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Scared of going back to iOS 6

Silly John Fatty

Silly John Fatty

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Nov 6, 2012
1,806
518
So… my iPhone 4 with iOS 7 is pretty slow as you can guess, so I was thinking what to get instead. New iPhones are not really a solution for me – too big simply, even the 5S feels uncomfortable. The 4/4S are the perfect size if you ask me, very practical. And with iOS 6 on the 4S, it shouldn't lag or anything else.

I don't play games on the iPhone or use apps except the ones already installed/the stock apps. I need it mainly for my stuff syncing through devices, like iMessage, Calendar, Reminders and Notes. And eventually Mail or Safari here and there, or maybe the Camera to take a Snapshot. Everything else I do on the iPad.

And here comes the problem. My iPad is on iOS 8. I am so scared that if I get let's say a used 4S with iOS 6 on it, that I won't get used to iOS 8 anymore. When I see my friends' phones with pre iOS 7, it hurts. But I can't downgrade my iPad obviously, also I like the features (except the design).

I never really used an iPad with a pre iOS 7 system. So I've only got to know it with iOS 8. I got used to it and I love it right now. But I know this will change once I see iOS 6 again.

Has anyone else made a "downgrade" of this kind? How have you felt?
 
The only version you'll be able to install is the current version Apple is signing for each device.
 
Jardins de Vin said:
So… my iPhone 4 with iOS 7 is pretty slow as you can guess, so I was thinking what to get instead. New iPhones are not really a solution for me – too big simply, even the 5S feels uncomfortable. The 4/4S are the perfect size if you ask me, very practical. And with iOS 6 on the 4S, it shouldn't lag or anything else.

I don't play games on the iPhone or use apps except the ones already installed/the stock apps. I need it mainly for my stuff syncing through devices, like iMessage, Calendar, Reminders and Notes. And eventually Mail or Safari here and there, or maybe the Camera to take a Snapshot. Everything else I do on the iPad.

And here comes the problem. My iPad is on iOS 8. I am so scared that if I get let's say a used 4S with iOS 6 on it, that I won't get used to iOS 8 anymore. When I see my friends' phones with pre iOS 7, it hurts. But I can't downgrade my iPad obviously, also I like the features (except the design).

I never really used an iPad with a pre iOS 7 system. So I've only got to know it with iOS 8. I got used to it and I love it right now. But I know this will change once I see iOS 6 again.

Has anyone else made a "downgrade" of this kind? How have you felt?
Click to expand...

You can't restore your data to an older version of iOS. Also iOS 6 has security vulnerabilities on devices than can upgrade to iOS 7.
 
I'm pretty certain that you can downgrade any A4 device due to the exploits in them. You have to find a certain software to do so (make sure to download something legitimate), because you still can't downgrade from iTunes.
 
I said I would be looking for a used 4S with iOS 6 on it ;) I was just wondering if someone has made this kind of "downgrade" already and then couldn't stand iOS 7-8 on their other device.
 
From a theoretical standpoint, i'd miss the control centre as i use that a lot.. Though you can probably jailbreak to regain similar features. That being said, the 4S on 7.1.2 isn't too bad either

I know how to slap together a iOS 8 backup and embed it inside a ios7 backup by moving stuff around, changing plists and stuff. I reckon the same applies going from 7 to 6 - i just never did it so dont know which plists to change. Unfortunately, going from 8 to 7 does introduce a few bugs such as the inability to delete messages
 
You're making an awful lot of compromises just to have a smaller screen. Get a 5s. It's not that much bigger, you'll get used to the size quickly, and probably come to appreciate it. Apple is unlikely to ever go back to the original iPhone size, so you'll either have to get used something bigger or stop using the iPhone.
 
Even if it was a 5S, I believe I'd prefer to have iOS 6 on it. Wasn't there still some models that had it? Or was that the iPhone 5?

Anyway, I've hold the iPhone 5/5S often in my hand and it doesn't fit in my hand as good as the 4/4S does. If I'm holding the phone in my right hand, I cant "block" it between the bottom left part of my hand, and my index, which was possible with the 4/4S. Maybe if it had the leather case and was less slippery it could be better. More grip basically which in this position would be quite useful.

Also Jessica. I think iOS 7 is too slow on the 4S and I don't like the design. The only improvement I see in iOS 7 is really just that you can turn on off stuff like wifi or airplane mode from anywhere basically (oh and the brightness - big improvement!)
 
I have a perspective on your question, sort of in reverse. I kept a 4s on iOS 5 until about a year ago. What drove me crazy was that a ton of apps that were installed on the 4S stopped updating because they needed the current iOS version. Even more annoying was that quite a few new apps couldn't be installed, for the same reason. That may or may not be an issue for you. After a while it bothered me.
 
I still have my old iPhone 4, I downgraded it to iOS 6 after I reset it, but that was only possible because I anticipated a downgrade early on and saved the SHSH blobs (the iPhone 4 was the last device on which this was possible).

I keep iOS 6 on it for nostalgic reasons. However, as much as I like iOS 6, it is old software. Most developers have moved on and stopped supporting it. Some developers allow you to download old versions of their apps, but certainly not all. iOS 6 will still download iOS 7 for you, so you’re losing about 1.2 GB of space (or more, I’m not sure) that you can’t recover. The security will be outdated and the browser is not up to speed anymore. I’m surprised iCloud and iMessage continue to work without problems, but that may change at some point too. It’s just not something I recommend anymore for a daily driver, even if you only intend to use a few default apps.

If the user experience of iOS 7 really puts you off that much then it’s probably time to think about other options.
 
Last edited:
Why would you not recommend it even if using a few of the default apps?

I know that other apps don't update and I must say, that must be a real pain, so I agree on that. Then again, I also think there's too many updates these days. There's no day that passes without there *not* being an update available. That's quite annoying as well.

But this is how I would intend to use it:
(from most to least)

- Make phone calls
- Write text messages/iMessages
- Quickly look up something in Calendar, Notes or Reminders
- Make a photo
- Use the weather app
- Listen to music
- Look up something in Mail or Safari
 
Jardins de Vin said:
Why would you not recommend it even if using a few of the default apps?

I know that other apps don't update and I must say, that must be a real pain, so I agree on that. Then again, I also think there's too many updates these days. There's no day that passes without there *not* being an update available. That's quite annoying as well.

But this is how I would intend to use it:
(from most to least)

- Make phone calls
- Write text messages/iMessages
- Quickly look up something in Calendar, Notes or Reminders
- Make a photo
- Use the weather app
- Listen to music
- Look up something in Mail or Safari
Click to expand...

First of all the 4S is much faster than the regular 4 with iOS 7. Secondly, even some default features may be/are broken, for example Facetime.
 
Sorry to be blunt, but when it comes down to it both the software and hardware the OP desires will very shortly be totally obsolete if it isn't already. It'll be increasingly difficult to do anything but the most basic tasks. So my advice is to give iOS 7 and bigger devices a chance. You'll appreciate the better performance.
 
just get the 5s and be done with it. you don't want to go thru pains with iOS 6 and 7. it's just stupid man, a waste of money. let it go. 5s is an extremely nice phone. it CAN'T be too big. it's the 4s that is tiny, not the 5s too big.
 
deviant said:
just get the 5s and be done with it. you don't want to go thru pains with iOS 6 and 7. it's just stupid man, a waste of money. let it go. 5s is an extremely nice phone. it CAN'T be too big. it's the 4s that is tiny, not the 5s too big.
Click to expand...

What did I just say in my post? Don't say "just get an 5S an be done with it", what if the OP doesn't have the money to buy one? And it's not like he's gonna get a ton from his 4. The person clearly wants to use iOS 6 because iOS 7 is slow, so when he says that he wants to buy a 4S with iOS 6, then you can reply to him saying that he should look for a newer phone.
 
garirry said:
What did I just say in my post? Don't say "just get an 5S an be done with it", what if the OP doesn't have the money to buy one? And it's not like he's gonna get a ton from his 4. The person clearly wants to use iOS 6 because iOS 7 is slow, so when he says that he wants to buy a 4S with iOS 6, then you can reply to him saying that he should look for a newer phone.
Click to expand...

an ios6 phone at this moment is a bad investment. he can do whatever he wants. he asked, we replied. he decided in the end.
 
Paddle1 said:
Facetime just plain doesn't work anymore, not sure about anything else. I just want you to know that not everything will work even if it comes already installed.
Click to expand...

Expired certificates if I remember correctly. It was fixed in iOS 6.1.4, but it’s only available to devices that can’t get past iOS 6, so it’s not an option for iPhone 4/4S.
 
garirry said:
What did I just say in my post? Don't say "just get an 5S an be done with it", what if the OP doesn't have the money to buy one? And it's not like he's gonna get a ton from his 4. The person clearly wants to use iOS 6 because iOS 7 is slow, so when he says that he wants to buy a 4S with iOS 6, then you can reply to him saying that he should look for a newer phone.
Click to expand...

Thanks haha. I'm used to this behavior already in the iPhone forum, it's totally different people as in the other forums. It can be quite annoying at times. :rolleyes: :D
 
KALLT said:
Expired certificates if I remember correctly. It was fixed in iOS 6.1.4, but it’s only available to devices that can’t get past iOS 6, so it’s not an option for iPhone 4/4S.
Click to expand...

Right, except it was fixed in 6.1.6.
 
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