We're hearing reports and seeing video evidence from users who have upgraded their iPhones to the new iOS 4 operating system that their phones have become sluggish as a result.
Our own experience bears this out.
Regular TechRadar writer Gary Marshall upgraded his iPhone 3G to iOS 4, and had this to say:
"Upgrading killed my 3G: the screen doesn't always respond, apps take an eternity to launch and some are so slow they're unusable. It's now quicker to walk somewhere than look it up in Maps, and the iPod app and SMS app take forever to open up. Worst of all, I can't always swipe the screen to answer a call.
"I don't know if it's a coincidence but I'm also getting terrible network coverage too. I'm going to try a wipe and clean install in the hope that that fixes it, but the download servers are getting hammered and it's looking like that'll be an all-afternoon job. I wouldn't mind, but I've already wasted several hours upgrading in the first place. I'm having Windows 95 flashbacks here."
And TechRadar editor Patrick Goss, who also recently upgraded his iPhone 3G, said:
"I was delighted about getting the latest update - especially given the news that original iPhone owners were being left behind - but I'm really wondering why I bothered. The phone was already feeling a bit creaky when I wanted it to actually open something, but since I moved to iOS 4 it has got even worse. Given the choice, I would probably downgrade back to the prior operating system."
We want to find out how widespread this issue is, so if you've recently upgraded your iPhone to iOS4 please let us know in the comments whether you've found that your phone feels slower after upgrading.
When commenting, please mention whether you have an iPhone 3G or an iPhone 3GS.
If it doesn't feel slower, please comment and let us know that, too.
Your comments (61) Click to add a new comment
zac_d86
July 8th 2010
61. Ithink that the new os upgrade is good my phone runs faster and it no longer freeses when writing a text message or opening a application.
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lorenzo
July 6th 2010
60. My iphone 3g is now much slower than before. The iOS4 upgrade was a really bad move. I have been looking into downgrading back to system 3 but it's not that easy.
Apart from much slower operation of almost all functions, I also had a strange glitch where my phone only showed a 10% battery charge even after 12 hours on charge. I did a soft restart of both the computer and phone and the problem went away. I'm not alone in this problem. Many users are posting similar experiences. The upgrade turned a good fast phone into a turkey. Thanks Apple!
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kleosmith
July 2nd 2010
59. I upgraded on the day iOS4 was released. Phone started ok then most apps would not load and crashed. Some - mostly the original Apple apps worked but not iPod. I then did a restore from iTunes and all was fixed again. I have a 16Gb iPhone 3. Since then the phone works like it used to except with the new features as a result of iOS4. So to those having trouble don't agonise - just restore.
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robm
July 2nd 2010
58. Forgot to say 3G 16GB was going like a rocket before this upgrade, not used to this from Apple
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robm
July 2nd 2010
57. Much slower, skips on iPod app if trying to do some thing else, some apps quit some don't open first time.
Is there a fix on the way or can I reinstall v3
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eldolive
July 1st 2010
56. Iphone 3g IOS4 update is now officially a Bad Apple =((((( it looks like $teve job$ is trying to get us to upgrade by bricking our otherwise functional phone. not happy jan! :( Mr jobs please do the honourable thing and provide us with a down grade update on itune. This alpha update should have been entirely optional with an option to revert if we are not happy with the performance.
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petguy
June 30th 2010
55. Out of desperation with the slowness of iOS4 I tried a double hard reset of my iPhone 3G (something I have read about on other websites).
Wonder of wonders, my phone now works at the speed it used to under 3.1.3 - no idea why but it must be a disorganized memory thing!
Here's how to do it:-
Press the home and power buttons simultaneously for 10 secs - the red slider to power off will come up but ignore this and keep the buttons held down until the screen goes blank and the Apple logo appears. You can now release the buttons.
Immediately the phone has finished booting repeat this whole process a 2nd time.
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badnewsblue
June 29th 2010
54. I'm so frustrated with my iphone 3g since upgrading to 4.0 that I have to get up and walk away from it several times a day. It is so incredibly slow that it reminds me of old dial-up internet that would take forever to load pages. I can barely type anything because the first letter I hit simply freezes even if I keep typing. Everything about it is slower, including opening apps, and using safari. I'm not impressed at all!!
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steffy.grey
June 28th 2010
53. http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/hands-on-samsung-galaxy-s-review-697008
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tonnelier
June 28th 2010
52. I was going to use my iPhone to post a comment earlier today, but after 20 minutes of trying, I finally decided to just wait until I got home!
I can't even turn it on without a wait. I press the button and it takes several seconds before the screen lights up. Then it takes several more before the slider will respond.
ALL of the apps, 3rd party or otherwise take forever, and when I was trying to send a text earlier, the music I was listening to started skipping. Even the letters on the keyboard stick! The folders are nice, but it's a moot point if the iPhone is lying in pieces after being thrown against a wall.
It's an iPhone 3G on AT&T in the US.
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numberonesuperguy
June 28th 2010
51. AMEN - Slow as.
Jerky graphics, slow to load apps, especially noticable opening a new text message or going into Settings (to turn wifi+3g on and off, since the 3.1 software-upgrade / battery-downgrade)
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greencode
June 28th 2010
50. I upgraded (from an iPhone 3G) and it was rubbish, unresponsive, buggy, seemingly lost my photos (although managed to extract those from a backup). I then did a search for 'downgrade from 4.0 to 3.1.2' and luckily found a few sites telling you how to downgrade. I did that and thank goodness I'm back to a responsive and good phone!!
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watmor50
June 28th 2010
49. I have 3G 16G and since updating to OS4 screen freezing and 75% of apps non responsive cannot switch off when you want it too.
It has made it a ******* of phone now, was happy with it till this update. It very well maybe that it doesn't have the horsepower to run some apps and hopefully as more are configured to OS4 this may improve, can't wait til April till out of contract and I'll look closely at the iPhone4
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tigress0911
June 28th 2010
48. I really love some of the new features of the new 4OS but it is slow sluggish and not working correctly. It's awful! I have a 16gig 3GS and it was way better on the 3G!
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mikeydu
June 28th 2010
47. My iPhone 3G 16gb is a piece of junk now after upgrading to the iOS 4 upgrade. It is slow as anything. Half the applications take forever to load if they load at all. Some applications I have to load several times before they even load. I am basically forced to upgrade to the iPhone 4 because now I am left with a piece of junk if I don't. This is a terrible experience.
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uqunt
June 25th 2010
46. I have an iPhone 3G and it's become practically knackered after upgrading to IOS4. The screen is unresponsive, ipod and apps take an age to open, the camera took 30 seconds just to get going. A great phone is now a shambles. My contract was up and I was automatically going for the new iPhone, but now I'm not so sure.
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kyotedan
June 25th 2010
45. I've had my iphone 3G almost 2 years... Have enjoyed it's functionality and fun - until I upgraded to software version 4. My iphone is now an irritant. Extremely slow opening apps and responding to key strokes. Very, very unhappy! Certainly would seem Apple knew about this before the software was released and should have warned iphone users. I had planned on upgrading to the iphone 4...but if this is their way of "forcing" an upgrade to iphone 4...I'm about to change my mind about upgrading and switch to blackberry.
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foreigncandle
June 25th 2010
44. So much slower! It's so irritating. Whenever I get a text, my phone crashes as I'm opening it (if my phone is asleep). If the person is sending another text while I'm replying, my phone basically freezes. My iPod crashes every time I open it. The upgrade wasn't even worth it seeing that we got maybe three things out of the upgrade that are useful. I opened my Starbucks app the other day to get a location and my phone's screen flashed white a couple of times and then restarted. I had to manually reboot the phone three times before it would load past the Apple logo. This is ridiculous!
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petguy
June 25th 2010
43. I would strongly recommend 3G users NOT to upgrade to iOS4.
It took me 36 hours to do the upgrade on my 16GB 3G as iTunes hung during the upgrade and on restart I lost all the music and apps from my iPhone. Had to manually delete the restore file and use one I made the day before (lucky I had that) in order to get my music back and then I had to download all my apps again from the App Store.
The phone is really slow now under iOS4 and two SMS which I sent failed to get delivered at all. Also have trouble answering calls as the slider gets stuck.
My son's 3GS upgraded without a glitch and seems to be working fine so this seems to be a 3G problem.
Wish I could go back iOS3 but Apple (in their infinite stupidity) won't let you downgrade!
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