Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Should I upgrade my 3GS on T-Mobile to iOS4?

P

pilotsmith

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 6, 2010
5
0
USA
I'm very green to all this and have only had an iPhone about 1 month. I bought a used 3GS and went to a local phone shop that unlocked and jailbroke it. I think the guy said he used Spirit and there is a Cydia icon on the phone. That is all I know. For $10 I figured it was't worth my time to mess with it to do it myself. I put in my T-Mobile sim card and it works fine but the Edge data is on the slow side.

I'm wondering now if there is a benefit to upgrade to iOS4? I've read complaints of sluggishness by 3G users after the upgrade. Wondering if there is really much point to update my 3GS or just leave good enough alone?

BTW, I read something about only subscribing to the T-zone service for a few dollars a month and that there is a hack to get unlimited data with that. Anyone have a link with more info on that T-zones hack?
 
pilotsmith said:
I'm very green to all this and have only had an iPhone about 1 month. I bought a used 3GS and went to a local phone shop that unlocked and jailbroke it. I think the guy said he used Spirit and there is a Cydia icon on the phone. That is all I know. For $10 I figured it was't worth my time to mess with it to do it myself. I put in my T-Mobile sim card and it works fine but the Edge data is on the slow side.

I'm wondering now if there is a benefit to upgrade to iOS4? I've read complaints of sluggishness by 3G users after the upgrade. Wondering if there is really much point to update my 3GS or just leave good enough alone?

BTW, I read something about only subscribing to the T-zone service for a few dollars a month and that there is a hack to get unlimited data with that. Anyone have a link with more info on that T-zones hack?
Click to expand...

A 3GS should run fine on iOS 4.
Currently, the phone must be jailbroken with something other than Spirit and have old bootrom to be updated/jailbroken on iOS 4.
No hack to get unlimited data from T-Mobile, besides that is stealing. There are a choice of data plans, you have to pick one.
 
4.0 works really well on the 3GS, it does not slow it down one bit. It sounds like u already have a data plan, which data plan do u have right now?
 
upgrade

since you paid someone to JB/unlock its in your best interest not to try to upgrade to ios4 yourself,,,, since if you do it through itunes you will lose your JB/unlock and NOT be able to get it back. you can upgrade with a custom ios4, see iclarified tutorials but read it at least three times before trying. I have factory unlocked 3gs and upgraded to ios4 on t-mob but really do not see a significant advantage.
 
rgarjr said:
4.0 works really well on the 3GS, it does not slow it down one bit. It sounds like u already have a data plan, which data plan do u have right now?
Click to expand...

I have a family plan and added their standard $30 a month data plan to my number. However, Edge is so slow I don't use it that much. I got the iPhone (used) last month mainly as a PDA and to replace my dumb phone. I read someplace a person saying they subscribed to T-zones for something like $7 a month and modified something to do with a proxy and got unlimited access to all web sites.

I don't consider hacking T-zone "stealing" by only paying $7 versus $30 a month because I am not getting anything close to the full benefit of their service. Typically I only get something like 64 to 190kbps on Edge. I am paying for 3G data service of 7.2Mbps. So I am only getting a very small fraction (maybe 3%) of what I am paying for. Usually I can't stream videos or do data intensive things like use a GPS navigation program I downloaded that downloads maps as you drive. So paying $7 a month is more than fair for the data (or lack of) that I am getting. In the next 3G upgrade T-mobile is going to 21Mbps...

I'm considering replacing my iPhone with the T-Mobile Samsung Vibrant phone due to the Edge limitations with the iPhone. However, I love all the apps available for the iPhone and the iPhone really is nice. I have no idea if similar apps are available for the Vibrant. With the Vibrant I would have no issue to pay the full price for data as I would certainly use the data.

AT&T is not an option for me. My son has an iPhone 3GS and it is comical to watch how many dropped calls he has. When he calls his business partner that also has an iPhone on AT&T it is guaranteed that they will drop the call at least once or twice durning a short conversation. All my business associates who have tried AT&T have switched back to Verizon in a short period of time. (I also have Verizon for my work phone.) We are in Southern California (OC) so there is no excuse for the dismal AT&T service in this very developed area.
 
You can buy an iPod Touch to use your apps, and a new Tmobile phone so you can take advantage of 3G.
 
wordoflife said:
You can buy an iPod Touch to use your apps, and a new Tmobile phone so you can take advantage of 3G.
Click to expand...

Nooooooooooo! I'm trying to carry less devices. I already have a work BlackBerry I need to carry around in addition to my personal iPhone. Adding an iTouch to the collection is not an option. Eventually I'd like to find a way to leave my BlackBerry behind and only carry one phone.
 
FYI...TMobile uses a different frequency for 3G data. You will be stuck with EDGE regardless of Iphone OS upgrades.
 
I realize that on the network speed issue.

Just wondering what real world benefits there are to going to iOS4? Debating between leaving well enough alone or if the people who upgraded their phones are getting something out of the update. Since I have an unlocked and jailbroken 3GS I am a bit more cautious about tinkering with upgrades unless really a big plus to do it.
 
pilotsmith said:
Got to double check it won't lock my phone back to AT&T...
Click to expand...

There is currently no way for you to upgrade your phone without losing your jailbreak and unlock. Because your phone was jailbroken with Spirit, you cannot upgrade using a custom firmware, and upgrading directly to 4.0 official will lock your phone back up. Because you are on iOS 3.1.3, it is not possible for you to re-jailbreak with Redsn0w so that you can use PwnageTool. Sorry.
 
pilotsmith said:
Nooooooooooo! I'm trying to carry less devices. I already have a work BlackBerry I need to carry around in addition to my personal iPhone. Adding an iTouch to the collection is not an option. Eventually I'd like to find a way to leave my BlackBerry behind and only carry one phone.
Click to expand...

Maybe you should consider moving to AT&T if the money isn't an issue (to cancel tmobile if needed, and AT&T's ridiculous fee's. You'll be able to get new iPhones easily and upgrade them easily too.
 
thelatinist said:
There is currently no way for you to upgrade your phone without losing your jailbreak and unlock.
Click to expand...

Not true. He can follow this guide if he has the old bootrom:

http://www.ihackintosh.com/2010/07/...mware-with-iphone-3gs-jailbroken-with-spirit/

Or he can use this if he has the new bootrom, 3.1.2 blobs saved, and the balls:

http://www.iphoneheat.com/2010/07/jailbreak-iphone-3gs-new-bootrom-ios-4-0-firmware/

Personally in your situation I would wait for the more official jailbreak from the dev-team. I'm just offering info, use at your risk. ;)
 
pilotsmith said:
I'm very green to all this and have only had an iPhone about 1 month. I bought a used 3GS and went to a local phone shop that unlocked and jailbroke it. I think the guy said he used Spirit and there is a Cydia icon on the phone. That is all I know. For $10 I figured it was't worth my time to mess with it to do it myself. I put in my T-Mobile sim card and it works fine but the Edge data is on the slow side.

I'm wondering now if there is a benefit to upgrade to iOS4? I've read complaints of sluggishness by 3G users after the upgrade. Wondering if there is really much point to update my 3GS or just leave good enough alone?

BTW, I read something about only subscribing to the T-zone service for a few dollars a month and that there is a hack to get unlimited data with that. Anyone have a link with more info on that T-zones hack?
Click to expand...

There is no T-Zones cheap data plan anymore. They did away with that a while ago. It was $5.99 but now their cheapest is $24.99. I still have the T-Zones data which makes having an iPhone worth while because at times the EDGE is very slow and i gave up trying to load a video with it even. Sometimes just webpages is too slow and i give up. Other times it isnt so bad.

Regardless, i still have a 2G and i too love the apps and jailbreak so i can watch TV shows and such but i am thinking of going to the Sumsung Vibrant as well but just the fact that i will lose my grandfathered in T-Zones service is hard to swallow, so it is a tough decision. I suppose i could get a 3GS since i dont want to spend for a iP4 but the new Android 2.2 is a nice upgrade for them and it is tempting. I have a lot of reading to do before i decide to make a switch, ....if i do.
 
Vegastouch said:
There is no T-Zones cheap data plan anymore. They did away with that a while ago. It was $5.99 but now their cheapest is $24.99.
Click to expand...

You're wrong.. there is a 9.99 data plan but u need to tell them you don't have an iphone cuz they will force you to get that 24.99 plan.

24.99 is too much to just have the slow EDGE service in my opinion.
 
rgarjr said:
You're wrong.. there is a 9.99 data plan but u need to tell them you don't have an iphone cuz they will force you to get that 24.99 plan.

24.99 is too much to just have the slow EDGE service in my opinion.
Click to expand...

Thats correct.
My brothers is using that with an iphone 3G on tmobile.
He put his sim in a regural flip phone and added the data plan.
Then hang up and switched the sim back to the iphone.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back