Upgrade iPad iOS 5.1.1 to iOS 6

Though notably late to this discussion, thought my thresh customer view was worth a few words.

Having read through most of the comments, I don't think anyone was ultimately wrong in their opinion.

If I dare to categorise those relevant to this ongoing debate it would consist of those who are an Apple fanatic

who keenly keep up to the latest Apple device (like my brother) and the remainder, like myself, who purchased

an apple product simply for its purpose as a household device in the hopes to get the most out of their product.

Being that latter category, I simply don't have the frame of mind to replace my iPad 1, it's in perfectly good working order

and quite frankly I am still too fond of it, despite the irritating fact that I can't use some key apps (amazon mp3 player for one!) .

Though a few years old it's still got many many years of life. I'm not one for wastage.

I'd like to think all Apple customers initially purchased an Apple product for the sheer fact that Apple products are a sign of quality, innovation

and their products last the test of time, in the same way that some of those german vehicle manufactures are renown and purchased

for the same reason. And I happily paid a premium for it, over some of those more cheap and cheerful competing brands which I would

have relectantly gone for if I can't afford better.

In my humble opinion (despite not being an Apple fanatic) Apple are one of leading brands in terms of quality and innovation.

Going back to the matter at hand, of the above latter category of purchasers, we unfortunately do feel a little disappointed that a brand we are

fond of have not come up with a way to allow the older iPads to keep software compatibility uptodate. Is there really no way?

Excuse my non-IT background, what about RAM slots allowing future upgrades, or controlling developers to allow their softwares to

run on older versions etc

I am sure there are plenty of reasons why this is not possible, but I will NEVER be convinced that Apple, the king of ingeniousness, innovation, quailty and forward thinking cannot come up with a solution. If the software developing world is so impatient to advance onward, surely then, all the more reason to allow hardware adaption for software compatibility for more than a few mere short years to keep such a fine hardware product, designed to last many many years (fundamentally why I am attracted to and pay premium for quality). Yes, competing brands may have a lesser timespan, but still that's not a reason.

I guess this is where some of us have been left with the "feeling" that Apple are deliberately ignorant of this for monetary reasons.

I am sure there is plenty of logical reasons why IPad is left incompatible as its younger brothers leave him behind in the dark, however, I'm also sure there

were overwhelming reasons why the IPad and IPhone were not possible to create in their own right, what partly what makes Apple so great.

And this possible feeling of Apple's ignorance on this matter is undermining the very brilliance that Apple stands for.

It is unfortunate, but the customer is always right in business, and 8 pages of dispute is undeniable.

Finally, of this latter category of purchaser, will they really force themselves into forking out another £600, or will they simply appreciate what they have, (yet bitter that update is no longer possible after what we feel is too short a timespan) until the hardware itself is falling to pieces which is not anytime soon as after all, Apple, that is why we choose your product, quality.

Funny that, create a premium product that attracts a demographic for quality and longevity, yet on the other hand undermine that iconic sign with insufficient software updating compatibility for apparent reasons. Are you sure that is a really a good idea for the long term business, undermining what Apple work so hard to stand for.

Oops, adding to my last:

Should Netflix app no longer be compatible that would remove a large portion of my IPads use and send it to storage, and as that latter category of purchaser would I purchase another £600 iPad with the knowledge that its software compatibility will be obsolete in a few short years, unlikely, after all it is a second household computer. And on the reverse, I would be encourage to return my loyalty for a another purchase if I knew I was getting its lifespan in use. Logically what's the point in paying premium if It's rendered obsolete well before its built to last, might as well go for the cheaper competing brands. Is it only a matter of time before this second category of purchaser comes to the same conclusion.

Might as well manufacture in cheaper quality and rank Apple as a mediocre brand, that'll keep Steve turning in his grave.

I'm an Apple nut, much like your brother. I'm a graphic designer and was taught to work on these computers and I've come to love and eventually buy almost all products Apple puts out there. However I do not have the financial solvency to buy a new device every one or two years. I would love to get one of those new iPads Air but at the moment, I simply can't afford it. I work on an iMac I bought in 2010 and it has been my faithfull companion and think it will serve me well for at least another 3 years if not more. I also bought my iPad in December 2010. Had I know Apple was going to release a new model three months later, I, like most here, would've gladly waited and delay my Xmas gift. 😉

I understand the companies must keep up and update their software to meet the new hardware needs but what I don't agree with is stopping support for older devices altogether. Why not think a little about us First Gen. iPad users?. I'm not complaning my iPad has turned obsolete overnight because I still use it daily and it functions and covers ALMOST all my needs. But it saddens me to see little by little, other software companies follow suit and slowly stop making older versions of their programs available. 😟 So far, I have just "suffered" the loss of two of my e-magazines suscriptions due to incompatibility, but I get the unsettling feeling it will happen more, and more often.

Man you are way too aggresive...chill out! I understand some points you have and agree but for the rest that are upset I completely understand...apple should at least offer a newer version/update even for the oldest product not almost force them to buy newer products....and dont get me wrong I loooove apple and have been loyal for at least 10 years....and as such I have to recognized that is not right...I gave my older Ipad to my son (2 years) because Im not going to buy him a newer and cant update many many applications, and I understand is not "apple's" fault, but the developers, but is actually their fault because we are not able to update to a newer version....

Anyways....I just wanted to give you some feedback and by the way without knowing if apple pays you so you can defend their name...

BTW, contrary to what Phil and others say, this is not something anyone "needs to do". This logic should be implemented into the appstore app so that users (paying customers) don't have to jump through hoops just to download apps.

Totally agree with this. And it shouldn't tell me that an app has an update if I can't update it. My biggest issue with my iPad is how many things crash at times and the biggest culprits are Safari (and every other browser) and the App Store. If those two things were fixed it'd be a much less frustrating experience.

A few apps that I have don't have iPad versions so I have to use the iPhone app. Those apps run so much better even if they look kind of crappy. One solution would be to be able to specify the iPhone version when downloading. Or if I could just force Safari to declare it's a iPhone to get the mobile versions of web pages that would be swell.

Most people DO NOT replace their desktop computers more often! They upgrade them or only replace them once a need occurs to do so.

By refusing to update the iOS on the first generation iPad, Apple are artificially creaing a need to 'upgrade'. I for one am smart enough to see through this and will not upgrade. I am not an iSheep :p

What this also means is that by no longer keeping the first generation iPad up-to-date and no longer supporting it, we users of the first gen iPad are no longer bound by the user agreement. Such agreements are contracts, if one party breaks the contract then the other is no longer bound by it.

I will not be purchasing any more Apple devices any time soon (not saying I never will!) and I will not be buying any more apps for this one, I no longer have a use for a tablet!

There are many more devices out there, don't be an iSheep, shop around and compare specs/prices. If you choose Apple, do so on your needs and after deciding it is the hardware you want after comparing with others, not because it's the 'in thing'! Just because it is made by Apple does not mean it is the best! Their desktop computers look good but for the price you pay, you get a lower spec computer than you get if you pay even half the cost on a non Apple desktop PC.

This is not a rant, it is an informed opinion from a computer technician :)

I totaly agree. i have an ipod mini , 2 x iphone 4s & Ipad 1st Gen 64GB

and i love apple products easy and friendly to use i love the apps ,the software& more ....

BUT the biggest problem is the ipad it crashes all the time every app that i have.it require

IOS 6.0 or IOS 7.0 or higher....!!!!???????????? ( facebook, youtube,games,and more ....)

I'm not happy .i like for apple to resolve the issue and fix it

at least let's us update it to IOS 6.0 or IOS 7.0 to our OWN risk.

thanks.

simply put, if u dont want to have to update and eventually upgrade ur device to a newer one, dont buy apple products. thats all there is to it. not being mean or anything, but anyone that pays that much money for a piece of plastic and electric wiring should do some digging and realize that the way that apple works is by making everything to stay updated. and any devices that come out will be obsolete within 2-3 years.

I'm amazed at the heated discussion that this topic has produced!

In my family we have several iPads, including my daughter's iPad 1. She still happily uses it on a daily basis, and while it has a few limiations over the latest hardware and OS, it's still very functional, and she uses it for email, web browsing, games etc...

I'm personally not too surprised that Apple have stopped releasing OS updates for the iPad 1. As a comparison, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, which was released in August 2012, is upgradable to Android 4.1.2 - which was released in October 2012. There are newer versions of Android, but they can't be installed on the Galaxy Tab 10.1, even though it's less than 1 1/2 years old. Probably the last update that the Samsung tablet will get, was released only 2 months after the device, and users who bought after October 2012 will never see an update at all.

Seems Apple is not too bad at all...

If you are having problems installing Apps (because they are not compatible with iOS 5.x.x) then the following workaround may help...

http://www.termpro.com/asp/pubs.asp?ID=310

Phil, can you help me? I'm trying to help my dad he's 75 years old and not really familiar with his iPad 1. I tried to update to iOS 6 when I tried updating LDS Scriptures app to include October 2013 session. And automatically bring up the other conferences when you touch the General Conference icon from the list it comes up with a list of every conference back to 1972 but we can't download October 2013 and he has trouble bringing up some other talks. I tried to go to settings then general then software update then update and download. But the problem is there is no update or download tab there. When I go to update the app it tells me it can't work without iOS 6 do you want to download ios6 so I thought I was updating to io6 until I checked my software update it still said 5.1 osi then I went online to see how to update and found out that once you get to software update I didn't see the update and download tabs. How can I get the conference talks to cooperate? He can't afford a new one. Can you help me? My name is Sarah He doesn't use it very often I'd like to see him use it more often. Please help me there is also a Deseret book app that he has on his iPad I'm not sure if he has problems with it but if he chooses to order from it I would like him to succeed. Any assistance you can give me is greatly appreciated. Thank you Sarah

<Email Edited by Host>

Master Jack wrote:

Phil, can you help me? I'm trying to help my dad he's 75 years old and not really familiar with his iPad 1. I tried to update to iOS 6

You cannot update an iPad 1 to iOS 6. It can only be updated as far as 5.1.1.

That is really unfair because whatever comes out new now it only supports 6.1 ios, so those of us who bought the first gen iPad might as well throw it in the trash! Apple should really think about allowing iPad users to upgrade if they choose to, so that we can continue using our iPads. What is the real reason Apple has not made this available to ALL ipad gens?! I bet it's driven by money! I would even buy this upgrade, just make it available!!

iOS 6 incorporates featues that are not supported by the original iPAD hardware. But, if you just want to get older versions of Apps that are compatible with iOS 5, please follow the instructions at the link below...

http://www.termpro.com/asp/pubs.asp?ID=310

The iPAD 1's are still great for many Apps. The problem is just getting the Apps to install on the iPAD 1. The instructions at the link above will allow you to download and install the most recent version of the App that was still compatible with iOS 5.1.1. Granted, the App you are installing may not be the latest and greatest but I have been very happy with the Apps I use.

I have really gotten confused. I'm an iPad first gen owner and suffering from the same "can't upgrade to IOS 6.1" problem about which several have written. But what causes this. One writer said that it was a technical issue about insufficient RAM in the original iPad. Another said there is a workaround (which I couldn't figure out). But most seem to say that it is simply Apple's business plan for "planned obsolescence" to require users to buy the latest gadget.

What's the real story?