5 Things to Know About the iPadOS 15.3.1 Update

5 Things to Know About the iPadOS 15.3.1 Update is a post by Adam Mills from Gotta Be Mobile.

Apple’s pushed a new iPadOS 15.3.1 update to iPad, iPad Pro, iPad Air, and iPad mini.

iPadOS 15.3.1 is a point upgrade and the firmware is focused on patching up issues. iPadOS 15.3.1 doesn’t have any known features on board.

In this walkthrough we’ll take you through the iPadOS 15.3.1 update’s performance, the current list of iPadOS 15.3.1 problems, the best places to find feedback about bugs and performance issues, the iPadOS 15.3.1 jailbreak status, and more.

iPadOS 15.3.1 Reviews
iPadOS 15.3.1 Problems
iPadOS 15.3.1: What’s New
iPadOS 15.3.1 Jailbreak
What’s Next for iPadOS

We’ll start with an early look at the iPadOS 15.3.1 update’s performance.

iPadOS 15.3.1 Review

If your tablet is currently running iPadOS 15.3, iPadOS 15.3.1 requires a fairly small download.

If your iPad is running an older version of iPadOS, your download will likely be bigger. That’s because the features and fixes from iPadOS update(s) you skipped are baked into your version of iPadOS 15.3.1.

The iPadOS 15.3.1 installation should take in and around 10 minutes to complete. It took about seven minutes to install on one of our older iPad Pros.

For more on the iPadOS 15.3.1 download and installation, have a look at our guide.

We’ve been using the iPadOS 15.3.1 update on an iPad Pro for a short time and here’s what we’ve learned about its performance thus far:

Connectivity

Battery life is stable.
Wi-Fi connectivity is fast and reliable.
Bluetooth is working fine.
GPS and cellular data are working normally.

App Performance

Third-party apps like Netflix, Dark Sky, Twitter, Slack, Asana, Gmail, Chrome, and Spotify are all working fine.
First party apps like Safari, Podcasts, and Calendar are stable.

Speed

iPadOS 15.3.1 feels as fas and smooth as iPadOS 15.3 did.

If you’ve dealing with bugs or performance issues on iPadOS 15.3, or an older version of iPadOS, you should think about installing the iPadOS 15.3.1 today.

iPadOS 15.3.1 Problems

The iPadOS 15.3.1 update is already causing problems for some iPad users.

The current list of iPadOS 15 problems includes abnormal battery drain, installation issues, issues with first and third-party apps, UI lag, Face ID problems, UI lag, Wi-Fi issues, and Bluetooth issues.

If you run into issues, have a look at our fixes for the most common software issues. We’ve also released tips that will help you improve performance and tips that should help you improve your iPad’s battery life.

If you can’t stand iPadOS 15.3.1’s performance on your iPad, note that you can downgrade to older iPadOS software.

Apple is currently signing on iPadOS 15.3 which means you can move your iPad back to the previous version of iPadOS in an effort to improve its performance. Unfortunately, you can’t move your iPad’s software back to anything older than iPadOS 15.3.

This means those of you jumping up from iPadOS 15.2.1 and below should proceed with caution. Once you make the move to iPadOS 15.3.1, there’s no going back to your current version of iPadOS.

iPadOS 15.3.1 Features

Apple’s point updates (x.x) are typically smaller releases and iPadOS 15.3.1 is indeed a tiny upgrade. Here’s the full iPadOS 15.3.1 change log:

Fixes an issue that may cause Braille displays to stop responding.

iPadOS 15.3.1 also has an important security patch on board and you can read all about it over on the company’s security site.

iPadOS 15.3.1 Jailbreak

If you still jailbreak, avoid the iPadOS 15.3.1 update.

The developer teams behind the Checkra1n and unC0ver jailbreaking tools have released versions that are compatible with newer versions of iPadOS 14, but they aren’t compatible with iPadOS 15.

What’s Next

Apple’s confirmed a new version of iPadOS 15 and iPadOS 15.4 is currently in beta testing.

The company hasn’t confirmed a specific iPadOS 15.4 release date yet, but it should drop in March alongside new hardware. Apple’s next product launch event is reportedly scheduled for March 8th.

If your problems on iPadOS 15.3.1 are really bad, you might try downloading the iPadOS 15.4 beta onto your iPad, iPad Air, iPad Pro, or iPad mini right now.

For more on iPadOS 15.4 and the beta, have a peek at our walkthrough. For more about the iPadOS 15.4 release date, check out our guide.

4 Reasons Not to Install iOS 15.3.1 & 11 Reasons You Should

Install iOS 15.3.1 for Better Security

1 / 15

If security is important to you, you'll want to think about installing Apple's iOS 15.3.1 update right away.

iOS 15.3.1 has one security patch on board, but it's an important one. For more about it, head on over to Apple's security page.

If you missed iOS 15.3, you'll get its patches with your upgrade. iOS 15.3 brought 10 new security patches to iPhone users. If you're interested in the details, you can read more about them right here.

If you missed iOS 15.2.1, you'll get its security patch with your upgrade. You can learn more about the change over on Apple's website.

If you missed Apple's iOS 15.2 update, you'll get its 30+ security patches with your upgrade. You can read all about them over on the company's security site.

iOS 15.2 also included some important upgrades to privacy. The software brought the company's App Privacy Report to Settings. This lets you see how often your apps have accessed your location, photos, camera, microphone, contacts and more during the last seven days. You can also see their network activity.

In addition, iOS 15.2 brought Apple's communication safety features for kids. You'll find these features in the Messages app, in Siri, in Spotlight, and in Search.

If you missed iOS 15.1, iOS 15.3.1 will bring its security patches to your iPhone. 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.

Apple's updated its website with new information about iOS 15's batch of security patches. The company now says the software patched up an issue that could have exposed a user's private Apple ID information and in-app search history. It also says iOS 15 patched up an issue that allowed apps to override Privacy preferences.

If you skipped iOS 14.8 or any older versions of iOS, you'll get the security patches from those updates with your iOS 15.3.1 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.