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5 Things to Know About the iOS 15.8.1 Update [u]

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Apple’s pushed a new iOS 15.8.1 update to iPhone and the software brings under-the-hood improvements to iPhone users stuck on the operating system.

The iOS 15.8.1 update is compatible with older iPhone models that didn’t make the move to iOS 16. The list includes the iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7, and iPhone 7 Plus, and iPhone SE.

iOS 15.8.1 is a point update and, like many of its predecessors, it improves security. It doesn’t have any known bug fixes or outward facing features on board.

With that in mind, we want to take you through everything you need to know about iOS 15.8.1 for iPhone.

In this guide we’ll take you through iOS 15.8.1’s changes, the current state of its performance, problems plaguing the operating system, the iOS 15 jailbreak status, and more.

We’ll start with some thoughts about iOS 15.8.1’s performance.

iOS 15.8.1 Review

iOS 15.8.1 requires a small chunk of space on your iPhone. Unless you’re running low on space, you won’t have to make room.

That being said, if you’ve fallen behind on software updates, it could be much larger. In some cases, iOS 15.8.1 could require several gigabytes of space.

The installation should take 15 minutes or less to complete. It took three minutes to download and eight minutes to install on an iPhone 7 that was previously running iOS 15.8.

We’ve been using the iOS 15.8 update on an iPhone 7 for several days now and we haven’t run any major problems with the software thus far.

iOS 15.8.1 Battery Life & Connectivity

  • Battery life is stable, we haven’t noticed abnormal drain
  • Wi-Fi connectivity is fast and reliable
  • Bluetooth is working normally
  • GPS and cellular data are stable

App Performance

  • Third-party apps including Slack, Gmail, Chrome, and Spotify are all working fine
  • First party apps like Safari and Podcasts are also working properly

Speed

  • iOS 15.8.1 feels pretty snappy, we haven’t run into major UI lag (yet)

If your iPhone’s struggling on iOS 15.8, or an older version of iOS 15, you might want to install iOS 15.8.1 on your device today.

If you need help making a decision, you’ll want to check out our reasons to, and not to, install the software.

iOS 15.8.1 Problems

We haven’t run into any performance issues or debilitating bugs yet, but iOS 15.8.1 is causing problems for some iPhone users.

The current list of iOS 15 problems includes abnormal battery drain, busted Wi-Fi, broken Bluetooth, issues with Touch ID, and problems with various first and third-party apps.

If you run into a problem on iOS 15.8.1, take a look at our list of fixes for the most common iOS 15 problems.

We’ve also released some tips that could help you improve your phone’s performance and tips that could help you fix bad iOS 15 battery life.

Apple recently stopped signing on iOS 15.8 which means you can’t move your iPhone’s software back to the previous version of iOS 15 if iOS 15.8.1 starts causing issues. You can’t downgrade to anything older than iOS 15.8 either.

For more about the downgrade process, check out our guide.

iOS 15.8.1 Features

Apple no longer pushes new features to iOS 15 users. The most recent versions of iOS 15 have all patched up security issues and that’s precisely what iOS 15.8.1 brings to the table.

The official change log notes that the update brings important security fixes to iPhone users and you can learn more over on Apple’s security site.

iOS 15.8.1 Jailbreak

Developers have released a jailbreak tool that’s compatible with older versions of iOS, but it only works with select iPhone models and select versions of iOS.

We haven’t seen a jailbreak for iOS 15.8.1 yet and it’s unclear when, or even if, we will. Keep an eye out as we push away from the software’s release.

What’s Next

It’s unclear if iOS 15.8.1 will be the final version of iOS 15. Apple could choose to push additional versions of iOS 15 in 2024, but that hasn’t been confirmed.

Apple won’t push additional iOS 15 upgrades to iPhone 8 and newer going forward. That being said, we could still see new iOS 15 software for the iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, and iPhone SE in the future.

4 Reasons Not to Install iOS 15.8.2 & 10 Reasons You Should

Install iOS 15.8.2 for Better Security

Install iOS 15.8.2 for Better Security

If security is important to you, and you missed older versions of iOS 15, you'll want to think about installing Apple's iOS 15.8.2 update right away.

iOS 15.8.2 doesn't have any security updates on board. But, if you missed prior versions of iOS 15, you'll get their patches when you upgrade.

iOS 15.8.1 wasn't a big update, but it did have a pair of security patches on board. They're important and they will help protect your device from harm. 

iOS 15.8 had an important security patch on board. 

iOS 15.7.9 brought a new security patch with it. It addressed an issue where hackers could gain access via PassKit (Apple Wallet) image. For more information, head over to Apple's website.

iOS 15.7.8 had 10 security patches on board. These patches are essential if you want to keep your device and its data safe from harm. Apple's outlined the changes in detail and they're worth a look.

iOS 15.7.7 brought three security patches to iPhone models lingering on iOS 15. For more about them, head over to Apple's security site.

iOS 15.7.6 had several security updates on board. For more information about those patches, head here.

The iOS 15.7.5 update patched up actively exploited vulnerabilities making it an extremely important upgrade for your iPhone. To learn more about the patches, check out Apple's guide.

iOS 15.7.4 brought important security fixes to older iPhone models as well. If you want to learn more about these changes, check out Apple's guide.

iOS 15.7.3 also brought a batch of security patches to iPhone. You can learn more about these changes right here.

iOS 15.7.2 brought numerous patches along with it. For more about them, head over to Apple's website for more details.

iOS 15.7.1 update brought 17 security patches with it while iOS 15.7 delivered 11 security patches to iPhone. If you want a look at the details, head over to Apple's security site for more information.

If you missed iOS 15.6.1, it had two security patches on board. You can read more about the pair on Apple's website.

If you missed Apple's iOS 15.6 update, it had 30+ security upgrades on board. You can learn more about them right here.

If you missed iOS 15.5 it brought 27 new security patches to the iPhone. You can learn more about these patches over on Apple's security site.

If you missed iOS 15.4.1, it had one new security patch on board. You can read more about it over on Apple's website

If you missed the iOS 15.4 update, it had a whopping 36 new security patches on board. If you want to learn more about these patches, head on over to Apple's security site for the particulars

If you missed iOS 15.3.1, it had one security patch on board. For more about it, head over to Apple's security page

If you missed iOS 15.3, you'll also get its patches with your upgrade. iOS 15.3 brought 10 new security patches to iPhone users. If you're interested in the details, you can read more about them right here.

If you missed iOS 15.2.1, you'll get its security patch with your upgrade. You can learn more about the change over on Apple's website

If you missed Apple's iOS 15.2 update, you'll get its 30+ security patches with your upgrade. You can read all about them over on the company's security site

iOS 15.2 also included some important upgrades to privacy. The software brought the company's App Privacy Report to Settings.

This lets you see how often your apps have accessed your location, photos, camera, microphone, contacts and more during the last seven days. You can also see their network activity. 

In addition, iOS 15.2 brought Apple's communication safety features for kids. You'll find these features in the Messages app, in Siri, in Spotlight, and in Search. 

If you missed iOS 15.1, iOS 15.8.2 will bring its security patches to your iPhone. You can read more about them on Apple's website

If you missed iOS 15.0.2 you'll also get its security patch with your upgrade. You can learn more about it right here.

iOS 15.0 also brought numerous security patches to your iPhone. If you'll be moving up from iOS 14 and you're interested in the exact nature of these improvements, you can read about them over on Apple's security website.

Apple's updated its website with new information about iOS 15's batch of security patches. The company now says the software patched up an issue that could have exposed a user's private Apple ID information and in-app search history.

It also says iOS 15 patched up an issue that allowed apps to override Privacy preferences.

If you skipped iOS 14.8 or any older versions of iOS, you'll get the security patches from those updates with your iOS 15.8.2 update as well. 

In addition to those patches, iOS 15 comes with some security and privacy upgrades including improvements to Siri. Requests made to Siri are now processed on the device itself using Neural Engine. This makes it more secure. 

If you're an Apple Card user, you'll now get a security code that changes regularly to use when you make online transactions. 

Apple's also included a built-in authenticator that's similar to Google Authenticator. This will let you generate verification codes for enhanced sign-in security under your Passwords.

There's also a Mail feature that hides your IP address. 

1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. Chai

    02/06/2024 at 8:37 am

    The comment regarding battery life is partially true. I have a 6s. It doesn’t decrease my battery life, which is still 91% max capacity, but my battery charge goes completely havoc with it. Currently, the battery can go from 100% to 10% without a good reason. The battery health graph doesn’t register certain period of time after I unplugged the charger. Wifi connection dropped after the phone is inactive for a certain period of time. Sometimes my phone reboot and the current battery charge will switch (from 100% to 10% and vice versa). Battery drain is also fast once it starts (from 100% to 80% in about 1 hour by leaving the phone on with airplane mode on & no Siri & no app running).

    In conclusion, the iOS seems to cause problem with battery charge, not the max capacity. It would be a lie to say that the OS has no impact on battery.

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