After Apple’s iOS 5 operating system became available with hundreds of new features, iPhone 3GS users have expressed their desire to update their phones with the new software.

But users want to know if an old iPhone 3GS can upgrade to iOS 5. What are the potential problems that users may face?

According to CNET, previous iOS upgrades have not gone smoothly for some people who had older hardware. When iPhone 3G users upgrade to iOS 4.0, many reported the phone slowed down and the battery life was reduced.

Although Apple says the new iOS5 software works well for 3GS devices, the software has been causing some problems. One of the biggest issues people reported was regarding battery life.

In the “iOS 5 Battery Power Drain Issue” at Apple’s website, one iPhone 3GS user shared about the battery draining issue.

“Upgraded my 3GS to IOS5 on Wed and now it runs out of battery after about 6 hours with no use, 4 hours or less with occassional email use. Had to recharge it 3 times yesterday, and after 4 hours today. That doesn't work for me since I'm on the road a lot [sic].”

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Other users shared the same problem with either iPhone 3GS or iPhone 4. An iPhone 4 user said that the battery of his iPhone drained in 4 hours after having the iOS 5 upgrade.

But not all had the same first impression after the upgrade. One iPhone 3GS user said at GoottaBeMobile:

“I’m about 13 hours into my experience with iOS 5 on my iPhone 3GS and I couldn’t be happier. iOS 5 works great. It’s snappy, apps load up as normal, battery life remains the same from what I can tell, and I can’t find any features missing besides some of the camera options that will be afforded to iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S users,” said Adam, a technology blogger based in San Francisco.

Even if the battery is diminished many critics are saying that with 200 features the new iOS 5 is still worth it. Many users have shown their excitement about new features such as the upgraded camera, and the iMessage function.

Technology websites highly advise users to back up their iPhones before they begin updating the software.