cblaisd

That would assume that I open unsafe files, no? Or is there some other transmission mechanism.

Yes, I've assumed some risk here, but the usability increase from certain Cydia apps for things I want/need to do is exponentially greater than the stock iOS.

reft

I think the issues you refer to are hitting desktops not phones.

If you get hit with malware or a broken vendor 'upgrade' your device is unusable. Search the web for "iphone bricked after upgrade" and there's a plethora of results. It's not restricted to phones. Desktop/Laptop computers have suffered post-upgrade-doorstop syndrome. It's infrequent, but if it's you it's once too often.

A patch that was released 3 months ago can be applied manually, at a time of your choosing, with a lower risk footprint than automatic updates. With automatic updates you don't know if that patch 3 months ago was successfully applied or not.

Patch/upgrade: Yes. Automatically? You take your chances and sooner or later you get burned. Only depend on patches/upgrades? No. More is needed, including OP's not opening 'unsafe' documents.

gfunkdave

woot.com has refurb iPhone 6s today. Maybe they have an old iOS.

EarthHair

I think eBay is going to be your best bet here - not much chance of an old iOS in shops.

cblaisd

I think you're right.

And all the ones I've found through Craigslist either a) the owner doesn't have any idea how to check for their current iOS version, or b) it's the latest version because they have auto-updates turned on (something I'll never understand).

And the Woot one is a decent deal, but too pig-in-a-poke for me, especially when the screen could have significant scratches. But thank you for looking out for me