iPhone 11 iPhone 11 upgrade for 11 year old daughter

[daleski75]

Brought my daughter a refurbished iPhone 11 64gb about 18 to 24 months ago and it’s starting to struggle with video calls, WhatsApp which is frustrating for her.

Would an iPhone 13 Pro be worth it nowdays or am I better of stretching to get her an iPhone 14 Pro?
Both will be a nice upgrade for her but want to try and avoid hitting the same problems in 12 to 18 months.

Part of me would like to wait to see how much the iPhone 15 Pro comes down by, but the price difference is not that great between a refurbished one of these and a brand new one.

From the UK btw.

 

[russell_314]

How is the battery health of the 11? If that’s low then the phone will struggle. The 11 shouldn’t struggle with anything

 

[daleski75]

How is the battery health of the 11? If that’s low then the phone will struggle. The 11 shouldn’t struggle with anything

Will check this later on…. It did come with a new battery I believe as I remember paying extra for this so the battery should be fine.

Daughter is on constant video calls so more than likely its over heating.

 

[dave006]

Daughter is on constant video calls so more than likely its over heating.

It should not be overheating unless it is in a poorly designed case?

Dave

 

[daleski75]

It should not be overheating unless it is in a poorly designed case?

Dave

It‘s in one of these 360 cases so tempered glass all round

 

[daleski75]

So it looks like the opinion is that her iPhone 11 should still be absolutely fine for video calls, game etc.

 

[russell_314]

Will check this later on…. It did come with a new battery I believe as I remember paying extra for this so the battery should be fine.

Daughter is on constant video calls so more than likely it’s over heating.

I would check the battery health in settings. If it’s being used inside in AC, it shouldn’t overheat. I’ve heard people say using an iPhone while charging can cause it to overheat under certain conditions. Also using it outside in direct sunlight.

I don’t make a lot of video calls so I can’t really say I’ve tried to see how it works on my 14 Pro Max.

Maybe she just wants a new phone and that’s perfectly fine I guess. People like the latest and greatest and if you can afford it then why not.

 

[daleski75]

I would check the battery health in settings. If it’s being used inside in AC, it shouldn’t overheat. I’ve heard people say using an iPhone while charging can cause it to overheat under certain conditions. Also using it outside in direct sunlight.

I don’t make a lot of video calls so I can’t really say I’ve tried to see how it works on my 14 Pro Max.

Maybe she just wants a new phone and that’s perfectly fine I guess. People like the latest and greatest and if you can afford it then why not.

That’s a very valid point, my daughter never ever lets it charge fully so it’s always charging and on video calls, however telling my daughter to let it charge 100% before using It, Is a challenge in itself!

And absolutely nothing to do with me getting a 16 PM lol…. *cough*

 

[winxmac]

What is the iOS version?
What is the battery health as shown in Settings?
What is the battery health in Coconut Battery?
Does the iPhone ever get a rest [short break or period of not being used]?
Was it never charged to 100% at least once?

 

[daleski75]

What is the iOS version?
What is the battery health as shown in Settings?
What is the battery health in Coconut Battery?
Does the iPhone ever get a rest [short break or period of not being used]?
Was it never charged to 100% at least once?

18.0
78% and degraded
Not got a mac does this matter?
Gets a rest over night whilst charging!!!
Yes many times charged to 100%

 

[Sami13496]

Sounds like dummy phone would do some good for her…

 

[daleski75]

Checked my daughters phone quickly, battery health is 78%, warning saying its degraded.

 

[Lift Bar]

Goodness gracious, she's only 11. Give her a chance. Just get her a watch. She has the rest of her life to be glued to a phone. There's a reason tech execs limit their own kids' use of these devices.

 

[daleski75]

Goodness gracious, she's only 11. Give her a chance. Just get her a watch. She has the rest of her life to be glued to a phone. There's a reason tech execs limit their own kids' use of these devices.

Daughter has an Apple Watch already, she only gets limited access during school days for about an hour but weekends its more open.

 

[TurboJobo]

iPhone 11 shouldn't struggle to do all of that maybe try factory resetting the iphone and check battery levels.

 

[kevcube]

Goodness gracious, she's only 11. Give her a chance. Just get her a watch. She has the rest of her life to be glued to a phone. There's a reason tech execs limit their own kids' use of these devices.

c'mon it's an apple forum not a parenting forum.

OP the phone should realistically handle whatever she needs, and it sounds like ultimately it is. Whether it's a 16 pro or an iphone 11 the phone is gonna get hot and die fast the way she's using it. You say it's "starting to struggle" with these things, but I'm guessing she's got a video call going, plus messaging, plus web browsing, plus etc all at once. If you feel she deserves more performance then maybe upgrade her phone, but consider getting her a used laptop or ipad that is more tuned for multitasking (and has a larger battery+faster charging)

 

[dave006]

Checked my daughters phone quickly, battery health is 78%, warning saying its degraded.

Well there is your primary issue. The next question is what to do about it. Do you simply replace the battery or upgrade to a newer device?

Dave

 

[winxmac]

Gets a rest over night whilst charging!!!

So the only break the phone gets is when charged overnight...

Continuous use plus degraded battery health will for sure lead to terrible performance...

Ever asked your daughter to do something not involving the iPhone? Like play outside or something... Other things to keep away from using the iPhone for at least an hour or two during the day...

 

[daleski75]

Well there is your primary issue. The next question is what to do about it. Do you simply replace the battery or upgrade to a newer device?

Dave

Will have a think on this, with how my daughter uses her phone, this would happen on any device she has.

 

[FNH15]

I’d change the battery and go from there. At 78% health it’s likely it’s throttling the CPU to keep it “alive”.

 

[Boy261]

Brought my daughter a refurbished iPhone 11 64gb about 18 to 24 months ago and it’s starting to struggle with video calls, WhatsApp which is frustrating for her.

Would an iPhone 13 Pro be worth it nowdays or am I better of stretching to get her an iPhone 14 Pro?
Both will be a nice upgrade for her but want to try and avoid hitting the same problems in 12 to 18 months.

Part of me would like to wait to see how much the iPhone 15 Pro comes down by, but the price difference is not that great between a refurbished one of these and a brand new one.

From the UK btw.

An iphone 11 is more than fine for a 11 year old. Even in my times id wish i had even an old iphone 😂.

That aside. How long has she been having this issues?, you stated on another comment that she is on ios 18 so it might be it is giving the phone some issues as it is a fresh new version and might habe some bugs. It sounds similar to my issues with my previous xs max, after a couple itterations of ios. It can also be a battery only issue but it can be both.

I started experiencing overheating when making facetime calls after ios 15, and got worse as i updated with freezes, lag. Had to put a fan to actually make the call 😂, this was most predominant on summer but didnt always happen. I did a battery change myself, with a new genuine one and it got significantly better. It did not lag that much and still got a bit hot but definitely resolved most of it. The battery itself was at 69% before removing it. But i think i had issues already at 78 or more.

Now for your daughters iphone 11 i’d recommend you to explore some cost options. Doing it on apple store is 85 quids not very cheap but you will get 90 days warranty, and a genuine battery which wont be the case in other stores if it is not afiliated to the apple program.

Some stores have ocasional clearances of iphones at good prices, maybe have a look at them if it is a better long term investment for You to purchase a new/refurbrished one. (Stores like currys, argos, john lewis)

For the moment definitely wait for some updates with bug fixes (until december/january), consider also the option of making a clean reinstall of the OS of the phone if it is possible and you know how to do it.

 

[one more]

That’s a very valid point, my daughter never ever lets it charge fully so it’s always charging and on video calls, however telling my daughter to let it charge 100% before using It, Is a challenge in itself!

And absolutely nothing to do with me getting a 16 PM lol…. *cough*

Having any iPhone charge during a video call will heat it up, so the battery will suffer. If her battery is toasted and you do not want to replace it, I would go for a regular 13 or 14 (not Pro), as they are much lighter.

 

[now i see it]

18.0
78% and degraded
Not got a mac does this matter?
Gets a rest over night whilst charging!!!
Yes many times charged to 100%

iOS 18 is known to slow down an iPhone 11 to frustrating levels.
The problem is iOS 18.
Downgrade to iOS 17 asap if it’s still allowed.
The iPhone 11 is normally a very fast phone.

 

[Mr_Ed]

Brought my daughter a refurbished iPhone 11 64gb about 18 to 24 months ago and it’s starting to struggle with video calls, WhatsApp which is frustrating for her.

Would an iPhone 13 Pro be worth it nowdays or am I better of stretching to get her an iPhone 14 Pro?
Both will be a nice upgrade for her but want to try and avoid hitting the same problems in 12 to 18 months.

Part of me would like to wait to see how much the iPhone 15 Pro comes down by, but the price difference is not that great between a refurbished one of these and a brand new one.

From the UK btw.

Can you expand on what you mean by “struggle”? iPhone 11 should be fine. I don’t think video calls and WhatsApp would drain and heat it any more than when my son uses his 11 to play Roblox or Brawl Stars (or whatever it’s called) for extended periods.

Could she be experiencing spotty reception (cell or wifi)?

 

[shadowboi]

I don’t do video or audio calls via whatsapp but do a lot of FaceTime. And it works like charm. Mine is 11 Pro, my girlfriend and mom both have regular 11 and have no issues with those apart from aging batteries.

It is still a very much capable smartphone. Albeit 13 Pro would be ultimate upgrade tbh, get this one if you can, girl will love this one and will use it for many years in the future.

UPD: aahh, she already has 11!
I think it is high time to replace battery and it will run for two more years, no much need to buy newer one. I thought you are choosing between 11 and 13 Pro first