Iphone 5 with iOS 6

[Jakesky123]

Hi there, so I am looking for an iPhone 5 that still has iOS 6 on it. Now I have seen refurbished ones for sale at gazelle.com and such, but I am wondering if they will have iOS 6 or will they have 7 or 8? Anyone have experience with this and could give me an answer would be much appreciated! Or if you know of any other way to get an iPhone 5 with iOS 6 still on it.
Thanks!

 

[logicstudiouser]

Hi there, so I am looking for an iPhone 5 that still has iOS 6 on it. Now I have seen refurbished ones for sale at gazelle.com and such, but I am wondering if they will have iOS 6 or will they have 7 or 8? Anyone have experience with this and could give me an answer would be much appreciated! Or if you know of any other way to get an iPhone 5 with iOS 6 still on it.
Thanks!

Hey, So I got my iPhone 5 with ios 6 last year. I was going from a sluggish 4S running on ios 7. The process ended up taking me about 2 months before I found the right one.
The truth is that it takes a lot of patience and lots of asking to find one running iOS 6 and because I had very specific requirements for my investment, it took me longer.
My priority was getting an iPhone 5 that was either in like new or brand new condition, white, factory unlocked, 64gb and running the latest version of ios 6 (which is 6.1.4).
Where did I find mine? eBay. The only other place I found options were on Amazon marketplace, but I find those listings are less detailed and more risky, so I would stick to searching on ebay. You also have more buyer protection that way.
Some keywords to try in the cell phones & smartphones category are: 'iphone 5 ios 6' and 'iphone 5 6.1.4'
Be warned when browsing iPhone 5 devices on ebay, some people post pictures showing a phone that looks like it is running on ios 6 or use a stock photos that shows ios 6 running. You have to specifically see in writing it has the iOS 6 firmware stated either in the title and/or description of a listing. If that checks out, make sure the seller has a good standing selling history and a feedback rating at least 99.5% or higher. If that checks out, send them an email to confirm the criteria.

I ended up getting an open box new 64GB white iPhone 5 model that was factory unlocked, and running 6.1.4. I paid about $500, but it was worth the price.
There may not be any listings for the criteria you are looking for today, but there are always new listings going up on ebay. If you are currently using another phone, try to hold out with it for a bit and get a sense of the prices iPhone 5 devices are going for these days.
In ebay, you can subscribe to search keywords. This very useful feature allows you to save key search criteria with your ebay account and if a listing comes up, you are notified by email. I would recommend using the 'iphone 5 ios 6' and iphone 5 6.1.4' keywords in the cell phones & smartphones category as a good search criteria to subscribe to.

Quick tip whenever you get an iOS 6 iPhone: If you have been an iOS 7/8 user you may notice many apps in the app store require ios 7 or higher. There is a trick to redownload the latest compatible version of ios 6 for apps that no longer support ios 6. First, sign in to your apple id on itunes store on your computer, download the app you want on your computer first, than you should be able to download the latest compatible version on your ios 6 device. If you try and download a new app directly on your ios 6 device that requires ios 7 or higher, it will not give you the option to download the older version. So always download new apps on your computer (than delete them right after download so the ios 6 apps can sync to your itunes) than download the appropriate version on your ios 6 device.

Good luck.

 

[MattMJB0188]

Quick tip whenever you get an iOS 6 iPhone: If you have been an iOS 7/8 user you may notice many apps in the app store require ios 7 or higher. There is a trick to redownload the latest compatible version of ios 6 for apps that no longer support ios 6. First, sign in to your apple id on itunes store on your computer, download the app you want on your computer first, than you should be able to download the latest compatible version on your ios 6 device. If you try and download a new app directly on your ios 6 device that requires ios 7 or higher, it will not give you the option to download the older version. So always download new apps on your computer (than delete them right after download so the ios 6 apps can sync to your itunes) than download the appropriate version on your ios 6 device.

I can't seem to get this to work. I download the app from the iTune on my computer, tried syncing my iPhone, but the app still doesn't transfer. If I go to the App store on my iPhone, it says this app requires iOS 7.1 with no option to download an older version.

 

[mhdena]

I have an iphone 5 running 6.1.4, blackish blue. Leather case & antiglare from day one. 2 yrs old as I got it when the 5s came out. Using it as an ipod the past year. For this purpose its perfect, size, etc. Plus as it was optimized for ios6 still has great battery life.

 

[cojack03]

Hi there, so I am looking for an iPhone 5 that still has iOS 6 on it. Now I have seen refurbished ones for sale at gazelle.com and such, but I am wondering if they will have iOS 6 or will they have 7 or 8? Anyone have experience with this and could give me an answer would be much appreciated! Or if you know of any other way to get an iPhone 5 with iOS 6 still on it.
Thanks!

I am going to have an iPhone 5 with ios 6. I'm not sure what sub version it is or the storage on it, but the owner has just upgraded phones and I had told him a couple years ago that since he was still on ios6 to leave it there because it was worth way more than any other iphone 5. If you are still interested in getting one I can get more information later today probably.

 

[Vancity Fob]

Just adding yet another reply to a thread that's almost a year old, they're all over eBay. Just get one sealed. Be sure it's not one of the recalled models otherwise if the power button needs replacement you're getting it back with a newer version!

I found my slate Verizon 5 with 6.1.4 and a July 2013 date on Craigslist, previously owner was an old man so he was too illiterate to know how to update!

Maybe check Craigslist. if you come by one with iOS 6 in the pic that doesn't stick out right away as a google result, always do a reverse image search to make sure it's the actual phone! Ask them if it turns onto a gray screen with "iPhone" on it when it boots up in a wiped state, and after that, whether it's jailbroken or not.