How’s that new iOS 8.1 update working out for you? We’ve scoured the forums and social media channels of the wider Web to identify some of the key issues that people are having, ready to provide you with some solutions. If your iOS 8.1 experience is less than stellar so far, try the fixes we’ve laid out below.
Battery blues
Even after the roll out of the iOS 8.1 update, there are plenty of forum posts, tweets and reports that suggest users are still suffering from battery life issues, even on the long-lasting iPhone 6 Plus. The consensus seems to be that certain housekeeping actions cause the iPhones to go into overdrive, taxing the CPU and making the handset warm to the touch. If your new Apple phone is heating up, then a processor bug is likely to be to blame.
That old fallback of a hard reset (hold down the Power button and the Home button until the Apple logo appears) should work, as it clears out the device’s memory and gives the CPU chance to gather its thoughts in a more orderly fashion. Alternatively, just lock your phone’s screen and let the housekeeping tasks run their course for a few minutes without trying to add anything new to the mix. Of course iOS now lets you check what’s using up your battery — in Settings head to General > Usage > Battery Usage to see a list.
It’s also worth checking through your location and background refresh settings to see if iOS 8.1 has inadvertently switched on anything you thought you had switched off. From Settings choose Privacy > Location Services to run an audit, then select General > Background App Refresh and do a check on that screen as well. Turning off any of the toggle switches on the latter screen means the app in question can’t update its content unless you’re actually using it.
One other trick you can try is to reset all of your device’s settings — from the Settings app choose General > Reset > Reset All Settings. Apps that have developed temporary bugs can cause serious battery drain and this option gives them the opportunity to start again from scratch. There’s also the last resort option of doing a full device restore through iTunes on your computer, though make sure you’ve backed up all of your apps, content and data before you start the process.
And then, of course, just take good care of the battery in general.
Wi-Fi woes
Perhaps there is some far off utopia where an iOS update solves everyone’s Wi-Fi issues all at once, but we haven’t reached it yet. If you’re experiencing drop-outs or slow performance — and the other devices and machines on your network are working fine with Wi-Fi — then your first port of call should be the Reset Network Settings option under General > Reset in Settings. Any incorrectly configured network connections or temporary bugs should be cleared out by this action, though you’ll need to take a few moments to reconnect to your Wi-Fi afterwards.
If the issue only occurs on one Wi-Fi network (e.g. home) and your iDevice works fine elsewhere (e.g. coffee shop) then some tinkering with the network in question may be called for. Changing the wireless channel or band has helped some users avoid interference, for example, but the options available to you are going to vary based on the network you’re on. After all, you can’t suddenly start reconfiguring Starbucks Wi-Fi because you’re having a problem with your iPhone. Apple has published a page of recommended settings for your router that may be of some use.
For those of you who are only experiencing Wi-Fi drop-outs or throttling problems at home, an old-fashioned router reboot can do wonders. Yes, it’s an unimaginative and simple solution, but it has helped several users in some of the support threads we’ve seen. Check the documentation supplied with your router for details of how you can run a complete reset and get the device back to its factory settings. For extra effect, restore your iOS 8.1 device at the same time; by starting again from the ‘beginning’ you can go step by step and work out exactly when the problem first occurs.
If you’re using older network hardware then it’s worth checking with your ISP or router manufacturer to see if any firmware upgrades are available. It’s possible that a firmware update will enable better communication with the latest iDevices. Apple itself recommends getting your device to forget the Wi-Fi network you’re connected to and then reconnecting from the beginning: this tells your router to treat it as a new piece of hardware and may help resolve the problems with the previous connection.
Safari stuttering
Safari comes up time and time again as both a problem in itself and a root cause of other problems. Whether it’s slow page loads or a sprawling temporary data cache, the default iOS Web browser is the source of many complaints. Trying to pin down an exact issue and its related solution is tricky, but there are some standard troubleshooting techniques you can work through that will clear up most difficulties.
We’ve already espoused the benefits of resetting key iOS options, and Safari has a separate settings panel of its own. In the Settings app, choose Safari > Clear History and Website Data to remove all of the temporary data and cookie caches that Safari is hanging on to. Like any reset, it forces Safari to start again with a clean slate, and with any luck it will clear up the problems you’re experiencing.
A handful of users have had some success with turning off various Safari features, including JavaScript (Safari > Advanced in Settings) and iCloud (iCloud > Safari in Settings) but these are workarounds rather than actual fixes. If you do decide to disable iCloud syncing for Safari then choose the option to delete all locally stored data. Again the idea is to erase any corrupted or troublesome files that might be causing a problem (and you can always resync Safari with iCloud again in the future).
Of course there’s always the option to install a different browser app to use as an alternative to Safari. Even if it’s not ideal, it at least provides a fix until Apple gets around to troubleshooting the problem, and you can make sure that your problems are in fact Safari-related rather than more general.
Any other business
If you’re encountering any other problems with your iOS 8.1 device — from Bluetooth connection issues to difficulties launching apps — all we can recommend is running a complete restore of your device and getting a fresh copy of iOS 8.1 on there. There are reports that restoring a backup can sometimes bring back the same problem (so the bug is in the backup rather than the software), so if you have the option to restore your device and start completely from scratch then this is another alternative approach. In that case you would have to get your music, movies, apps, photos and other content back on the device manually, however.
Members of Apple’s Support Communities have tried these fixes with varying success — it’s possible that your issues will be cleared up, but it’s not guaranteed. If restores and resets don’t solve your woes then all you can do is file a feedback report with Apple and wait for the next iOS update to appear around the corner. On the other hand, if you’ve wiped your iDevice and set it up as a brand new device (without restoring a backup) and there are still issues, it might be the hardware itself that’s defective — contact Apple Support online or in store to ask about replacements.
Hat tips to the Apple Support Communities, OS X Daily, GottaBeMobile and Reddit for some of the inspiration for this article.
Picture: Sergey Niven/Shutterstock