24 months, and now it’s every 36 to 60 months (3 to 5 years) or in many cases longer.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

If developers weren’t such garbage,

You know, for someone who is so quick to call developers…

Absolute garbage, pathetic

Garbage, abhorrent

garbage. indefensible.

I’d like to see your application. Let’s see you do better.
Let’s see the FeliApple texting service that goes all the way back to iPhone OS 2.0 and Mac OS X Cheetah.
Let’s see it.
Also, for the love of God, please come up with a new insult. “Garbage” doesn’t hit the way you think it does.

Buddy, the world doesn’t revolve around you. Devs don’t have to do anything for you. It’s a job for them and they can do what works for them to sustain and grow. You’re getting apps for free and yet complain constantly.

You don’t have the faintest software dev experience but criticize them like you’re the expert in all things software. Do you hear yourself saying all this stuff?
People shouldn’t complain about stuff they’re getting for free. That’s entitlement at its peak.

Thank God, finally someone said what we were all thinking.

Apple itself gives unlimited compatibility: Pages, Numbers, Keynote, iMovie, etc, all work on ANY iOS version.

Now you are just straight up lying. The latest versions of pages, numbers and keynote require iOS 18.0 or macOS sequoia 15.6.
macOS Sequoia 15.6 was literally only released nine months ago, and yet if you want the latest version of Pages released in January you must be running it or newer. So I literally have absolutely no idea what you are going on about, Apple ups their system requirements of their own applications every single year.
Unless you were making the absolutely bizarre argument that you can run older versions of iWork on older operating systems, which, obviously? This goes for literally any application ever?
If I have a Mac from 2007 that’s running leopard, guess what? I can still open Microsoft Office 2008 and iWork 08 as well, no developer is ever taking that away from you.
Texting services don’t work but old versions of on device text editing software, presentation making software and movie editors work just fine.

 

[FeliApple]

You know, for someone who is so quick to call developers…






I’d like to see your application. Let’s see you do better.
Let’s see the FeliApple texting service that goes all the way back to iPhone OS 2.0 and Mac OS X Cheetah.
Let’s see it.
Also, for the love of God, please come up with a new insult. “Garbage” doesn’t hit the way you think it does.

I don’t need to, I can give you two pretty popular examples: Telegram and Apple’s own iMessage. Cross-compatible between iOS 5, OS X El Capitan, iOS 8, iOS 6, iOS 10, iOS 12, iOS 14, iOS 18, iOS 26, OS X High Sierra, and whatever the current one is. Also any version of iPadOS.

Garbage is fine, I like to use “Garbage” (but not garbage) but I have also said “appalling, ludicrous, pathetic, abhorrent, ridiculous, absurd, preposterous…” I can keep coming up with other words if you like!

Thank God, finally someone said what we were all thinking.



Now you are just straight up lying. […].
Unless you were making the absolutely bizarre argument that you can run older versions of iWork on older operating systems, which, obviously? This goes for literally any application ever?
If I have a Mac from 2007 that’s running leopard, guess what? I can still open Microsoft Office 2008 and iWork 08 as well, no developer is ever taking that away from you.
Texting services don’t work but old versions of on device text editing software, presentation making software and movie editors work just fine.

This is exactly my argument and it is not bizarre. Texting services do work! See Telegram and iMessage (but not WhatsApp). Radios do work! See TuneIn Radio (but not some appalling app whose name I don’t even remember and which requires 26). Streaming services do work! See Netflix (but not the absolutely atrocious Disney Plus app). Some apps that allow user content do work, like the Instagram app (but not YouTube).

See the pattern? Some developers are just not garbage and maintain support… oh, sorry, some developers are just not utterly asinine and maintain support.

 

[Paul1964]

WhatsApp will start requiring Marshmallow in Sep 2026, released in 2015 just like iOS 9.

WhatsApp on iOS requires iOS 15.1, released 6-7 years later. WhatsApp’s iOS developers are garbage. Why do they support so much on Android and not on iOS?

It’s indefensible.

Then get an Android.

 

[FeliApple]

Then get an Android.

No, I like iOS (on original versions). and I can’t run them for as long as I’d like (due to garbage developers).

 

[Artemiz]

I don’t need to, I can give you two pretty popular examples: Telegram and Apple’s own iMessage. Cross-compatible between iOS 5, OS X El Capitan, iOS 8, iOS 6, iOS 10, iOS 12, iOS 14, iOS 18, iOS 26, OS X High Sierra, and whatever the current one is. Also any version of iPadOS.

What are you talking about cross-compatibility?
I can't even login to my Apple ID on my MacBook Air (Big Sur 11.7.11) with my other devices on iOS 18 and later.

 

[FeliApple]

What are you talking about cross-compatibility?
I can't even login to my Apple ID on my MacBook Air (Big Sur 11.7.11) with my other devices on iOS 18 and later.

View attachment 2629920

My Mac on El Cap works alongside my iOS devices on iOS 18. maybe the issue is newer Macs, but every other combination works.

And even if Macs don’t, we’re talking about iOS here, and that I can guarantee that it works.