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Tech savvy folk - any issues running an old iPhone?

Dave H.

Dave H.

Revolutionary relativist
My partner has a knackered phone. I have an old iPhone 4 lying around. Given that she’s not bothered about having a recent model, the solution seems obvious.

But then I thought about the fact that iPhone 4s can only be updated to iOS 7. The phone runs the os fine as far as I can see, that’s not a problem. But iOS 7 is pretty old now.

So I’m wondering about security-type issues. Does anyone know if there’s some kind of dire security risk or anything like that associated with using an iPhone 4 in 2018? Or should it be fine?
 
Not too long ago I had to dig out an old iPhone 4s when my main phone died, it did surprisingly well, although I don't use iTunes or any of that guff but as a phone it seemed to work fine, took a little getting used to the tiny screen and keyboard though!
 
It'll make you realise how much of the advance in the last ten years is redundant.

I recently had a spell with a vintage Samsung when my lead broke, no problem at all and we're going SIM only as contracts expire.

If you're worried about security I did have an AV package of some sort on one phone. You might find a suitable app.
 
Yeah, one of the things I’ve noticed since digging it out & setting it up for use as an iPod is how well it seems to work.

Limited, of course, but for what it is, it still seems great. Even the screen looks pretty good.

Good thought on the security software - I use malwarebytes on an old android tablet for the same reason, but it hadn’t occurred to me with this phone. D’oh!
 
Until a few months ago I was a contented user of a 3gs iPhone. The only thing that forced me to upgrade was apps I relied on (e.g. Sonos controller) no longer being supported on the old iOS.
 
Apps will stop working on it at some point, as droodzilla said.

I have a couple of iPod Touch models A1367, 4th Gen, which apparently only go as far as iOS7. My main use for them was for listening on BBC iPlayer Radio, but at some point in the last few years, the app stopped working, and the only working version of the app now requires a later version of the OS. Without being able to get the app working, they're both dead weight.
 
formbypc said:
Apps will stop working on it at some point, as droodzilla said.

I have a couple of iPod Touch models A1367, 4th Gen, which apparently only go as far as iOS7. My main use for them was for listening on BBC iPlayer Radio, but at some point in the last few years, the app stopped working, and the only working version of the app now requires a later version of the OS. Without being able to get the app working, they're both dead weight.
Click to expand...

Aha yeah I used to use the iPlayer radio app, but I found it more awkward to navigate than the web version, which also works on phones.

Maybe it’ll help your devices live again, maybe not, but I use this link - https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/categories/comedy
 
Seems to be part of the Apple business model; I remember something similar with Kindle on my mother's old iPad.

It's stuff like this that drove me back to Android.
 
There's very very little point (or benefit) to installing AV on an iphone.
 
dweezil said:
Seems to be part of the Apple business model; I remember something similar with Kindle on my mother's old iPad.

It's stuff like this that drove me back to Android.
Click to expand...

Surely it applies even more there as most phones OS is never upgraded, or if they are it is only possible for a year or two. Apple kit tends to have an upgrade life of 6-7 years, which is amazing in the phone marketplace. IIRC the percentage of Android users running the current OS version is something like 12%, whereas for Apple it is more like 85%!
 
The 4s can have ios9 on it, my daughters phone seems to be running OK and survives with music.ally and instagram and all that kind of stuff running on it.
 
i have a 4s its great fits in my jeans pocket call and tx's and the odd photo, just fine i do not want a huge phone in my pocket, size IS everything
 
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