Ipad air low memory crash

Contact Apple Care, ask to talk to a senior technician (as others here have done), get a case number. Many folks on this thread suspect it is software issue that can be fixed.

My new iPad Air also crashes much more frequently than my old iPad 2 using the same mix of apps. At least once a day.

:-(

I'm having crash issues with my Air as well. After reading thru this discussion, although there may be some underlying hardware issues yet to surface, it appears that this problem is primarily due to ios7. The fact that the crashes occur across different devices tells me that hardware is not the root cause. Older devices running ios6 are not affected until they are upgraded. My advice to my friends is not to update to ios7 at this time. My iphone5 and my old ipad4 my wife now has are running flawlessly on the mature ios6 platform.

As a now-retired IT professional, I can safely say that software development is an iterative process that rarely allows thorough testing before public release. If you want to fault the corporate bigwigs, it always seemed to me that deadlines that can't be moved consistently compromise testing and full functionality. Memory leaks and interface issues are common in early releases.

The real test will be how quickly and thoroughly Apple mobilizes to address the user rollout problems that are now extant. Turn on send diagnostics if you want to contribute to and expedite solutions.

I like my Air a lot, and ios7 is pretty nice, but I would move back to ios6 for awhile if I could.

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Underlying issues yet to surface? They have surfaced, immediately. iPad Air has an unfixable problem. Too little memory. Period.

For light users, it may be tolerable. For heavier users and power users, intolerable. As more 64 bit apps come out for the Air, it will be intolerable for light users as well.

Additionally, 1 GB of DDR3 RAM is less than 1 GB of DDR2 RAM, according to a post from another tech site discussing this issue. So the Air has about 30 MB less usable RAM then the iPad 4. This makes sense to me, without researching it, because my iPhone 5 shows 1015 MB RAM total while the iPad Air shows 975 MB RAM total.

IOS7 uses more memory, it is more bloated. My iPad 4 was starting to crash after I upgraded to IOS7.

My solution? I am going back to the iPad 4, and back to IOS6.

The iPad Air CPU is great and the light slim form factor is awesome, but....the lack of memory is a deal breaker...The iPad Air is already obsolete.

1GB of RAM is not enough for a high-resolution tablet, especially with a 64 bit CPU (a move to 64 bit consumes more RAM). The reason why the apps are crashing so much is because there's not enough RAM. I don't think that this will ever be fixed because it's a hardware limitation issue.

It's just unacceptable that Apple is still releasing iPads with just 1 GB of RAM. I wish that I could return mine but I can't right now. I paid $600 for the 32 GB model and it definitely does not justify the price.

Unfortunately this will likely not change because people are too busy worshipping Apple and kissing their behind and hyping up their products. I know, because unfortunately I bought into the hype. iPads are not as they're cracked out to be.

I agree. Gotta wait for the next iPad. I returned mine on The 15th day. Then I bought another one. That one crashed too so I returned it . If you call Apple they will probably approve your return even though it's past 14 days.

The best thing you can do is go buy the iPad 4 on a holiday sale. Buying it new is the only way you'll get iOS 6 back. I got lucky and got one from target for $349.

Now the waiting game for the next iPad.

Actually, I believe Apple is doing the extended holiday return policy like other stores- anything purchased between Nov. 1 to Dec. 31 can still b returned until January. Check out the Apple holiday return policy. But if you are going back to the iPad 4 and already sold your other one, you might tak a loss if you can't get the 4 on a holiday sale. Good luck to you.

I haven't had a single crash with my new iPad 4 on IOS6.... Yaayyyyyy for. Me... 8- D

If you correct, z, it would be the biggest fiasco ever for Apple. It would mean their hardware and software architects are not in sync. It would mean that either ios7 would have to be radically altered to run on the new hardware, or the new hardware units sold would have to be replaced to run ios7. I would expect to be compensated if a box with more RAM is the only answer. We shall see, but I continue to think it unlikely that will prove to be the case.

When I asked the Apple guy in the store how much RAM the Air has, he said there is really no hard number. It implies that as with for example OSX, swapping is used to and from data storage as needed. We don't have programs so large yet they cannot be held in 1GB of executable RAM. In the future that may well be so, long after this hardware is obsolete.

As I said earlier, if you don't have to run ios7 on your device like with the Air, iPhone 5s, or Mini Retina, don't do it yet. Ios6 is a superior option right now for everyone else.

davidboughton,

There are many free or lowcost apps on the App Store that track memory usage. RAM is indeed only 1gb. The Air, iPhone 5s, and Mini Retina require iOS 7 as it supports the 64-bit A7 CPU architecture (iOS 6 does not).

Logic suggests that a 64-bit CPU would require twice the RAM of a 32-bit CPU all other things being equal. I was disappointed to learn that the current A7 CPU architecture includes only 1gb of RAM. Apple may have have found a clever way to compensate for only having 1gb of RAM, but it appears to fail in a non-zero percentage of shipped devices.

There are in my mind only two reasons for not bumping up the RAM in the Air, et al.: cost and battery life. zzphilxz credits the bean counters with nixing the extra RAM due to cost. I suggest that doubling the RAM could have an unacceptable (to Apple) impact on battery life. We could both easily be right.

From what I gather, RAM consumes power by the stick, not so much by the total capacity, and then it is still negligible compared to the display or the CPU. When you have apps and web pages stored in RAM, it results in the CPU not having to reload the app or web page. So having less RAM appears to cause overall more power consumption.

I for the life of me can't fathom the idiotic thoughts or decisions that led to why Apple didn't put at least 2 GB in the iPad Air, or even the iPAD 4 for that matter.

For those of you who think it is IOS7 because it is across multiple devices, here's an analogy: You have an aerodynamic small car with a 100 horsepower engine in it. It has been running efficiently for years. All of a sudden you put 500 pounds in the trunk...what happens when you try to go up a hill or accelerate quickly? It bogs down.

IOS7 = 500 pounds in the trunk.

The 64 bit iDevices are like making the car twice as large, still with the 500 pounds in the trunk, with a slightly larger engine....

And I agree, this could erupt into the biggest Apple fiasco since when Apple fired Jobs back in the day...it only took a couple years back thn before Apple started nosediving...I see a parallel. The only reason it's taking. Longer for the corporate turds to trash Apple now is because corporations are much stronger now, and taking longer to fall; but when they do, it's a catastrophe...unless the corrupt politicians bail you out, like with the banks and insurance companies...

I have the same crash issue with the Air. I updated my iPhone 4S and iPad 3 with iOS7 and subsequent updates and have had no crashes on those devices, they work near perfectly. Purchased the Air 128GB on November 1 and installed the same apps as on my iPad 3 and iPhone 4S. Almost immediately the Air started to crash to home screen on various websites that I used on the older devices which gave me no problem. Before reading this thread, I suspected the problem was related to the Air. After reading through all 10 pages I think the 64 bit processor with 1 GB RAM might be the problem. Now I'm considering returning it and wait for a new release because I still have the iPad 3.

Check out expresslane.apple.com ...

Sam Katz1

Re: iPad Safari crashing regularly

Nov 29, 2013 7:38 AM (in response to ptutini)

You should call apple using the web to setup the call:

http://expresslane.apple.com

Just called Apple Support. Will wipe all data and do a hard wire install of iOS7 on Saturday at Genius Bar. Want to do this at store so that if problem is not solved, it is documented at store and I will be able to get a refund from store manager and wait for an upgraded Air.

Tech said WiFi installs sometimes can corrupt updates of iOS7. He said if wipe and hard wire reinstall fails to fix, then it's a hardware issue. I have iOS7.0.4. Tech also said they are working on an update to the software.

I am planning to do the same, etype2, on the chance the early box I got is flawed. Beyond that, the warranty runs for a year. If my Air is still crashing by the time the Air2 (or quietly updated Air1) comes out next year, I will exchange it.

In the meantime, I will put up with the occasional minor crashes and keep sending diagnostics. It's a nice box.