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iOS 7.0.4 on iPad 3: Impressions & Performance

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Earlier today, Apple finally delivered a brand new iOS 7 update in the form of iOS 7.0.4, a small bug fix update aimed at tackling at least one issue plaguing iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users. The update, which follows in the footsteps of iOS 7.0.3, is the fourth incremental update to iOS 7 and here, we take a look at how it has performed, so far, on the iPad 3.

In late October, Apple rolled out its third and largest incremental update to its iOS 7 software. That update, iOS 7.0.3, arrived with an extensive list of bug fixes and also included Apple’s iCloud Keychain feature, one that it had detailed at WWDC 2013 back in June but failed to deliver with the initial iOS 7 update push in September.

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Apple was prompted to release the iOS 7.0.3 update thanks to complaints about two major iOS 7 bugs, one that plagued the company’s iMessage service and another that affected the controls that teachers use to monitor student usage on the iPad. And while iOS 7.0.3 brought a number of bug fixes, it also, according to many iPhone and iPad users, brought some bugs of its own along with it.

For weeks now, we’ve been hearing from iPhone and iPad owners who have been dealing with a number of iOS 7.0.3 issues. Many of those owners have been campaigning for Apple to release an iOS 7.0.4 or iOS 7.1 update to alleviate their issues. In the past week or so, we saw activity for iOS 7.0.4 and iOS 7.1 start to increase, a sign that something was close. And today, Apple delivered.

iOS 7.0.4 rolled out earlier today to iPhone and iPad owners running iOS 7. The update is available Over-the-Air and for those that don’t wish to upgrade that way, it’s also available in iTunes.

Thanks to the bugs found in iOS 7, many users are likely skeptical of iOS 7.0.4. So that you don’t have to, we’ve been using iOS 7.0.4 all day so that we could offer users feedback. We’ve already taken a look at iOS 7.0.4 on the iPhone 5 and now, it’s time to take a look at the update on the iPad 3, the third-generation iPad.

Zero Installation Issues

Like many of you, I’ve had issues installing iOS software. Most recently, I had issues installing the iOS 7.0.2 update Over-the-Air and was forced to upgrade over iTunes. More of an inconvenience than anything but still, worth noting. With iOS 7.0.4, I didn’t experience any problems updating the software and the download and installation process was over within 15 minutes or so.

After the iPad 3 rebooted, it took me back to the lock screen and everything was, and is, normal. So for those that are many hesitant due to problems with previous iOS upgrades, iOS 7.0.4 didn’t cause any problems for me while installing. And from the looks of things, it appears to be pretty flawless for other iPad owners as well.

iOS 7.0.4 Performance

User Interface

Just yesterday, I offered some updated thoughts on the iOS 7.0.3 update on my iPad 3. In them, I noted that while just about everything was working fine, I was still experiencing lag issues inside iOS 7. Now, these aren’t lag issues where the device is locking up all the time, though I will say that that has happened a few times after installing iOS 7. No, these are more like small hiccups and general sluggishness. Opening a folder sometimes takes a few seconds when other times, they will open immediately.

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So, I was hopeful that iOS 7.0.4 would solve these issues. So far, so good with iOS 7.0.4. I haven’t experienced any slow down and things feel a lot fresher than they did in iOS 7.0.3. Of course, the million dollar question is, will the UI performance hold? I said the same thing after installing iOS 7.0.3, only to see the lag issues return.

My hope is that the performance I am seeing right now sticks but I am not optimistic considering I’ve seen them dissipate and return already. I will know more in the days ahead.

Battery Life

While I’ve had some ups and downs with iOS 7, the one thing I have been able to rely on is consistent battery life. From iOS 6 to iOS 7 to iOS 7.0.2 to iOS 7.0.3, my iPad 3 has held down the same battery life. I honestly cannot remember the last time that I charged my iPad, that’s how good the battery life on this thing is. So every time an iOS update rolls out, I am skeptical because I don’t want things to deteriorate.

Thankfully, iOS 7.0.4 doesn’t appear to have an nasty battery drain problems on board. I haven’t noticed any with my iPhone 5 and I haven’t noticed any here with the iPad 3 either. As I’ve said before, these problems often don’t come out of the woodwork until a few days later so while things are great now, talk to me in a few days to see if anything has changed.

Bugs

Lots of people have been experiencing issues inside iOS 7.0.3 and below. So, it’s no wonder why I’ve been taking a ton of heat because I haven’t stumbled into any major iOS bugs with my iPhone or my iPad. Again, the only debilitating bug that I have found inside iOS 7, thus far, is the iMessage issue that plagued my iPhone. Other than that, nothing has jumped out.

So far, I haven’t encountered anything inside iOS 7.0.4. I’ve literally been using the software for several hours now and nothing significant has popped up. Again, even the lag has gone back under the surface, at least for now. Bugs have a habit of rearing their ugly head in the days after a release but for the moment, my iPad looks like it’s clean.

Connectivity

I’ve been hearing about Wi-Fi issues with the iPad ever since Apple released iOS 6. Users are still complaining about terrible connectivity and an issue where the Wi-Fi is grayed out. I haven’t seen any issues with my Wi-Fi since iOS 6.1.x rolled out and I am not seeing anything significant inside of iOS 7.0.4 either. Wi-Fi is strong, I am getting the fantastic speeds that I am used to and the connection is stable.

I can’t speak for cellular connectivity because I don’t have 4G LTE on my iPad. Those who do have a 4G LTE iPad 3 will want to check in with users on the Apple discussion forums to see if they are having any problems.

Applications

I mentioned two problematic applications yesterday in my review of iOS 7.0.3. Netflix and Chrome have been giving me issues for a couple of weeks now with Netflix locking up constantly and Chrome crashing more than it should. And while I haven’t seen any crashes today with Chrome, the issues with Netflix continue with iOS 7.0.4.

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Obviously, it’s not Apple’s fault and this is going to be on Netflix to fix these issues. I know I am not the only one experiencing these hiccups with the service so hopefully, the company gets its act together rolls out a bug fixer.

Other applications like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and all of Apple’s stock applications seem to be working fine. Things could certainly change as time goes on but I expect that these applications will continue to agree with iOS 7.0.4.

Should You Install iOS 7.0.4?

I can only speak from my experience with iOS 7.0.3 and iOS 7.0.4. Besides the lag and the issues with Netflix and Chrome, my experience in iOS 7.0.3 was pretty darn good. iOS 7.0.4 doesn’t seem to have changed anything other than possibly having fixed my lag issues. I expect them to return but that’s just me being pessimistic. There is no guarantee that they will.

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The point here is that iOS 7.0.4 doesn’t seem to break anything and that should mean that it will only help those that are having problems inside iOS 7.0.3 and below. There’s a chance that it could have some bugs on board but I haven’t found any just yet.

So, at this point, I can say that iOS 7.0.4 is a safe upgrade, even for those that are looking to jailbreak their iPad 3.

25 Comments

25 Comments

  1. Erna Macht

    11/14/2013 at 7:48 pm

    Nothing but grief! I tried to install 7.0.4 on my ipad! It will not install and I’m having a lot of issues with my messages and nothing will accept my Apple ID and password!

  2. Stormy Day

    11/14/2013 at 9:28 pm

    I have issues with my iPad 3 and iOS 7. The biggest problem is it blacks out for no reason at all. It’s like I shut my cover … but I didn’t. The other problem I have is no “find on page” for the new, supposedly improved Safari. Big, big omission. If it is there, I surely can’t find.

    • Brent

      11/15/2013 at 2:20 am

      Stormy Day… I too found the search in page annoying and hard to find…it is there…just type the words you are looking for in the top web address bar, click the keypad button to HIDE. The on screen keypad and scroll to the bottom of the “waffle” that shows up and you will find a line saying something like “search on page” or find on page! Hope it helps…. Not as good as before… A real step backwards!

  3. Comefollowme (@Comefollowme33)

    11/14/2013 at 9:36 pm

    Updated my Iphone 5 to IOS 7.0.4 now it won’t find any wifi. It just keep scanning for it.
    Apple is not what it used to be anymore. I’m getting frustrated because I don’t want to go over my data limit.

    • Neil

      11/18/2013 at 5:05 am

      Having the same problem! Refuses to connect to my corporate wifi network!

  4. Brent

    11/15/2013 at 2:18 am

    Stormy Day… I too found the search in page annoying and hard to find…it is there…just type the words you are looking for in the top web address bar, click the keypad button to HIDE. The on screen keypad and scroll to the bottom of the “waffle” that shows up and you will find a line saying something like “search on page” or find on page! Hope it helps…. Not as good as before… A real step backwards!

  5. Seth

    11/15/2013 at 11:03 am

    I have a 4th generation iPad. I downloaded ios 7.0.4 and the one thing I noticed gone is that I have no “speak-to-text” option on the keyboard. The little microphone button that you push to speak is not there. Also, it seems a bit more “glitchy”, for lack of a better term. So far I still prefer ios 6. Hopefully they’ll get it right eventually. I still like Apple though.

  6. Joe Deasy

    11/15/2013 at 11:08 pm

    My iPad 3 worked fine until 7.0.3, but its been a dog ever since. Even now as l type this, there is a 1+ second delay after every character press. I think l’ll wait a few days to see what new bugs are introduced with .4.

    A question for the author. Your review is helpful but I don’t understand your statement regarding Netflix :”Obviously, it’s not Apple’s fault and this is going to be on Netflix”. Of course it is on Netflix to update their ap AFTER every OS change, but when you say “Obviously, it’s not Apple’s fault”, you imply Netflix is “at fault”. Unless Apple shares its code / plans, and gives ap developers advance notice with an opportunity to tweak their aps before a new ios release, how can they be blamed for bugs introduced by an ios update?

    Am I missing something? Does Netflix get a pre-release copy of every release? If so, how much time do they get before release? Unless the answers to those questions were common knowledge, there is nothing “obvious” about who is “at fault”. If they dont get an advance copy of the release, it seems to me that it IS Apples fault. Given the popularity of Netflix on iPad, Apple should be working with them to fix any issues before release. Without 3rd party aps, the iPad would go the way of the Dodo bird. IMO, If an update breaks a major ap like Netflix, the update broke the iPad, not ap.

  7. Jerry Mercer

    11/16/2013 at 10:27 am

    Model FD330LL/A. Installed 7.0.4 and sound was distorted. Did hard restart and volume control was non-existent. No sound on games. I did restore and volume control returned but not as loud as before, even with earphones.

  8. behzzad

    11/16/2013 at 2:53 pm

    what a article , i like this reviews on ipad 3 , because say what exactly happend if i upgrade mine. i visit your site for this every day

  9. Mark davies

    11/17/2013 at 12:32 am

    I installed 7.0.4 and now can’t seem to close any open apps! Is there a new trick?

    • Kimmy

      11/18/2013 at 4:48 pm

      I have the same problem and can’t seem to find the answer anywhere!

      • Jerry Mercer

        11/18/2013 at 5:39 pm

        My solution was a restore. Follow directions in iTunes.

        • Johan

          11/25/2013 at 10:18 am

          I still cannot find a solution anywhere ? can you give clearer instructions please ?

    • Brain ramsaran

      12/01/2013 at 10:14 am

      Yes there is double click on your home button and the open apps tray opens then swipe your finger up wards on each app screen and it will close

  10. Judyn

    11/17/2013 at 6:03 am

    I just downloaded this update on ipad 2. I’ve had issues with any form I fill out crashing in safari since the 7.0.3. So I switched to chrome. It has not addressed this issue, and now my typing has A lag time simply filling out this comment on safari. Worse than 7.0.3 Just an FYI.

  11. Linda

    11/17/2013 at 1:22 pm

    Just tried to update – and now my IPAD3 says it is in recovery mode. AND…no back up of my recent camera pictures. Any way to get out of recover mode and NOT having to restore? Was at 100% and I thought safe to update.

  12. Aldo

    11/17/2013 at 1:35 pm

    Since installing ios 7.0.4 my wife’s iMessage no longer works. All Apple devices are up to date but her iPhone 4S will not iMessage and sync with other devices so I have to make sure if I text her I text her cell number direct not her iMessage ID. Anyone else having this problem? Any thoughts?

  13. Sandy

    11/17/2013 at 1:39 pm

    I have an iPhone 4 and since the update I am having a problem with my screen growing so big that it can’t be used. The only fix is to do a “hard boot.” This has happened about 10 times since I updated to iOS 7. Anyone know how to fix?

  14. Theresa

    11/17/2013 at 3:48 pm

    Sandy and Aldo I’m having the same problems with my iPad and iPhone!!! What to do?

  15. Himanshu Chowdhary

    11/18/2013 at 10:07 pm

    hey can you please do a ios 7.1 beta on ipad 3, btw i didnt get any watercolor,transparent effects in notification center,control center and siri but its present in folders,lock screen and spotlight,is this a bug from ios 7.0 to 0.4 ?i have tried to fresh install ios 7 without backup still no new glossy ios 7 effects on ipad 3.

  16. Mark davies

    11/25/2013 at 5:53 pm

    I found that you close the open apps by double clicking the home button and then slide the appropriate app up off the screen! Seems to work ok.

    • Linee353

      11/27/2013 at 8:30 am

      Thank you! This worked for me. Double clicking the home button and swiping the app up to close it. was looking everywhere for the answer

  17. Eric

    01/03/2014 at 4:39 pm

    Im stickin with 6.0.3 for my ipad 3. Im skeered.

  18. Eric

    01/03/2014 at 4:41 pm

    I mean…6.1.3.

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