For those of you who did make the transition to iOS 8, the upgrade wasn’t exactly as smooth as Apple might have hoped. Apple went from iOS 8 to iOS 8.0.1, and iOS 8.0.2 in a bid to ease the troubles of users who have suffered from a range of issues.
This would include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, battery drain, and needless to say, the cripplingly slowing down of iPhone 4s and iPad 2. Continue reading to find out how you can tackle some common iOS 8 problems on your devices.
It’s a well-known fact that a number of issues in the digital world can be easily remedied by performing a simple restore / reset / reboot. Sure, it’s not always ideal to take such drastic courses of action, particularly the former, which can be time-consuming on iOS at times, but if you have a problem with a feature as significant as Wi-Fi, then sometimes, reverting certain settings back to factory can prove key.
Fix Wi-Fi:
Step 1: First, you’ll need to reset network settings. To do this, open up the Settings app and navigate through General > Reset > Reset Network Settings.
Step 2: Next, go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services > System Services then turn off Wi-Fi Networking.
Step 3: Finally, to complete the process, reboot your device, wait for it to load back up again, and from there, you should enjoy an error-free Wi-Fi experience.
Fix Bluetooth:
iOS 8 continues to suffer from an ailing Bluetooth connection, and a lot of users connecting their iPhones to their car’s stereo via Bluetooth have confirmed so. Upcoming update to iOS 8 will likely fix these issues. However, till then, if you’re having trouble with your Bluetooth connectivity here is what you can do to fix that.
Launch the Settings app and navigate to General > Reset.
Now tap on Reset Network Settings.
Doing so, the device will forget all connected devices, all your Bluetooth settings, along with network settings – that includes Wi-Fi. You will lose all saved Wi-Fi networks as well, so keep that in mind before proceeding.
Fix Battery Life Issues:
1. Turn Wi-Fi Auto-Search To Off:
As something of an extension to the first tip, you can also prevent your device from searching for networks all the time, which is not only unnecessary – you can toggle it on via the Control Center when you do wish to connect to a hotspot – but also a strain on the battery.
Go to Settings > Wi-Fi > Ask to Join Networks and toggle to OFF
2. See Which Apps Are Using The Most Battery:
In iOS 8, Apple has made it possible for users to check battery use on an app-by-app basis. Thus, by navigating through Settings > General > Usage > Battery Usage, you can quickly determine which apps are using your battery up the most, and either use them less, or even delete them altogether.
3. Turn off Parallax:
The Parallax feature first rolled out with iOS 7, and as well as proving a bit of a headache in the literal sense for some users initially, also warrants additional battery. To disable it, go Settings > General > Accessibility > Reduce Motion, and toggle to ON.
4. Disable Background App Updates:
Apps automatically updating to the latest version is seamless and all, but if you’re out and about and worried about keeping your device alive, having the latest version of Facebook installed becomes somewhat less important. To save battery, go to Settings > iTunes & App Store, and at the bottom, simply toggle Updates to OFF under Automatic Downloads.
5. Stop Backgrounded Apps From Refreshing:
The great thing about disabling Background App Refresh is that it’s not all or nothing, so by going to Settings > General > Background App Refresh, you can pick and choose which you want to continue refreshing and which you’d like to kill off.
6. Location Services:
If you’re using, say, a navigation app, then obviously, Location Services are a must, but if not, Settings > Privacy > Location Services and remove those that you don’t feel need to know where you are.
7. Turn Off 4G LTE:
It may be lightning quick, but 4G LTE is a battery hog, and if it’s not especially critical that you’re running a super-snappy connection, consider disabling 4G by going to Settings > Cellular > Enable LTE.
8. Disable Auto-Brightness & Dim Your Display:
Auto-Brightness is self-explanatory in that it automatically brightens up your display, but the trade-off, as with many useful iOS 8 features, is that more battery is used than necessary.
In Settings > Display & Brightness, you can disable auto-brightness, and if you also turn the brightness down lower – as low as you can manage without it adversely affecting the experience – then you’ll save even more battery.
9. Disable Push Notifications For Certain Apps:
Sure, being notified of that @mention or Facebook ‘Like’ is the be-all and end-all, but if you get any apps sending you push notifications that you tend to ignore, then head to Settings > Notifications, and under Include, toggle away.
10. Use Airplane Mode More:
Although its probably critical that your iPhone is kept online at all times for obvious reasons, your iPad or iPod touch doesn’t need to be online when you’re, say, reading a book or watching a movie already downloaded to your device.
Airplane Mode is easily accessible from the Settings app or Control Center, and if you get yourself into the habit of utilizing it, you’ll be amazed by the additional time that your device remains powered up.
11. Disable System Services For Location:
There are some background location services which take a toll on battery life without the user being known about it. Navigate to Settings > Privacy > Location Services > System Services and toggle off Location-Based Alerts, Location-Based iAds, Spotlight Suggestions, Wi-Fi Networkingand Frequent Locations.
Note: you can toggle other services off too, but that might disable features for some apps, like Share My Location for Messages.
12. Disable Automatic Time Update:
iOS keeps the device’s clock updated at all times, and in doing so, it uses your location, and hence takes its toll on battery life. To disable this feature, go to Settings > General > Date & Time and turn Set Automatically to OFF.
13. Turn Off Bluetooth:
Bluetooth is turned on by default in iOS 8, and it’s a feature which can take its toll on battery life if kept on for no good reason. Simply slide up Control Center, and tap the Bluetooth icon to turn it off.
14. Disable Handoff & Suggested Apps:
A killer iOS feature by a long shot, but a battery drainer nonetheless. Simply navigate to Settings > General > Handoff & Suggested Apps and turn every toggle OFF in the resulting page.
15. Disable AirDrop:
It sounds like an awesome feature for quickly sharing stuff between iOS users, but it can be a battery hog when left running in the background.
Simply drag up from the bottom of the display to bring up Control Center and then tap on AirDropand then tap on Off.
Speed Up iOS 8 On Older Devices:
1 Turn Off Spotlight Search : Settings->General->Spotlight Search
2 Turn Off Background App Refresh: Settings->General->Background App Refresh
3 Turn On Reduce Motion: Settings->General->Accessibility->Reduce Motion
4 Clear Storage Space: Settings->General->Usage->Storage->Manage Storage