Any issues running old iPhones?

Posted by: Dave***t on 11 July 2018

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. 

So 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?

Posted on: 11 July 2018 by winkyincanada

The old phone will likely struggle with the newer OS which is designed for higher processing capability. But it might still work. Nothing to lose by trying it. If there is a "hard" compatibility issue, the update may not be possible.

Posted on: 11 July 2018 by Dave***t

Hi Winky, cheers for the response.

It’s already running iOS 7, as it’s being used as an iPod at the moment. It seems to run fine, so that’s not an issue.

I was thinking more of data security and that sort of thing, ie are iOS 7 devices a security liability nowadays, or are they nothing to worry about?

Posted on: 12 July 2018 by Derek Wright

I have an iPhone 3  - the last of the curved sides, I think I bought it secondhand in 2011. The battery has expanded in size and pushed open the case.

So be aware that you could be entering into a self destruct time.

Posted on: 12 July 2018 by Gavin B

As you seem to have realised, the old items (phones and pads) won't update to the most recent ios version - but I don't think that's a problem unless there are security gaps. Such gaps, I suppose, might only relate to later versions of apps etc. anyway. You might not be able to download some apps - the current versions might only run on later versions of ios. It doesn't sound like a problem though.

I suppose the secrutiy thing depends on what the phone will be used for!

Posted on: 12 July 2018 by Dave***t

Oh dear Derek, that doesn’t sound ideal! I’ll keep an eye on it for signs of similar problems.

For security I’ll check out the anti malware apps, hopefully something will fit the bill & pug the gap.

Posted on: 12 July 2018 by Stephen D

Currently running iPhone 4s on ios10.something.  The biggest lag I experience is the fingerprint indemnification.  Get charge every night  - all night and used all day for work.  Still going........