Issues with their iPad mini not updating to IOS 11 and stuck on 9.3.5?

Try all of my extensive tips and suggestions which has come with many years of experience if using many iDevices.

How much free data storage space is left on your iPad?

iDevices need to maintain, at least, 3 GBs, OR GREATER, of free data storage space.

In Settings app, General settings panel, turn OFF Background App Refresh for any apps you feel do not need constant data updating/Internet updating in the background when not using the an app OR turn OFF Background App Refresh entirely/globally for the entire device.

In Settings app, under General settings, Reset panel, at the right bottom of the list, Reset All Settings.

In Settings app (NOT from the iOS Control Panel) turn OFF Bluetooth when not using any Bluetooth devices.

Also, in general, if you want a faster IDevice, on all of my iDevices, I turn off most of the iOS motion graphics eye candy, by simply turning ON Reduce Motion in Settings app, General, Accessibilty settings.

Make sure you aren't running scads and scads of background apps in the iOS 11 Control Panel/App Switcher.

If you are, you need to quit the bulk of these background running apps by tap and hold a finger on an app window in the switcher and slide your finger upwards to quit an app. You should be able to use more than one finger to quit more than one app window simultaneously.

Also, make sure you don’t have scads and scads of active website tabs running in the web browser.

If you do, greatly reduce the amount of active website tabs your web browser.

Some minority of user have been turning ON and leaving ON iCloud backups continuously backing up on a constant and daily basis.

If you are one of these users, turn off iCloud backup and only turn this on to do daily backups either when you are not using your iPad for a prolonged period of time (like when you are sleeping), then turn iCloud backups OFF when actually using your iPad

OR

only perform your backups on a lesser time schedule.( like twice a week, once a week, once every two weeks, once a month, etc.).

Tap on the link below to my iDevice/iOS performance/optimisation user tips link.

https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-10344

Try all of these tips and leave each tip active together. Do not simply try every tip individually, expecting just one tip to be a performance “cure all”.

Many of these tips are designed to work together to improve overall iOS/iDevice performance.

Good Luck!

The first gen iPad Mini (Identify your iPad model - Apple Support) only supports up to iOS 9.3.5, it can't be updated any higher.

The iPad 2, 3 and 1st generation iPad Mini are all ineligible and excluded from upgrading to iOS 10 OR iOS 11.

They all share similar hardware architectures and a less powerful 1.0 Ghz CPU that Apple has deemed insufficiently powerful enough to even run the basic, barebones features of iOS 10.

Why would you want to upgrade, anyways?

Since iOS 8, older iPad models such as the iPad 2, 3, 4 and the original iPad Mini have only been getting the most basic of iOS features.

Older iPad users get none of the newest and coolest cutting edge features that newer model iDevices, with better hardware specs, can handle with more aplomb.

FYI,

Just because your 1st gen iPad Mini is no longer able to upgrade to the latest iOS doesn't mean your 1st gen iPad Mini is suddenly useless.

So, your options are really keep using your 1st gen iPad Mini or purchase a new iPad if you feel you need or want to.

Your current 1st gen iPad Mini will still work and continue to receive app updates until sometime in the near future, when, with the current iOS 11, ALL support for older 32 bit iDevices and any iOS 32 bit apps will, eventually, come to a final end.

Your 1st gen iPad Mini will still work and function as it always has, but will no longer receive any more app updates sometime in the foreseeable future.

The 1st gen iPad Mini has had 4-5 years of iOS upgrades/updates

The final app updates your 1st gen iPad Mini will receive will be its last!

Currently, your 1st gen iPad Mini is STILL continuing to receive app updates under iOS 9.3.5, but look for this trend to end at some near future point in time.

This is why Apple introduced the new, lower cost 2017 iPad 5 model, in April

Apple is trying to get older iPad 2, 3, 4 and 1st gen Mini iPad users to upgrade to more modern iPad hardware in anticipation of the release of iOS 11, which will render all older 32 bit iDevices obsolete, in time.

Good Luck to You!

Hi Maggie,

Not all iPad Minis can upgrade to ios 11.

I have an iPad Mini 2, and I upgraded to the latest iOS 11.3. BIG mistake !

My Mini 2 is terribly sluggish and it as good as a paperweight now & I dont use is at all. The sad thing is, I can't go back to the much faster iOS 10.3.3 as Apple wont allow it anymore !!!

So if your device is a iPad Mini 1st gen, or iPad Mini 2, my suggestion is to please dont bother to upgrade anywhere beyond what is can handle.

Best regards

sryalie

Hi MichelPM,

Everything suggested here:

https://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/ipad/how-speed-up-slow-ipad-3632709/

And here:

7 Tips to Speed Up Slow iOS 11/11.1/11.2/11.3 on iPhone iPad

And then I erased it from Settings > General > Reset > Erase all Content and Settings and restored the iPad from an iTunes backup. I didn’t notice any major improvement in performance.

It works but is too sluggish, so I use it as a paperweight 😝

I really want to be able to downgrade it to iOS 10.3

Dear MichaelPM,

Thanks for your tips, but all of them are already mentioned in the two exmple links I shared in my post. Did you have a look at those links before posting your list?

Of course I did execute all of them and many more beyond what you call as you "extensive tips".... You see, I have 14+ years exerience using a whole variety of Apple products but my years experience did nothing to speed up the iPad Mini 2.

That is not the problem, the real issue is iOS 11.3 is not compatible with an ageing iPad Mini 2 ! And Apple did not stop me from upgrading from iOS 10 to iOS 11. I am ****** off about it.

So general advise to everyone . Upgrade if you want an expensive paperweight !

Good luck !!

What have you tried to do to get your iPad MIni 2 to run faster?

You are, so far, the ONLY iPad Mini 2 user posting here that are having issues with iOS 11.3.

AND, many of my suggested tips seem to be different than the ones in your two links.

Yeah. I even had it checked by the technician at Apple Care. But no luck.