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5 Things to Know About the iPadOS 14.2 Update

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Apple’s released its iPadOS 14.2 update and the firmware is available to download if you own a compatible iPadiPad ProiPad Air, and iPad mini.

iPadOS 14.2 is a milestone upgrade which means it brings mix of new features and under-the-hood improvements to Apple’s stable of tablets.

With that in mind, we want to take you through everything there is to know about the latest software update for the iPad and iPadOS 14.

In this guide to iPadOS 14.2 we’ll take you through the update’s performance, the current list of iPadOS 14 problems, the best places to find feedback about bugs and performance issues, the iPadOS 14.2 jailbreak status, and more.

We’ll start with our impressions of iPadOS 14.2 update’s performance on iPad.

iPadOS 14.2 Review

If your iPad is currently running iPadOS 14.1, you’ll be looking at a pretty large download.

If your tablet is running an older version of iPadOS, your update will be larger. And that’s because the features and fixes from the update(s) you skipped are baked into your upgrade.

If your iPad is running iPadOS 14.1, the installation should take around 10 minutes to complete. It took about nine minutes to install on one of our older iPad Pros.

For more on the iPadOS 14.2 download and installation, take a look at our guide.

We’ve been using the iPadOS 14.2 update on the iPad Pro for several days now and here’s what we’ve learned about its performance thus far:

Connectivity

  • Battery life is stable.
  • Wi-Fi connectivity is fast and reliable.
  • Bluetooth is working fine.
  • GPS and cellular data are stable.

Apps

  • Third-party apps like Netflix, Dark Sky, Twitter, Slack, Asana, Gmail, Chrome, and Spotify are working just fine right now.
  • First party apps like Safari, Podcasts, and Calendar are also stable.

Speed

  • iPadOS 14.2 feels as fast as iPadOS 14.1.

If you’re dealing with problems on iPadOS 14.1, iPadOS 14.0.1, iPadOS 14.0 or iPadOS 13, you might want to install the iPadOS 14.2 update on your iPad right now.

If you need help making a decision, take a look at our list of reasons to, and not to, install iPadOS 14.2.

iPadOS 14.2 Problems

iPad users are running into problems on the newest versions of iPadOS 14.

The current list of problems includes installation issues, Exchange problems, weird battery drain, issues with first and third-party apps, issues with Face ID, UI lag, Wi-Fi issues, issues with Widgets, and Bluetooth issues.

If you encounter a problem on your tablet, have a look at our list of fixes for the most common software issues. We’ve also released tips that will help you improve performance and tips that should help you improve battery life.

If you can’t handle the iPadOS 14.2 update’s performance on your iPad, note that you can’t downgrading its software in an attempt to improve performance. Apple has stopped signing iPadOS 14.1.

Unfortunately, you can’t move back to anything older than iPadOS 14.1 either. So those of you jumping up from iPadOS 14.1, iPadOS 14.0.1, iPadOS 14.0 and iPadOS 13 should approach this update with caution. Once you move to iPadOS 14.2, there’s no going back.

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iPadOS 14.2 Update: What’s New

Apple’s x.x updates always bring a mix of features, security patches, and under-the-hood improvements and that’s what you get from iPadOS 14.2.

Here’s the full change log:

New Features

  • Over 100 new emoji, including animals, food, faces, household objects, musical instruments, gender-inclusive emoji, and more.
  • Eight new wallpapers in both light and dark mode versions.
  • Magnifier can detect people nearby, and report their distance using the LiDAR sensor included in ‌iPad Pro‌ 12.9-inch (4th generation) and ‌iPad Pro‌ 11-inch (2nd generation).
  • Scene Detection in Camera uses intelligent image recognition to identify objects within a scene and automatically improves the photo on ‌iPad Air‌ (4th generation).
  • Auto FPS in Camera automatically reduces the frame rate when recording video to improve low light capture and to optimize file size on ‌iPad Air‌ (4th generation).
  • Optimized battery charging for ‌AirPods‌ to slow the rate of battery aging by reducing the time your ‌AirPods‌ spends fully charged.
  • New ‌AirPlay‌ controls to stream entertainment throughout your home.
  • Intercom support with ‌HomePod‌ and ‌HomePod mini‌ using ‌iPhone‌, ‌iPad‌, Apple Watch, ‌AirPods‌, and ‌CarPlay‌.
  • Ability to connect ‌HomePod‌ to ‌Apple TV‌ 4K for stereo, surround sound, and Dolby Atmos audio.

Bug Fixes

  • Addresses an issue where the Camera viewfinder may appear black when launched.
  • Addresses an issue where the keyboard on the Lock Screen could miss touches when trying to enter the passcode.
  • Addresses an issue where Reminders could default to times in the past.
  • Addresses an issue where the Photos‌ widget may not display content.
  • Addresses an issue where the Weather widget could display the high temperature in Celsius when set to Fahrenheit.
  • Addresses an issue where Voice Memos recordings are interrupted by incoming calls.
  • Addresses an issue where the screen could be black during Netflix video playback.
  • Addresses an issue where Apple Cash could fail to send or receive money when asked via ‌Siri‌.

iPadOS 14.2 also includes 24 security updates and you can read about those on Apple’s security page.

iPadOS 14.2 Jailbreak

The developer team behind the Checkra1n jailbreaking tool has released version 0.12.0 which adds support for iPadOS 14.2 and iPadOS 14.1.

The jailbreak now tool works with A10/A10X-powered devices running iPadOS 14.x. If you own an iPad model with a newer processor, you’ll need to stay on iPadOS 13 for now.

What’s Next

If your iPad is struggling on iPadOS 14, help is on the way.

Apple’s confirmed a new iPadOS 14.3 upgrade. The milestone software is currently in beta testing ahead of an unknown release date.

We’ve heard that iOS 14.3/iPadOS 14.3 will be pushed to devices later this year so there’s a good chance the software rolls out in December. If you can’t wait for the official release, you can download the iPadOS 14.3 beta right now.

For more on iPadOS 14.3, please check out our guide.

4 Reasons Not to Install iPadOS 14.8.1 & 11 Reasons You Should

Install iPadOS 14.8.1 for Better Security

Install iPadOS 14.8.1 for Better Security

If security is important to you, and it should be, think about installing iPadOS 14.8.1 right now.

The iPadOS 14.8.1 update has 12 new security patches on board. They'll help protect you and your device from harm. You can read more about them on Apple's website

If you missed iPadOS 14.8, you'll get its security patches with your iPadOS 14.8.1 update. You can read more about them on Apple's security site

If you missed iPadOS 14.7.1, you'll get its security patch with your upgrade. If you want to learn more, head on over to Apple's website

If you skipped iPadOS 14.7, you'll get its 30+ security patches with your upgrade. If you want to learn more, head to Apple's website

If you skipped, iPadOS 14.6, you'll get its patches with your upgrade. iPadOS 14.6 brought 50+ security patches to the iPad, iPad Pro, iPad mini, and iPad Air. You can learn all about those changes right here

If you missed iPadOS 14.5.1, you'll get its security patches with your update. Both of them are related to WebKit. If you want to learn more about them, check Apple's website for more details

If you skipped iPadOS 14.5, you'll get its security patches with your upgrade. You can read more about the changes over on Apple's website

iPadOS 14.5 also brought Apple's new App Tracking Transparency which lets you control which apps are allowed to track your activity across other companies' apps and websites for ads or sharing with data brokers.

If you skipped iPadOS 14.4.2 you get its security patch with your upgrade. You can read more about the change over on Apple's website.  

If you missed iPadOS 14.8, iPadOS 14.7.1, iPadOS 14.7, iPadOS 14.6, iPadOS 14.5.1, iPadOS 14.5, iPadOS 14.4.2 and iPadOS 14.4.1, you'll get iPadOS 14.4.1's security patch with your update. You can read more about the patch on Apple's security site

If you skipped iPadOS 14.8, iPadOS 14.7.1, iPadOS 14.7, iPadOS 14.6, iPadOS 14.5.1, iPadOS 14.5, iPadOS 14.4.2, iPadOS 14.4.1 and iPadOS 14.4, you get iPadOS 14.4's patches with your upgrade. You can learn more about iPadOS 14.4's security patches right here

If you skipped iPadOS 14.8, iPadOS 14.7.1, iPadOS 14.7, iPadOS 14.6, iPadOS 14.5.1, iPadOS 14.5, iPadOS 14.4.2, iPadOS 14.4.1, iPadOS 14.4, and iPadOS 14.3, you'll get iPadOS 14.3's patches with your upgrade. 

iPadOS 14.3 also included a new privacy information section on App Store pages that includes a developer-reported summary of the app’s privacy practices.

If you skipped iPadOS 14.8, iPadOS 14.7.1, iPadOS 14.7, iPadOS 14.6, iPadOS 14.5.1, iPadOS 14.5, iPadOS 14.4.2, iPadOS 14.4.1, iPadOS 14.4, iPadOS 14.3, and iPadOS 14.2, you'll get iPadOS 14.2's 24 security patches with your upgrade. You can learn more about those patches on Apple's security website

If you're still running iPadOS 13, iPadOS 14.8.1 includes iPadOS 14.0's security updates. 

iPadOS 14.0 brought 11 new security patches to iPad models. If you're interested in the exact nature of these improvements, you can read about them over on Apple's website

If you skipped iPadOS 13.7 or any older versions of iPadOS 13, you'll get the security patches from those updates with your upgrade. They're baked in.

In addition to those patches, iPadOS 14 comes with some security and privacy upgrades including improvements to Home/HomeKit and Safari. 

For instance in Safari, you can now tap the Privacy Report button to better understand how websites handle your privacy.

With iPadOS 14 on board you can now get information on the App Store that will help you understand the privacy practices of apps before you download them. 

There is also a new recording indicator that will appear at the top of your screen whenever an app is using your microphone or camera. You can see if an app has used them recently in Control Center.

Researchers also discovered that Apple brought a new "BlastDoor" sandbox security system to iOS 14 and iPadOS 14. The system is meant to prevent attacks from occurring via the Messages app. 

You can read more about "BlastDoor" right here

Last update on 2024-03-28. This post may contain affiliate links. Click here to read our disclosure policy for more details. Images via Amazon API

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