Which iOS is best for iPhone 4?

[lebronfilms]

Hi guys,

I've been keeping my iPhone 4 up-to-date with the latest firmwares and not satisfied with it's sluggish performance.

Can anyone recommend a iOS version to rollback to?
Or a solution to make it run smoothly?

Many thanks,
LBF

 

[C DM]

If the latest version of iOS 7 (7.1) isn't cutting it for you, and you really can go pretty much to any version iPhone 4 supports, your best bets are probably the latest update of iOS 6 (6.1.6 I believe, if they actually have that for iPhone 4) or perhaps even of iOS 5 (5.1.1 I think).

 

[Dave Felix]

I thought Apple wasn't signing iOS 6?

 

[Bossbhavesh]

As per Tim Cook:

“…We think the customer pays us to make choices on their behalf."

So yeah Apple has made the choice to not allow people to downgrade and force everyone to update to iOS 7 so that they have no fragmentation.

 

[dannyyankou]

iOS 4. iPhone 4s runs fastest with iOS 5, iPhone 5 runs fastest with iOS 6, and iPhone 5s runs fastest with iOS 7.

 

[Paddle1]

You can't downgrade without previously having your iPhone jailbroken on an earlier version.

 

[honglong1976]

iOS 7.1

 

[C DM]

iOS 4. iPhone 4s runs fastest with iOS 5, iPhone 5 runs fastest with iOS 6, and iPhone 5s runs fastest with iOS 7.

So far iPhone 5S doesn't run with anything at all aside from iOS 7.

 

[dannyyankou]

So far iPhone 5S doesn't run with anything at all aside from iOS 7.

I know, I was just making a point that when new software comes out, older hardware will use more resources and may run slower. So don't be surprised if the 5s is a bit slower on iOS 8

 

[teknikal90]

I know, I was just making a point that when new software comes out, older hardware will use more resources and may run slower. So don't be surprised if the 5s is a bit slower on iOS 8

I remember iOS 6 working perfectly fine on my 4S - nothing slowed down at all.
It's when they started introducing all this transparency crap on iOS 7 that it began to bog it all down.

 

[dhlizard]

If the latest version of iOS 7 (7.1) isn't cutting it for you, and you really can go pretty much to any version iPhone 4 supports, your best bets are probably the latest update of iOS 6 (6.1.6 I believe, if they actually have that for iPhone 4) or perhaps even of iOS 5 (5.1.1 I think).

^^ This statement is confusing and misleading. In order to restore to non-signed previous firmware versions, the device owner must have complete SHSH saved for the version they wish to restore to.

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You can't downgrade without previously having your iPhone jailbroken on an earlier version.

It is not necessary to have had a firmware installed on your device to save it's SHSH. The only requirement was that the firmware must have been signed by Apple when the SHSH was saved.

 

[C DM]

^^ This statement is confusing and misleading. In order to restore to non-signed previous firmware versions, the device owner must have complete SHSH saved for the version they wish to restore to.

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It is not necessary to have had a firmware installed on your device to save it's SHSH. The only requirement was that the firmware must have been signed by Apple when the SHSH was saved.

Thus the "If … and you really can go pretty much to any version iPhone 4 supports …" part of it, as applicable to the OP.

 

[dhlizard]

Thus the "If … and you really can go pretty much to any version iPhone 4 supports …" part of it, as applicable to the OP.

I saw the "if" as did everyone else, but reread your post.

The iPhone 4 supports firmware from 4.0 to 7.1 - but because this is not a jailbreak forum, I doubt that more than a scant few who post here have the option to move to any version iPhone4 supports.

 

[Donoban]

I remember iOS 6 working perfectly fine on my 4S - nothing slowed down at all.
It's when they started introducing all this transparency crap on iOS 7 that it began to bog it all down.

I've found 7.1 quite decent on the 4s and the iPad mini. However, I won't be upgrading to 8 on these devices. Asking for trouble if you ask me.

 

[NiCk-]

Well, as an iPhone 4 user since July 2010, my opinion is that iOS 7.1 is the best .. Sure, it's not the fastest one but the new features make up for the lack of speed .. For example, some things are even faster if you think about it .. With iOS4/5/6, I had to enter settings and then wi-fi in order to turn my wireless connection off/on .. Now, I just swipe up and control center pops up .. (this reminds me btw how much I want a 3G toggle switch in control center!)

However, if you are mainly interested for performance per ce, I would say that iOS 4/5 were the best ones for iPhone 4 .. After iOS 6 the phone started showing noticeable lag ..