Q: How is iPad 2 performance using iOS 9.1?

I really wish they would start signing 8.4.x for the iPad 2 again. While it does work for many people, there are quite a few who seem to have problems with it. Wouldn't be hard, but then again, they would rather you buy a new iPad.

I think I'm just going to err on the side of caution and not update mine. I'd rather not make it useless and as much as I'd love a new iPad, it's not in the cards right now. Maybe next year when the new version comes out. I just don't want to buy one in a year when no new model has been offered.

MIchelPM. I don't know what your connection is to Apple but you are too quick to let Apple off the hook.  They have a much easier job than Microsoft, they control the hardware and the software through the iStore.  This gives them the easiest chance to get it right.  Since I bought my iPad2 I have had seamless upgrades but this time not so good, hopefully Apple will learn from this, perhaps in the future they should not be so quick to allow upgrades of older hardware until they are sure the new version is compatible.

My my iPad 2 is pretty much unusable since upgrading to iOS 9. Safari is sluggish, apps are jerky and freeze and or crash. I took it to the Genius Bar and was told that as its a 4 year old device, I should expect performance to decrease. They said it was like putting new tyres on a car - the tyres are new but the car is getting older and will need replacing. So according to Apple Genius, my $800 device is life expired after 4 years.

The Genius upgraded it to 9.1 which is slightly not as bad as 9.02. Apps don't crash as often, but they do still crash and are sluggish (jerky) even with all the fancy motion effects turned off, and whatever else I could find online to make performance better. The device was fine prior to IOS 9 upgrade and there is no option to downgrade back to 8. Very poor from Apple.

If you backup your v8.4 before upgrading, you can go back apparently. I didn't do this so I have no option to go back unless I know someone with a backed up version of 8.4 on their computer. 

Just curious,

What is the storage capacity of your iPad 2 and how much free space is left?

Actually you can't go back anymore, even if you have a backup of 8.4. Apple stopped signing 8.4.x about a week after releasing 9.0. I spent about 4 days with 9.0 and couldn't get my iPad2 64GB to work properly. I had severe lag, apps crashing constantly, safari unable to work for longer than one page display. I tried all of michelPM's suggestions (reduce motion and all that have always been on for my iPad) and even cleared off video so I had roughly 15GB of memory free (which is more than you could ever have free on a 16GB version) and it would not work properly. Thankfully I decided to downgrade and wait to see if 9.1 was going to work better on the low RAM iPad2, apparently not.

The thing is, everyone has a different suite of apps. Yeah, we probably all have Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, but there are a myriad of games, productivity apps and such that no two people are going to have the same combination of apps. Maybe one of the older, non-updated apps is causing problems, but for me even apps that had been updated for 9 were crashing constantly.

Since the option of reverting to 8.4.x is gone, it's probably the most cautious approach to avoid any version of 9 on an iPad 2. While it may work with some (and perhaps the newer version that came in 16GB only is more stable), there seem to be quite a few folks ready to throw theirs against the wall. I would love the new cut and paste and keyboard options, but I'm not going to risk making something that works utterly useless.

Capacity 26.5GB, 20.3GB available. Plenty of space. 

MY iPad 2 runs really slow on 9.1. did you find any solution?

Please see my comments

iOS 9 features that older, supported, iDevices get.

The new News App - don't use

New Find Friends App - not interested

Better and easier overall cut, paste, copy operations. - disagree, craps out, chokes, freezes,

Transparency window effects has improved on older iPad models - never noticed the difference

The new UPPERcase/lowercase onboard software keyboard - nice change.

The new software keyboard trackpad feature by tapping two fingers once anywhere on the software keyboard to navigate the onscreen text cursor - have not tried

Home Sharing has returned in iOS 9 (This was sorely missed by all in iOS 8, myself included). - n/a

More app icons visible on single pane app folders.

Return to App feature (found in the upper left of top iOS status bar) - does not work.

Improvements to Mail - disagree, search does not work, sluggish, prone to crashing

With iPad 3 and later with Siri, there is the new "Hey Siri" voice activation function. - n/a

This is all I could find for the time being

in summary iOS 9.1 on iPad 2 is a piece of **** ( yeah I turned just about everything off as recommended ). Makes me wonder why I would buy another Apple product ever again.

I think it was a mistake for Apple to reach back as far as the iPad 2 for iOS9. You don't get access to all the really cool features. They could have easily done an 8.4.4 or even 8.5 release for the improved keyboard and put homesharing back in. For folks complaining and vowing to swear off Apple products, there have been 4 new full sized iPads released since the iPad 2. It was released in 2011, making it 4+ year old technology. The fact that Apple has made an attempt to support it, is pretty amazing. If you think Android is any better, feel free, it's a free country and no one is making anyone buy anything. But the odds of Android tablet makers supporting anything much over a year old is highly unlikely. You would be lucky to see one update of the OS (perhaps more on a high end Samsung, but bargain tablet makers are pretty much fire and forget).

At the very least it would be nice to have the option from the Genius Bar for them to revert it back to 8.4.3 since there are folks out there who can't get it work stable after the update. The answer should not be, oh well, guess you need to buy a new one because their old hardware can't handle their new software. The answer should be, lets roll it back to when it was stable. As much as folks may not like Microsoft, at least they have given folks a 30 day window to determine if the new OS works for them rather than saying 'sorry you updated and your computer doesn't work right anymore (or you have incompatible software), guess you are going to have to spend several hundred dollars to replace what doesn't work'.

I agree. It was a dumb strategic corporate move 

Apple should have specified that iOS 9 was only supported on newer devices. Users of older iPad devices could have decided to either stay put with whatever ios they had installed and get left behind, or purchase a newer device.and move over to iOS 9.

I think the issue for Apple is that 1 in 5 are still using iPad 2.

Apple has not made a compelling value proposition for users to upgrade to newer devices.

Stuffing half baked and rushed operating systems like iOS 9 on to older devices is suicide.

Apple should apologize, back track and offer older devices users the opportunity to downgrade to an older iOS

I am using now using my Wife's iPad 2 and writing ths post on the iPad 2 running iOS 9.1.

AND, yes, we older iPad users do not get ALL the cool features of iOS 9.

But those features we do get shouldn't be causing all of the major issues that seem to be plagung many iPad 2 users.

Also, the new Apple News App I like quite a lot! The News App is working just fine on the iPad 2, as well.

I agree, I always update because up to a point

it seemed to help and add functionality.

Now my iPad 2 and iPhone 5 run slower, choppy

and freezes at times. Wish I wouldn't have

uupdated to 9. Makes me want to throw my

ipad 2 at the wall. Hope they let up downgrade

to a recommended level for an ipad2.

You do not know any more than I do how many iPad 2 users are reporting issues.

I DO know that those reporting issues in these forums are only minority accounting of users.

iOS 9 issues on iPad 2 models are NOT a RAMPANT ISSUE just because a small growing minority of disgruntled iPad 2 users having issues are claimmg just that!

Just because this minority iPad 2 users group is having issues doesn't constitute a blanket statement that iOS problems on iPad 2 models is a worldwide problem FOR ALL IPAD 2 USERS and that Apple HAS TO IMMEDIATELY (IF NOT SOONER) address and fix.

Those users, like myself, are not reporting into trobleshooting forums when our iPad 2s are runnng fine on the latest iOS versions.

ALL of the older iPad models I have been updated multiple times to newer versions of iOS 9, plus two complete backup restores and my iPad 2 is running better than it did before the restore!

If you want Apple to hear about your individual iPad issues, again, use Apple's feedback page.

http://www.apple.com/feedback/ipad.html

Apple designers and engineers do not read these forums. Apple supplies these forums for users to work out their product issues with other users, but these community forums ARE monitored/moderated by Apple Staff assigned to these community forums, but I do not think any info is ever passed on to who/mever the cognizant parties are who would need to know if there are any mounting issues with a product or software.

The only way to get Apple to listen to you is to use their feedback portion of their website. Apple DOES read the feedback, but they still do not respond with any personal replies.