Complete Apple noob needs advice

[Frikkie5000]

I just got my hands on a good condition iPhone 6 and was wondering if ya'll Apple peeps can give me some advice. It still has iOS 9 installed.

1) Is it really that necessary to upgrade the OS? I've read so many horror stories of people saying their iPhone 6 basically became useless after the upgrade with horrible battery drain and random crashes.

Seeing as new shiny features aren't important to me and I'm only looking for a functional communication device, what terrible things will befall me if I don't update the OS?

2) What is the story with the battery replacement drives at iStores for R450 or something? Is this something I need to do?

 

[Tim_vb]

1) not really, my mom's iPhone 5s work fine with the latest update. Most apps don't support more than two versions of iOS back so this needs to be done

2) Probably needs to be done but not necessarily at iStore. Other places tend to be far quicker and often cheaper. The latest iOS has a battery health indicator report

 

[SauRoNZA]

I just got my hands on a good condition iPhone 6 and was wondering if ya'll Apple peeps can give me some advice. It still has iOS 9 installed.

1) Is it really that necessary to upgrade the OS? I've read so many horror stories of people saying their iPhone 6 basically became useless after the upgrade with horrible battery drain and random crashes.

Seeing as new shiny features aren't important to me and I'm only looking for a functional communication device, what terrible things will befall me if I don't update the OS?

I think forget the hearsay and nonsense stories and just keep it up to date.

I say this while using an iPhone 6 right now and having always used the latest iOS update when it came out. And still having an iPhone 5S in the house also on the latest which works just fine.

Apple is NOT Android and if that's your point of reference then the same logic doesn't apply. Apple rather cuts off hardware from the newer versions than support a device badly.

Battery drain for a few charges after a major version update can be normal for a great many reasons. Best way is to simply crash all your apps before hitting that update button so nothing residual remains.

Then do a full hard reboot (hold Home + Power until you see Apple logo) after upgrading and you are good to go.

2) What is the story with the battery replacement drives at iStores for R450 or something? Is this something I need to do?

I wouldn't do it unless Battery Health tells you it's necessary to service it.

The irony here is you need the latest update to get Battery Health...so you are already presented with your first reason to stay up to date.


Also being a noob it's even more reason to always be on the latest iOS because when you inevitably ask questions about something people will be able to guide you much more accurately and easily and if you were to use official support channels the first thing they would ask of you is to upgrade.

 

[bigboy529]

Upgrade to the latest iOS, for a start you'll find that a lot of apps won't work because they require a newer iOS.
As for the battery thing, if battery health tells you to replace it, then do it only at a iStore nowhere else. If someone else does it and screws it up, iStore won't touch your phone to try sort out the mess.

Finally, welcome to the dark side.

 

[Frikkie5000]

Thanks everyone. I used some third party app thingy called iBackupBot to check the battery of the phone and it says it's capacity is at 90% after 141 charge cycles.

I'm actually marginally impressed with the battery thus far. I got about 6 hours of screen on time and about 18 hours of standby (3 hours of web browsing, 3 hours of messing with settings and installing apps like whatsapp and gmail). Granted, this was on battery saver mode, but it's still usable.

I use only 3 apps and all of them seem to be working fine on iOS 9 (whatsapp, gmail absa banking).

 

[snorbaard]

Honestly - just upgrade your darn phone.

With iOS 11 you don't have to use weird-ass software to check your battery level. It will tell you right under the Battery settings.

With an iPhone 6 you'll be fine with iOS 11, and you'll have access to a great deal of additional security and better software.

Apart from that, you're missing out on crucial security updates (there are specifically a few well-crafted messages people can send you via WhatsApp & iMessage that will freeze, crash, or cause your phone to go into a boot loop under certain circumstance).
Upgrade to iOS 11 before iOS 12 becomes mandatory around November-ish.

The Battery option will also tell you when it's time to get a new battery, so you can just make an appointment with an iStore in advance and get a brand new battery once they're ready for you.