The iPhone 4s will no longer receive software updates, which means iPhone 4s owners are on their own to fix the issues that plagued the old flagship device.
Apple surpassed the iPhone 4s in iOS 9.3.5. The popular 4-inch device will never receive iOS 10, and we don’t expect Apple to release a surprise iOS 11 update.
This means it will not receive any new features, security patches or bug fixes to alleviate iPhone 4s issues that still plague users in 2017.
iPhone 4s issues include abnormal battery drain, broken Wi-Fi, finicky Bluetooth connectivity, UI lag, random reboots, and various bugs and other performance issues.
If you’re having problems with your iPhone 4s, you can’t rely on Apple to fix your problems. Unless you live near an Apple Store, you’ll have to fix the problem(s) yourself.
This fix list covers the most common iPhone 4s problems. It will take you a few seconds to complete some of these solutions. Others are a little more involved.
How To Fix iPhone 4s Battery Life Issues
Battery drain is one of the most common problems on iPhone 4s and one that you can fix in just a few minutes.
Apple’s iOS updates are known to cause abnormal battery drain, but there’s a good chance it’s not the operating system that’s causing abnormal battery drain on your device.
Third-party apps and bad habits are often the culprits.
While there are loads of things people have suggested, we think these are fixes that iPhone 4s users should try.
These fixes range from minor tweaks to changes to your settings and general daily usage.
All of them have the potential to fix bad iPhone 4s battery life, and we highly recommend checking them out before throwing your phone against a wall or in the ocean.
How To Fix iPhone 4s Wi-Fi Issues
The iPhone 4s continues to complain of a wide variety of issues, from grayed out Wi-Fi to unstable connections. These are extremely common.
There is no guaranteed fix for iPhone 4s Wi-Fi problems, but there are a few things users can try before doing a factory reset, replacing the router, or taking the iPhone 4s to an Apple Store.
These fixes were ported from the iOS 7 and iOS 8 updates and have worked for tons of people in the past.
The first thing iPhone 4s users will want to try is resetting network settings. This is an extremely easy process, but can take a few minutes to complete. iPhone 4s users need to take some time to ensure the process goes smoothly.
To do this, turn on iPhone 4s and go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings.
You will need the iPhone and the passcode again after a few minutes as the phone will reboot itself to complete the changes.
Those of you running this fix will also want to keep track of commonly used Wi-Fi passwords as this will force you to enter passwords once it’s done.
If this does not fix the problem, iPhone 4s users can also try turning off the Wi-Fi Network. To do this, go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services > System Services. Turn them off and restart the phone.
Once the phone restarts, there is a chance that the Wi-Fi will work normally again.
How To Fix iPhone 4s Cellular Data Issues
We keep seeing complaints about iPhone 4 cellular data issues. Slow connections, no connection, and other random issues have plagued users for years.
To try and fix these cellular data issues, users will want to try restarting their iPhone 4s first. This has worked for us in the past. If this fix doesn’t work, try toggling cellular data on and off. This has worked for us in the past. To do this, choose Cellular > Cellular Data > Turn Off.
Finally, if none of this works, try turning Airplane Mode on, waiting 30 seconds, then turning it off. This, like other fixes, has worked in the past to fix cellular data issues on iPhone.
If none of this works, make sure you don’t have an outage in your area. You need to contact your service provider for details.
How To Fix iPhone 4s Bluetooth Problems
Bluetooth problems are among the most common iPhone 4s problems, and in the months since the iOS 9 release date, we’ve heard numerous complaints from iPhone 4s users.
If you’re dealing with Bluetooth issues, the first thing to do is to turn Bluetooth off and then back on. You may also want to restart your phone.
If that doesn’t work, try forgetting all your Bluetooth connections. To do this, go to Bluetooth, tap the blue i in the circle and tap Forget This Device.
If that doesn’t work, you will want to “Reset All Settings”. To do this, turn on iPhone 4s and go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset All Settings. This will cause your device to forget Wi-Fi passwords, so make sure you have them on hand.
How to Fix iPhone 4s App Problems
We are getting a lot of complaints about various apps crashing and freezing.
To fix these, make sure the apps on your iPhone 4s are updated with the latest bug fixes.
It’s easy to forget to install app updates, so we recommend turning on automatic updates to make sure you’re always up to date.
To turn on automatic app updates, toggle Settings > iTunes & App Store > Automatic Downloads On.
If you have been updated and the app is still not working properly, try reinstalling it. If that doesn’t work, complain to the developer.
Most developers encourage feedback and yours may help find a fix in a future software update.
How to Improve Performance on iPhone 4s
Some iPhone 4s users have seen a drop in overall performance after installing the iOS 9 operating system. Lag and crashes are common issues.
There are some ways to speed up performance on iPhone 4s if it breaks after an upgrade or suddenly.
We have identified a number of different strategies such as reducing animations and cool effects, resetting settings or restoring them to factory settings.
How To Fix iPhone 4s Landscape Issues
If your iPhone 4s gets stuck in landscape mode, there are a few fixes to try.
Try resetting your phone. This fixed the issue for us when it started occurring when the device was on iOS 8.
You can also lock the device’s orientation vertically. That way, the device will stay in portrait mode when trying to use a third-party app or camera.
To lock the iPhone 4s in portrait mode, pull up the Control Center from the bottom of the phone, look for the lock in the upper right corner and press this. This locks the screen so it doesn’t exit portrait mode when you switch the device.
How To Fix iPhone 4s iMessage Problems
We’re running into a number of iMessage issues on iPhone 4s. Messages sometimes fail to send even with good coverage, and we often receive messages hours, sometimes days late.
If this happens, the first thing to try is to turn iMessage off and on. If that doesn’t work, try restarting the phone. If none of these work, it’s time to reset the device’s network settings.
To do this go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings. iPhone 4s will reboot. While stored Wi-Fi networks will be lost, re-entering a Wi-Fi password is a small price to pay for working iMessages.
How To Fix iPhone 4s Randomly Restarting
iPhone 4s users continue to see random reboots on iOS 9 and older iOS software. This is a very common iPhone problem. Unfortunately, they can be difficult to fix.
First, try restarting the iPhone 4s. This helped us when we encountered random reboots on iPhone in iOS 7 and iOS 8.
We also recommend doing a reset on all settings. To do this, go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset All Settings. Uninstalling recent apps may also be worth it if the problems just started.
We’ve also heard that factory reset fixes these issues, but it should be a last resort.
How To Fix iPhone 4s Keyboard Lag
We encountered occasional keyboard lag on iPhone 4s when capturing an email or iMessage. There are a few things iPhone 4s users can try to fix these issues should they occur while emailing or texting.
Try turning off Documents & Data in iCloud first. To do this, go to Settings > iCloud > Documents & Data. If everything goes back to normal, it’s fine to turn it back on.
If that doesn’t work, try resetting all settings. To do this, go to General > Reset > Reset All Settings.
How To Fix iPhone 4s Issues If Nothing Else Is Working
If none of these fixes work and Apple’s discussion forums you fail, we have two recommendations.
First, take the iPhone 4s to a Genius Bar at your local Apple Store. They can diagnose your problem within minutes.
Those who can’t or don’t want to go this route will want to consider a factory reset. Factory reset will wipe iPhone 4s, but it can do wonders for your iPhone 4s performance.
To do this, select Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings.
Again, this will erase everything on the iPhone 4s so while we don’t recommend installing from a restore, make a backup before doing this.
Setting all this up is extremely cumbersome, but it can be the quickest way to fix the worst iPhone 4s problems.
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