Click to Skip Ad
Closing in...

These simple tricks might make your older iPhone or iPad much faster on iOS 8

Published Oct 13th, 2014 2:28PM EDT
iOS 8 Tricks: iPhone 4s and iPad 2
Image: Jonathan Geller, BGR

If you buy through a BGR link, we may earn an affiliate commission, helping support our expert product labs.

Apple released iOS 8 almost a month ago, but its latest iPhone and iPad operating system has arrived with certain performance issues that Apple has yet to iron out. The company issued two minor iOS 8 updates so far, including iOS 8.0.1 and iOS 8.0.2, although the latter was needed to fix certain iPhone 6-related problems caused by the former. Apple is expected to release iOS 8.1 in the coming days, which is a major update that should enable certain new features on some iOS devices, and also fix certain issues. In the meantime, users of older devices such as iPhone 4s and iPad 2 may be looking for ways to improve their iOS 8 experience.

FROM EARLIER: Watch this video before you update your iPhone 4S to iOS 8

A downgrade to iOS 7.1.2 isn’t possible anymore, as Apple isn’t supporting the previous iOS version for these devices, but OS X Daily has three simple tips for iPhone 4s and iPad 2 owners, and everyone else, to fix lag and general slowness in iOS 8.

The publication says there are some very simple tricks users can perform to improve the speed of iOS 8 on their devices, such as hard restarting their devices — the process involves pressing both the power button and the home button at the same time for 10-15 seconds, forcing a restart. Once iOS restarts, it may be faster than before.

A second trick users can try is removing all the motion and animation effects in iOS 8. In order to do it, users have to go to Settings > General > Accessibility > Reduce Motion, and turn the switch off.

If these two particular moves aren’t good enough, then users have a more complex “tool” at their disposal: a complete phone or tablet wipe and a fresh restore to iOS 8 (a process that may take a longer time, and should involve backing up personal data).

More details about these iOS 8 tricks users can perform to improve their experience on iPhone and iPad are available at the source link.

Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.