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Updating from iOS 11. Should I?

L

LetteIT

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 9, 2022
72
12
Hello everyone! Please, I need your advice! What should I do?

In short, I have iPhone 8 Plus, 64gb, for a long time now, and it still runs iOS 11.0 (!.. yes, I know. It is what it is) from the box. Should I upgrade it still? I love this phone and am not planning to get a new one for now or in the near future. If upgrading, should I go for 14-something iOS version (saved on my computer), 15.6.1 (available for my phone now) or iOS 16 when it'll be received? I'm very concerned that any of those heavy updates may have a negative impact on my phone's system. Or, I've even heard that someone's phone was bricked after an unfortunate update. And then, there is no going back, no solution, right?

For now, it works fine, except some apps on it (including Internet browsers and Instagram) can't be updated anymore. Some web pages can't be opened or be displayed correctly. Also, I can't see my phone's battery health. And in general, I'd like to update my phone's system, but I'm very concerned, don't want to damage it.
 
LetteIT said:
But what about the concerns I've mentioned?
Click to expand...
Back it up first. Are you not concerned about the numinous security flaws on your outdated OS? I hope you don't have passwords or financial information saved on your phone. Just on the last .1 security patch they fixed an active exploit that was being used.

I don't recommend going for 16.0 as you might have issues. Don't wait forever but I think you're safe to hold out for 16.1. Right now 15.6.1 is stable
 
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russell_314 said:
Back it up first. Are you not concerned about the numinous security flaws on your outdated OS? I hope you don't have passwords or financial information saved on your phone. Just on the last .1 security patch they fixed an active exploit that was being used.

I don't recommend going for 16.0 as you might have issues. Don't wait forever but I think you're safe to hold out for 16.1. Right now 15.6.1 is stable
Click to expand...
Of course, I am concerned about security flaws of the outdated iOS.
Ok, but if I'll back it up and it will be bricked after an update? Is there a way to prevent that? The thing is, we don't know, how my specific phone will react to this update, especially with such a big iOS version jump...
 
If I were you, I’d never bother to upgrade iOS on that iPhone 8 and instead upgrade to iPhone 14 or sth. Security flaw isn’t a software exclusive issue, hardware security flaw exist too, which, you guessed it, can’t be fixed without replacing hardware. Sometimes those iPhone with older software can be helpful for folks with special needs. Who knows. At least it can work reliably as a backup phone, knowing the software is reliable and doesn’t really break.

On a side note, you CANNOT upgrade to iOS 14 cause apple doesn’t sign it anymore. Either 15.6.1 or whatever iOS 16 you want to go to.
 
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Shirasaki said:
On a side note, you CANNOT upgrade to iOS 14 cause apple doesn’t sign it anymore. Either 15.6.1 or whatever iOS 16 you want to go to.
Click to expand...
Do you mean, I cannot upgrade to iOS that was downloaded and saved on my PC? If it’s not the last, actual iOS, I cannot get it on my phone from PC? Did I get it right?
 
LetteIT said:
Do you mean, I cannot upgrade to iOS that was downloaded and saved on my PC? If it’s not the last, actual iOS, I cannot get it on my phone from PC? Did I get it right?
Click to expand...
Yes you can’t upgrade to iOS 14, unless you somehow has the skill or find the tool to fool your iPhone into allowing you to upgrade to that version of iOS. The version of iOS you can get now is iOS 15.6.1 or iOS 16.0. No other versions available for upgrade.
LetteIT said:
What is dev rc?
Click to expand...
Developer Release Candidate, basically a version before public release.
 
Shirasaki said:
Yes you can’t upgrade to iOS 14, unless you somehow has the skill or find the tool to fool your iPhone into allowing you to upgrade to that version of iOS. The version of iOS you can get now is iOS 15.6.1 or iOS 16.0. No other versions available for upgrade.

Developer Release Candidate, basically a version before public release.
Click to expand...
Thank you for clarifying! Well, I think, we shouldn’t make conclusions based on dev rc.
Ok, but if I decide to upgrade my iPhone after all, what are the chances that it will be bricked or overheat etc. because of that? That something bad will happen because of such big iOS version jump? And what can I do then? Are there any options to fix the phone then?
Doesn’t the fact that iPhone 8 Plus is compatible with iOS 16 mean that this iOS should run ok on this phone?
 
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LetteIT said:
Thank you for clarifying! Well, I think, we shouldn’t make conclusions based on dev rc.
Ok, but if I decide to upgrade my iPhone after all, what are the chances that it will be bricked or overheat etc. because of that? That something bad will happen because of such big iOS version jump? And what can I do then? Are there any options to fix the phone then?
Click to expand...
Once you upgrade to iOS 15.6.1 or whatever iOS 16, there’s no coming back. And newer iOS simply add features and overheads that may or may not be available or usable for your iPhone 8, but surely slow it down. The chance of bricking your phone due to upgrade is slim, same for overheating, tho it is not impossible.

I say it again, once you upgrade, there’s no coming back.
 
I would strongly recommend upgrading to anything 12 or later. 12 introduced major changes to how performance works across the system and it’ll make your 8 feel at least marginally faster. I don’t think upgrading to 16 would be bad, a family member of mine has an 8 on 15 and it’s running fine. As long as your battery health is okay typically updates aren’t anything to worry about.
 
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Shirasaki said:
Once you upgrade to iOS 15.6.1 or whatever iOS 16, there’s no coming back. And newer iOS simply add features and overheads that may or may not be available or usable for your iPhone 8, but surely slow it down. The chance of bricking your phone due to upgrade is slim, same for overheating, tho it is not impossible.

I say it again, once you upgrade, there’s no coming back.
Click to expand...
Yes, I know, there’s no coming back. And with bricking? There’s nothing you can do if that happens? It’s impossible to fix it?
 
Mr. Awesome said:
I would strongly recommend upgrading to anything 12 or later. 12 introduced major changes to how performance works across the system and it’ll make your 8 feel at least marginally faster. I don’t think upgrading to 16 would be bad, a family member of mine has an 8 on 15 and it’s running fine. As long as your battery health is okay typically updates aren’t anything to worry about.
Click to expand...
Well, I cannot get iOS lower than that’s available now. Thank you for sharing experience of your family member! I’m not sure that the battery is in very good condition because of how old my phone is…
 
I wonder, is there a difference between upgrading iOS gradually and making such big iOS jump? The difference in phone’s reaction to the upgrade?
 
LetteIT said:
Yes, I know, there’s no coming back. And with bricking? There’s nothing you can do if that happens? It’s impossible to fix it?
Click to expand...
I think DFU could save your phone from a bricked upgrade. But if all fails, contact apple and see how they respond.
LetteIT said:
I wonder, is there a difference between upgrading iOS gradually and making such big iOS jump? The difference in phone’s reaction to the upgrade?
Click to expand...
Id say not much difference in terms of reactions. Don’t worry about it.
 
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Shirasaki said:
I think DFU could save your phone from a bricked upgrade. But if all fails, contact apple and see how they respond.

Id say not much difference in terms of reactions. Don’t worry about it.
Click to expand...
Thank you! I’ll read about DFU mode then, just in case… And if my phone’s battery health is not in best condition, I shouldn’t upgrade? Or it’s ok, and maybe later I can just change battery?
 
sorgo said:
Just upgrade to iOS 16 on Monday :)
Click to expand...
You need to do clean install to minimize system issues. It’s a big jump from 11 to 15/16. I experienced boot loop in the past, when update from 10 to 12.
I would suggest to go to 15.7 (will be released shortly). iOS 16 will require more system resources (hence, slower, shorter battery life, more laggy) than 15.
 
Isamilis said:
You need to do clean install to minimize system issues. It’s a big jump from 11 to 15/16. I experienced boot loop in the past, when update from 10 to 12.
I would suggest to go to 15.7 (will be released shortly). iOS 16 will require more system resources (hence, slower, shorter battery life, more laggy) than 15.
Click to expand...
What do you mean by clean install? What should I do to minimize system issues? What to do with boot loop?
 
LetteIT said:
Thank you! I’ll read about DFU mode then, just in case… And if my phone’s battery health is not in best condition, I shouldn’t upgrade? Or it’s ok, and maybe later I can just change battery?
Click to expand...
Battery is considered consumable. If it is not in good shape, consider replacing it. Unfortunately, you will never know how YOUR battery and your use case react with upgrade beforehand. Just be ready to replace it when time comes.
 
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LetteIT said:
Well, I cannot get iOS lower than that’s available now. Thank you for sharing experience of your family member! I’m not sure that the battery is in very good condition because of how old my phone is…
Click to expand...
👍 Just thought I’d mention it in case you also had a copy of 12 somewhere or something.
 
Mr. Awesome said:
👍 Just thought I’d mention it in case you also had a copy of 12 somewhere or something.
Click to expand...
You can’t install versions of iOS that aren’t being signed by Apple, even if you have a copy of the installer. There hasn’t been a version of iOS 12 eligible to install on an iPhone 8 in years.
 
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LetteIT said:
Well, I cannot get iOS lower than that’s available now. Thank you for sharing experience of your family member! I’m not sure that the battery is in very good condition because of how old my phone is…
Click to expand...
I would recommend having Apple replace the battery before you upgrade. I had the battery in my X replaced by them and there was a noticeable improvement in overall performance. Well worth the cost. Newer versions of iOS demand more battery performance due to the added features and functionality and I'm sure your worn battery will suffer
 
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