IOS 8.3 on Ipad 2

[JOhnH]

Should I or shouldn't I?

This article makes it sound like a good idea.
http://www.gottabemobile.com/2015/04/10/ipad-2-ios-8-3-reviews-should-you-install-ios-8-3/

I have the Stratus 2 which I don't believe has the Bluetooth bug of older devices. Other than that, I don't really use the Ipad for much besides foreflight and a little bit of net surfing while on the road.

Anyone know of other reasons to hold off other than the fact that it is still relatively new?

 

[Unit74]

Same same.... After iOS 8 screwed me over, I'm not too interested in any more "improvements" on my iPad 2.

 

[Scrabo]

I did it last week,the keyboard is a bit slow to fully paint but WingX app is fine.

 

[ettsn]

I would say that the iPad2 is probably not a great candidate for moving to iOS 8.3 simply because each iteration of iOS is designed around newer, faster hardware. Thus, older devices that worked perfectly well before turn into slow pigs. Planned obsolescence? Perhaps. But doesn't make it any less true.

I wouldn't move any iPad prior to a Retina generation to iOS 8.3. I do not think you'll be happy with the performance hit.

 

[wsuffa]

I'm running 8.3 on mine. Compared to 8.2, it seems a tad better on memory management and keyboard responsiveness.

YMMV.

 

[LDJones]

If it ain't broke...

 

[JOhnH]

If it ain't broke...

Actually, it is pretty much broke. I am on 8.2 and it sucks, performance wise. I am ready to spring for a newer model now rather than later. But if 8.3 can get me a little better performance (than 8.2), it may buy me some time before I have to upgrade. Maybe when the next one comes out. I don't have a lot to lose. If it doesn't help, I'll buy a new one. If I don't update, I'll buy a new one.

I just kicked off the update. I will report back later after I have a chance to test it out.

 

[murphey]

I would say that the iPad2 is probably not a great candidate for moving to iOS 8.3 simply because each iteration of iOS is designed around newer, faster hardware. Thus, older devices that worked perfectly well before turn into slow pigs. Planned obsolescence? Perhaps. But doesn't make it any less true.

I wouldn't move any iPad prior to a Retina generation to iOS 8.3. I do not think you'll be happy with the performance hit.

I can agree with this. I waited until 8.3 and finally bit the bullet because of ForeFlight. Definitely not happy with the larger applications (FF, WingX) performance. FF has always taken a bit of time to launch but now it's gotten really disappointing. Fortunately, I backed up 7.? and will probably go back to it. Downside - I need to figure out how to revert to FF 6.7.

 

[Henning]

Actually, it is pretty much broke. I am on 8.2 and it sucks, performance wise. I am ready to spring for a newer model now rather than later. But if 8.3 can get me a little better performance (than 8.2), it may buy me some time before I have to upgrade. Maybe when the next one comes out. I don't have a lot to lose. If it doesn't help, I'll buy a new one. If I don't update, I'll buy a new one.

I just kicked off the update. I will report back later after I have a chance to test it out.

As a person who upgraded from a 32GB 2 to a 128GB Air2 a couple months back, I would say the upgrade was worth it.

 

[JOhnH]

All I can say is "amazing"!

When the update first finished, Foreflight still took several seconds to launch. And it still took several seconds to paint the map. Out of disappointment, I stopped testing right there.

But I went back about an hour later and launched FF. I had to do a double take because while I must have blinked, FF came up. I then brought up the map page, and it POPPED up. Each page I went to came up immediately.

When I updated my Ipad2 from 6.x to 7.x it got slow. subsequent 7.x+ and 8.2 updates all made it slower. But IOS 8.3 really delivered for me.

"ME" being taking an Ipad2 w 64GBs from IOS 8.2 to IOS 8.3.

Now, I don't need no stinkin new Ipad.

YMMV, but if you are currently on IOS 7.n or 8.1 or 8.2, I suggest you update (barring some other restriction, like the older bluetooth bug).

Actually, it is pretty much broke. I am on 8.2 and it sucks, performance wise. I am ready to spring for a newer model now rather than later. But if 8.3 can get me a little better performance (than 8.2), it may buy me some time before I have to upgrade. Maybe when the next one comes out. I don't have a lot to lose. If it doesn't help, I'll buy a new one. If I don't update, I'll buy a new one.

I just kicked off the update. I will report back later after I have a chance to test it out.

 

[BillTIZ]

Should I or shouldn't I?

This article makes it sound like a good idea.
http://www.gottabemobile.com/2015/04/10/ipad-2-ios-8-3-reviews-should-you-install-ios-8-3/

I have the Stratus 2 which I don't believe has the Bluetooth bug of older devices. Other than that, I don't really use the Ipad for much besides foreflight and a little bit of net surfing while on the road.

Anyone know of other reasons to hold off other than the fact that it is still relatively new?

We have not heard if Stratus is having the same problems as other external GPS units. I think Stratus uses wifi, while the problems seem to be with Bluetooth GPS devices.

 

[happypilot876]

We have not heard if Stratus is having the same problems as other external GPS units. I think Stratus uses wifi, while the problems seem to be with Bluetooth GPS devices.

You are correct: the Stratus 1 & 2 are not affected by the iOS 8.3 Bluetooth GPS bug. The Stratus 1 & 2 use a WiFi connection.

 

[jordane93]

I downloaded it on my Ipad 2. It was a big mistake to put 8 on it. Everything is so glitchy now and Safari is super slow.

 

[Scrabo]

I downloaded it on my Ipad 2. It was a big mistake to put 8 on it. Everything is so glitchy now and Safari is super slow.

Actually I remembered after moving to 8.3, performance was rough but I did a complete reset of the iPad 2 and all has been well since.

 

[Jim_CAK]

Actually, it is pretty much broke. I am on 8.2 and it sucks, performance wise. I am ready to spring for a newer model now rather than later. But if 8.3 can get me a little better performance (than 8.2), it may buy me some time before I have to upgrade. Maybe when the next one comes out. I don't have a lot to lose. If it doesn't help, I'll buy a new one. If I don't update, I'll buy a new one.

I just kicked off the update. I will report back later after I have a chance to test it out.

I am about ready to get a new iPad. I have the iPad 2 and the functionality is marginal with 8.2. I use a blue tooth GPS with Forflight and don't want risk 8.3.

I am trying to figure out when the next generation of iPad will come out. Anyone know? iPhones seem to follow a one year cycle, but I cant find anything reliable on the iPad.

 

[denverpilot]

Upgraded every device in the house two days after release and enjoying the thread for entertainment value in all the false and misleading statements.

 

[jesse]

Upgraded every device in the house two days after release and enjoying the thread for entertainment value in all the false and misleading statements.

I upgraded mine, and it seemed faster. I then completely erased the device and didn't do a restore since all I want on it is Foreflight and Safari and it's dramatically faster now.

A lot of the "slow down" IMO over time has a lot to do with the iCloud sync crap.

I took a look at the sql lite database on my Mac that iCloud syncs SMS messages to. Even if you delete a text message in the Messages app the message was still in the database. The indexes weren't spectacular either. No wonder these things get slow over time.

 

[denverpilot]

I upgraded mine, and it seemed faster. I then completely erased the device and didn't do a restore since all I want on it is Foreflight and Safari and it's dramatically faster now.



A lot of the "slow down" IMO over time has a lot to do with the iCloud sync crap.



I took a look at the sql lite database on my Mac that iCloud syncs SMS messages to. Even if you delete a text message in the Messages app the message was still in the database. The indexes weren't spectacular either. No wonder these things get slow over time.

There's a couple of tools out there to clean that DB or you can hack them by hand as you noticed. It's impressive looking back over a few years worth of texts, isn't it? The way they did media attachments is a little odd if I recall. References to another location... Trying to remember. I had to hack a backup to *recover* a bunch of texts once, which is where I started messing with it.

Eventually found that someone else had already done the brain damage and had a desktop App for recovering whatever you wanted from an old backup and shoving it back onto the phone.