5 Things to Know About the iPadOS 15.6.1 Update

5 Things to Know About the iPadOS 15.6.1 Update is a post by Adam Mills from Gotta Be Mobile.

Apple’s pushed a new iPadOS 15.6.1 update to iPad, iPad Pro, iPad Air, and iPad mini users around the world.

iPadOS 15.6.1 is a small point upgrade and it brings a couple of important security patches to iPad users. It doesn’t have any known bug fixes or features on board.

In this walkthrough we’ll take you through the iPadOS 15.6.1 update’s performance, iPadOS 15.6.1 problems, the best places to find feedback about bugs and performance issues, the iPadOS 15.6.1 jailbreak status, and more.

iPadOS 15.6.1 Reviews
iPadOS 15.6.1 Problems
iPadOS 15.6.1 Features
iPadOS 15.6.1 Jailbreak
What’s Next for iPadOS

We’ll start with a quick look at the iPadOS 15.6.1 update’s performance.

iPadOS 15.6.1 Review

If your iPad is currently running iPadOS 15.6, iPadOS 15.6.1 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 device’s upgrade.

The iPadOS 15.6.1 installation should take around 10 minutes to complete. It took about seven minutes to install on an older iPad Pro.

For more on the iPadOS 15.6.1 download and installation, have a look at our guide.

We’ve been using the iPadOS 15.6.1 update on an iPad Pro (2018) for a very 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 right now.
GPS and cellular data are working normally.

App Performance

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

Speed

iPadOS 15.6.1 feels as fast and smooth as iPadOS 15.6 did.

If you’ve dealing with bugs or performance issues on iPadOS 15.6 or an older version of iPadOS, you should think about installing the iPadOS 15.6.1 update right now.

iPadOS 15.6.1 Problems

iPad users are running into various iPadOS 15.6.1 problems as we push away from the release date.

The current list of iPadOS 15.6.1 problems includes abnormal battery drain, installation issues, issues with first and third-party apps, Bluetooth problems, Face ID problems, and Wi-Fi issues.

If you run into problems on iPadOS 15.6.1, take a look at our fixes for the most common issues. We’ve also released tips that will help you improve your iPad’s performance and tips that could help you improve your iPad’s battery life.

If you can’t stand iPadOS 15.6.1’s performance on your iPad, note that you can downgrade to older iPadOS software.

Apple’s currently signing on iPadOS 15.6 which means you can move your iPad’s software back to the previous version of iPadOS if you think that might improve its performance.

Unfortunately, you can’t move your iPad’s software back to anything older than iPadOS 15.6. The path back to older firmware is closed and it won’t reopen.

This means those of you jumping up from iPadOS 15.5 and below should proceed with caution. Once you make the move to iPadOS 15.6.1, there’s no going back to your current version of iPadOS.

iPadOS 15.6.1 Features

Apple’s point updates (x.x.x) typically bring under-the-hood improvements to the iPad and that’s what you get from iPadOS 15.6.1.

iPadOS 15.6.1 delivers two security enhancements to compatible iPad models and you can learn more about those over on Apple’s security site.

iPadOS 15.6.1 Jailbreak

If you still jailbreak, avoid iPadOS 15.6.1 for now.

Hackers say they’re planning to release a new iPad jailbreak that’s compatible with iPadOS 15, but it looks like it will only work with older versions of the operating system at first. So, if you want to jailbreak, make sure you avoid upgrading to newer versions of iPadOS 15.

What’s Next

Apple’s currently working on its new iPadOS 16 operating system and the software is currently in beta testing ahead of its release in the fall.

The company will probably release the final version of iPadOS 16 alongside new iPad Pros. As of right now, it looks like the final release will come sometime in October though Apple hasn’t confirmed an official date.

4 Reasons Not to Install iOS 15.6.1 & 11 Reasons You Should

Install iOS 15.6.1 for Better Security

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If security is important to you, you'll want to think about installing Apple's iOS 15.6.1 update right away.

iOS 15.6.1 has two security patches on board. They are essential if you want to keep your device and its data protected. You can read more about the pair on Apple's website.

If you missed Apple's iOS 15.6 update, it had 30+ security upgrades on board. You can learn more about them right here.

If you missed iOS 15.5 it brought 27 new security patches to the iPhone. You can learn more about these patches over on Apple's security site.

If you missed iOS 15.4.1, it had one new security patch on board. You can read more about it over on Apple's website.

If you missed the iOS 15.4 update, it had a whopping 36 new security patches on board. If you want to learn more about these patches, head on over to Apple's security site for the particulars.

If you missed iOS 15.3.1, it had one security patch on board. For more about it, head over to Apple's security page.

If you missed iOS 15.3, you'll also 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 15.6.1 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 15.6.1 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.