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iPad Anyone tried iOS 8.1 on iPad 2

D

Dc2006ster

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 9, 2011
352
190
Alberta, Canada
I went back to 7.1.2 after finding 8, 8.01, 8.02 to be very disappointing.

I realize that people may be wary of trying 8.1 but if you did not downgrade to 7.1.2 and have now moved to 8.1 I would greatly appreciate it if you would review it here. I have looked for this info but Mmost iOS8 threads seem to be concentrating on ApplePay which will not be important or possible for me.

Thanks
 
I currently have 8.02 on my iPad 2 and came here for the same reason.

iOS 7 & 8 have been borderline useless. I had done a fresh install of 7 and found it to be "okay." However, I did a restore when moving to iOS 8 and it has been terrible! I'm considering a fresh install of 8.1 in hopes that it will be somewhat functional.

Personally, I would rather Apple cutoff updates on their products that can't handle the latest/greatest software. This is not the same iPad 2 I bought when it was first released. I would love to be able to go back to iOS 6 so that the user experience is respectable.
 
You're using late 2014 software on early 2011 hardware and you're shocked it runs poorly?


Wow
 
dmbadict04 said:
iOS 7 & 8 have been borderline useless. I had done a fresh install of 7 and found it to be "okay." However, I did a restore when moving to iOS 8 and it has been terrible! I'm considering a fresh install of 8.1 in hopes that it will be somewhat functional.
Click to expand...

Not exactly apples to apples, but my 4 was great on 7, TERRIBLE on 8.0.2. I was very frustrated using it. So much that I put a preorder in for the Air 2 as soon as I could.

As a last ditch effort to try to save my 4, I did a Delete All & Restore last night on to 8.0.2 and so far it seems to be much better. Not super smooth like my iPhone6 is, but much better. It has gotten better to the point that I cancelled my Air 2 pre-order. Depending on the specs I'm still considering a launch day pick up though.

I would recommend doing a Delete All & Restore on 8.1 when you get the chance. It helped immensely on 8.0.2. Even though I just did it yesterday, its so painless I'm going to do it again today back to 8.1.
 
Jawnathin said:
Not exactly apples to apples, but my 4 was great on 7, TERRIBLE on 8.0.2. I was very frustrated using it. So much that I put a preorder in for the Air 2 as soon as I could.



As a last ditch effort to try to save my 4, I did a Delete All & Restore last night on to 8.0.2 and so far it seems to be much better. Not super smooth like my iPhone6 is, but much better. It has gotten better to the point that I cancelled my Air 2 pre-order. Depending on the specs I'm still considering a launch day pick up though.



I would recommend doing a Delete All & Restore on 8.1 when you get the chance. It helped immensely on 8.0.2. Even though I just did it yesterday, its so painless I'm going to do it again today back to 8.1.
Click to expand...


Excellent. Thanks for the input. Makes me feel better about doing a fresh install.

I would even settle for them removing features from these updates to ensure they continue to operate smoothly. I can live without certain things so long as the basic functionality is retained.

Anyhow...I'll hop back on to share my results once I have a fresh copy of 8.1 installed.
 
No worries. You have nothing to lose since you're already on iOS8 and can't get back to 7. Once the initial backup was done in iTunes, it was pretty painless overall. Just had to enter a Passcode and iCloud password again and settings were like they were before.

I still need to do more testing, but in similar usage it seems much better than it was before. Maybe almost as good as it was on iOS7. I hope the success I got on my 4 translates well to your 2. Those things just last forever. Interested in seeing how yours turns out.
 
Aluminum213 said:
You're using late 2014 software on early 2011 hardware and you're shocked it runs poorly?


Wow
Click to expand...

Well maybe if we were given the choice to revert to older software and not essentially "forced" to update by Apple. How about we actively have to search for new updates rather than having them shoved down our throats? As someone with mild OCD the red 1 on settings gets really annoying too... Just an option to turn it off if we choose not to update would be nice. :)
 
Aluminum213 said:
You're using late 2014 software on early 2011 hardware and you're shocked it runs poorly?





Wow
Click to expand...



Jimrod said:
Well maybe if we were given the choice to revert to older software and not essentially "forced" to update by Apple. How about we actively have to search for new updates rather than having them shoved down our throats? As someone with mild OCD the red 1 on settings gets really annoying too... Just an option to turn it off if we choose not to update would be nice. :)
Click to expand...


I'm honestly not shocked that the software runs poorly on dated hardware.

It's just frustrating. Why develop iOS 8 to be compatible with dated hardware? Especially if it will cause the device to run poorly. Sadly, there is only one obvious answer and that's that Apple hopes you'll run out and buy the latest/greatest.

To me, I'm content with my iPad 2 when it runs well. I have an iPhone 6 and I use it more than anything else.

As jimrod mentions, the flexibility to move between/revert back would be nice.
 
Aluminum213 said:
You're using late 2014 software on early 2011 hardware and you're shocked it runs poorly?


Wow
Click to expand...
It is reasonable to be surprised that Apple would allow a one-way upgrade to "late 2014" software if it was going to run poorly.


If anyone claims that people would complain if Apple PREVENTED iPad 2's from upgrading to iOS 8 they'll need to provide a link to people complaining about the inability to upgrade their iOS devices (in other scenarios) if that claim is to be taken seriously.
 
I am a little shocked, but more disappointed in Apple. Apple listed the iPad 2 as a device compatible with iOS8 and as such I think it reasonable to expect a good level of performance. I do not expect to be able to use Siri, Apple Pay or any of the latest bells and whistles but I do expect Safari to run as it did pre update and do not expect frequent crashes.

Anyway, can anyone say that 8.1 performs as well as 7.1.2 on an iPad2?
 
Jimrod said:
Well maybe if we were given the choice to revert to older software and not essentially "forced" to update by Apple. How about we actively have to search for new updates rather than having them shoved down our throats? As someone with mild OCD the red 1 on settings gets really annoying too... Just an option to turn it off if we choose not to update would be nice. :)
Click to expand...

You can choose to not install, and delete the update... so you don't have the "red 1 on settings." It is simple to not update.

Apple doesn't want you to downgrade iOS because apple doesn't issue security fixes to older iOS versions, unlike Macs and OS X, which allows for OS downgrades because older OSs are supported by security fixes by Apple.

In the big picture, Apple won't change this behavior, because future iOS versions will slow down hardware less and less. Why? Because Apple is now basically caught up to the bleeding edge in CPU research and development, so development is slower. Like Intel CPUs, the performance delta is now decreasing between yearly CPU hardware updates. Because of this, Apple will target new iOS versions to require iteratively less processing power. Thus, an iPad you purchase today will survive more software updates than an iPad you could purchase a few years ago.
 
mangomind said:
You can choose to not install, and delete the update... so you don't have the "red 1 on settings." It is simple to not update.

Apple doesn't want you to downgrade iOS because apple doesn't issue security fixes to older iOS versions, unlike Macs and OS X, which allows for OS downgrades because older OSs are supported by security fixes by Apple.
Click to expand...
Apple DOES issue security fixes for older iOS version. They released a security fix for iOS 6.x and 7.x but required all devices capable of installing 7 to do so in order to get the fix. A device that was running iOS 6.x at the time and needed the fix was forced to install 7.



mangomind said:
In the big picture, Apple won't change this behavior, because future iOS versions will slow down hardware less and less. Why? Because Apple is now basically caught up to the bleeding edge in CPU research and development, so development is slower. Like Intel CPUs, the performance delta is now decreasing between yearly CPU hardware updates. Because of this, Apple will target new iOS versions to require iteratively less processing power. Thus, an iPad you purchase today will survive more software updates than an iPad you could purchase a few years ago.
Click to expand...
Apple is taking a gamble based on customer loyalty. Considering that Apple is requiring developers to release only 64-bit iOS code starting 2/1/2015, that will accelerate the obsolescence of pre-iPad Air iPads as new apps and updates to existing apps go 64-bit.
 
sracer said:
Considering that Apple is requiring developers to release only 64-bit iOS code starting 2/1/2015, that will accelerate the obsolescence of pre-iPad Air iPads as new apps and updates to existing apps go 64-bit.
Click to expand...

This is not a correct statement.

Apple is requiring developers to include 64-bit code in future releases. This will prevent 32-bit code ONLY apps. Not prevent development and publishing of apps that are both 64 and 32 bit.

https://developer.apple.com/news/?id=10202014a

Starting February 1, 2015, new iOS apps uploaded to the App Store must include 64-bit support and be built with the iOS 8 SDK, included in Xcode 6 or later. To enable 64-bit in your project, we recommend using the default Xcode build setting of “Standard architectures” to build a single binary with both 32-bit and 64-bit code.
 
I use my iPad2 for surfing, some videos, and for company/personal emails. It works just fine. Sometimes I notice a bit of choppiness but for my usage it's fine.

I really appreciate taking/making phone calls as well as being able to send/receive SMS messages from my iPad. It's working flawlessly for me.
 
Jawnathin said:
This is not a correct statement.

Apple is requiring developers to include 64-bit code in future releases. This will prevent 32-bit code ONLY apps. Not prevent development and publishing of apps that are both 64 and 32 bit.

https://developer.apple.com/news/?id=10202014a

Starting February 1, 2015, new iOS apps uploaded to the App Store must include 64-bit support and be built with the iOS 8 SDK, included in Xcode 6 or later. To enable 64-bit in your project, we recommend using the default Xcode build setting of “Standard architectures” to build a single binary with both 32-bit and 64-bit code.
Click to expand...
ah, thanks for the correct info.
 
I am using 8.1 on my ipad. Its a big improvement over ALL the other 8x versions. I have not wanted to throw the Ipad across the room since installing 8.1
 
sracer said:
Apple DOES issue security fixes for older iOS version. They released a security fix for iOS 6.x and 7.x but required all devices capable of installing 7 to do so in order to get the fix. A device that was running iOS 6.x at the time and needed the fix was forced to install 7.
Click to expand...
That is completely different, what I am talking about is the option to either receive security fixes or upgrade to the next OS. And not have Apple decide which is best for you. This is allowed with Macs and OS X, but not with iOS devices.

sracer said:
Apple is taking a gamble based on customer loyalty. Considering that Apple is requiring developers to release only 64-bit iOS code starting 2/1/2015, that will accelerate the obsolescence of pre-iPad Air iPads as new apps and updates to existing apps go 64-bit.
Click to expand...
This bit is wrong.
 
I turned off all the spotlight searches and some of the background push updates and my ipad mini is running much faster. 8.1 also has helped from 8.0.1.
 
merkinmuffley said:
I am using 8.1 on my ipad. Its a big improvement over ALL the other 8x versions. I have not wanted to throw the Ipad across the room since installing 8.1
Click to expand...

Aye, it's better than the rest of the iOS 8s so far on my iPad 2 too. Still a tad slow at times but I'm not surprised considering the age of the thing now.

YMMV for anyone else of course.
 
I'm sticking with 7.1.2 until The majority of people start reporting that 8.1.X runs just as well as (or a jailbreak gets released).
 
mangomind said:
That is completely different, what I am talking about is the option to either receive security fixes or upgrade to the next OS. And not have Apple decide which is best for you. This is allowed with Macs and OS X, but not with iOS devices.

I was responding to what you said:
"Apple doesn't want you to downgrade iOS because apple doesn't issue security fixes to older iOS versions"


mangomind said:
This bit is wrong.
Click to expand...
Yes I know... someone else already provided the correction.
Click to expand...
 
sracer said:
I was responding to what you said:
"Apple doesn't want you to downgrade iOS because apple doesn't issue security fixes to older iOS versions"
Click to expand...

yes, once a new iOS is available to download and install, you have to install that. You can't get bugfixes or security for the previous iOS instead. And, I assumed everyone knew that Apple issued additional 6.1.x updates to the iPhone 3GS and iPod touch 4, and that these were devices that couldn't upgrade to iOS 7 but did need security fixes.

sracer said:
Yes I know... someone else already provided the correction.
Click to expand...

ok.
 
Aluminum213 said:
You're using late 2014 software on early 2011 hardware and you're shocked it runs poorly?


Wow
Click to expand...

Why "wow"? I'm running late 2014 software on early 2011 hardware, and it runs flawlessly. I'm also running late 2013 software on early 2007 hardware, and just haven't bothered updating it to 2014.

Why Apple can't keep new iOS versions running as well on old hardware as they can with OS X, I don't know.
 
8.1 is running ok on my ipad2. Not great but better than 8.0.
It will likely be retired when my new ipad air 2 arrives and my ipad3 gets handed down.
The ipad3 is running noticeably better with 8.1. In fact, had it been running this well on Friday, I may not have ordered the new ipad.
 
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