In the absence of an official Apple firmware fix, there is a limited amount of things a frustrated iPhone 3G user can do if their phone is having performance problems since upgrading to iOS 4. If you’re lucky enough to have an old 3.1.x firmware backup on your computer, then downgrading is a possibility, as is jailbreaking the phone, however these do carry risks and may not appeal to the average user.
Suffering in silence or counting the days until you change your phone are among the other options, but if your iPhone is merely sluggish, give this fix a try, as it appears to have worked for some people:
- Hit Settings.
- Then General.
- Select Home Button.
- You’ll see Spotlight Search at the bottom of the screen, tap that.
- You’re now presented with a list of areas that Spotlight searches, all with ticks next to them.
- Tap each option to remove the ticks.
- Exit.
According to the author of this trick, some of the 3G’s problems come from indexing so turning off the Spotlight search could provide some performance gains. The obvious problem with this is if you use Spotlight, this will stop it searching anything except for online sources, so do be aware.
Personally, doing this seems to have made my 3G slightly more stable, especially on the unlock screen – the slider now matches up with the sound effect and the screen dissolve – plus opening and closing applications is more like it used to be. I’m not going to discount the placebo effect here, but since I hardly ever use Spotlight, I may as well leave it disabled!
Make sure you let us know if you notice any difference after applying this simple tweak.
(source: Modmyi)
![Jailbreaking news: Trick iTunes into thinking you have iPhone OS 3.1.3 [UPDATED]](http://www.iphonefreak.com/wp-content/themes/freshnews/thumb.php?src=/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/iphone3gofficial.png&h=28&w=28&zc=1&q=80)
July 29th, 2010 at 8:27 am
I found this tip two days ago and it did make my iPhone 3G work faster. Messages open faster, iPod doesn’t suddenly crash when opened as well as the slide/square/sound sync and animations are more more in sync.
Still, can’t wait for Apple to really fix this. I only see the “folders” option, everything else (mutlitasking, background images) are disabled -where does this huge load come from then?!
July 29th, 2010 at 3:07 pm
Well, I have also tried this trick more than a week ago. At first it seemed ok, but after a few days it started getting slow again. I also heard of resetting your iPhone's settings, same as with the Spotlight, it worked at first, but later not. I also tried restarting my iPhone 3G a few times, as I read it could help, but same story there. So now I'm just waiting for a fix, or if the problem persists, I may just 'abandon' Apple
July 29th, 2010 at 3:19 pm
If you are jailbroken use SBSettings to kill running apps and free memory every so often…3G runs great even with multitasking enabled. If you are not jailbroken install Free Memory or MemoryInfo both of these apps will kill running apps and free memory. They really work and will make your 3G run like you just did a reboot. Also a free app that has not been updated for iOS4 but still works to fee memory is Memory Sweep. It will free 15MB or 30MB your choice when you open the app.
July 29th, 2010 at 6:33 pm
Works…much faster.
Noticed that since a few updates ago, I have not been able to hold down the HOME button to Force Quit applications. Anyone else notice this?
August 4th, 2010 at 3:54 am
Iphone 3G runs EXTREMELY slow with new software. Paid $999 for this phone only 2 years ago
August 12th, 2010 at 3:48 pm
I'm over it. Screw Apple. Screw my iPhone. Back to regular old "dumb" phones for me.
September 1st, 2010 at 3:22 am
I have an iPhone 3G and for me the build quality is poor as I have had x4 refurb's within warranty and x2 new screens after.
Since IOS4 my wifi stopped working and maps are unusable. Its Sloooooooooooow to the point where I only use web in emergencies!!
When this one finally dies with a whimper, I'll go get an Android and be happy again.
Its a shame, because I used to love it so much.
September 24th, 2010 at 6:46 am
I am tired of waiting for Apple to fix this. I have just ordered a blackberry and going to move away from this. I enjoyed the iPhone till the OS4 issue. But the slowness alsolutely sucks.
October 15th, 2010 at 10:19 am
Couldn't find "MemoryInfo," but this one is FREE right now for limited time: "SystemInfo – Monitorying your device info" (by Shuntao Liu)
Also, I never had much success when I used "Memory Sweep."
March 11th, 2011 at 6:00 am
Apple orange you going to fix this?
March 11th, 2011 at 6:03 am
Apple is a Bent Banana – a Apple ruined Adam and Eves chances of eternal bliss.