You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!

When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Star Traveler Author

Level 4

1,755 points

iPad 2 and iOS 8.0.2 Problems

For all iPad 2 owners, this is an important solution for you! These problems result from long-term use, continuous upgrades, corrupted files and various glitches that happen over this long term use. You just need to get your iPad 2 back to FACTORY FRESH CONDITION to start out clean!

Here's one person's solution which will help a lot of iPad 2 users!

keithfrommariettaOct 12, 2014 3:25 PM Re: IPAD2 very slow after IOS 8 upgrade
Re: IPAD2 very slow after IOS 8 upgradein response to pacoKAS

SOLVED: IOS 8 Issues on iPad 2:

I just returned home from a visit to the Genius Bar. Like you and many others, when I upgraded my iPad 2 to IOS 8, it became practically unusable. It was VERY slow, lagged whenever trying to to do anything. Lots of screen freezes and apps spontaneously crashing. I was convinced that the processor on the iPad 2 just couldn't handle the new IOS and I went in to see about restoring to IOS 7.

Thankfully, I was hooked up with a very sharp guy at the bar. The problem is not with the OS, it is with it being an *upgraded* OS. He used the analogy of when you had an older Windows computer and how over time (and over upgrades), they just tended to get slower and slower because of all of the garbage that was carried forward in the upgrades. At those times (and if you've ever had a Windows computer, you get this), the only thing that would speed it up would be to wipe the machine and do a fresh install of the current OS and then reload your apps, and the viola, everything would be fast again. Well, it turns out that IOS can suffer the same problems.

THE FIX: FIRST, be sure you have a current iCloud backup of your device. Connect your iPad to a computer that has a clean fresh copy of IOS 8 on iTunes (this is best done with a computer other than the one that you sync your device to because you DO NOT want to restore it from a back up just yet). Ideally, if you do this at an Apple store you'll be assured of the right version there and someone to answer any questions you might have along the way. You then hold the power and home button down to hard-reset the device and continue to hold them down until it reboots into recovery mode. You then follow the instructions on the computer to reinstall the OS on the device (which wipes everything from it and then reinstalls a clean copy of it). Once this is done (which only takes about 15 minutes), your device will reboot and ask you to set it up. Answer the questions about language, location, etc. and continue until it asks you to log into your iTunes account. Once you do that, it will ask if you want to either 1) Set it up as a new device, 2) Restore from iCloud, or 3) Restore from iTunes. Choose (2), restore from iCloud. This will ensure that it brings down "clean" copies of all of your apps and preferences rather than the potentially corrupted ones that might reside in your iTunes backup. That's it! It will take a few hours depending on how much data and apps you have, but I am happy to report that my iPad 2 is now running IOS 8 and it's running as fast as it ever did when it was brand new!

To sum it up, this process 1) Wipes your device and the garbage causing your problems, 2) Loads a clean and bug-free version of IOS 8 to your device, and 3) restores your apps and data so that it looks just like it did before the wipe, with the exception that it works now! :-)

Note also that by following this process you don't have to go through the painful and laborious process of reloading all of your apps, data and/or settings. iCloud takes care of all of that for you.

iPad (4th gen) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iOS 8

Posted on Oct 12, 2014 2:36 PM

Top-ranking reply

Star Traveler Author

Level 4

1,755 points

Posted on Oct 12, 2014 2:42 PM

I'm going to mark this thread as an solved issue, per the above poster!

View in context

30 replies

frazzm737

Level 9

55,236 points

Oct 15, 2014 2:12 PM in response to AppleIsSinking

No, I have seen no set number of apps, but before I do any upgrade, I always delete unused or rarely used apps. I always assume that there may be some which may not be compatible with the new upgrade. I can always re download them if I want after the upgrade has been successfully accomplished. Many people have literally hundreds of apps--all it would take is one bad app to spoil the upgrade.

Star Traveler Author

Level 4

1,755 points

Oct 15, 2014 2:54 PM in response to AppleIsSinking

Just for the record, I have over 350 apps on my iPad and I had no trouble updating to iOS 8.0.2, and I am functioning fine as we speak, aside from a very few minor glitches.

Star Traveler Author

Level 4

1,755 points

Oct 15, 2014 2:56 PM in response to Viewsfromabroad

Apple mentioms it in their tech notes, so Apple does make it clear ... it's just that many users don't bother checking first ... :-) ... You can back up stuff yourself, if you are aware of this.

Oct 15, 2014 3:37 PM in response to Star Traveler

Ok, so how do I get a clean copy of iOS 8 without having to find a new computer? My iPad 2 has been horrible since I last updated my OS, and the factory reset looks like a viable solution I would like to try. However, I sync my iPad to my Mac Mini desktop. The next closest Mac computer that I have access to is 8 hours away, and I don't have a car. I really don't want to reconfigure my iPad to a windows computer. I refuse.

Star Traveler Author

Level 4

1,755 points

Oct 17, 2014 12:08 PM in response to AppleIsSinking

It's not that I have some kind of "personal affinity" for this solution, or that I invented it. It's that it has helped so many people so far, that I've lost track of how many have been helped. I'm fact, I just came back to this thread because another person was helped just a few minutes ago.

BUT in all the countless people it has helped, it hasn't been 100% of them ... and these various solutions never help 100% of the people. The reason why that's the case is not because the hardware differs (i.e. ... all iPad 2 models of a particular manufacturing run are exactly the same) and it's not because the iOS 8.0.2 version differs in your model versus the iOS 8.0.2 version that works in another machine. The iOS 8.0.2 is the same. What it is that differs is in each owner's machine.

There can be differing files, from one iPad 2 to another ipad 2, even though the hardware is the same and the iOS 8.0.2 is the same. Some of those files can get corrupted and/or scrambled and "that" can provide the difference in what "works" and what doesn't work, the "VARIATIONS" are in the user's machine. That's why you don't ever get the 100% solution, and thus, it doesn't have to do with the machine or the iOS 8.0.2 - unless you're talking about hardware failures or a few miscellaneous bugs which will be fixed in the next revision or two.

In your situation, you're going to have to have it reset to factory default while you are at the Genius Bar, and show them directly ("face-to-face") what those problems are, with that factory fresh machine, and have Apple Support deal directly with it and get you going again.

msieweke

Level 1

9 points

Oct 20, 2014 9:28 AM in response to Star Traveler

Here's a simpler trick that restored much of my iPad's performance: Just close out all old apps.

Double click the home button to get the "active" apps list.

Sweep each one off the top of the screen to close it.

It's OK to leave the most recent one open (Safari, for example).

No need to reinstall anything.

Star Traveler Author

Level 4

1,755 points

Oct 20, 2014 9:33 AM in response to msieweke

That's helpful for some simple problems. I've used that solution more times than I can count, in the past. It's usually for something that just got scrambled in RAM and it's a temporary type of thing. It's not a scrambled file or garbage in your system files.

If the problem is more persistent and permanent, then it may require doing a "clean system install". Of course I would NOT recommend that for simple solutions ... like for some reason my WiFi won't connect at a certain place, when it just did before. Or my bluetooth just "went south" and it was working just about five minutes ago. Things like that can usually be taken care of the simple way. It's all about knowing what the level of seriousness your problem is ... :-) ...

Oct 20, 2014 10:13 PM in response to Star Traveler

After suffering for months, turning off the suggested features etc and spewing vitriol at Apple, this procedure worked beautifully and my iPad is back to its spunky self with most options turned back on. Kudos and congrats. You need to follow it very specifically. Also, the only way I could restore from iCloud backup is to disconnect from computer after Restoreping IOS and do setup standalone. That is the only way I got the option to restore from iCloud. All my apps, photos, notes data restored perfectly. Could not be happier.

matt

Oct 20, 2014 10:16 PM in response to DeeDee1187

The only computer I had was e one I was connected to, it still worked for me. Make sure it downloads a new copy (i.e. erase any old images from your computer).

Star Traveler Author

Level 4

1,755 points

Oct 20, 2014 10:23 PM in response to Star Traveler

Here's the thread for the new revision that just came out ... iOS 8.1 ... and you can see how it's doing here ...

Re: Report on the NEW iOS 8.1 Revision Today

Nov 14, 2014 1:42 PM in response to Star Traveler

llucky you!

wiped my ipad 2 clean, got the latest system. Spent 3 hours getting things to run again.

it is slightly better than before bit a far cry from IOS7

still feel that apple is stealing my time and that they have ruined a good machine.

the reason I pay extra for Apple products is because I do not want to be computer nerd. if Apple expect their customers to be product geniuses, then it is time to change to thee Microsoft/Android world. Lower price ... More hassle. High price and much hassle at Apple makes no sense at all.

Nov 14, 2014 2:02 PM in response to Viewsfromabroad

I Lost 128 files in the process of back up and restoring the ipad2, and it still is not running properly. The nerve that Apple wants to charge 249 to fix something that they did to my computer ... Luckily these forums exist ... !

thank you, but I am still not smrt enough to understand everything suggested in the forum to get my beloved iPad2 to work properly.

Nov 21, 2014 7:07 AM in response to Schumpf-1

I waited for the bugs to be ironed out before making the leap from iOS 7.1.2 to iOS8. I avoided the problems that many early adopters encountered.

What worked for me:

1. download the 8.1.1 firmware, but do not install it.

2. back up the iPad to iTunes (via cable and Mac). You could probably use iCloud if you want to wait many hours for data to upload.

3. Erase the contents of the iPad

4. install the new firmware (

5. When the update is finished, restore your apps and settings from the backup

My 32G (AT&T) iPad 2 iOS now running 8.1.1 with no trace of a slowdown, nor problems with wi-fi, stuttering, etc. The clean install, I believe is the necessary step. Even if you already are running a version of iOS8, this method is more likely to leave you with a positive result, more so than doing the over the air patch.

Star Traveler Author

Level 4

1,755 points

Nov 21, 2014 7:37 AM in response to William Robinson

William Robinson wrote:

I waited for the bugs to be ironed out before making the leap from iOS 7.1.2 to iOS8. I avoided the problems that many early adopters encountered.

For people who are concerned about possible hassles and/or don't really feel up to the challenges of going through possible troubleshooting and other hassles ... simply "waiting" for the first few revisions to go through is a good idea for them. It's absolutely to be expected with any major upgrade (from any company and for any computer device) ... that it will have various issues to deal with in the first few revisions after that upgrade. Waiting definitely saved you the interim hassles ... :-) ...

What worked for me:

1. download the 8.1.1 firmware, but do not install it.

2. back up the iPad to iTunes (via cable and Mac). You could probably use iCloud if you want to wait many hours for data to upload.

3. Erase the contents of the iPad

4. install the new firmware (

5. When the update is finished, restore your apps and settings from the backup

My 32G (AT&T) iPad 2 iOS now running 8.1.1 with no trace of a slowdown, nor problems with wi-fi, stuttering, etc. The clean install, I believe is the necessary step. Even if you already are running a version of iOS8, this method is more likely to leave you with a positive result, more so than doing the over the air patch.

Thanks for for giving that run-down for the procedure that worked for you. Perhaps some others can follow that for themselves.

Star Traveler Author

Level 4

1,755 points

Nov 21, 2014 7:43 AM in response to Star Traveler

Star Traveler wrote:

For all iPad 2 owners, this is an important solution for you! These problems result from long-term use, continuous upgrades, corrupted files and various glitches that happen over this long term use. You just need to get your iPad 2 back to FACTORY FRESH CONDITION to start out clean!

Tis his was a solution that another user found out worked for him. And it has worked for many other iPad 2 users, in the meantime ... to the present. I have updated the procedure somewhat and also called it a troubleshooting methodology, in case there are further problems for some people. Most users ... though ... will do okay with this procedure and not have to resort to the further troubleshooting measures.

Follow this procedure for a Troubleshooting Methodology ... basically reset to factory default condition -BUT- be sure to do the following methodically and also to follow the part with Apple Support!

First you want to make sure you have several backups of your data and done with a couple of "different" sources. Be sure to understand what data is backed up and what is NOT on iCloud Backup and iTunes Backup. Use a variety of methods for backup ... you might check into Dropbox, in addition to your Apple options.

Then turn off your desktop anti-virus software when using iTunes for this reset to factory default. After you do that reset, then leave your iPad in its factory default state and see how it operates then. If you encounter any problems in that factory default state, then take it to Apple Support, and let them know that you have just reset it to that state with iTunes and have not put any of your data back on and it is operating in this fashion (whatever the problem is) in that pristine state. Make sure you keep that trouble ticket number, because if it has to be escalated through Apple Support, you're going to find all communications tied in with that number. If the lower level help isn't able to help you, then escalate it to a higher level to examine the problem. Keep at it with that trouble ticket number until Apple Support arrives at a solution to that problem. Be methodical and keep at it.

On the other hand, if everything is okay with the factory default condition, then restore your backup. Some people have discovered that the problem resides in the apps or something in the restored backup. If that's the case, then it's going to be trying and difficult to find out which developer's app is causing you the problem. And ... it's true ... that a developer not following Apple's instructions and guidelines for his app can CAUSE YOU TROUBLE. This kind of thing does happen from developers, especially when a new system upgrade comes out, because some developers ignore what Apple tells them about changes coming, and what they do BREAKS SOMETHING.

This is a troubleshooting methodology that you are going through. See it through to the end.

Choosing an iOS Backup Method (Should I Use iTunes or iCloud to back up ...)

https://support.apple.com/kb/HT5262

Back up and Restore your iOS Device with iCloud or iTunes

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1766

iTunes: About iOS Backups

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4946

Create and Delete iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch Backups in iTunes

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4946

iOS: Troubleshooting Encrypted Backups

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS5162

Use iTunes to Restore your iOS Device to Factory Settings

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1414

iPad 2 and iOS 8.0.2 Problems