Apple
5 Things to Know About the iOS 14.8 Update
Apple’s pushed a new iOS 14.8 update to iPhone users.
iOS 14.8 is available to install right now if you have a compatible iPhone. iOS 14.8 is compatible with all iOS 14-powered phones, a list that includes iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone SE, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone SE 2, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max.
Like the previous version of iOS 14, iOS 14.8 is a small upgrade and it brings security enhancements to iPhone owners. Unlike most milestone upgrades, it doesn’t have any new features on board.
With that in mind, we want to take you through everything there is to know about Apple’s iOS 14.8 update for iPhone.
In this walkthrough we’ll take you through iOS 14.8’s changes, its performance, iOS 14.8 problems, the iOS 14.8 jailbreak status, and more.
We’ll start with some quick thoughts on iOS 14.8’s performance.
iOS 14.8 Review
If your iPhone is currently running iOS 14.7.1, you’ll encounter the smallest download.
For iOS 14.7.1 users, the iOS 14.8 download will check in at a few hundred megabytes. iOS 14.8 is a 300MB download for iPhone 12 Pro users moving up from the previous version of iOS 14.
iOS 14.8’s exact size depends on your iPhone model and the version of iOS it’s currently running. So if your iPhone is running an older version of iOS, you’ll likely see a bigger download because your iOS 14.8 update includes the changes from any iOS updates you skipped.
If you’re jumping up from iOS 14.7.1, the installation process should take less than 15 minutes to complete. It took about seven minutes to install on an iPhone 12 Pro and an iPhone X, both of which were previously running iOS 14.7.1.
For more on the iOS 14.8 download and installation, take a look at our guide.
We’ve been using iOS 14.8 on a few iPhone models for several days now and here’s what we’ve discovered about the software’s performance thus far:
Connectivity
- Battery life is currently stable.
- Wi-Fi connectivity is fast and reliable.
- Bluetooth is working normally.
- GPS and cellular data are both stable.
App Performance
- Third-party apps including Netflix, Dark Sky, Twitter, Slack, Asana, Gmail, Chrome, and Spotify are working fine at the moment.
- First party apps like Safari, Podcasts, and Calendar are also stable.
Speed
- iOS 14.8 currently feels as fast as iOS 14.7.1.
If you’re running into bugs or performance issues on iOS 14.7.1 or an older version of iOS, you might want to install the iOS 14.8 update on your iPhone right now.
If you need help making a decision, please check out our reasons to, and not to, install the iOS 14.8 update.
We’ve published our iOS 14.8 reviews for the iPhone 8, iPhone 7, and iPhone 6s so check those guides for additional feedback if you need it.
iOS 14.8 Problems
iOS 14.8 is causing problems for some iPhone users. Some problems are new, others have carried over from iOS 14.7.1 and older versions of iOS.
The current list of iOS 14 issues includes installation problems, lag, Exchange issues, problems with first and third-party apps, hotspot problems, touchscreen issues, calendar spam, issues with Touch ID and Face ID, random stuttering, and charging issues.
iPhone users were also noticing a “No Service” bug after installing iOS 14.7.1. Some users are saying the Cellular page on their device is completely blank. It’s unclear if iOS 14.8 resolves this issue.
If you do encounter a problem on iOS 14.8, take a look at our fixes for the most common iOS 14 problems. We’ve also released some tips that could help you improve your phone’s performance and some tips that could help fix bad iOS 14 battery life.
Apple’s stopped signing on iOS 14.7.1 which means you can’t drop your phone’s software back to the previous version of iOS 14 if iOS 14.8 causes problems. You can’t downgrade to anything older than iOS 14.7.1 either.
Keep this in mind if you’re having a good experience on iOS 14.7 or below. Once you make the move to iOS 14.8, you won’t be able to get back.
For more on the downgrade process, check out our guide.
iOS 14.8 Update: What’s New
Despite it being a milestone upgrade, iOS 14.8 only brings two changes to the iPhone. Both changes are security patches and you can read more about them over on Apple’s security site.
Apple was forced to push iOS 14.7.1 in order to fix an issue where iPhone models with Touch ID couldn’t unlock a paired Apple Watch using the Unlock with iPhone feature. The update also had a new security patch on board. If you skipped iOS 14.7.1, you’ll get these changes with iOS 14.8.
If you didn’t install iOS 14.7.1 or iOS 14.7, you’ll get iOS 14.7’s changes with iOS 14.8. iOS 14.7 brought a mix of new features, security patches, and under-the-hood improvements to iPhone users.
Here’s the full list of iOS 14.7’s changes:
New Features
- MagSafe Battery Pack support for iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max
- Apple Card Family adds the option to combine credit limits and share one co-owned account with an existing Apple Card user
- Home app adds the ability to manage timers on HomePod
- Air quality information is now available in Weather and Maps for Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, South Korea, and Spain
- Podcasts library allows you to choose to see all shows or only followed shows
Bug Fixes
- Fixed an issue where the Share playlist menu option missing in Apple Music
- Fixed an issue where Dolby Atmos and Apple Music lossless audio playback may unexpectedly stop
- Fixed an issue where the Battery service message that may have disappeared after reboot on some iPhone 11 models is restored
- Fixed an issue where Braille displays could show invalid information while composing Mail messages
iOS 14.7 also had 31 security patches on board.
iOS 14.8 Jailbreak
The developer teams behind the Checkra1n and unC0ver jailbreaking tools have released versions that are compatible with newer versions of iOS 14, but only Checkra1n (currently in beta) is compatible with iOS 14.5. They don’t support iOS 14.8, iOS 14.7.1, iOS 14.7, iOS 14.6, or iOS 14.5.1 yet.
The newest version of unC0ver is compatible with newer iPhones including the iPhone 12 series. That’s big news if you’ve been waiting to jailbreak your new phone. Unfortunately it’s only compatible with versions up to iOS 14.3.
There’s no way to downgrade your phone’s software to iOS 14.3 or older versions of iOS which means you’re out of luck if you upgrade, or you already upgraded to iOS 14.8, iOS 14.7.1, iOS 14.7, iOS 14.6, iOS 14.5.1, iOS 14.5, iOS 14.4.2, iOS 14.4.1 or iOS 14.4.
What’s Next
Apple allows iPhone users to stick around on iOS 14 so you can skip the company’s new iOS 15 operating system. iOS 15 brings numerous improvements and most iPhone users will want to upgrade.
If you do decide to stay put on iOS 14, Apple will roll out new iOS 14 software though change logs will likely be limited to bug fixes and security patches.
We’ll let you know when we learn more.
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