iPadOS 14.8.1 Problems: 5 Things You Need to Know

Apple’s iPadOS 14.8.1 update is causing problems for some iPad users.

iPadOS 14.8.1 is a small upgrade and it brings important security patches to Apple’s iPad, iPad Pro, iPad Air, or iPad mini. It doesn’t have any known bug fixes or features on board.

Feedback about iPadOS 14.8.1’s performance is good, but we’re also hearing about issues impacting the company’s newest firmware. Some of these problems are brand new, others have carried over from iPadOS 14.8 and older versions of iPadOS.

In this guide to iPadOS 14 problems we’ll take you through the current state of the software. We’ll show you where to find potential fixes for the most common iPadOS 14 problems and provide you with some resources that could help if you do happen to run into trouble.

• Current iPadOS 14 Problems
• iPadOS 14 Upgrade Feedback
• How to Fix iPadOS 14 Problems
• iPadOS 14 Downgrade Status
• What’s Next for iPadOS 14

We’ll also touch on the state of the iPadOS 14 downgrade and outline what you can expect from Apple and iPadOS down the road.

iPadOS 14.8.1 Problems

iPad mini, iPad Pro, iPad Air, and iPad users are complaining about a variety of bugs and performance issues including some that popup every time Apple releases new software.

The current list of iPadOS 14.8.1 problems includes download and installation problems, UI lag, crashes, various issues with Contacts, issues with first and third-party apps, problems with Fitness+, issues with Widgets, Face ID problems, Wi-Fi issues, and Bluetooth issues.

We’ve also heard about severe battery drain issues impacting owners of older iPad models like the 2018 iPad Pro. These issues are fairly widespread it seems.

If you haven’t downloaded iPadOS 14.8.1 yet, we recommend preparing yourself, and your iPad, for the move. A little prep work ahead of time could help you avoid major headaches.

We’ve put together a step-by-step pre-installation process and it will help you get ready for the installation.

Where to Find iPadOS 14.8.1 Reviews

If you’re currently running iPadOS 14.8 or an older version of iPadOS, and you’re feeling leery about the move to iPadOS 14.8.1, you’ll want to dig into feedback from those who have made the move to the software.

If your iPad is currently running iPadOS 14.8.1, you might want to monitor feedback about the update’s performance from other iPad users.

We also recommend digging around on YouTube, Apple’s discussion forums, social media sites like Twitter/Facebook, and the MacRumors forums for additional feedback about the update’s performance.

We’ve also released our list of reasons to, and not to, make the jump to iPadOS 14.8.1 right now.

How to Fix iPadOS 14.8.1 Problems

Before you get in touch with Apple, take a look at our list of fixes for the most common software problems. You might find the fix you’ve been looking for.

We’ve also released a list of tips that could help you improve your device’s performance and a guide that will show you how to fix  battery life problems.

If you can’t find a fix in those guides, head on over to Apple’s discussion forums. If you don’t find what you’re looking for there, you might want to get in contact with Apple Support via Twitter or via the the company’s website.

If nothing works, you’ll probably want to make an appointment to see a Genius at your local Apple Store if it’s open.

iPadOS 14 Downgrade Status

If you can’t stand iPadOS 14.8.1’s performance on your iPad, note that you can’t downgrade your device’s software.

Apple isn’t signing on iPadOS 14.8 which means you can’t bring your iPad’s software back to the previous version of iPadOS 14 in an effort to improve performance.

The company has also stopped signing on 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, iPadOS 14.2, iPadOS 14.1, iPadOS 14.0.1, iPadOS 14.0, and iPadOS 13 which means there’s no way back to those versions of iPadOS either.

For more about how the downgrade process works, take a look at our walkthrough.

What’s Next

Apple lets iPad users stay on iPadOS 14 so you can skip an upgrade to the company’s iPadOS 15 operating system if you want to. That being said, iPadOS 15 brings numerous improvements and most iPad users should upgrade.

If you do decide to keep your iPad on iPadOS 14, Apple will roll out new iPadOS 14 software though the change log will likely be limited to bug fixes and security patches.

We’ll let you know when we learn more about the next version of iPadOS 14.

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