7 Things to Know About the iPhone 8 iOS 14.8.1 Update

7 Things to Know About the iPhone 8 iOS 14.8.1 Update is a post by Adam Mills from Gotta Be Mobile.

Apple’s iOS 14.8.1 update could have a tremendous impact on your iPhone 8 or iPhone 8 Plus’ performance.

The company’s rolled out a new iOS 14.8.1 upgrade and it brings important security patches to the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus.

Many iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus users have already made the jump to the new software which means we’re getting feedback about its performance.

iOS 14.8.1 could have a positive impact on your phone’s overall performance. Some users are noticing improved battery life and stability.

We’re also hearing a growing number of problems. Some iOS 14.8.1 users have stumbled upon performance issues and several annoying bugs.

If your phone is currently running iOS 14.8 and you decide to install iOS 14.8.1 on your device, the update requires a fairly small chunk of space on your device’s internal storage.

If you’re moving up from an older version of iOS, the upgrade will be far more substantial. That’s because the features and fixes from the updates you skipped are included.

With that in mind, we want to guide you through the most important things to know right now about the iPhone 8’s iOS 14.8.1 update.

iPhone 8 iOS 14.8.1 Review
You Should Prepare for iOS 14.8.1
iPhone 8 iOS 14.8.1 Problems and Fixes
How to Downgrade iPhone 8 Software
iPhone 8 iOS 14.8.1 Changes
Next iOS Update for iPhone 8
iPhone 8 iOS 14.8.1 Jailbreak

It’ll take you through the software’s current problems, provide you with some fixes for common issues, fill you in on the downgrade, and a whole lot more.

We’ve been using the iPhone 8’s iOS 14.8.1 update for several days now and we’ll start things off with some quick impressions about its performance.

iPhone 8 iOS 14.8.1 Review

We installed iOS 14.8.1 on the iPhone 8 shortly after it went live. Our device was previously running iOS 14.8 and it took about nine minutes for the installation to complete. For more about the installation, check out our guide.

As for the software’s performance, iOS 14.8.1 has been running smoothly on our device. The software feels snappy and we haven’t encountered any UI lag in key areas like Control Center, Notification Center, or the keyboard. Apps open up quickly on our device and animations and transitions feel fluid.

We haven’t encountered any abnormal battery drain and connectivity (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS) is strong at the moment. We had a similar experience on iOS 14.8

Our primary apps, which include Slack, Asana, Spotify, Chrome, and Gmail, are all stable right now. Developers are still rolling out iOS 14 support updates. If you run into trouble, try downloading the latest version because it could help stabilize the app’s performance.

We haven’t encountered any significant bugs or performance issues while running iOS 14.8.1. We’ll let you know if that changes.

Given what’s on board, we recommend iOS 14.8.1 to most users. If you’re currently on the fence about a move from your current version of iOS to iOS 14.8.1, take a look at our list of reasons to, and not to, install iOS 14.8.1 right now.

You Should Prepare for iOS 14.8.1

If you plan to install iOS 14.8.1 today or at some point in the near future, make sure you prepare yourself, and your device, for the move. Doing so will help you avoid headaches.

If you don’t know where to start, have a look at our pre-installation guide. It will take you step-by-step through the process we use before we install new iOS software on our iPhones.

If you don’t have a lot of time to devote to the pre-installation process, you’ll want to at least spend time making sure all of your data is backed up properly.

iPhone 8 iOS 14.8.1 Problems & Fixes

iOS 14.8.1 is treating our iPhone 8 well. That being said, other iPhone 8 owners have run into an assortment of problems. Some of these issues are brand new, others have carried over from older versions of iOS 14.

The current list of iOS 14 problems includes weird battery drain, crashes, various issues with first and third-party apps, Touch ID issues, Exchange issues, Wi-Fi issues, UI lag, and more.

We expect the list of problems to grow as more people download iOS 14.8.1. If you’re feeling leery, you might want to wait for Apple’s next batch of fixes.

If you do run into an issue with the software, there’s a very good chance you’ll be able to solve the problem on your own.

We’ve released a list of fixes for the most common iOS 14 problems and it’s a great place to start if you don’t have an encyclopedia of remedies stored inside your head.

If your iPhone 8’s battery life takes a major hit after the move to iOS 14.8.1, we have a list of tips that should help you improve battery life going forward.

And if you’re running into bad performance (lag, slow download speeds, etc), have a look at our guide to fixing bad iOS 14 performance.

iOS 14.8 Downgrade Closed

If you move your iPhone 8 or iPhone 8 Plus to iOS 14.8.1, and you hate the performance, note that you can no longer downgrade your iPhone’s software.

Apple’s has stopped signing on iOS 14.8 which means you can’t bring your device’s software back to the previous version of iOS 14 in an effort to improve its performance.

The company isn’t signing on older versions of iOS either. So if you’re having a good experience on iOS 14.8 or older, take your time. Once you make the move to iOS 14.8.1, there’s no going back.

If you’re unfamiliar with the downgrade process, take a look at our guide.

iPhone 8 iOS 14.8.1 Update: What’s New

Apple’s iOS 14.8.1 update brings 12 security patches to the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus. It doesn’t have any known bug fixes or features on board.

If you want to learn more about iOS 14.8.1’s patches, you’ll want to head on over to Apple’s security site.

If you missed the iOS 14.8 update, you’ll get its security patches with your upgrade. You can learn more about them over on Apple’s website.

If you missed iOS 14.7.1, you’ll get its changes with iOS 14.8.1. It brought a fix for an issue where iPhone models with Touch ID couldn’t unlock a paired Apple Watch using the Unlock with iPhone feature. It also delivered a new security patch which you can read about it over on Apple’s security site.

If you skipped Apple’s iOS 14.7 update, you’ll get its features, bug fixes, and patches with your upgrade. Highlights from iOS 14.7 included upgrades to the Weather app, Apple Card, and Podcasts.

If you skipped iOS 14.6, you’ll get its changes with iOS 14.8.1. iOS 14.6’s changes included Apple Card Family, upgrades to the Podcasts app, and enhancements for AirTag users.

The firmware also brought bug fixes and 30+ security patches to help protect the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus from harm. If you’re interested in the particulars, check out our iOS 14.6 walkthrough.

If you skipped iOS 14.5.1, you’ll get its changes with iOS 14.8.1. iOS 14.5.1 was a small upgrade with three changes on board.

It included a bug fix for an issue with App Tracking Transparency where some users who previously disabled Allow Apps to Request to Track in Settings may not receive prompts from apps after re-enabling it.

There were also two important security patches for WebKit issues. You can read more about those over on Apple’s security site if you’re interested.

If you skipped iOS 14.5, you get its changes with your upgrade. The iOS 14.5 update was a massive update with an assortment of changes on board. If you’re curious about all of these changes, have a look at our list of the best iOS 14.5 features. It’ll take you through everything.

If you skipped iOS 14.4.2, you’ll get its security patch with iOS 14.8.1. You can read about it right here.

If you’re currently running iOS 14.4, you’ll also get iOS 14.4.1’s security patch with your upgrade. You can read about that patch right here.

If you skipped 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 and iOS 14.4, you’ll get iOS 14.4’s features and fixes with your upgrade. You can read about iOS 14.4’s changes in our walkthrough.

If you skipped 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, iOS 14.4, and iOS 14.3, you’ll get iOS 14.3’s changes with your upgrade. iOS 14.3 also had a mix of new features and enhancements. If you want to learn more, check out our guide.

If you skipped 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, iOS 14.4, iOS 14.3, and iOS 14.2, you’ll get iOS 14.2’s changes with your upgrade. Head to our guide to learn more.

If you skipped 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, iOS 14.4, iOS 14.3, iOS 14.2, and iOS 14.1, you get iOS 14.1’s changes with your upgrade. If you’re interested, you can read more about iOS 14.1 in our roundup.

If for some reason you’re still hanging around on the first version of iOS 14, you’ll also get iOS 14.0.1’s bug fixes in your iOS 14.8.1 update. Here’s what iOS 14.0.1 fixed:

Fixed an issue that could cause default browser and mail settings to reset after restarting your iPhone
Fixed an issue that could prevent your iPhone from connecting to Wi-Fi networks
Resolved an issue that could prevent sending email with some mail providers
Addressed an issue that could prevent images from appearing in the News widget

As for iOS 14 itself, the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus get most of what the new operating system has to offer. That said, the two devices do miss out on a few features which you can learn more about over on Apple’s website.

What’s Next

Apple’s released iOS 15 which means iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus users around the world can move to the new operating system right now.

That said, if you want to stay on iOS 14, you can. Apple will continue to push new iOS 14 updates though they most likely will be focused on security.

In other words, if you don’t upgrade to iOS 15, you’ll miss out on new iOS features. For more on the benefits of iOS 15, check out our guide.

We don’t know when the next version of iOS 14 will roll out, but we most likely will see a new version arrive alongside new iOS 15 software. Keep an eye out as we push through the month.

iPhone 8 iOS 14.8.1 Jailbreak

Avoid iOS 14.8.1 if you’re jailbroken or want to jailbreak your phone.

The developers behind the Checkra1n and unC0ver jailbreaking tools have released versions that are compatible with newer versions of iOS 14. Unfortunately they aren’t compatible with iOS 14.8.1. Not yet at least.

We’ll let you know when we learn more.

4 Reasons Not to Install iOS 15.1 & 11 Reasons You Should

Install iOS 15.1 for Better Security

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If security is important to you, think about installing Apple's iOS 15.1 update right away.

iOS 15.1 has important security patches on board and they'll help protect your phone. You can read more about them on Apple's website.

If you missed iOS 15.0.2 you'll also get its security patch with your upgrade. You can learn more about it right here.

iOS 15.0 also brought numerous security patches to your iPhone. If you'll be moving up from iOS 14 and you're interested in the exact nature of these improvements, you can read about them over on Apple's security website.

If you skipped iOS 14.8 or any older versions of iOS, you'll get the security patches from those updates with your iOS 15.1 update as well.

In addition to those patches, iOS 15 comes with some security and privacy upgrades including improvements to Siri. Requests made to Siri are now processed on the device itself using Neural Engine. This makes it more secure.

If you're an Apple Card user, you'll now get a security code that changes regularly to use when you make online transactions.

Apple's also included a built-in authenticator that's similar to Google Authenticator. This will let you generate verification codes for enhanced sign-in security under your Passwords.

There's also a Mail feature that hides your IP address. The company will add a new App Privacy report feature in the next version of iOS 15 that will tell you when an app has accessed sensitive information.