Steve Jobs: Software Update To Fix iOS4 Speed Issues on iPhone 3G

Adam Rosen ()

Another glimmer of hope for iPhone 3G owners running (or crawling with) iOS4; MacRumors reports today on another Steve Jobs email, this one sent to a disgruntled iPhone 3G user:

I’ve waited patiently through 4.0.1 and 4.0.2, looking for a fix that will make my phone work again. I’ve read the forums that advise me to jailbreak my phone or use some other method so I can downgrade back to a version of iPhone 3, however I’m not prepared to use a method that is not supported by Apple.

Jobs’ response is typically succinct:

Software update coming soon.

Sent from my iPhone

Presumably this means iOS4.1.  Apple acknowledged last month that it was aware of the performance problems with iOS4 on the iPhone 3G and was “looking into” the issues, which include very sluggish performance and poor battery life.

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As an 3G owner myself this fix can’t come soon enough; I’m doing the double hard reset every other week and have disabled spotlight indexing, but this only makes things tolerable at best.  Is this ordeal finally going to end soon?

24 comments »

About the author

oakbogAdam Rosen is an IT consultant specializing in Apple Macintosh systems new and old. He lives in Boston with two cats and too many possessions. In addition to membership in the Cult of Mac, Adam has written for Low End Mac and is curator of the Vintage Mac Museum. He also enjoys a good glass of Pinot Noir.

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  • D

    Since I had to hack my way back to iOS 3.1.3 I think I’ll just wait and see what the reviews are. Unified inbox, threading, and folders are no good on a useless phone.

  • David Marsters

    And maybe for us 3 GS users, correct the terrible multitasking where in it takes me 3 to 8+ button pushes to close programs that are sort of multitasking. I would like to be able to choose which app needs to multitask….please.

  • http://arronhunt.com/boxrabbit Arron Hunt

    “however I’m not prepared to use a method that is not supported by Apple.”

    - lies and brown nosing SJ….naughty

  • Marky Mark

    I downgraded back to 3.1.3 using the instructions posted on this site a few weeks ago. iOS4 offers little to a 3G user anyway.

    I liked the unified mailbox, but the benefit of having a relatively speedy phone back after wading through treacle for the best part of a fortnight far outweighs the (very) limited additional features of the OS upgrade. I will upgrade at the end of my contract, but it has a way to go yet.

    My primary concern is my inability to participate in security updates. I really think Apple has an obligation to release a 3.1.4 update to close the PDF hole on older phones, but I can guess Apple won’t share that view. For now then, crossing my fingers seems to be the only legitimate measure I can take!

  • http://the-vu thebarak

    The worst thing for me is the extra time it takes just to get the calendar or the address book on screen. Local applications that require no connection, either wireless or wi-fi.

    In the 1990′s my Palm Pilot was faster!

    iOS4 ruined my iPhone.

  • 1stkorean

    why anybody would want a piece of rotten spoiling fruit is beyond me.

    jobs is nothing but a fascist-dictator-cadaverous-anal opening who craps on the very people who made him into something he is NOT!

  • pdxa4

    They better get a fix out soon, even my 3GS has been turned into a much slower and unreliable phone…
    Granted not the same pain that the 3G owners have, but still significantly worse than on 3.1.3

    I agree, it is almost time for a 3.1.4 version for the 3G and 3GS, leave the 4.etc to the iPhone4…

  • arif

    same here thanks for reporting

  • Ian

    So apparently Apple has put together a group of employees to call people that have called in about iPhone 4 and the new iOS. I received a call tonight and the guy asked me all about proximity issues, dropped calls, etc. Very very detailed questions wanting to know exact spots of dropped calls and where my phone isn’t switching well from one tower to the next I was actually impressed. He kind of told me more than I think he should have. He basically said that sinde there are so many problems that have come up recently they put together a team to investigate. Hence the phone call. Anyway, I asked ohm about the 3G and how “steve jobs said update soon”. I told him that my brothers about to switch to droid if no fix is really coming. He told me that he knows the proximity sensor is definitely getting dealt with but the 3G probably won’t be helped at all. He said that it is just too much for the 3G to handle and that he thinks the 3G won’t be supported much longer. He hated to say that, according to him, and it really makes them look like they are trying to make people upgrade when they really aren’t.

    I have dealt with apple for years and years. They never talk as much as this guy did about stuff. I was even skeptical. But, this guy obviously had the notes from my previous calls to apple and quoted me even. Strange.

    But, he did say that the 3G was plained screwed in so many words.

  • http://mackeeper.zeobit.com/ MacKeeper_Fan_Modua

    I’m sorry but its completely inexcusable. They knew how badly it performed on the 3G, and they intentionally released it anyway (they did NOT have to) hoping to push 3G users to buy the iPhone 4 (guess what? it worked for everyone I know with a 3G that was unfortunate enough to update their phone).

    Now they drag it out until the complaints reach boiling point. Then they make the “fix” which won’t do much, and from then on the support line will be: “upgrade your phone you troglodyte!”

  • Greg Speck

    Slightly slower, but not unusable on 3GS.

  • PFR

    I upgraded my 3G to iOS4, suffered the predictable pain, and then was able to swap it out for another (at 3.1.3) over some chips the screen and other flakiness. Thank you AppleCare for protecting me from Apple software!

  • http://cultofmac.com Lonnie Lazar

    Sometimes this kind of pain can be avoided by not blindly upgrading the software on older devices until one is sure the hardware supports the new software’s functionality. I hope Steve’s minions do come out soon with a version of iOS that works well on the 3G ~ then I can forestall the pain of having to sign up for another two years of torture at the hands of at&t and bide my time until Apple and Verizon work out their pencil pushers’ conflicts.

  • http://www.oakbog.com Adam Rosen

    Lonnie – I completely agree. Under most circumstances I wouldn’t have upgraded to a Point Oh release, and been happy I’d waited! However under iOS3 I was experiencing a nasty email bug that had been driving me nuts for nearly a year (acknowledged by Apple and since duplicated on my iPad).

    The iOS4 upgrade was an attempt to fix that only traded one headache for another. I’ve actually decided that the slower phone is ‘better’ than disappearing emails, and hence not downgraded. See below for the sordid details if you’d like.

    My Low End iPhone 3G: Bugs, iOS Updates, and Keeping it Working
    http://lowendmac.com/ed/rosen/10ar/low-end-iphone-3g.html

  • Chris

    I have the 3G with 4.02 and after disabling safari, app store, spotlight & YouTube my phone performs fast & glitch free, so I’m pretty sure this is the only cure for 3G at this point.

  • Brian

    Chris,
    How does one disable those apps?

  • Chris

    Go to general/restictions, and turn them off. You need to create a password….let me know if it helps

  • Chris

    I want u guys to try same thing I did with my iphone 3g and follow my last post above so atleast see if it works for everyone, since apple turned their back on us let’s try help eachother…I wanna know if anyone is reading this so I can share more tips I discovered to make the 3G iPhone perform smoother, thx.

  • http://www.oakbog.com Adam Rosen

    Chris – It’s looking likely that these issues will be fixed in the 4.1 update from Apple:
    http://cultofmac.com/beta-testers-report-big-iphone-3g-speed-improvements-with-ios-4-1/56484

  • Steve

    Are they also going to include a fix for the lost use of the wifi connectivity on 3G phones that updated to IOS4.x.

  • Chris

    Thanks Adam for the great news, lucky for us 3G owners that iPhone 4 in a way failed & otherwise apple wouldn’t really waste their time with 3G anymore….

  • Dan

    I hope someone from Apple is reading this blog. The latest update has ruined my iPhone. Its turned a nice phone into a complete piece of crap. They either need to provide an immediate fix or give me a free phone that will work with their software.

  • Christopher Tucci

    Apple Really needs to step it up in reguard to supporting their users especialy when upgrading to the iphone IOS 4 I upgraded my phone ok but it work like a snail with arthritus but when i did my wife’s it erase everything off of the phone and Itunes to which apple say on well. My wife is still pissed at me and apple she wound up rebuying her apps from the store. The android market is looking pretty good now and so does verizon and At&t with their old alacart way of plans Sprint has the right way simply everything for one price. Advice: Please all iphone 3G users Do Not Upgrade the software is still way too buggy for the 3G. Nice Job Steve and Apple. I have successfully downgraded my 3G to 3.1.3 it works like a champ

  • JLS

    If Steve Jobs thinks any of the updates fixed the problem then I challenge him to use my 3G phone for one week. There is no way he could be productive using my phone; it’s sluggish, constantly crashes and the battery life is horrible. 3G users should have been told upfront what the issues were and given a choice as to whether we wanted to upgrade to IOS 4. MY phone is virtually useless!

    Steve Jobs, are you up for a challenge? If so, let me know. Use MY phone for one week and then tell me the updates worked.