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iPhone 5S with iOS 7?

d4m1r

d4m1r

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 1, 2011
199
0
Bosnia
Hey guys, it has finally come to the point where I need to upgrade to a slighty larger phone...iPhone 6 (let alone the Plus) are too big for my liking so now I'm set on buying a factory unlocked GSM 32GB iPhone 5S directly from Apple USA.

The catch? I HATE iOS 8. I want to make sure the one I buy has iOS 7 still loaded on it and NOT iOS 8. How can I know/make sure? I have relatives in New Jersey I will be visiting them in June so have 2 options;

1) Order online and get it shipped to their house now or;

2) When I get there, go in person to a local Apple store and buy one

Do you guys think I have a better chance of getting some old stock 5S' from the local store vs ordering directly from Apple online? I don't mind ordering now if it will garuntee I will get one with iOS 7 on it, even if I lose a few months of warranty since nobody would use it until I get there in June. Or does this all not matter and I could just walk in person to a store in June and purchase one with iOS 7 still on it 100%?
 
All really depends on when Apple made the 5S you are buying and no way to tell till you open the box. I would say you have a "good chance" of having the original iOS on your new 5S:apple:
 
The 5s I bought from a carrier in Dec had iOS7. I don't think the ones from apple would have iOS7 though...
 
What exactly do you hate about iOS 8? With 8.3 performance is pretty much rock solid and at its core it still functions a lot like iOS 7.
 
Would you really want old stock? The battery inside will have aged and what if it doesn't have iOS 7.1.2 but an earlier version instead? iOS7 was arguably worse than 8.3 until 7.1.2 came along.
 
Well, I just called both Apple corporate and my local Apple store and;

1) Apple.com opens and updates their phones before shipping to always have the latest iOS on them reinstalled. Even if they don't do that (I have my doubts about the above) they move much more volume probably so no old stock most likely

2) A technician at the local Apple store said there is actually a "hidden" way to tell if the iPhone 5S has iOS 7 on it or 8, just by inspecting the box....Something about having a "helper" on it or not? If it does not have a "helper", it is an older iOS 7 phone...Anyone know what he is talking about?
 
Last edited:
d4m1r said:
Well, I just called both Apple corporate and my local Apple store and;

1) Apple.com opens and updates their phones before shipping to always have the latest iOS on them reinstalled. Even if they don't do that (I have my doubts about the above) they move much more volume probably so no old stock most likely

2) A technician at the local Apple store said there is actually a "hidden" way to tell if the iPhone 5S has iOS 7 on it or 8, just by inspecting the box....Something about having a "helper" on it or not? If it does not have a "helper", it is an older iOS 7 phone...Anyone know what he is talking about?
Click to expand...

He probably said Health app. Why do you want iOS 7 instead of 8?
 
I just got a 64gb 5s from T-Mobile and it came with ios7 on it. I can't remember which version, because I immediately updated to ios8 for Wi-Fi calling.
 
d4m1r said:
Well, I just called both Apple corporate and my local Apple store and;

1) Apple.com opens and updates their phones before shipping to always have the latest iOS on them reinstalled. Even if they don't do that (I have my doubts about the above) they move much more volume probably so no old stock most likely

2) A technician at the local Apple store said there is actually a "hidden" way to tell if the iPhone 5S has iOS 7 on it or 8, just by inspecting the box....Something about having a "helper" on it or not? If it does not have a "helper", it is an older iOS 7 phone...Anyone know what he is talking about?
Click to expand...

thats not true. theres no way to tell from the box whats installed, unless they let you spend the time to check the build date from the serial number and all that, but you still don't know when it shipped to the store, if you're buying it now, most likely it has ios8 on it. its a gamble
 
You can tell based on the image on the box, apple always updates box art to reflect the iOS the phone comes with

As posted above, if you see the ios7 icons (3 coloured passbook for example, lack of health app) vs ios8 icons (4 coloured passbook, health app present)

I would try to get a phone from a carrier, as Apple will very likely ship the ios8 version

if you can find a 64GB iphone 5S sealed, it will be ios7 since there are not manufactured ios8 64GB iphone 5S's (when ios 8 came out with the iphone 6 to market, apple discontinued the 64GB 5S)

----------
lakaiordie said:
thats not true. theres no way to tell from the box whats installed, unless they let you spend the time to check the build date from the serial number and all that, but you still don't know when it shipped to the store, if you're buying it now, most likely it has ios8 on it. its a gamble
Click to expand...

This might be true, but if its brand new and sealed, its almost certain the box art will reflect the iphone ios preinstalled

$_1.JPG


new-iphone-4s-box.jpg


This may not always be the case, but for myself, the box art has always reflected the preinstalled iOS version - you're right though that if the OP buys it from apple store, its 99% going to have ios 8 and the latest box art, especially if its a 16GB or 32GB model

There was also a 4S that came with iOS 6 and one could tell by the apple map icon and the pass book icon



Further, if you go the the apple store and ask for an iPhone 5S, it shows the health app on the box with the new passbook icon (4 colours)

My iPhone 5S box does not have that, it came with iOS 7
 
Last edited:
nordique said:
You can tell based on the image on the box, apple always updates box art to reflect the iOS the phone comes with

As posted above, if you see the ios7 icons (3 coloured passbook for example, lack of health app) vs ios8 icons (4 coloured passbook, health app present)

I would try to get a phone from a carrier, as Apple will very likely ship the ios8 version

if you can find a 64GB iphone 5S sealed, it will be ios7 since there are not manufactured ios8 64GB iphone 5S's (when ios 8 came out with the iphone 6 to market, apple discontinued the 64GB 5S)

----------



This might be true, but if its brand new and sealed, its almost certain the box art will reflect the iphone ios preinstalled

Image

Image

This may not always be the case, but for myself, the box art has always reflected the preinstalled iOS version - you're right though that if the OP buys it from apple store, its 99% going to have ios 8 and the latest box art, especially if its a 16GB or 32GB model

There was also a 4S that came with iOS 6 and one could tell by the apple map icon and the pass book icon



Further, if you go the the apple store and ask for an iPhone 5S, it shows the health app on the box with the new passbook icon (4 colours)

My iPhone 5S box does not have that, it came with iOS 7
Click to expand...
You are saying they started putting 5s phones into new boxes once iOS 8 was released (vs using the boxes they've been using before)?
 
C DM said:
You are saying they started putting 5s phones into new boxes once iOS 8 was released (vs using the boxes they've been using before)?
Click to expand...

I'm no authority on this and someone who is in the know about these things may be better suited to answer that, but I think when apple manufactures new phones for instance a new iPhone 5S, they come with ios8 preinstalled and the box art reflects that (it's part of the manufacturing cost). The ios7 iPhone 5S are no longer manufactured and anything that is sold is older.

I don't have experience with 5S, but I know for certain with the 4 and 4S, the box art reflected what was in the box (provided it was still brand new and sealed) as I have experience with purchasing those. For example during the iOS 6 days, if you bought an iPhone 4, the 16 and 32GB models were no longer manufactured they were replaced by an 8GB model. If you find a sealed 8GB model around, they will have ios6 preinstalled and the box art will reflect the ios6 home screen. My iPhone 4 came in an iOS 4 box (no game centre icon, no videos icon) whereas my 4S came in an ios5 box. I only have iOS 5 on my iPhone 4 because it was updated to that.

Anyone else who is "in the know" can confirm or deny this, but this has been my experience
 
d4m1r said:
Hey guys, it has finally come to the point where I need to upgrade to a slighty larger phone...iPhone 6 (let alone the Plus) are too big for my liking so now I'm set on buying a factory unlocked GSM 32GB iPhone 5S directly from Apple USA.

The catch? I HATE iOS 8. I want to make sure the one I buy has iOS 7 still loaded on it and NOT iOS 8. How can I know/make sure? I have relatives in New Jersey I will be visiting them in June so have 2 options;

1) Order online and get it shipped to their house now or;

2) When I get there, go in person to a local Apple store and buy one

Do you guys think I have a better chance of getting some old stock 5S' from the local store vs ordering directly from Apple online? I don't mind ordering now if it will garuntee I will get one with iOS 7 on it, even if I lose a few months of warranty since nobody would use it until I get there in June. Or does this all not matter and I could just walk in person to a store in June and purchase one with iOS 7 still on it 100%?
Click to expand...

You're screwed if you don't run anything other than the latest OS, because of unpatched security loopholes in previous versions.

My old 5s has 8.3 on it and it's smooth. Feels even better than my 6+ in some cases, because of the lack of frame drops (due to a tinier screen).
 
yjchua95 said:
You're screwed if you don't run anything other than the latest OS, because of unpatched security loopholes in previous versions.

My old 5s has 8.3 on it and it's smooth. Feels even better than my 6+ in some cases, because of the lack of frame drops (due to a tinier screen).
Click to expand...

There are security issues addressed in most updates. But it's quite far from being screwed or even really negatively affected in any way related to that by being on an older version of iOS.
 
C DM said:
You are saying they started putting 5s phones into new boxes once iOS 8 was released (vs using the boxes they've been using before)?
Click to expand...

I think they just update the design on the new boxes for shipping, for example the iOS 7 iPhone 4s box above.
 
Yes it will most likely have IOS 7

You will most like get IOS 7. Especially considering that yours is a 32GB instead of 16GB. My 1st 5s 64GB came with 7.1.2 and then my replacement came with it too. I don't know if it was luck but I am extremely happy with it. Also, they don't care to update the IOS if they give you a phone.They replaced my phone because updating to IOS 8 messed up the battery. Also some background information. I bought the 1st 5s from eBay because the listing specifically mentioned IOS 7.1.2. Then I got the replacement made from Apple Online because the genius at my local store refused to replace it.
 
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