iOS 6 Users on Devices Able to Run iOS 7 Must Upgrade to Fix FaceTime

[QCassidy352]

It's kind of shocking how many of you are missing the issue here. It's not whether iOS 7 looks nice. It's not whether iOS 7 runs well on older devices. It's not whether FaceTime is a useful app, or Skype is a good alternative.

The issue is whether it's Ok that apple puts users in the position of choosing between losing functionality and upgrading, and I cannot fathom how anyone thinks that's Ok. The reasons one may not want to upgrade are irrelevant, as is the wisdom of that decision (I for one upgraded my iphone 5 day one but still have iOS 6 on my iPad 2).

If a person wants to keep using their device as-is, they should ALWAYS be able to do that without losing as-sold functionality. That's so basic that I don't even know how to wrap my head around the fact that some of you don't get it.

 

[C DM]

Explain to me how this works: GoToFail can be ignored by someone who dislikes the iOS 7 UI. But broken Facetime? Poop, can't ignore that. Gotta upgrade now. Curse you Apple for breaking Facetime!!!!! I will hate you forever for forcing my hand.

Similar outrage was in various GoToFail threads as well.

 

[sonicrobby]

Sure everyone will have their own opinions on what good design is. But I'm struggling to understand how a hi-res display requires lots of shadows, gradients, faux glass, leather, felt, wood grain, etc. To me that's where so-called flat design shines best. Maybe all that chrome and embellishing was necessary in crappy displays but I don't think it is any longer.

It doesnt require "shadows, gradients, faux glass, leather, felt, wood grain", it makes them look realistic, detailed, intricate. A flat design can go well on a SD screen and still look the same. Two toned colors will still look like two toned colors, no matter the display.

The image on the left will look best on an HD screen; the image on the right will also look best on an HD screen, but on a crappy screen, you wouldnt be missing much of anything.

But all of this is irrelevant as to why Apple is strict on their software. The fact that they brag about whatever % of iOS devices being up to date, but not giving a users a choice is just ludicrous. Allow users to downgrade, then that statistic will mean something.

 

[C DM]

So repeat yourself if it makes you happy. Just because a company throws any old crap into T&Cs does not make any of it legally binding. Apple has been taken to task on its T&Cs before, particularly in Europe where you mess with consumer rights at your peril.

Good luck getting any couched in such vague terms as these past any court if a class action does roll in. Apple has made a rod for its own back by including the Facetime fix in 6.1.6. Good luck trying to justify withholding that update from any device capable for running it.

This thread absolutely reeks of fanboy BS tonight.

It's kind of shocking how many of you are missing the issue here. It's not whether iOS 7 looks nice. It's not whether iOS 7 runs well on older devices. It's not whether FaceTime is a useful app, or Skype is a good alternative.

The issue is whether it's Ok that apple puts users in the position of choosing between losing functionality and upgrading, and I cannot fathom how anyone thinks that's Ok. The reasons one may not want to upgrade are irrelevant, as is the wisdom of that decision (I for one upgraded my iphone 5 day one but still have iOS 6 on my iPad 2).

If a person wants to keep using their device as-is, they should ALWAYS be able to do that without losing as-sold functionality. That's so basic that I don't even know how to wrap my head around the fact that some of you don't get it.

Bingo, and bingo.

 

[shandyman]

Actually, I might add that my 5s battery life sucks after the last update, so yeah, there are reasons to not update.

If your battery life sucks after the update, there's something wrong, rather than whinge about it, actually try and follow peoples advice, if still not happy or no improvement, take it to an Apple Store to have it checked out. I've seen an improvement from 7.0 to 7.1 on my 5S, I have about 5% more at end of day than I usually do.
[/QUOTE]

This certificate thing does not hold water. Apple can always reissue the certificate to all these devices. What about devices that aren't able to run iOS 7? Do these devices somehow have unlimited certificates?

Wow, are you a member of the Dev team at Apple? That's probably the only way you'd know how you'd know for sure about all the ins and outs of the exact issue.

Or you could delete a few apps that don't store pictures or video and reinstall them after the update completed...

Or plug into a computer and update that way.There's many ways around it really if you put a little thought into it, in less time than whinging on here in a post

It seems you, like many posters here haven't tried to run iOS7 on older devices. It's GARBAGE and there is NO justification for it. Why would a stipped down OS with empty UIs and barely any graphics run at half the speed as its predecessor? Forcing users onto iOS7 serves one purpose - to make them immediately want to upgrade the hardware.

Thank you Apple. The family tech support calls (to me) just shot up 400%.
But for my 70+ year old relative who was given her first iPad and loves it, the design language of iOS 7 is a stumbling block.

I have family members running iOS 7.1 on an iPad 2, 3, 4, iPhone 4, 4S and 5. Apart from the iPhone 4, the rest are running smoothly, none of them notice any slowdown. I noticed a little bit on the iPad 2 myself, but it's not even a major issues. The iPhone 4 definitely improved on 7.1, it's useable, but not at iOS 6 level fast, but then it's an old device now. Additionally, my 79 year old Grandmother is using the iPad 3 on iOS7 and it took her less than an hour to acclimate.

 

[zioxide]

It's kind of shocking how many of you are missing the issue here. It's not whether iOS 7 looks nice. It's not whether iOS 7 runs well on older devices. It's not whether FaceTime is a useful app, or Skype is a good alternative.

The issue is whether it's Ok that apple puts users in the position of choosing between losing functionality and upgrading, and I cannot fathom how anyone thinks that's Ok. The reasons one may not want to upgrade are irrelevant, as is the wisdom of that decision (I for one upgraded my iphone 5 day one but still have iOS 6 on my iPad 2).

If a person wants to keep using their device as-is, they should ALWAYS be able to do that without losing as-sold functionality. That's so basic that I don't even know how to wrap my head around the fact that some of you don't get it.

I can't think of a single thing I can't do on iOS 7 that I could do on iOS 6. Anyone have any example of this "lost functionality"?


I also can't wrap my head around people who think all software is perfect and there will never be bugs. It's a bug in the software. Apple provided the fix. That leaves two options: either accept the fix or deal with the bug.

 

[Rogifan]

Simply because people can decide what they want and need and what works for them and use that without someone undermining that for them or forcing them to do something that they have no business to be involved in? There doesn't need to be any justification from anyone for any personal decision they make for themselves and what they do. It's no one's business but theirs.

iOS 7 style design language is here to stay for the foreseeable future so either the holdouts will never upgrade or if they hate it that badly the'll go Android or Windows Phone. Of course if their hate is related to so-called flat design I'm not sure they'll be happy with those OSes either. My guess is Apple would have to change the process of how they push out iOS software updates and for them it's not a high priority (perhaps because the number of devices involved is very small). They're focused on getting iOS 8 and OS X 10.10 ready for WWDC not maintaining iOS 6 for iOS 7 capable devices.

 

[duffman9000]

I can't think of a single thing I can't do on iOS 7 that I could do on iOS 6. Anyone have any example of this "lost functionality"?


I also can't wrap my head around people who think all software is perfect and there will never be bugs. It's a bug in the software. Apple provided the fix. That leaves two options: either accept the fix or deal with the bug.

That's like throwing the baby out with the bath water. I perfectly understand why iPhone 4 users don't want to update to iOS7. Have you ever been stuck with an iOS release that performs worse than the previous release? I have.

 

[Applefanhater]

If your battery life sucks after the update, there's something wrong, rather than whinge about it, actually try and follow peoples advice, if still not happy or no improvement, take it to an Apple Store to have it checked out. I've seen an improvement from 7.0 to 7.1 on my 5S, I have about 5% more at end of day than I usually do.

Yes, the very next day after updating it had 80% battery life from being at work an hour, obviously something JUST WENT WRONG at THAT moment!

Tell me captain fixit, when will you be over to use your magic iphone powers to fix it?

 

[rdlink]

I don't understand this forced upgrade argument for one simple reason. It's free, 100% absolutely free. If you want to talk about Windows, well yeah, for them to force you to upgrade would be evil because Vista was $100 minimum for just the upgrade. Yes you paid a premium for your Apple device. But you aren't paying a premium for the upgrade, you are in fact paying nil.

Apple could do this another way. They could put all their resources into supporting legacy software and just cut off all legacy hardware from the new software. Would you rather be forced to get the newest hardware every year in order to gain access to the latest software? Now THAT would be forced upgrading. Instead they put all of their efforts into supporting as much of the older hardware they can on the new software.

Like I said, You can't please all of the people all of the time, but Apple's philosophy on this issue goes a lot longer towards pleasing most of the people most of the time than if they had the opposite take.

It's interesting that you say that. I have read many a complaint here that Apple "leaves old hardware behind." Fact is, people are going to complain, no matter what. All I have to say to any of the people who hate iOS7 so much is just vote with your wallet. If you don't like the way Apple's ecosystem works, just walk away.

 

[QCassidy352]

I can't think of a single thing I can't do on iOS 7 that I could do on iOS 6. Anyone have any example of this "lost functionality"?


I also can't wrap my head around people who think all software is perfect and there will never be bugs. It's a bug in the software. Apple provided the fix. That leaves two options: either accept the fix or deal with the bug.

Please reread my comment. I did not say going from iOS 6 to 7 caused a loss in functionality. I said apple has put people in the position of choosing between losing functionality (loss of FT by staying on iOS 6) and upgrading.

Apple "provided the fix" in a wholesale, system wide update that changes dozens of core and UI features in ways that many people do not like, accompanied by demonstrable loss of performance in older devices. Do you really not see how that's not the same as releasing a bug fix for one issue in one app?

 

[C DM]

It's interesting that you say that. I have read many a complaint here that Apple "leaves old hardware behind." Fact is, people are going to complain, no matter what. All I have to say to any of the people who hate iOS7 so much is just vote with your wallet. If you don't like the way Apple's ecosystem works, just walk away.

What about those who like iOS 6 and what it does for them--and don't need anything different or new and just want exactly what they paid for when they bought it--why should they suddenly need to do something when existing functionality has been broken by the manufacturer?

 

[Count Blah]

I am also waiting for the flood of entitled people who refuse to upgrade to iOS7 for x,y,z reason to start complaining.

I wish I had never upgraded my iPhone 4s. I get about 2/3rds the battery life under iOS7. YES - Everything is turned off, multiple complete wipes both restore and totally pristine. I can understand people avoiding it like the plague.

But you sound like one with your nose up in the air - Since it doesn't effect me, it's not a problem - Right?

 

[zioxide]

That's like throwing the baby out with the bath water. I perfectly understand why iPhone 4 users don't want to update to iOS7. Have you ever been stuck with an iOS release that performs worse than the previous release? I have.

Performance != lost functionality. Slower performance is inevitable on older devices as software progresses.

I know the older versions can be slower on older devices. iOS 4 was slow as dirt on my iPhone 3G. Even iOS 6 got pretty slow near the end when I had an iPhone 4.

Still, an app launching in 2s instead of 1s is an inconvenience, but not "lost functionality". Neither is changing the colors of the icons. I want to know what actual features were removed for iOS 7?

Please reread my comment. I did not say going from iOS 6 to 7 caused a loss in functionality. I said apple has put people in the position of choosing between losing functionality (loss of FT by staying on iOS 6) and upgrading.

Apple "provided the fix" in a wholesale, system wide update that changes dozens of core and UI features in ways that many people do not like, accompanied by demonstrable loss of performance in older devices. Do you really not see how that's not the same as releasing a bug fix for one issue in one app?

I misread. My mistake.

But regardless. There is no other way for Apple to fix a system-level certificate other than a system software update.

And there is no way for Apple to push 6.1.6 to devices that support iOS 7. That device by default will only try to download the "newest" version and that is the latest version of iOS 7.

As they say, it is what it is.

 

[apolloa]

i actually just did over the air update on top of the iOS 6. i usually reformat and install fresh systems (like always, pcs, macs, phones or whatever) but this time it worked so well that i just let it be. i'm not trolling or anything, it really works just fine...

I'm not accusing you of trolling, just some people do seem to have varying experiences with iOS7, like yours is fine. Does your screen rotation lag for instance?

 

[numlock]

Anyone who develops software can tell you how software updates work. There's no mechanism built in to iOS Software update to "choose an update version". It picks the newest one. That's it.

i said apples end.

you are acting like its impossible or they would need to move heaven and earth.

people paid good money for those devices and they and their choices deserve to be treated with respect

 

[shandyman]

Microsoft discouraging people installing older version, yes... because they want to sell newer version. But Microsoft does not make certain part of software stop functioning. There is no reason for FaceTime stop function like that. If it is bug, then fix it.

They did fix the bug, in the iOS 7.0.4 software update, since iOS 7.0.4 is a newer software version then iOS 6......

Yes, the very next day after updating it had 80% battery life from being at work an hour, obviously something JUST WENT WRONG at THAT moment!

Tell me captain fixit, when will you be over to use your magic iphone powers to fix it?

There could be all sorts of reasons, updates can cause glitches, all software updates, on any device or computer can have get a glitch, not just Apple, but of course, that would rain on your parade.

Don't need magic iPhone powers, just need to look at some of the support threads on here for suggestions, or go see an apple store genius for FREE support, since they're paid to help obnoxious people like you, whereas I'll choose not to. Either way, this thread is not the appropriate thread to try and help you with your battery life issue as it will take the thread way OT.

 

[eagertothink]

All well and good. Except for the fact that it didn't make your iPhone 4 a frustratingly slow piece of junk. Remember when you make these absurd remarks that a large number of the people you're making them to own or have used the same hardware, and are aware of what the actual experience is.

So just do the update...

Oh, it didn't? Jee, then it must be someone else's frustratingly slow phone in my hands! My remark is based on my own experience (duh) as well as that of many others. Look around on the boards buddy. And pay attention when you read, I already did the update. What, were you checking your phone while you were reading my post?

 

[duffman9000]

Performance != lost functionality. Slower performance is inevitable on older devices as software progresses.

I know the older versions can be slower on older devices. iOS 4 was slow as dirt on my iPhone 3G. Even iOS 6 got pretty slow near the end when I had an iPhone 4.

Still, an app launching in 2s instead of 1s is an inconvenience, but not "lost functionality". Neither is changing the colors of the icons. I want to know what actual features were removed for iOS 7?

Go back and re-read my post. I didn't mention lost functionality. Asking people to accept an almost across the board performance decrease just to fix FaceTime is unacceptable. Just because you think that an app launching in 2s instead of 1s is an inconvenience doesn't mean other feel the same. Performance decreases are instantly noticeable.

But since you want to mention functionality, I think it's easier to count the features that iPhone 4 users will miss. All that and slower performance.

 

[31 Flavas]

dude, what's all the hate? buy another phone or something. i mean, nobody has obligations towards you. you liked it you bought it, you don't like it, but something else. it's that simple. people do this all the time

No man. I'm asking a question. GoToFail should be what "forces someones hand" if they are making a conscious objection to iOS 7 on grounds of the look of it's UI. Yet, in every article covering this FaceTime issue for iOS 6 -- members state that instead FaceTime is a conspiracy to "force" upgrades to iOS 7.

So, how does this work? GoToFail is an ignorable problem, but FaceTime isn't? It makes no sense.

 

[zioxide]

i said apples end.

you are acting like its impossible or they would need to move heaven and earth.

It's impossible unless they turn off iOS 7 updating so devices "find" 6.1.6 as the "newest" version instead of one of the versions of 7.

I don't think Apple is prepared to do that to appease a fraction of a percent of their users.

Go back and re-read my post. I didn't mention lost functionality. Asking people to accept an almost across the board performance decrease just to fix FaceTime is unacceptable. Just because you think that an app launching in 2s instead of 1s is an inconvenience doesn't mean other feel the same. Performance decreases are instantly noticeable.

The post you replied to was about lost functionality hence the confusion. My mistake.

The reality is there is no other option. Bugs happen. It's inevitable with any software. There's no way to fix FaceTime without an OS update. There's no way to have iOS 6 devices find a new iOS 6 update if they support iOS 7. They are hard coded to pick that newer version (7) every time. It is what it is.

 

[QCassidy352]

I misread. My mistake.

But regardless. There is no other way for Apple to fix a system-level certificate other than a system software update.

And there is no way for Apple to push 6.1.6 to devices that support iOS 7. That device by default will only try to download the "newest" version and that is the latest version of iOS 7.

You're seriously arguing that it's impossible for apple to push 6.1.6 to devices that support iOS 7? I'm aware that the current implementation of software update only makes the latest version available. But that is a choice apple made, and they can unmake it. It might take a little retooling of the software update application so as to provide a choice (or they could use a different method, such as a download in a browser and reload through iTunes) but you cannot seriously think "there is no other way" a company as sophisticated as Apple can offer a non-ios 7 fix for this.

 

[shandyman]

The ignorance in this thread is astounding.

Why is there so much hostility towards people who chose to stay on iOS 6?

Some people chose not to upgrade because their device runs best on iOS 6, others just prefer the iOS 6 design. How hard is it to understand??

I have no issue with people choosing to stay on iOS6. I just think its ridiculous that people who willingly choose to stay on outdated software complain that their software has broken and demand time to be wasted to fix a bug on outdated software, when it can be better used keeping the current software up to date and working on future software.

 

[Rogifan]

But all of this is irrelevant as to why Apple is strict on their software. The fact that they brag about whatever % of iOS devices being up to date, but not giving a users a choice is just ludicrous. Allow users to downgrade, then that statistic will mean something.

Apple sold nearly 44M iPhones in the last quarter and 51M iPhones the quarter prior. These are record figures for both quarters. JD Powers just announced that Apple topped their most recent smartphone customer satisfaction survey across all carriers. If there was that much dislike of iOS 7 you would see it in lower sales of new iPhones and a decline in customer sat ratings.

 

[duffman9000]

I think people forgot about iOS 4 on iPhone 3G. If I had to update my 3G to iOS 4 to fix FaceTime I would have gone on an epic anti-Apple crusade.