Need help with an iPhone problem

[disneysteve]

I have an old iPhone 3. Yesterday morning, I restarted it and after I did, one of my game apps (Farkle Live) stopped working. It just won't launch. I tried to uninstall and reinstall it but when I tried, I got a message that the app requires iOS 4.3. I have iOS 4.2.1. I plugged in and tried to sync and update but was told that I have the most up-to-date version of the OS. So if 4.2.1 is the most current version according to iTunes, what do I do now? Is it possible that the app is no longer compatible with the older iPhones? I've e-mailed the app customer support and am waiting to hear back from them.

[MEK]

I have an iphone 4 which does not have the latest operating system and my mac is so old I can't synch with itunes. I am going to the verizon store to have them upload it (since verizon is my carrier). Apple store or you cell phone carrier perhaps? Good luck!

[jennypenny]

I'm having the same problem with my iPhone 3. My Chase app (which I use to pay bills) no longer works. I've had a few stop working over the last few months. The phone works fine so I don't want to pay to upgrade. Annoying!

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by jennypenny

I'm having the same problem with my iPhone 3. My Chase app (which I use to pay bills) no longer works. I've had a few stop working over the last few months. The phone works fine so I don't want to pay to upgrade. Annoying!

It is planned obsolescence. Little by little, they make it so that you are almost forced to upgrade. I have been planning to get an iPhone 5 but I wanted to give them a few month to work out the bugs that always accompany a new product and new OS release. If I'm going to start losing apps, I may need to upgrade sooner than planned. That won't be a terrible thing, of course, since the 3 is so darned slow. There are things I can't do on there anyway just because of that.

[disneysteve]

I just did a search and at Apple's site, I found info on the iOS 4.3 update. It is not compatible with the iPhone 3, only with the 3GS, so I guess I'm out of luck until I upgrade my phone.

[Gregawsk8]

If you have an iPhone 3 you should be due for an upgrade and I think you can still get an iPhone 4 for free or $1.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by Gregawsk8

If you have an iPhone 3 you should be due for an upgrade and I think you can still get an iPhone 4 for free or $1.

That's true. I am due for an upgrade, but that doesn't mean I should be forced to do so. I realize technology is constantly changing but something should be useable for more than a couple of years before I have no choice but to replace it if I want to continue to use it. That's what annoys me.

As I said, I do intend to upgrade but it should be on my schedule, not theirs.

[tjevans]

Originally Posted by disneysteve

That's true. I am due for an upgrade, but that doesn't mean I should be forced to do so. I realize technology is constantly changing but something should be useable for more than a couple of years before I have no choice but to replace it if I want to continue to use it. That's what annoys me.

As I said, I do intend to upgrade but it should be on my schedule, not theirs.

I assume you mean an iPhone 3G. There is no iPhone 3. If so, that phone came out in 2008, which is forever ago in technology, especially mobile technology.

You're not being forced to upgrade, and even if you were, THE PHONE IS 4 YEARS OLD! You're talking about an industry that measures generations in months, not years. It's as if you're complaining your computer from 1984 isn't supported anymore.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by tjevans

I assume you mean an iPhone 3G. There is no iPhone 3. If so, that phone came out in 2008, which is forever ago in technology, especially mobile technology.

You're not being forced to upgrade, and even if you were, THE PHONE IS 4 YEARS OLD! You're talking about an industry that measures generations in months, not years. It's as if you're complaining your computer from 1984 isn't supported anymore.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

Yeah, I know. And yes, it is a 3G. Of course, even though the model was launched 4 years ago, I haven't had it 4 years and it hasn't been 4 years since Apple stopped selling it. So support is starting to drop off for a product that they were still marketing in mid-2010. Something just seems wrong with that to me. Maybe I'm being too old fashioned but the lifespan of a product ought to be more than 2 years even when we're talking about high-tech stuff.

[Spaceace5150]

Originally Posted by tjevans

I assume you mean an iPhone 3G. There is no iPhone 3. If so, that phone came out in 2008, which is forever ago in technology, especially mobile technology.

You're not being forced to upgrade, and even if you were, THE PHONE IS 4 YEARS OLD! You're talking about an industry that measures generations in months, not years. It's as if you're complaining your computer from 1984 isn't supported anymore.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

It is 4 years old. So what? A product that cost at least $199 (subsidized - who knows what the full price is) should be able to be used for more than 4 years. The fact that it is not able to be used is ridiculous. You are right, the original poster isn't complaining that a 1984 computer (28 years old) isn't still working, they are complaining about a 4 year old product.

[MEK]

Originally Posted by disneysteve

That's true. I am due for an upgrade, but that doesn't mean I should be forced to do so. I realize technology is constantly changing but something should be useable for more than a couple of years before I have no choice but to replace it if I want to continue to use it. That's what annoys me.

As I said, I do intend to upgrade but it should be on my schedule, not theirs.

Amen! I am already losing a lot of apps on my iphone 4 because I don't have the upgrade, but I'm glad to know I will eventually get around to it. Well, on second thought, I probably shouldn't wait too long!

[tjevans]

Originally Posted by Spaceace5150

It is 4 years old. So what? A product that cost at least $199 (subsidized - who knows what the full price is) should be able to be used for more than 4 years. The fact that it is not able to be used is ridiculous. You are right, the original poster isn't complaining that a 1984 computer (28 years old) isn't still working, they are complaining about a 4 year old product.

Yes, it's 4 years old. A product that's on a yearly release cycle, so it's 4 generations ago in a market where probably 90% or more of the market is on a yearly or bi-yearly purchase cycle.

I assume from OP's remarks he bought the phone in 2010, when it was already outdated. Now, in my opinion, I don't think it should have still been sold at that point because in technology, the emphasis isn't on when the last one was sold, it's on when did it first come out. Nevertheless, if you buy a technology product two years after it debuted, you have to expect diminished capacity much sooner than if you buy the most recent model. That's the trade off you make for getting it at a reduced price.

I think we're just going to have to agree to disagree, because to me, it's unreasonable to have support for a product that is four generations old.

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[Euphscott]

It's more of an issue of Apple has no resources (and no financial benefit) to support the old technology. Someone actually has to do the extra work to make the old units compatible. If they all had the same capabilities - then the software updates could be applied ad inifinitum..

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by tjevans

I assume from OP's remarks he bought the phone in 2010, when it was already outdated.

I did buy my phone in 2010. So what? At the time, there were only 2 available models of the iPhone - the 3G and the 3GS. To say the 3G was outdated is really an overstatement. The 4 didn't exist yet. Feeling no burning desire to own the latest, most expensive model, I opted for the 3G. I did so after interviewing staff at the store and learning that the differences between the two were rather minimal and not really worth the added cost. The salesperson actually advised getting the 3G, not the 3GS.

I'm happy to agree to disagree because I'm not going to change my mind here. A phone that was being actively marketed in 2010 as one of only two available models shouldn't be unsupported in 2012.

BTW, I just discovered this evening that I can no longer use the ebay app either. I see a 5 in my near future.

[cslittle999]

This isn't really Apple's problem. They can't have the latest OS on the older devices because they are physically incapable of running them in any acceptable way.

Your problem is that app developers have stopped supporting the older OS's. It's definitely a choice on there part. From the app developer perspective people with newer devices, or devices on the latest OS's, tend to buy more apps so that's where they put their focus. that same focus also let's them minimize the number of device/OS combinations they need to test on.