“There are steps you can take to try to ease an older iPhone’s burden in the new iOS 7 operating system,” Rob Pegoraro reports for USA Today.
“Apple already turns off most of iOS 7’s visual effects on the iPhone 4 to compensate for its reduced graphics power, but you can also try another frequently suggested remedy, stopping iOS 7 from checking for new data on behalf of third-party apps,” Pegoraro reports. “To do that, open the Settings app, select ‘General,’ tap ‘Background App Refresh’ in the right-hand pane, and touch the switch atop that category. Leaving enough storage space free is also a good idea. The Settings app will show which apps have eaten up the most space: Open it, select General and tap Usage.”
For severe slowdowns, “try the traditional computing remedy of reinstalling everything from scratch,” Pegoraro reports. “Connect the iPhone to a computer running iTunes, do an encrypted backup there, then restore the phone to factory settings; when that completes, you can restore your apps and data from the backup.”
Read more in the full article here.
If that is true, iOS 7, checking for new data on behalf of third-party apps, that is not good even if you could turn it off.
I don’t think Steve Jobs would have allowed that thing.
We must not forget that the iPhone main function is…., well a phone and the last thing you want is a phone with no battery or a phone that needs frequent recharge.
Wait. What? It’s got a phone app too?
When it originally launched yes the phone app was the primary function of the iPhone, but not anymore. While you could make the case that the primary function of most smartphones is still as a communications device, that definition is broadening all the time. Smart phones have become our mobile personal computers (finally the promise of PDA’s has come to fruition)
And yes Steve would have embraced the growth of the iPhone, just as he did when he allowed third party developers into what was first conceived to be a closed device.
iOS 7 is as buggy as hell. I have a friend with an iPhone 4 who upgraded his phone to iOS 7 when it was first released and then tried upgrading to iOS 7.0.2 today which bricked his phone. He called me to find out what he could do about it and I said nothing very much because he hadn’t created a backup. I could hear him swearing up and down like a sailor over the landline phone he used to call me because his iPhone was in the shitter.
He said that he had upgraded his iPhone without any problems on every version of iOS 6 and prior to that iOS 5. I told him that iOS 7 is as buggy as shit because rather than look into furthering stability, Apple is making thinner fonts. What a crock of shit.
LOL Yes, and you are sitting there bitching about skinner fonts and glossy screen (just funning) instead of enjoying the new and improved items.
I want my matt screen back and I am too lazy to put a layer over the screen to get it…. (just kidding, I use a protective layer over the screen).
/s
The update bricked my 4S phone too. Luckily I reinstalled off a backup. First time that had happened, and for what appeared to be a ‘minor’ update.
Not anyone’s fault but the user’s – you said it yourself – “because he hadn’t created a backup”. Doh!
No device is perfect, and backing up is so easy there just isn’t any excuse for not doing it. It’s also SOP for any computer system. Has your “friend” ever used a computer before? Have you? Hope you both learned something.
I don’t understand your comment that “he hadn’t created a backup”.
How, exactly, did he update his iPhone? It is the default for the iPhone to backup before any upgrade to either iCloud or to computer via iTunes. You have to work pretty hard to NOT backup an iPhone before an update. Under these circumstances, I am loathe to have any sympathy for the guy. Then toss on top the fact that ‘Make A Backup!’ is the #1 rule of computing. As I coldly say: If you don’t make a backup, you deserve what you get. All storage devices fail.
That’s because he’s not a computer dweeb like you. Most ordinary people with regular non-computing jobs are suckered by Apple’s ‘it just works’ advertising and buy an Apple product thinking that it will work out of the box and that they are paying a premium because Apple will take care of the rest. What may not be understandable to you is every day practice for most out there in the real world. Just because you’re a dick, doesn’t mean everyone else is a dick like you.
Plus you’re telling a whopping great big lie. You can update your iPhone without first backing up. Please before making the world’s most stupid statement, at least research your facts before spewing crap on the forum. It’s not helpful coming from a dweeb like you. To summarise, to update your iPhone, simply press ‘update now’ on the software update button. You obviously don’t own an iPhone if you don’t even know this basic fact.
Don’t presume to give advice if your own knowledge of how Apple products work is premised on shaky foundations. You do Apple customers a disservice by giving faulty advice based on lies.
No, the world’s most stupid statement is ” iOS 7 is as buggy as shit” “because he hadn’t created a backup” .
Only dweebs back up their computer? Well, all power to the dweebs then.
Sir, you have been handed your ass, as well as your “friend”, why try to dig yourself even deeper. By the way, in what ad from Apple have you ever seen the statement “it just works”, so don’t bother backing up?
Care to keep climbing the slippery slope of stupidity?
Cheers!
Wow, a very verbose trollish reply. This was my favorite part:
Just because you’re a dick, doesn’t mean everyone else is a dick like you.
That’s “Dick” to you, buddy!
Oh and please do STFU with your bletherfest of baloney. *swat*
The writer sounds like a Windows user with his reinstall everything solution. He probably wishes there was a Control Alt Delete ‘feature’ too.
Rob has been writing positively about Apple and Mac stuff for many, many, many years now. Don’t insult him by calling him a Windows user.
If you read my post carefully, you will notice that I did not call him a Windows user but said that he sounds like a Windows user. I have made the same mistake in the past by not reading carefully and jumping to conclusions.
That’s not what you implied, professor.
It’s not just a Windows thing. I’ve had to do it after upgrades on my Macs and iPhone. Sometimes a clean install wipes out crap that just shouldn’t be there.
Well, it certainly is possible to fragment data on your iPhone. Ideally, one GB should be left free so iOS can easily defragment files on its own without having to resort to the Wipe-Restore scenario so familiar on Windows. If your iPhone is jammed to the gills with data, iOS isn’t going to be effective keeping the file fragmentation down. Been there, done that!
An encrypted backup…what the fuck? Why would your average user need an encrypted backup in iTunes. That’s a bad suggestion. That’s just one more password for people to forget.
Struggling to use polite language again? Try using the same language you might imagine people in a board room would use to convey respectful opinions.
Have you even been to a board room? Sorry if this bursts your bubble but very few people talk as polite as you wish they would.. even in a board room, let alone the fricken internet. I think about 90-95% your posts are you trying to parent people that just don’t care. If you want to parent people I suggest you do it with your own kids or make some if you don’t have any. Your parenting posts are just as grating to me as the political crap that has seeped onto this site.
“I suggest you make one.”
that would require a female, highly unlikely for the Cantnadian Boob.
You’re on a roll this weekend, you wild and crazy guy!
Recognizing your frame of mind, I have to suggest you calm yourself botvinnik. Going manic about trivial garbage isn’t worth the effort. (Yeah, like I’m an expert!) 😉
We don’t tolerate self-centered a-holes in our boardroom. Ideas can be discussed professionally without the juvenile — and meaningless — language. Just get to the point with data and specifics, and leave the potty mouth at home.
If you want to be my daddy, you’re gonna need to start by buying me some nicer things.
That may just be your problem. Your daddy wasn’t there for you in your formative years and now you are angry at the world. Set your own good examples and show the world what you can be.
How I choose to talk is non of your fucking business. Keep your personal advise to yourself. If I’m not dating or you’re not a family member, then I don’t need your suggestion on how the fuck to talk, dick hole. Obviously subtly was lost on you; so I’ll be more direct.
When you speak in private, say what you like but when you speak or write in a public forum, you gain or lose credibility when you put forward your ideas in an elegant or crass way. As part of your audience, I have lost respect for much of your opinions now because of the way you represent yourself. You could be a great addition to the world with a little care in your presentations.
Maybe yu need to start doing mind altering drugs?
I used to enjoy it here. Now the trolls and troll-feeders are ruining it. Sigh.
Why?
“How I choose to talk is non of your f***ing business.”
WRONG. In public, your freedom ends where mine begins. In a decently moderated forum, you would be out on your butt crying in the street right now. But because MDN seems to adore clickbaiting argumenative juvenile twats who have no manners, we have strayed from a useful article by Pegoraro into a pissing match between which dimwit can use the most foul language. Way to go, praus. Please go far and don’t come back until you can discuss matters like an adult.
The reason for an encrypted backup is that all passwords and settings are saved and will be restored on restore.
A non encrypted backup saves all of that too. The only thing an encrypted backup does is add a password to the backup that prevents someone from accessing it unless they have the password.
Not true praus. Downunder is right. Read what it says beside the Encrypt check box in iTunes. You wouldn’t want all your account passwords unencrypted so it doesn’t back these up if your backup is not encrypted.
I’ve supported countless iPhones. Recommending some one make an encrypted backup when they don’t need it (and you only need it if you work for a company that requires it) is reckless. When it talks about backing up account passwords it’s talking about the keychain. The keychain is backuped anyways but if the backup is not encrypted, the keychain is only restored to the device that was originally backed up. As referenced from Apple’s article on backing up: “Keychain (this includes email account passwords, Wi-Fi passwords, and passwords you enter into websites and some other applications. If you encrypt the backup, you can transfer the keychain information to the new device. With an unencrypted backup, you can restore the keychain only to the same iOS device. If you are restoring to a new device with an unencrypted backup, you will need to enter these passwords again.)”
If you’re just backing up your device to restore it to the same device again, having an encrypted backup is useless and possibly dangerous, unless you are the small percentage that needs that added security.
Maybe it is not iOS 7..maybe it is the lack of competence from the user causing all these issues..I run iOS 7 on two iPhone 5’s, one iPhone 4, one iPad, and an iPhone 5s without one hiccup. I also know from reading Steve jobs autobiography that jony would have never changed the font if he thought that Steve would have disapproved!
Maybe Apple should offer a more useful checklist before users can upgrade.
.. and no “maybe” about it, Jony really did screw up with the thin fonts, simplistic useless icons, washed out look, and borderless unintuitive interface. Most of his revisions were “change for the sake of change” that does nothing to improve the user experience whatsoever. He should stick to hardware and let engineers & efficiency experts work out the best GUI. Many longtime Apple users are simply not impressed with the look, but obviously have no choice but to jump on board if they want to use the best hardware.
Good article… Not.
iOS 7 runs terribly on an iPhone 4. It should never have been an option.
My 5s runs perfectly well on iOS 7 as do the three 4S’s in the family.
No apparent issues on my iPhone4
No issues on my 4s, in fact actually got some battery life back!
It works fine for the vast majority. Having the same software work fine on one iPhone 4 but not another would seem to mean its isolated to your device and/or the data on it as being the cause of the issue.
My younger son and wife both have the iPhone 4 and iOS7 runs just fine…
It’s running fine on my four
iOS 7 runs perfect on both of our original iPhone 4 phones. No issues at all. In fact it seems a bit faster.
Runs like a champ on my iPad2.
My iP4 runs perfectly ok with iOS 7, I’ve been using it every day since the update, with no problems. I was using it today, as an iPod, and I use Safari with a SIM with unlimited data, again, no problems at all. Possibly, because it has relatively few apps helps, but I’m not sure about that.
My iP5 and my iPad 3 all run perfectly, no problems at all.
No real issues running iOS7 on an iPhone 4. Followed some suggestions to minimize battery drain, it helped some. Planning on getting a new phone sometime anyway. I know plenty of iPhone 4 users that upgraded just fine to iOS7, no complaints.
When I have a new IOS I always restore to factory, then upgrade , then re add the apps I want! Good way to get rid of apps I never use . iPhone 4 running great on IOS 7!
I love these anecdotal “Apple bricked” my whatever stories, the implication being their device died because Apple did something wrong. Apple certainly screws up occasionally, but when that happens, generally millions of people are affected. More often, the user screwed up some way, perhaps playing around with jail breaking
Sorry for the partial post, fumble fingers… Anyway…
I love these anecdotal “Apple bricked” my whatever stories, the implication being their device died because Apple did something wrong. Apple certainly screws up occasionally, but when that happens, generally millions of people are affected. More often, the user screwed up some way, perhaps playing around with jail breaking, or doing something else that corrupted the firmware. In any case, not performing backups, then blaming Apple when your iOS upgrade fails and you have to restore to factory conditions and lose everything will get no sympathy from me.
That’s because you’re a devoted Apple cocksucker. You can almost taste the cum that Apple jizzes all over you.
For the rest of humanity, people buy Apple products because of their touted reliability and ‘it just works’ slogan, a slogan that is drummed into consumers in every advertisement you see on TV.
Every problem report is attributable to the consumer misusing his Apple product – the ‘you’re holding it wrong approach’. Well, guess what, people press their update button on their iPhone and expect everything to go as planned. No jailbreaking involved shithead.
Suck more Apple cock dickface.
I’d say with a comment like that you just have to be a Microsoft/Google/Samsung troglodyte with a serious undertone of suppressed homosexual tendencies. But that’s okay Nancy, it’s nothing to be ashamed of, unless you’re a person of morals and integrity which it’s obvious you are not.
Are you a bigot? I’m appalled at your language implying that innocent posters who post in colourful language are homosexual. Perhaps you have repressed homosexual tendencies yourself. In any case what is wrong with being a homosexual? You’re a bigot who should be locked up in jail.
Apparently all of that “cocksucker” and “dickface” language meets your approval, and you insinuate that I’m gay? And that I should be locked up in jail for being a bigot? Hmmm, with the idea that people should be locked up for their beliefs and speech you just have to be a liberal. That is, liberal in what you yourself approve of but nothing else.
You have my sympathy. I am sorry for you and your difficulties with using great designed products. Your anger and negativity seem to need professional help perhaps. By your choice of language, you have shown us all that you were raised in much less than optimal conditions with little or no parenting. I truly feel sorry for you.
After upgrading my iPhone 4 the only problems I’ve had are it sometimes doesn’t want to register my login code correctly, and I’ve had to re-enter it.
But the thing that confuses me is HDR in the camera app. I tend to use it fairly often but now sometimes when it’s enabled it doesn’t work. Sometimes I’ve turned HDR off and back on and it works but not always. I’ve also had the HDR and flash at the top of the screen disappear and had to turn the phone off and back on for it to reappear.
I haven’t done the wife’s 4 and iPad yet since there’s no big rush, and I’d like for this to be resolved before I do.
“Leaving enough storage space free is also a good idea”
So, how much free space is a good idea? – On any iPhone?
You pathetic little freaks. Keep calm and learn to observe. I run ios 7.0.2 on iPhone 4 32gb for 2 weeks now and everything runs smoothly. I am even able to play Infinity Blade 3 without any problems. and i have noticed ZERO bugs. So just CHILL nerds. i was on 5.1.1 for far too long and when i tried ios 6 it was buggy and i downgraded again, now on ios 7 everything is perfect for me. QQ
I’ve loved iOS 7 on my 4S, even if it isn’t perfect. In addition to the background app stuff you can disable the parallax and higher-quality transparencies by going into the accessibility settings and enabling “reduce motion” and “increase contrast”. The UI feels just as fast as iOS 6 now.
When I first updated to iOS 7 on my iPhone 4, text entry was taking almost 5 seconds per character. The fix I found was to toggle off/on the Documents & Data switch in iCloud settings. Once I did that, text entry returned to normal.