iPhone 6 iOS 8.1.3 Update: 5 Things You Need to Know Now

Last Tuesday, Apple released its sixth iOS 8 update into the wild. The company’s new iOS 8.1.3 update is now available for all devices capable of running iOS 8, including the 4.7-inch iPhone 6. Today, we want to take another look at the iPhone 6 iOS 8.1.3 update and tell you about five things we think all iPhone 6 users need to know, right now, about iOS 8.1.3 and the future.

For months, Apple’s been working to correct the iOS 8 problems that were brought to the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch with its iOS 8.0 update. iOS 8 problems have been a problem for iOS 8 users since the update’s arrival in September and Apple continues to try and squash them with smaller bug fix upgrades. The first was iOS 8.0.1 though in the weeks that followed its release, we’ve seen five more.

Last week’s iOS 8.1.3 update represents the company’s sixth attempt at solving some of these lingering iOS 8 problems. The iOS 8.1.3 update is a rather large upgrade and it brings some interesting fixes to the table.

The most interesting is a fix for the amount of storage needed to install iOS updates OTA. In the past, Apple required a significant chunk of internal storage to install updates without iTunes. With the arrival of iOS 8.1.3, it will require much less. That’s a big development ahead of the upcoming iOS 8.2 update and ahead of a probable iOS 9 release later this year.

We continue to get, and see, tons of questions about the iOS 8.1.3 update. iPhone 6 users have been fairly vocal in the aftermath of the iOS 8.1.3 update and that doesn’t come as too much of a surprise. The iPhone 6 has been plagued with a number of bugs since launch.

With current and prospective iOS 8.1.3 users in mind, we want to take a look at what we think are the five most important things to know now about the iPhone 6 iOS 8.1.3 update.

iPhone 6 iOS 8.1.3 Update…Update

We’ve been using the iPhone 6 iOS 8.1.3 for more than a week now and so far, its proven to be very stable. So far, we haven’t noticed any strange battery drain, a problem that always seems to pop up after these incremental iOS updates, and connectivity is still fast and reliable. We’ve been using the iPhone 6 on a variety of routers and we’ve paired it with a variety of Bluetooth devices. Its been performing quite well.

The iOS 8.1.3 update also maintains the iPhone 6’s blazing speed. We haven’t seen any stuttering or any odd sluggishness in the past week and a half and we’re confident that the performance is going to remain solid as the weeks go on. Unsurprisingly the iOS 8.1.3 update seems like it’s one of the more stable iPhone 6 updates yet. It’s not surprising because it’s Apple’s six bug fixer. It should be the most stable.

Apple’s iOS 8.1.3 update for iPhone 6 isn’t bug free, at least not on our models, but it’s about as close as you’re probably going to get. We haven’t encountered any game-changing, hero level issues though we have encountered one small annoyance that continues to carry over from iOS 8 update to iOS 8 update.

If you’re on another version of iOS 8, you’re probably fine to make your move to this version of Apple’s operating system. Massive issues typically make themselves known within a week of a release and we haven’t discovered anything.

iPhone 6 Landscape Issues

Apple simply can’t seem to solve the landscape issues that have plagued the iPhone 6 since launch. If you’re not familiar with these problems, they refer to an issue where the iPhone 6 gets stuck in landscape when switching to portrait mode. Now here’s the really annoying part.

Every time Apple releases a new iOS 8 bug fix update, the issues seem to go away. And then, about a week later, they return with a vengeance. That’s exactly what’s happened here with iOS 8.1.3. We saw the issue pop up on one model a few days after iOS 8.1.3’s arrival and now, two of our iPhone 6 variants are exhibiting the issue.

We generally see it happen when in Chrome and when in the Messages application though we’ve seen it occur in just about every popular service that we use. It’s particularly annoying when it occurs with the camera application open.

There are a few fixes but nothing fixes the issue permanently. Consider this our PSA and consider this a plea to Apple to fix these issues with the iOS 8.2 update.

Other iOS 8.1.3 Problems & Fixes

iPhone 6 users are complaining about other iOS 8.1.3 problems too. Apple’s discussion forums are filling up with complaints about Apple’s new software and we’ve pointed out a number of different iOS 8.1.3 problems affecting owners of the iPhone 6 and other iOS 8.1.3 powered devices.

One user told us that when he tried to update to iOS 8.1.3, he got a red screen of death. As it turns out, this is a problem affecting many iPhone 6 users though there isn’t any correlation between it and the iOS 8.1.3 update.

Fortunately, there are some ways to get around these problems. You’ll just need to be proactive. We’ve put together a list of potential fixes for some of the more common iOS 8.1.3 issues and we suggest keeping an eye on Apple’s forums for other possible solutions. Most iOS problems have a solution but they are sometimes very difficult to find.

iOS updates are never perfect. There’s always some risk involved with moving to a new piece of software. That’s why we recommend preparing ahead of the installation. That’s why we recommend staying patient, especially if you’re having a good experience on iOS 8.1.2 or below.

iOS 8.1.3 Jailbreak & Downgrading to iOS 8.1.2

If your iPhone 6 is jailbroken or if you’re planning to jailbreak any time soon, do not install iOS 8.1.3. We still haven’t seen an iOS 8.1.3 jailbreak emerge and given the update’s close proximity to iOS 8.2, we may never get one. If you’ve already made the move to iOS 8.1.3 and you have the urge to jailbreak the iPhone 6, know that you still can.

Right now, iPhone 6 users dealing with iOS 8.1.3 problems and iPhone 6 users looking to jailbreak can move back down to iOS 8.1.2. We’ve put together a step-by-step guide that will take you through the downgrade process. This is only going to be available for a little while longer so if you do want to make a move back down to iOS 8.1.2 for these reasons, you probably want to get the ball rolling soon.

iOS 8.2 Release Date

Finally, it’s worth knowing that the iPhone 6’s next iOS update will probably be iOS 8.2. iOS 8.2 is an Apple Watch compatibility update and it’s expected to be released sometime in March with reports pointing to the second week of the month. This is important to note because iOS 8.2 is expected to bring some bug fixes of its own. Something to keep in mind if you’re leery of the iPhone 6 iOS 8.1.3 update.