iPad iPad 2 ruined by iOS 8

[Count Blah]

Much appreciated, but I think you're the winner here. A slow device is not necessarily an unusable device, and you insist on implying that any device that was made slower by an update is unusable.

Kudos, and a gold medal to you.

Slower != unusable

And that is the main complaint. Taking 1.5 seconds instead of 1.0 is bad, but slower. 3 times slower or more is VERY different, even when the company gives the A-OK to upgrade.. But keep on beating the apple drum.

 

[oldmacs]

Slower != unusable

And that is the main complaint. Taking 1.5 seconds instead of 1.0 is bad, but slower. 3 times slower or more is VERY different, even when the company gives the A-OK to upgrade.. But keep on beating the apple drum.

It is an over exaggeration to say that iOS 8 makes the iPad 2 unusable. There should be no reason for things to be 3 times as slow. Have you tried a clean install and restore from backup, a settings reset and turning off resource hungry features?

I did testing on the iPad 2 on clean install of both iOS 7 and iOS 8 and besides the App store, most things were no where near 3 times slower.

(http://www.mactalk.com.au/content/atrticle-ipad-2-ipad-just-won-t-die-3537/)

Now everyone's individual experiences will vary but if you take the time to do some maintenance, your iPad 2 iOS 8 experience will be improved a fair bit. I however do think Apple should warn users of older devices that performance could be hindered....

Also iOS 8.2 runs better on the 4S than iOS 8.1.1 so hopefully more improvements are on their way.

 

[windowpain]

I am running it on an iPod touch, and first impressions are that is it "ok".
It might be a hair faster, but still a steaming heap of ..

Still slow and buggy, and not a patch on 7.1...if you are still using that (or 6.whatever) then I recommend staying on it.

My feeling was that as I was on 8.1..how much worse could it get?
Also downloading it onto my iPad mini (1st gen) now.

Just an update.

I installed 8.1.1 on both my iPod touch, iPad mini1, and iPad 2 and initially it was not so great. Slow and crashy, and generally annoying to use.

Anyway (despite my great skepticism that it would do anything) I did a 'reset all settings' and to my pleasant surprise they are all much improved.

Safari doesn't white screen when you scroll (well perhaps just a little, but much better than before) and the whole OS just runs much more smoothly and snappily.

I am not sure it is quite back to 7.1 speeds yet, but certainly a step in the right direction. Perhaps similar to 7.0..hard to tell really.
It 'has' massively reduced my frustrations using it. So if you are on 8.1 I wouldn't hesitate to install.

If anyone is having things run slowly, then try a reset.
General > Reset > Reset all settings

None of the date is wiped, but I did need to re-imput the wi-fi passwords. (if anyone is wondering.)

 

[Dented]

If anyone is having things run slowly, then try a reset.
General > Reset > Reset all settings

None of the date is wiped, but I did need to re-imput the wi-fi passwords. (if anyone is wondering.)

Just a small aside, but one other thing that happens is that any alarms you have set in the Clock app get deleted. Something to bear in mind. On the iPhone you also lose all your saved locations in the Weather app, but of course that's not an issue on the ipad..

 

[poiihy]

It's not only the speed that is the problem. iOS 8 on my iPad 2 is so glitchy. And every once in a while the sound stuff gets all corrupted or something and the sound sounds really screwed up... as if the speakers were damaged.

 

[oldmacs]

It's not only the speed that is the problem. iOS 8 on my iPad 2 is so glitchy. And every once in a while the sound stuff gets all corrupted or something and the sound sounds really screwed up... as if the speakers were damaged.

Thats very strange... Have you done a clean install or a reset settings?

 

[poiihy]

Thats very strange... Have you done a clean install or a reset settings?

No but I need to do that

 

[oldmacs]

No but I need to do that

I would highly recommend it. My iPad 2 is perfectly usable, just a bit slower. Animations are sometimes a bit jerky, but its pretty stable.

 

[QCassidy352]

Still on iOS 6 here on my iPad 2. Can't say I'd want to upgrade based on all the horror stories you read. I wonder why others don't do the research BEFORE they upgrade?

And yes Apple could make it easier and provide a roll back software. But let's be honest, they don't want you using the same device for years do they?

Something tells me that iOS 7.1.2 is still better than iOS 8.1.1

and 6.1.3 better still. That's what my iPad 2 has and where it will stay. So many of the better new (iOS 7 and 8) features aren't even enabled on the iPad 2 that I really don't see the point. Plus this way I get to keep the better aesthetic of iOS 6, so win-win, really.

 

[Apple fanboy]

and 6.1.3 better still. That's what my iPad 2 has and where it will stay. So many of the better new (iOS 7 and 8) features aren't even enabled on the iPad 2 that I really don't see the point. Plus this way I get to keep the better aesthetic of iOS 6, so win-win, really.

Yes I'm actually on 6.1.3 as well. That's where I'll stay. Mind you I use it a lot less since I got the iPhone 6 plus. It seems so heavy in comparison.

 

[oldmacs]

I upgraded a family member's iPad 2 from 6.1.3 to 7.1.2 with an OTA upgrade (Just before iOS 8 was released) and the iPad was faster after the update...

iOS 7.1.2 was the best OS for the iPad 2 in terms of balancing features + stability + speed. iOS 8 is also good but not quite as fast and fluid.

 

[applepissmeoff]

Not happy jan.

So, i installed IOS 7 on my Ipad 2 whenever ios 7 came out..
shortly their after, my battery died. Litterally it just sits at the battery screen.
even if you're charging it, with apple certified chargers and cables. Nothing, leave it charging for a day. still nothing. Is has turned on some how a few times since the update. I was qouted 2 years ago 110 to replace the battery, it has jumped since then to 350.
I think they create ios's so that everyone has the updated version and people lagging behind happy with an ipad 1, 2 - iphone 4s whatever it may be, they will ultimately loose unless they are willing to give in and buy the latest product. At inflated X100 prices.

apple, please get your piorities right - be there for all of your customers. Don't litterally force them to install the latest firmware, then their older apple product dies and they have to spend another 300-2,000 bucks..

😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡:

sincerely,
a pissed off consumer
get your **** together

 

[Count Blah]

Sorry to hear. I kept my iPAD 2 on 7.1.2 - and there it will stay forever. My Air got iOS 8, and I'm waffling on it staying there, or one more upgrade to iOS 9. The iPADs seem to handle upgrades better than iPhones, IMHO.

 

[poiihy]

This is one of the reasons why I hate mobile devices.

Well I think we all learned something. NEVER upgrade the OS, unless you have found out if it works well or not on your device, or if you need to run an app that requires a newer version.

Question- If you stay in a version, say, iOS 6, and then iOS 8 comes out... Can you still upgrade from iOS 6 to iOS 7 or can you only upgrade to iOS 8?

 

[Acronyc]

I always wait for reviews on how a new version of iOS will run on a particular device before I try it on one of my devices. I upgraded my wife's original iPad mini to 7.1.2 but after reading how iOS 8 ran on it, we decided to stick to 7 on the mini. Still runs great and the minimal speed decline was worth it to her for the new features. We have iOS 8 on all of our other iOS devices though (iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, and an iPad mini 2) and it runs fine on all of them.

 

[jrswizzle]

This is one of the reasons why I hate mobile devices.

Well I think we all learned something. NEVER upgrade the OS, unless you have found out if it works well or not on your device, or if you need to run an app that requires a newer version.

Question- If you stay in a version, say, iOS 6, and then iOS 8 comes out... Can you still upgrade from iOS 6 to iOS 7 or can you only upgrade to iOS 8?

I'm not sure why people expect 4 year old hardware to keep up with increasingly more powerful and complex OSes and software.

Getting 4 years out of a $500 piece of technology is pretty good in my experience. Generally, if you purchased a laptop for that price (back in the day when laptops cost that much), I'd expect 2 years before starting to have all sorts of problems.

It's not like a PC where you can simply stay stuck on old outdated software for years (*cough* Windows *cough*). Apple optimizes their software based on the hardware that its released on. Expecting an OS that was optimized for the MUCH more powerful iPad Air 2 to work flawlessly on a 4 year old iPad 2 isn't anyone's fault but the user's.

Time to upgrade. There are plenty of avenues one can go to find newer iPads at great prices - Apple's official refurb store being one of the best. You can get a 16 GB iPad Air (5x faster than the iPad 2, much thinner and lighter, much better display, better battery life) for $339. Or heck, pay another $500 for an iPad Air 2 that's 10x faster and will last longer - I'm on the Air 2 as I deemed it to be the best iPad to stick with for an extended period of time.

This is technology we're talking about - an industry in which a year is a lifetime and 4 years is an eternity.

Personally, I just wish Apple would stop supporting devices sooner. It would bypass all this complaining because people wouldn't be able to upgrade. Then again, we'd see many of the same people complain about not being able to upgrade so....you can never please everyone.

 

[jrswizzle]

So, i installed IOS 7 on my Ipad 2 whenever ios 7 came out..
shortly their after, my battery died. Litterally it just sits at the battery screen.
even if you're charging it, with apple certified chargers and cables. Nothing, leave it charging for a day. still nothing. Is has turned on some how a few times since the update. I was qouted 2 years ago 110 to replace the battery, it has jumped since then to 350.
I think they create ios's so that everyone has the updated version and people lagging behind happy with an ipad 1, 2 - iphone 4s whatever it may be, they will ultimately loose unless they are willing to give in and buy the latest product. At inflated X100 prices.

apple, please get your piorities right - be there for all of your customers. Don't litterally force them to install the latest firmware, then their older apple product dies and they have to spend another 300-2,000 bucks..

😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡:

sincerely,
a pissed off consumer
get your **** together

So you're upset and blame Apple for designing and building better and more complicated OSes and hardware because you don't want to have to replace anything 5 years after your bought it?

What other pieces of technology have continued to work flawlessly for you after 5 years? Of those pieces of tech, how many have added functionality or improved over time?

If you think these products will last forever, it's on you not Apple. Like I said above, if they stopped supporting older devices earlier (which is what I think they should do), people like you would complain about not getting new features and software.

Understand how things work. Instead of having an emotional reaction, actually find out why things happen the way they do and think about your use case for said device. If you paid $500 for an iPad 2 in 2011 and used it regularly over the last 4 years, think about how much it cost you per use/day. What other products do you own that last that long and cost that much per use?

It's called a value proposition - personally, I'm fine spending $1000 on an iPad Air 2 with 128 GB because I use it everyday for a large number of tasks. At the end of my time with this device I'll be able to look back and say I got my money's worth because of how much I used it.

That value proposition is different for everyone. If you just want cheap so you can replace it more easily, I'd suggest an Android tablet or Kindle Fire.

4-5 years of continued use out of a computer like an iPad is good. Expecting more is naive. Either upgrade or buy something else that's cheap so you won't get upset in 2 years when it inevitably breaks down and is obsolete.

 

[Rodster]

I'm not sure why people expect 4 year old hardware to keep up with increasingly more powerful and complex OSes and software.

Personally, I just wish Apple would stop supporting devices sooner. It would bypass all this complaining because people wouldn't be able to upgrade. Then again, we'd see many of the same people complain about not being able to upgrade so....you can never please everyone.

I agree but there is another issue and that is why people feel compelled to upgrade the OS on their devices? I don't and won't until I read whether there are more positives than negatives in upgrading the OS. I still have my iPad 3 running iOS 5 and my iPad 2 and Air are still on iOS 7. When I feel comfortable knowing there's no impact on performance and more to gain in benefits from features, I upgrade.

 

[jrswizzle]

I agree but there is another issue and that is why people feel compelled to upgrade the OS on their devices? I don't and won't until I read whether there are more positives than negatives in upgrading the OS. I still have my iPad 3 running iOS 5 and my Air is still on iOS 7. When I feel comfortable knowing there's no impact on performance and more to gain in benefits from features, I upgrade.

Sure - that falls under the heading of "research and learn before you buy/upgrade".

It's not Apple's job to coddle you (although, I feel their retail experience is one of the best) - the consumer is responsible for making their own decisions.

 

[poiihy]

I'm not sure why people expect 4 year old hardware to keep up with increasingly more powerful and complex OSes and software.

Getting 4 years out of a $500 piece of technology is pretty good in my experience. Generally, if you purchased a laptop for that price (back in the day when laptops cost that much), I'd expect 2 years before starting to have all sorts of problems.

It's not like a PC where you can simply stay stuck on old outdated software for years (*cough* Windows *cough*). Apple optimizes their software based on the hardware that its released on. Expecting an OS that was optimized for the MUCH more powerful iPad Air 2 to work flawlessly on a 4 year old iPad 2 isn't anyone's fault but the user's.

Time to upgrade. There are plenty of avenues one can go to find newer iPads at great prices - Apple's official refurb store being one of the best. You can get a 16 GB iPad Air (5x faster than the iPad 2, much thinner and lighter, much better display, better battery life) for $339. Or heck, pay another $500 for an iPad Air 2 that's 10x faster and will last longer - I'm on the Air 2 as I deemed it to be the best iPad to stick with for an extended period of time.

This is technology we're talking about - an industry in which a year is a lifetime and 4 years is an eternity.

Personally, I just wish Apple would stop supporting devices sooner. It would bypass all this complaining because people wouldn't be able to upgrade. Then again, we'd see many of the same people complain about not being able to upgrade so....you can never please everyone.

Why should I get new devices when the old devices perform well enough? The only problem is the new OS; simply don't upgrade it and it is just as fine. Why spend so much $$$ and throw away perfectly good devices? There is really no benefit at all. You just waste money and waste resources when the old devices are good enough. All you need to do is not upgrade and you are fine! The newer OS's are designed for the newer devices.

This is what really sucks: Apple doesn't let you downgrade so if you upgraded and your device is very slow, you have to throw it away and waste more $$$ to get a brand new device that does the same as your old device would without the new OS.
(And no, I didn't update it, someone else did)

 

[s2mikey]

I'm not sure why people expect 4 year old hardware to keep up with increasingly more powerful and complex OSes and software.

Getting 4 years out of a $500 piece of technology is pretty good in my experience. Generally, if you purchased a laptop for that price (back in the day when laptops cost that much), I'd expect 2 years before starting to have all sorts of problems.

It's not like a PC where you can simply stay stuck on old outdated software for years (*cough* Windows *cough*). Apple optimizes their software based on the hardware that its released on. Expecting an OS that was optimized for the MUCH more powerful iPad Air 2 to work flawlessly on a 4 year old iPad 2 isn't anyone's fault but the user's.

Time to upgrade. There are plenty of avenues one can go to find newer iPads at great prices - Apple's official refurb store being one of the best. You can get a 16 GB iPad Air (5x faster than the iPad 2, much thinner and lighter, much better display, better battery life) for $339. Or heck, pay another $500 for an iPad Air 2 that's 10x faster and will last longer - I'm on the Air 2 as I deemed it to be the best iPad to stick with for an extended period of time.

This is technology we're talking about - an industry in which a year is a lifetime and 4 years is an eternity.

Personally, I just wish Apple would stop supporting devices sooner. It would bypass all this complaining because people wouldn't be able to upgrade. Then again, we'd see many of the same people complain about not being able to upgrade so....you can never please everyone.

That's a tad harsh, don't you think? Are people supposed to buy a new device every single year? Every six months? I agree that four years is getting a little long for certian types of devices but doesn't Apple charge a premium for all that high quality hardware? I thought they did.

Apple could easily save a lot of hassle by simply allowing older devices to avoid updates or better yet allow users to select at least one Previously released OS for their device if they don't want the latest. Why is that so hard again?

All this being said....my daughters ipad 2 runs fine with the latest OS. Go figure.

 

[Traverse]

You think the iPad 2 is bad, try the iPad 3. 😉

Twice the resolution, slight graphic performance degradation on even iOS 5. iOS 8 just beat it into the ground.

 

[akm3]

The iPad 1 was ruined by iOS 5.

 

[jrswizzle]

That's a tad harsh, don't you think? Are people supposed to buy a new device every single year? Every six months? I agree that four years is getting a little long for certian types of devices but doesn't Apple charge a premium for all that high quality hardware? I thought they did.

Apple could easily save a lot of hassle by simply allowing older devices to avoid updates or better yet allow users to select at least one Previously released OS for their device if they don't want the latest. Why is that so hard again?

All this being said....my daughters ipad 2 runs fine with the latest OS. Go figure.

I don't think it's harsh at all. I think blaming Apple for progressing the usability and complexity of an OS is harsh.

I didn't say upgrade every year. But after 4 years? Ya, perhaps you should consider it. If you want to sneak by with "good enough" I'd suggest a cheaper device.

I'd also suggest doing research before upgrading to new software. New OS updates will add new features and are optimized for the latest hardware. iOS 8 was optimized for SoCs 5-10x faster than the iPad 2. That's not hard information to find and it would suggest one either upgrades their device (if it truly is such a hindrance and the device is desired/necessary) or doesn't upgrade their software.

I agree that Apple should've shortened the window that older devices are supported, but that would've yielded criticism the other way. And the reason why they don't allow for downgrading (I'd guess) has to do with the idea that they see their latest OS as offering the best experience and it makes customer service and troubleshooting far easier.

I'd say going forward however, the iPad Air 2 is so far ahead of other tablets and any software developed for it, that it will be running the next few years of iOS updates incredibly smoothly with no issue.

I think we forget, the iPad 2 was the SECOND generation of this product line. Expecting such an early iteration (especially of a MOBILE device) to last more than 4-5 years seems naive. Especially when similarly priced laptops at the time weren't lasting much longer....and they had been out for a decade or more.

I'd highly recommend upgrading to an iPad Air 2 for all those on an iPad 2. Everything about it is FAR superior. The Air 2 is twice as fast as the Air. It'll last a while.

I upgraded every year....but I'm keeping my Air 2 for the foreseeable future - that's how good it is.

 

[oldmacs]

I don't think it's harsh at all. I think blaming Apple for progressing the usability and complexity of an OS is harsh.

I didn't say upgrade every year. But after 4 years? Ya, perhaps you should consider it. If you want to sneak by with "good enough" I'd suggest a cheaper device.

I'd also suggest doing research before upgrading to new software. New OS updates will add new features and are optimized for the latest hardware. iOS 8 was optimized for SoCs 5-10x faster than the iPad 2. That's not hard information to find and it would suggest one either upgrades their device (if it truly is such a hindrance and the device is desired/necessary) or doesn't upgrade their software.

I agree that Apple should've shortened the window that older devices are supported, but that would've yielded criticism the other way. And the reason why they don't allow for downgrading (I'd guess) has to do with the idea that they see their latest OS as offering the best experience and it makes customer service and troubleshooting far easier.

I'd say going forward however, the iPad Air 2 is so far ahead of other tablets and any software developed for it, that it will be running the next few years of iOS updates incredibly smoothly with no issue.

I think we forget, the iPad 2 was the SECOND generation of this product line. Expecting such an early iteration (especially of a MOBILE device) to last more than 4-5 years seems naive. Especially when similarly priced laptops at the time weren't lasting much longer....and they had been out for a decade or more.

I'd highly recommend upgrading to an iPad Air 2 for all those on an iPad 2. Everything about it is FAR superior. The Air 2 is twice as fast as the Air. It'll last a while.

I upgraded every year....but I'm keeping my Air 2 for the foreseeable future - that's how good it is.

Or maybe Apple could do something for the consumer and help things run better on their older software. The problem actually is that iOS 8 is bloated to the extent it runs poorly on A7 and A8 devices. No wonder it runs poorly on the A5.

Apple was still selling iPad 2s only a year ago, so many were still buying them, unaware on age etc. They are still selling the iPad 2 today, just in different casing as the iPad Mini 1. That means you had customers with 1 year old devices, and I'm sorry but if Apple is gonna be greedy and keep old hardware for sale for so long, software support is needed. Or they need to print on the box that the device won't be able to upgrade past a certain point and could loose speed and functionality.

Apple should give devices the longest support period it can. Its in the best interests of people and the environment. We don't need yet another reason for even more waste to be created quicker.

Yes consumers should read before they update their software, and yes people should understand that software will slow down their device, but Apple shouldn't be allowed to get away with everything.

Lets remember not every one is made of money.

Anyways, my iPad 2 runs reasonably well with iOS 8. It for some reason can not render smooth animations any more and safari tab reloading is far worse. I got improvements in 8.1.1 and slight improvements with 8.2. Heres hoping for iOS 9 support, and more improvements there.