Connect with us

Apple

7 Things to Know About the iPhone XS iOS 14.7.1 Update

Published

5 years ago

on

Apple’s iOS 14.7.1 update could have a huge impact on your iPhone XS’ or iPhone XS Max’s performance.

iOS 14.7.1 is a point upgrade and it brings an important security patch to the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max. It doesn’t have any known bug fixes or features on board.

If you decide to install iOS 14.7.1 on your iPhone XS or iPhone XS Max, note that it requires a fairly small download if your device is currently running iOS 14.7.

If your phone is running an older version of iOS, your iOS 14.7.1 upgrade will likely be much bigger because the features and fixes from the update(s) you skipped are baked in.

If you’re curious about the download and installation process, please take a look at our guide. It’ll walk you through everything you need to know.

Today we want to take you through the most important things to know right now about the iPhone XS Max and iPhone XS iOS 14.7.1 update.

Our guide will walk you through the software’s performance, its initial problems, the downgrade status, the iOS 14 jailbreak, and more.

We’ll start with a quick look at the iPhone XS iOS 14.7.1 update’s performance.

iPhone XS iOS 14.7.1 Review

We’ve been testing iOS 14.7.1 on an iPhone XS for a few days now and performance is holding up well thus far.

While we’ve noticed lag on older iPhone models, iOS 14.7.1 is fast on the iPhone XS. Areas where we typically see lag, like the keyboard and Notification Center, haven’t been problems for us thus far.

Battery life is excellent with no abnormal battery drain to speak of. Connectivity is also strong and we haven’t encountered any issues with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth yet.

Our core applications, which include apps like Asana, Chrome, Gmail, Slack, Dark Sky, Spotify, and Netflix, are all working fine at the moment.

If you’re having issues with one of these apps or another application, you might want to download the latest version. Developers are still rolling out iOS 14 support updates and these could help stabilize the app’s performance.

Performance-wise, iOS 14.7.1 is doing just fine. And given what’s on board, we recommend it to most users. If you’re feeling leery, take a look at our list of reasons to, and not to, download iOS 14.7.1 right now.

You Should Prepare for iOS 14.7.1

If you do decide to install iOS 14.7.1 on your iPhone XS or iPhone XS Max, make sure you prepare for the upgrade.

If you don’t know where to start, we’ve released a pre-installation guide that will take you step-by-step through the process we typically use before we install new iOS software on our iPhones.

If you don’t have a whole lot of of time to devote to the pre-installation process, just be sure to backup the data on your phone. Data loss issues are fairly rare, but they can happen.

iPhone XS iOS 14.7.1 Problems & Fixes

We’ve had a great experience on iOS 14.7.1 thus far, but some users are running into trouble.

The current list of iOS 14 problems includes abnormal battery drain, issues with Widgets, crashes, connectivity issues, UI lag, Wi-Fi problems, various problems with first and third-party apps, issues with Face ID, Exchange issues, and more.

If you’re feeling nervous about an upgrade, you might want to hang back and wait for Apple’s next batch of bug fixes.

If your device is already running iOS 14.7.1, and you’re having issues with the software, have a look at our fixes for the most common iOS 14 problems.

We’ve also released tips to improve iOS 14 battery life and a guide that will help you fix bad iOS 14 performance.

iOS 14.7 Downgrade Closed

If you move your iPhone XS or iPhone XS Max to iOS 14.7.1, and you don’t like the software’s performance, note that you no longer have the ability to downgrade.

Apple stopped signing on iOS 14.7 which means you can’t drop your phone’s software back in an attempt to improve its performance.

Unfortunately you can’t downgrade back to iOS 14.6, iOS 14.5.1, iOS 14.5, iOS 14.4.2, iOS 14.4.1, iOS 14.4, iOS 14.3, iOS 14.2, iOS 14.1, iOS 14.0.1, iOS 14.0, or iOS 13 either. The downgrade path back to those updates is closed as well.

So if you’re having an excellent experience on iOS 14.7 or below, proceed with caution. Once you move to iOS 14.7.1, there’s no getting back.

If you’re unfamiliar with the downgrade process, take a look at our guide.

iPhone XS iOS 14.7.1 Update: What’s New

The iOS 14.7.1 update, is again, tiny. That said, it does bring an important security patch to the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max which you can read about over on Apple’s website.

If you skipped iOS 14.7, you’ll get its features, bug fixes, and patches with your iOS 14.7.1 upgrade. Some of the highlights include upgrades to the Weather app, improvements to the Apple Card experience, and changes to the Podcasts app.

If you skipped iOS 14.6, you’ll get its changes with iOS 14.7.1. The list includes Apple Card Family, upgrades to the Podcasts app, and enhancements for AirTag users.

The iOS 14.6 update also brought bug fixes and 30+ security patches to the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max. If you’re interested in the particulars, check out our iOS 14.6 walkthrough.

If you missed iOS 14.5.1, you’ll get its changes with your upgrade.

iOS 14.5.1 fixed an issue with App Tracking Transparency where some users who previously disabled Allow Apps to Request to Track in Settings may not receive prompts from apps after re-enabling it.

It also brought two important security patches related to WebKit. If you want to learn more about those, head on over to Apple’s security site.

If you skipped iOS 14.5, you get its changes with your upgrade. iOS 14.5 was a massive upgrade and it included several notable features. If you’re interested in iOS 14.5’s changes, take a look at our list of the best features on board. It’ll bring you up to speed.

If you skipped iOS 14.4.2, you also get its security patch with your upgrade. If you’re interested, you can read about over on Apple’s security site.

If your device is currently running iOS 14.4, you’ll also get iOS 14.4.1’s security patch with your upgrade. You can read about that patch right here.

If you missed iOS 14.7, iOS 14.6, iOS 14.5.1, iOS 14.5, iOS 14.4.2, iOS 14.4.1 and iOS 14.4, you’ll get iOS 14.4’s changes with your upgrade. iOS 14.4 was also milestone update. As such, it included a mix of features, fixes, and patches on board. You can learn more about it in our walkthrough.

If you skipped iOS 14.7, iOS 14.6, iOS 14.5.1, iOS 14.5, iOS 14.4.2, iOS 14.4.1, iOS 14.4, and iOS 14.3, you’ll get iOS 14.3’s changes in iOS 14.7.1. Learn more about iOS 14.3 in our guide.

If you skipped iOS 14.7, iOS 14.6, iOS 14.5.1, iOS 14.5, iOS 14.4.2, iOS 14.4.1, iOS 14.4, iOS 14.3, and iOS 14.2, you’ll get iOS 14.2’s contents with your upgrade. If you’re unfamiliar with iOS 14.2, take a look at our walkthrough.

If you skipped iOS 14.7, iOS 14.6, iOS 14.5.1, iOS 14.5, iOS 14.4.2, iOS 14.4.1, iOS 14.4, iOS 14.3, iOS 14.2, and iOS 14.1, you’ll get iOS 14.1’s changes with your upgrade. If you’re interested in those changes, you can read more about them in our iOS 14.1 roundup.

If for some reason you’re still running the first version of iOS 14 (iOS 14.0), you also get iOS 14.0.1’s fixes with your upgrade. Here’s what iOS 14.0.1 fixed:

  • Fixed an issue that could cause default browser and mail settings to reset after restarting your iPhone
  • Fixed an issue that could prevent your iPhone from connecting to Wi-Fi networks
  • Resolved an issue that could prevent sending email with some mail providers
  • Addressed an issue that could prevent images from appearing in the News widget

What’s Next

Apple’s apparently working on a new iOS 14.8 update though it’s unclear when the company will push the software to the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and other iPhones.

The iOS 14.8 update could roll out before Apple releases iOS 15 or it could roll out alongside the new operating system in September. We’ll let you know when we learn more.

The company’s also hard at work on iOS 15. Apple’s next operating system is currently in beta testing ahead of an official release in the fall.

If you want to try the iOS 15 update on your iPhone XS or iPhone XS Max right now, you can do so via Apple’s beta program. That being said, most people should stay on stable software.

For more on iOS 15 and the beta, check out our guide.

iPhone XS iOS 14 Jailbreak

Avoid the iOS 14.7.1 update if your iPhone XS or iPhone XS Max is jailbroken or if you want to jailbreak your device.

The developers behind the Checkra1n and unC0ver jailbreaking tools have released versions compatible with newer versions of iOS 14. Unfortunately, they don’t work with iOS 14.7.1.

We’ll let you know when we learn more.

[slides postid=482622]

Related Topics: