I updated my iPhone 6 to iOS 11.0.1 why I rolled it back to 10.3.3 a word of caution

[newbe175]

While I usually wait a few months to update my iPhones (I've had the original iPhone, 3G, 4, and now 6) to wait for Apple to work out all the bugs, this time I decided to update my iPhone 6 shortly after 11.0.1 was released. The reason I did the update was because Apple is still signing iOS 10.3.3 and I could back to it if I had issues or didn't like the update. Just to be clear, I did a "restore" and update rather than just update in hopes of starting with a clean slate. Also, I used iTunes on my PC rather than an OTA update.

The update went well. Most of my apps transferred just fine. The few that didn't were apps that I had purposefully decided to not update in the past. I used the word "caution" because if you have an Apple watch this is a one way trip. The process of pairing your watch again (the watch will unpair from your phone as part of the update) will require the watch to update to OS 4. This is where the major issue is.

After noticing horrible battery performance (about 50% more battery drain - more on that later) on the phone, I decided to go back to 10.3.3 a couple of days later. The roll back was done as a "restore" and an earlier backup (prior to iOS 11.0.1) was successfully installed. My old phone was back. However, the watch had to be paired up again. Unfortunately, launching the watch app and starting the paring process failed because the app could not be paired with watch due to the phone iOS being "old". It needed the latest iOS. So now, my watch is useless because there is no way roll it back to OS3. A $349 Series 1 42mm Watch is now a paper weight.

I'm not advocating not updating to the latest iOS since it contains safety patches. Just that you may want to make your own decision. Maybe, you should hold off on updating the watch later (which means you can't use it for now) until you are sure you are happy with the latest update.

My 128GB iPhone 6 is 3 years old. I like it a lot. It still runs great (no lags, great battery performance, etc). iPhone 7 and 8 do not offer enough improvements for me to shell out $600-$800 for a new phone.



My battery performance under iOS 11.0.1 vs 10.3.3: My unscientific test consisted of running a library movie (meaning I wasn't streaming it) at full brightness (wifi on, Bluetooth off) until the phone died. Under iOS 11.0.1, my phone was dead in 2:40. Back to 10.3.3, it lasted 5:30. Remember, both were installed as "new" and then restored from essentially the same backup (the old version of 10.3.3). As they say YMMV....

Again, don't update the watch until you are really sure you want to keep 11.

I hope this helps others....

 

[Moolani]

Thanks for the write up. I am holding off on upgrading my iPhone based on these types of comments. I can't afford to lose anymore battery life.

 

[Reno Raines]

My update on my 6 went well for me. Running iOS 11.0.1 and it is doing about as well as iOS 10 was for me.

 

[isaac123]

i took out an old 6 + to test getting an 8 or an 8 +. Initially it was on 10.3.3, and then upgraded to 11.0. The first day it was a stuttering mess, but after that performance was better than what i remembered on 10.3.3

 

[newbe175]

Just to be clear, I didn't have any glitching. There was a slight delay when opening Safari and Settings. Other than that, it seemed as snapy as usual. I was pleasantly surprised that 11.0.1 seemed to run quite well on my 3 year old iPhone 6. The determining factor was the battery performance. The first full day with 11.0.1 was Thursday. My phone was in airplane mode the majority of that day while traveling. By the time I got home 12 hrs later, the battery was down to less than 20% with little use.

On 10.3.3, my battery is back to normal its 48-60 hours of standby time (about two full days on a single charge ).

Regarding the watch, I took it to the nearest Apple Store since they are the only ones who can possibly downgrade the watch to OS 3. However, they would not guarantee that it would be a success. Having to pick between a phone that won't make it a day on a single charge or my watch, I chose the phone.

I'll try to post a follow up when the watch comes back in a week or two. If they can't downgrade the OS, I guess I'll just have to wait until Apple comes up with an incremental update to deal with older phone battery issues. Based on my experience of iPhone ownership since 2008, my confidence is low.

 

[sdwaltz]

My brother is experiencing the same issues with his iPhone 6...major battery drain issues but not only that, performance is terrible. He's shown me. The lag and stuttering is real. And he has "reduce motion" on. If it's this bad on a 6, I can't imagine how much of a dog iOS 11 is on the 6 Plus.

If you have an iPhone 6, it's in your best interest to stay on 10.3.3 for a host of reasons.

 

[newbe175]

sdwaltz,

I agree. I'm planning on staying with 10.3.3 for the foreseeable future. I only had 11.0.1 for a couple of days. I didn't see anything that would make me want to back. Especially, if it requires that I charge my phone a couple of times a day just to be able to use it.

 

[eyoungren]

I'm still on 9.0.2. On my iPhone anyway.

iPad is on 8.1.

I did however, utilize some battery tips I saw for iOS 11 yesterday. Hadn't been through my apps in a while so was surprised by what I found. Background refresh and all.

 

[TheIgster]

So as an outsider, what is so great with iOS about getting updates right away straight from Apple (something that iPhone fans always tout over Android), if no one wants to do it or it causes all sorts of issues with older devices?

Serious question. I see nothing but complaints about new versions of iOS causing issues, even with the last generation of iPhone's, yet Apple fans always say it's so great that they get updates right away.

 

[eyeseeyou]

So as an outsider, what is so great with iOS about getting updates right away straight from Apple (something that iPhone fans always tout over Android), if no one wants to do it or it causes all sorts of issues with older devices?

Serious question. I see nothing but complaints about new versions of iOS causing issues, even with the last generation of iPhone's, yet Apple fans always say it's so great that they get updates right away.

There are plenty of people, possibly the majority of users, who haven’t had the issues some people are experiencing.

I’ve just updated my 5s and do not have the same issues being reported.

 

[C DM]

So as an outsider, what is so great with iOS about getting updates right away straight from Apple (something that iPhone fans always tout over Android), if no one wants to do it or it causes all sorts of issues with older devices?

Serious question. I see nothing but complaints about new versions of iOS causing issues, even with the last generation of iPhone's, yet Apple fans always say it's so great that they get updates right away.

The real answer is that most do it and most/many don't really have issues (at least not ones of much significance to them).

 

[mebehere]

iPhone 6 here. It’d be nice to have watchOS 4, but I’m sticking with 10.3.3. I learned my lesson with the iPad 3 by updating too far.

 

[joeblow7777]

I always update my software right away. I’ve been running 11.0.1 and 11 before that on my iPhone 6 as soon as they went public. Some diminished battery life, but it still gets me through the day. No performance problems at all.

 

[pat500000]

While I usually wait a few months to update my iPhones (I've had the original iPhone, 3G, 4, and now 6) to wait for Apple to work out all the bugs, this time I decided to update my iPhone 6 shortly after 11.0.1 was released. The reason I did the update was because Apple is still signing iOS 10.3.3 and I could back to it if I had issues or didn't like the update. Just to be clear, I did a "restore" and update rather than just update in hopes of starting with a clean slate. Also, I used iTunes on my PC rather than an OTA update.

The update went well. Most of my apps transferred just fine. The few that didn't were apps that I had purposefully decided to not update in the past. I used the word "caution" because if you have an Apple watch this is a one way trip. The process of pairing your watch again (the watch will unpair from your phone as part of the update) will require the watch to update to OS 4. This is where the major issue is.

After noticing horrible battery performance (about 50% more battery drain - more on that later) on the phone, I decided to go back to 10.3.3 a couple of days later. The roll back was done as a "restore" and an earlier backup (prior to iOS 11.0.1) was successfully installed. My old phone was back. However, the watch had to be paired up again. Unfortunately, launching the watch app and starting the paring process failed because the app could not be paired with watch due to the phone iOS being "old". It needed the latest iOS. So now, my watch is useless because there is no way roll it back to OS3. A $349 Series 1 42mm Watch is now a paper weight.

I'm not advocating not updating to the latest iOS since it contains safety patches. Just that you may want to make your own decision. Maybe, you should hold off on updating the watch later (which means you can't use it for now) until you are sure you are happy with the latest update.

My 128GB iPhone 6 is 3 years old. I like it a lot. It still runs great (no lags, great battery performance, etc). iPhone 7 and 8 do not offer enough improvements for me to shell out $600-$800 for a new phone.



My battery performance under iOS 11.0.1 vs 10.3.3: My unscientific test consisted of running a library movie (meaning I wasn't streaming it) at full brightness (wifi on, Bluetooth off) until the phone died. Under iOS 11.0.1, my phone was dead in 2:40. Back to 10.3.3, it lasted 5:30. Remember, both were installed as "new" and then restored from essentially the same backup (the old version of 10.3.3). As they say YMMV....

Again, don't update the watch until you are really sure you want to keep 11.

I hope this helps others....

Hmm. I'm not sure if Apple is intentionally doing this or not. I have no proof, but if what you're saying is for real (not doubting or anything), then I'm gonna say this may be my last apple watch to purchase (AW2). Unless they will fix it, i'll have to hold off on updating. Thanks for heads up.

 

[sven691103]

I don’t think running a video until the battery is empty is a valid battery check. The better option would be charging it to 100% then turn on airplane mode over night and see how much battery is left in the morning. When you run a video all kind of background operations are still going on. I mention WhatsApp and Facebook as the biggest battery huggers I know. I had my wife’s iPad lying around for 2 days with everything on and it still had 99% left. So it’s probably down to usage and background refresh.

 

[newbe175]

Update: I got my watch (Series 1) back from Apple Wednesday. They were able to successfully downgrade the OS to OS3. My watch is not a $349 paper weight anymore! So, if you find yourself in the same predicament as I was, take it to your local Apple store. They should be able to send it out to their repair depot to get it downgraded.

I hope this helps others...
[doublepost=1507330999][/doublepost]

I don’t think running a video until the battery is empty is a valid battery check. The better option would be charging it to 100% then turn on airplane mode over night and see how much battery is left in the morning. When you run a video all kind of background operations are still going on. I mention WhatsApp and Facebook as the biggest battery huggers I know. I had my wife’s iPad lying around for 2 days with everything on and it still had 99% left. So it’s probably down to usage and background refresh.

You are right. By itself, it is not an accurate battery check. But, it makes for a great comparison of the two iOS's using a single app with heavy drain. You can then conclude that your battery performance under the newer iOS is about 1/2 of that under the previous iOS. That is all I trying to test in this case. As I said, YMMV...