back to article French operator pooh-poohs iOS4

French network operator SFR is thumbing its nose at Apple by telling customers to think carefully before upgrading to iOS 4. In a text message sent to subscribers the operator explains that upgrading to iOS 4 significantly slows down the menus of iPhone 3G and 3GS*, and that should they be tempted to go for it anyway the …

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  1. paul 97
    Thumb Up

    Vive la france

    They dont take no sh*t and are immune to the apple reality distortion field!

  2. The_Police!
    Coat

    Remember,

    it is not a problem but a feature!

  3. GregC
    Joke

    ...upgrade to an iPhone 4 and the issue disappears.

    Along with the signal, presumably...

    1. A Non e-mouse Silver badge
      Thumb Down

      & Nike Plus

      There's a large thread on the Nike forums about how iOS 4 has broken Nike Plus. The official Nike employees on the forum seem rather embarassed by Apple's screw-up

      1. daka

        Same here

        Same thing happened to me when launching RunKeeper. Force killing mail and safari sorts it though.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        possibly

        they might want to keep quiet about it, before anybody asks, why a device that contains all of the hardware, by default, necessary to be a full gps run tracker, should need extra chips and extra external hardware just so that it can count someone's steps and calculate speed/distance from a pre-calibrated stride?

        whoops, i just asked!

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Go

    i have a 3GS

    and it seems fine, maybe 3G models are effected more?

    1. Eponymous Howard

      Maybe...

      ..but my 3G is fine (I still suspect this because I was patient at allowed the upgrade to finish properly).

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Go

      RE: i have a 3GS

      Me too. No problems here.

      Being able to group applications into folders is a great time-saver too :)

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Agreed

      Of all of my iPhone owning friends, only those with the 3G and not the 3GS are having issues with iOS4.

    4. Richard Gadsden 1

      3GS is definitely much less affected than 3G

      The 3GS is much more reasonable than the 3G when running iOS4. Frankly, I think iOS4 was a mistake on the 3G; the hardware just isn't up to it.

    5. Anomalous Cowherd Silver badge

      I believe that's the case

      3G has half the RAM of a 3GS, and the only complaints I've heard have been from 3G owners - makes sense that iOS4 needs more memory than the previous release.

    6. Chris McFaul

      correct

      the 3GS only suffers from marginal slowdowns, most people probably wouldnt notice, the 3G is basically crippled (the "S" obviously has a much more powerful processor and can cope with the demanding OS4 more easily)

  5. Peter Storm

    Eh?

    "significantly slows down the menus of iPhone 3G and 3GS"

    Bollocks does it. I haven't noticed any difference at all.

    Bloody French.

    1. luas_dublin
      FAIL

      not much fun on the 3g

      Fair play to the french for admitting there's a problem.

      No idea about the 3gs, but it absolutely crippled my 8gb 3G , it went from responding to commands instantly to being incredibly sluggish and hanging a hell of a lot.Nothing better than not being able to answer a call because the phone has waited 15 seconds to recognize that you've swiped the screen. The only "fix" I can find (bar downgrading which isnt that straightforward to do as far as I've seen) is to reset (home and top button) twice in a row , once a day (possibly there's some sort of cache clearance going on there,I've no idea why but its seems to work , at least for a while.

      ifI didnt know better I''d assume Apple were recommending an update that knackers their 'older but still on sale until fairly recently 'model to force people to start upgrade to a newer model? But they'd never do that ....right?

      1. James R Grinter

        Disabling spotlight indexing

        On the 3G, as reported by others, turning off the Spotlight search options (Settings > General > Home Button) and switching off/on again definitely makes a difference. How much is hard to quantify, and reports are mixed as to whether it's ok if you turn them back on again afterwards.

    2. Gareth Stephens

      Well my iPhone 3G was virtually unusable

      After upgrading to iOS 4 my 3G was terrible, things in generally were slow even trying thing such as "Double Hard Resets" only worked for a short while, many apps were prone to crashing and were slow and worst of all for me it stopped playing nice with the car stereo.

      So I reverted it back to 3.1.3 and it really did highlight the performance difference between 3.1.3 and iOS4.

      Perhaps it's a function of how you use it and the apps you have on there, but just because it didn't affect you doesn't mean everyone else is mad. By the same token if I was the only person with issues doesn't meant everyone else is - but I think it's established that there are issues with iOS4 - particularly on the 3G.

  6. Steve Pettifer
    Thumb Down

    Sure I'll upgrade to an iPhone 4

    Just as soon as they fix the inherent design flaws, give it to me for free and don't make me sign another 2 year contract but rather let the second year of my existing 2 years contract continue as normal. If that doesn't happen and they don't sort out the iOS4 problems then there's no way I'll be upgrading my 3GS, and even if they do I still won't upgrade until I can jailbreak it again so I can have my apps (which I paid good money for) that Apple decided I wasn't allowed. So all in all, customer experience fail from Apple. Yet again.

    When will people stop buying into the bullshit PR and think for themselves? Sure, they make a couple of nice products (and a number of pointless, over priced ones of limited use), but my god the utter contempt with which they treat their consumers is staggering yet because jobs (intentional lower case) trots out some fancy pants PR statement everyone fawns over them and forgives them practically anything. As Keyser Soze said, the greatest trick the devil pulled off was to convince everyone he didn't exist. Apple's equivalent is to convince everyone that they're really a happy-go-lucky kinda company that really cares about it's consumers.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Pint

      So you did succumb to the said BS yourself then?

      "don't make me sign another 2 year contract but rather let the second year of my existing 2 years contract continue as normal"

      "When will people stop buying into the bullshit PR and think for themselves?"

      So after your rant you still use the phone instead of simply cutting your loses and going somewhere else?

  7. JaitcH
    Jobs Horns

    Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau had a phrase

    he used on striking postal workers which the French network operator could say to Jobs: "Manger la merde!".

    Although dead, Trudeau looks wiser with every passing year.

    1. Ken Hagan Gold badge

      Re: Pierre Trudeau

      "Although dead, Trudeau looks wiser with every passing year."

      Possibly not the compliment you intended, since this could be explained by regression to the mean.

  8. Chris McFaul
    Stop

    irreversible

    If you havent jailbroken (to back up your blobs) and have a 3GS, then the upgrade is currently totally irreversible

    1. David Beeston
      Stop

      Not quite irreversible

      I downgraded a friends iPhone 3G yesterday from iOS4 to 3.1.3. It wasn't that hard really. His wasn't jailbroken or anything, just a bog standard 3G running very slowly on iOS4.

      Tutorials all over the place for this online.

      Simples.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        FAIL

        3G != 3GS

        It should go without saying, but apparently it doesn't. The 3GS has more DRM BS built in than the 3G. Things that are possible with the 3G may not be possible wig the 3GS.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Grenade

    Peter Storm says no issues

    Never trust a man named after a cheap coat from Millets, are you Steve Jobs in disguise?

  10. adrianww
    WTF?

    Yawn...

    ...is anyone else getting a bit tired of all the iPhone/iOS 4 dead-horse-flogging in all corners of the press (yes, even including you, my dear beloved El Reg)?

    Does the iPhone 4 have an antenna problem? Almost certainly.

    Has it still sold like hot cakes? Looks like it.

    Do all of the people who now have an iPhone 4 experience difficulties due to the antenna problem? Almost certainly not - in spite of all the reports and rants that I've read in the press, I've yet to meet an iPhone 4 owner who has suffered from it. OK, so I only know a handful of people who have an iPhone 4 thus far, anecdotal evidence, etc. etc. But...I have asked the folks I know who _do_ have one and precisely _none_ of them have reported any issues. At all, under any circumstances, grip-of-death or not. And that includes at least one person who lives/works in the same, occasionally marginal, O2 coverage area as me.

    Can the iOS 4 upgrade cause problems on iPhone 3G and 3GS? It's looking like it.

    Is it absolutely necessary to install the iOS 4 upgrade on your 3G or 3GS? Hell no - it's not as if it's bringing anything really breathtaking to the party is it? Whether you love 'em or hate 'em, the 3G and 3GS do what they do quite well enough for most people's day-to-day purposes just as they are.

    Is it sensible to install the upgrade on your 3G or 3GS? Probably not, unless you're absolutely gagging and frothing for it.

    Right, I think that covers all the major bases doesn't it? Can't we just talk about something else now?

    1. This post has been deleted by its author

      1. Chris 244
        Coat

        Who Still Sells Hotcakes?

        iHop

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Stop

      RE: Title Needed

      "Is it sensible to install the upgrade on your 3G or 3GS? Probably not, unless you're absolutely gagging and frothing for it."

      You haven't met many Apple users, have you?

      If your statement was delicious irony, then I missed it.

    3. Steve Evans

      Nope..

      We shall continue the flogging until the distortion field is neutralised!

      As for selling like hot cake I have seen more iPads than iPhones flaws... Namely 1 iPad.

  11. Robert Hill

    This is SO typical....

    This is so typical of ALL upgrades that put a new OS on older hardware (except tiny Linux installs!). I mean, it's the equivalent of putting Windows 7 on a 486-based PC. It....will....be....painful. And not really work, unless you strip out a lot of the features. The new OS was designed for hardware a generation or two more powerful - if you want it, then get new hardware.

    I haven't even tried to upgrade my 3G, nor would I. It is a shame that Apple even tells people to try....

    1. Ken Hagan Gold badge
      Coat

      Re: new OS on older hardware

      Putting Win7 on my 1GHz P3 made it twice as fast, compared to Vista.

      Just sayin'...

  12. Seanmon
    Stop

    'coz...

    ...there's no problems at all with the iPhone4, is there?

  13. TheFifth

    3G oui, 3GS non

    I have several friends with the 3G and iOS4 is a bit of a nightmare, but I have to say on my 3GS it's perfectly fine. Nice and fast and works great. From the reading I've done I was led to believe it was a 3G only problem.

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    I have a 3G

    I have a 3G with plenty of spare capacity. I "allowed the upgrade to finish properly" and still it runs like a dog. To the point that it's completely unusable.

    I'm now looking to ditch my phone for something that responds in the same time zone as when I started the action.

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    having problems with iOS4 on the 3G?

    Upgrade to iPhone 4.

    Not that big a deal.

    Steve J.

  16. Pahhh
    Stop

    Have a 3G ... my experience was different

    Have a 3G and my experience of the upgrade wasnt great but not catistrophic. After the upgrade the phone was so slow it was awful. Scrolling was a dog, heck everything was a dog. I actually thought it was a massive downgrade.

    BUT, I turned the device off and after a reboot the phone was ok. Actually I think it was better.

    I have since done a complete clean reset as Ive upgraded to the 4G and gave the handset to the wife. Old phone is still running iOS4 and I really dont see any issues with it. Wife super happy with it and I dont see any issues when i use her phone.

    I would 100% testify that post upgrade the phone is crud but in my experience rebooting sorted things out.

  17. Roger Mew

    Surprised, not me

    The French attitude is if it looks pretty its OK. I live in France and am appalled by the old spec stuff mainly due to the govts attitude it must be in French. Motherboards are old spec, the ISP's give out software that allows them to "see" into your computer, the modems frequently are designed to "drop out" after so long causing skype and messenger to have problems, viz cannot be used like a phone system, mal working ISP and mobile phone systems are "just accepted", fraud mobile phone and domestic phone calls are allowed and nothing done so it surprises me not about SFR which incidentally is erm.. vodaphone!!!

    1. Nadjau
      Joke

      homofone

      All that money spent on branding, and still people type Vodaphone.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Thumb Down

      You live in France. Really?

      I don't recognise France from the picture that you paint;

      "Motherboards are old spec "

      France has many online IT retailers who will sell you the latest kit.

      "due to the govts attitude it must be in French."

      Not sure what you mean. Motherboards used in France are the same as anywhere else. There aren't special French versions. Most manufacturers internationalise their products so manuals etc come in many languages.

      "the ISP's give out software that enables them to "see" into your computer"

      Name them, I don't know of any that do this.

      "modems are designed to drop out"

      Modems and routers in France are basically the same as every where else. i.e. comply with international standards and are manufactured in the far east. If your modem is "dropping out" its probably because you live in a rural area (France has lots of countryside) and you've got poor line quality.

      Problems with phone systems and phone fraud are not unique to France.

      Sorry but you sound to me like a little Englander expecting everything to be the same as it was in the UK.

  18. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    iPhone problems?

    Purchase a decent phone and not a (supposed) status symbol.

    Think Differently

  19. Richard Cartledge
    Thumb Up

    STRIKE!

    Striking fanbois should blockade the Apple Stores.

  20. Spender
    FAIL

    "Double Hard Reset"?

    WTF? A quick search of "the brain" reveals that this is common iPhone parlance. Once again... WTF?

    1. Arctic fox
      WTF?

      Well 'ard reset 'Arry.

      Had to google the phrase to understand. Two forced shutdowns in a row? Cures the problem apparently? And then "it just works"? I think its a little bit much when a company recommends the update for your phone and you end up having to kick it in the arse repeatedly to get it to work properly.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Pint

      Sounds quaint

      Sounds like that quaint old act of bashing the bloody life of of the TV when the picture went funny, donkeys year's ago!

  21. ZenCoder

    TinyUmbrella.

    In order to install firmware, you need a code form apple unique to your device id and the firmware version. So you can only downgrade with Apple's permission and they are not giving it.

    You can use a program called TinyUmbrella saves the code for your current firmware giving you the freedom to revert to that firmware at a latter date. But you have to run it prior to updating.

    There are work around for the older models, but currently if you have a iPhone 3GS with the new bootrom and you don't using TinyUmbrella (or Cydia) to backup your "shsh blob" before upgrading to 4.0 you are forever stuck on 4.0.

  22. Anonymous Coward
    Heart

    Possibly

    I have a 3GS. It did seem a little slower upon upgrading to iOS 4. iOS 4.0.1 seemed to improve things a little though.

    Right now the problem seems to be running multiple apps. By default apps just stay open when you leave them (so far I haven't found a way of exiting any app). Once you have a fair few open, it seem that everything is a little laggy on the phone. Perhaps not when you're within apps, but generally navigating around the phone's interface. To fix this, every so often I'll close all of my open apps. That and a reboot seem to be to have the same effect of making the phone more responsive.

    It's a shame, especially since Apple went to such pains when introducing multi tasking, wanting to avoid these kinds of issues.

    I wouldn't say it's such a large problem as a reason not to upgrade to iOS 4. There are a lot of features which make the upgrade worthwhile. The fact that it's slightly laggy doesn't make it slow. It's noticeable since the iPhone is usually extremely responsive, specially when compared to other smartphones.

    Here's hoping that 4.1 will address these issues :-)

  23. Anthony Hulse

    Battery life

    No problems whatsoever with menu response on my 3GS, but I wish they'd sort out what it's done to the battery life. iOS4 has halved the time the phone can go between recharges. Not good.

  24. Real Name

    4.1 fixes it.

    Already confirmed by devs that 4.1 fixes it.

  25. Anonymous Coward
    Grenade

    bulky bloaty OS

    so...typical usual 'upgrades' - where the new OS is bloaty and far less snappy.

    imagine how fast the iPhone4 would be should it run an OS lighter and more efficient - eg IOS 3 - what are the features being put into the system that require so much more RAM and CPU ? are they really required for a phone? in the age of worries about energy we get smartphones that require more power and more charging. makes sense? nope.

  26. Joc

    Apple . . . . It just works

    As long as you have the latest shiny hardware - and hold it properly

  27. Antoinette Lacroix

    Meh

    Iphone, Ipad, Ifsck . . . Can we have a "No Apple news" day PLEASE ?

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